GATHERING, GROWING, GOING: MINISTRY ACTION PLAN

Transcription

1 SUMMARY JANUARY 18, 2017 GATHERING, GROWING, GOING: MINISTRY ACTION PLAN JUNCTION CITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH PRESENTED BY: CRAIG PESTI- STROBEL, AND MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP TEAM

2 PLAN OVERVIEW OUR VISION OUR MISSION OUR PLAN FOR MISSION STATEMENT OF WELCOME INVITATION We are a community of progressive ChrisMans that According to the 2012 Discipline of the United Methodist Church, The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformamon of the world. ( 120) We gather regularly in order to grow in faith, proclaiming God s grace in word and deed, taking into our community and world.. We are a Reconciling CongregaMon and welcome persons of all racial, ethnic, religious and gender idenmmes. We live as disciples of Jesus Christ, whose love and ministry extended to all. We invite all people who seek to walk the path of spiritual and social transformamon that Jesus taught and lived to join us as we gather as a diverse community in order to grow in compassion and spiritual understanding and go out, serving the world in ways that make a posimve difference. OBJECTIVE OF THIS This Ministry AcMon Plan is designed to provide: An overview of our parmcular spiritual and religious purpose; A summary of ObjecMves to accomplish that purpose; A concise guide to organize our members and coordinate acmvimes that carry out these objecmves; The purpose of developing this Ministry AcMon Plan is essenmally two- fold: 1. This Plan will provide a central guiding document that will help us organize and focus our work together as a congregamon in ways that are appropriate to our size and the abilimes of our consmtuency. By focusing on a few strategic and appropriate forms of ministry, we will maximize our effecmveness and umlize the best resources, energy and creamvity present in our congregamon. 2. This plan will guide our Building RenovaMon Team, Trustees, and Leadership Team as we consider ways to renovate and update our building in order to provide ministries that are accessible to all in a building that is welcoming, efficient, and up- to- date. 1/18/2017 Gathering, Growing, Going: Ministry AcMon Plan Page 1

3 SUMMARY CALL TO ACTION The main purpose of the Church, according to the 2012 Discipline, is making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformamon of the world. This purpose dismnguishes it from other social organizamons and service clubs. A closer look at the wording of this purpose helps to explain and elucidate the dismnguishing characterismcs of the church. However, in order to more clearly understand this purpose, a slight emendamon of the Discipline is offered. Instead of making disciples, we understand it to be more theologically accurate to speak of the forma&on of disciples of Jesus Christ. Spiritual formamon is historically grounded in the pracmce and experience of the ChrisMan community, whereas the term making presumes the church has a more autocramc, manipulamve role in fashioning persons into an image we have constructed ourselves concerning what we believe people should be or become. As a community of faith, we must assume a much more humble approach of creamng the condimons for the Holy Spirit to do the formamve work within the lives of those who seek to become disciples of Jesus Christ. To that end, then, we suggest our task is, instead, to provide the foundamon for the formamon of disciples of Jesus Christ: 1. Forma&on - As human beings, we possess the potenmal for consciousness of a quality of life infused with a sense of purpose, meaning and significance. Our hearts, souls and minds are created to incline us toward a life that is compassionate, passionate, open to and caring of others, which embraces spiritual values and moral insight. The church funcmons, then, as that place where human capacimes such as kindness, love, mercy, generosity, jusmce and compassion are brought out from latency to full expression in persons. 2. Disciples - A disciple is a person who is in the relamonship of student or trainee or apprenmce to another. A disciple willingly takes on the regimen and discipline of life necessary for learning what is being taught. 3. Of Jesus Christ - Jesus Christ is our teacher, the one who is at the center of our life and work together. It is the centrality of Jesus Christ that sets the church apart from other social organizamons. With Jesus at the core of the church s life, his life and teaching becomes the lens through which we read the Bible, examine our own lives, look out at the world around us, and engage that world. Paul in his leher to the Philippians refers to this as having the mind which we have in Christ (Philippians 2:5). Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means: Learning about Jesus Christ: studying what is known about his life and his Mmes, becoming deeply acquainted with what the early church preserved of his life and teachings; Learning from Jesus Christ: adopmng the aktude of one sikng at his feet, watching his movements, listening to his words, observing his reacmons to people, perceiving the inner impulses from which his acmons spring; CulMvaMng the mind of Jesus Christ within us: submikng our thoughts, momvamons and aktudes to a rigorous examinamon and crimque in light of what we learn about and from Jesus Christ, and then aligning our thoughts, momvamons and aktudes in accordance with what we have learned and discerned of Jesus; Developing the life prac&ces that arise from a mind, heart and will that have been informed and formed by sikng at the feet of Jesus, as it were, adopmng his way of life in the world. 1/18/2017 Gathering, Growing, Going: Ministry AcMon Plan Page 2

4 4. For the transforma&on of the world: This refers to creamng the condimons that are opmmal for the growth of persons towards wholeness and health in body, mind and spirit. This is the original meaning of salvamon. There is a mutually reinforcing interplay between the growth and development of human individuals in the context of a community that endeavors to model itself upon spiritual ideals and ways of relamng, and how that community seeks to live out those ideals in relamonship to the larger world around them. This involves the development of relamonships that embody the radical inclusiveness and grace- filled intenmons and purposes of God. ORGANIZED TO ACT This theological understanding of the nature of the church has significant implicamons for what we do as a church community. 1. First, if Jesus Christ forms the core and center of our life, then the main focus of our acmvimes should be to increase in our knowledge of him and increasingly to model our lives and aktudes on his. 2. Second, this theological understanding guides our outreach as we invite people as our honored guests into our midst to meet and come to know Jesus Christ. 3. Third, as we go out into the world, bearing his name and mark upon us, we may be the only Gospel some people will ever experience. Thus, our acmons and behavior in our families and the world truly need to be good news. 4. Fourth, since we all come from a world only barely acquainted with the Good News of Jesus Christ and from homes more shaped and formed according to that world rather than the Gospel, we are in constant need of relearning this new way of being that Jesus Christ models for us. What the church provides is the laboratory wherein the gold of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is refined in the crucible of human hearts. The content of faith is shared and the life it espouses is experimented with and finally embraced. What this means is that there is a constant inward and outward rhythm of movement within the life of the church: from the inwardness of prayer and self- examinamon to loving fellowship and concern for one another; from acmvely invimng people into the acmvimes of the church to going on mission trips and building homes for others; from studying in classes and support groups to teaching and working in jobs outside of church; from raising money for our local budget to raising funds for projects and ministries across the globe. There is no division of local versus global, it is always both/and. All of it united in this singular focus upon the formamon of disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformamon of the world. PROCESS FOR FORMING DISCIPLES INTRODUCTION For several years now, the church has expressed its process of ministry in three words: Gather, Grow, and Go. This reflected a basic rhythm of gathering in various ways in order to study the Bible and other spiritual and religious wrimngs, to have fellowship together, and, pre- eminently, to worship God, experiencing spiritual growth and maturing in our faith, in order to go out into our community and serve others. The following summary follows the Gather, Grow, Go pahern as a way to examine how we live that out. 1/18/2017 Gathering, Growing, Going: Ministry AcMon Plan Page 3

5 GATHERING Objec=ve: Provide a place and regular opportunimes for people to gather in order to be nurtured in the ChrisMan faith, and then to move out into the community in ways that help those in need, on the margins of society, and assist those at risk. Goal: We will maintain regular Mmes for worship that are open to all in the community. Ac=ons to accomplish this goal: Regular worship, funerals and weddings, community non- profit funcmons, engage in necessary renovamons to the building. GROWING Objec=ve: Provide the resources, condimons and opportunimes for persons to come to know Jesus Christ and to experience his transforming love, while experimenmng with living out his teachings. Goal: We will demonstrate and pracmce ChrisMan love and support for one another. Ac=ons to accomplish this goal: Fellowship hours aner worship, joint worship services with Faith Lutheran Church, send out cards, school supplies, providing baby clothes when a new child is born, etc., biodegradable containers for food to be sent with our elderly. Safeway gin cards for the UMW shut- in winter gin bags. Objec=ve: Provide a community of faith that acmvely culmvates a desire to assist others and help those in need, based on our understanding of Christ s call to care for our neighbors and conmnue doing the things that he did. Goal: We will provide opportunimes for people to grow spiritually and to increase in their understanding of the ChrisMan faith. Ac=ons to accomplish this goal: Worship each week will feature well- planned sermons and well- executed music, Growth groups and fellowship groups will explore the Bible and other topics of interest, GOING Objec=ve: Provide a community of faith that acmvely culmvates a desire to assist others and help those in need, based on our understanding of Christ s call to care for our neighbors and conmnue doing the things that he did. Goal: We will provide for those in need in a variety of ways locally and globally. Ac=ons to accomplish this goal: support for UMCOR Health Kits, Flood Buckets, School Kits; Clothing Give- Away, CollecMon of toiletries for Wildland Firefighters; ParMcipate in Habitat for Humanity by providing lunches for workers; Help with Local Aid Christmas Baskets; Prayer Shawls. Goal: Alleviate hunger in our community. Ac=ons to accomplish this goal: Just Breakfasts, Support for Bunches of Lunches, Local Aid support; CROP Walk; Bread for the World Sunday. 1/18/2017 Gathering, Growing, Going: Ministry AcMon Plan Page 4

6 LEADERSHIP Our church has recently streamlined our leadership structure to a Single- Board structure of eleven members plus pastor. Members of the Leadership Team also serve on Ministry Teams dedicated to such tasks as Trustees, Staff- Parish RelaMons and so on. In addimon, members of the Leadership Team head up Worship, Outreach and Nurture Teams. FACILITIES AND RESOURCES BUILDING UPDATES AND RENOVATION The present building was built in the mid- 1940s, and has not had any major changes to the building since that Mme. The roof has been replaced and steeple modified, but the electrical, plumbing and basic layout have not been updated. The purpose of any renovamons and updates to the building are to ensure the safety and accessibility of all persons that are served by or serve in the ministries and events of the church. Thus, key themes guiding renovamon are accessibility, energy and space efficiency, and safety. The following lists areas to be addressed in any future renovamon projects: Accessibility ADA compliant bathrooms Explore possibility of Elevator for upstairs, or alternamve Parking in front of church, move handicap parking (won t have to if we have an accessible entry way on the west side Double doors into the parking lot or have a direct main entrance on the west side of the building with a hall directly leading to sanctuary with rooms off central hallway. Redo the parking lot to grade and ADA accessibility MeeMng spaces with white boards and space to hang coats, store materials that assist planning and communicamng, teaching Energy and Space Efficiency Modernly (electrical/plumbing) equipped kitchen & dining (fellowship) area for breakfast & other uses, up to health code standards for community uses Get up to code electrically, plumbing, Heating & a/c Energy efficiency Bring insulation up to highest standards Storage building next to church Possible additional meeting space outside of existing building? Safety Explore ways to create isolable rooms or sections in the church that could have dedicated access while keeping the rest of the church secure or separately accessed. Hospitality Interest has been expressed to explore the possibility of having showers available. These could be available if the church was to host traveling teams, or periodically hosting homeless persons. Safety concerns noted above would figure into this. 1/18/2017 Gathering, Growing, Going: Ministry AcMon Plan Page 5

7 Make one area/room a welcoming space and hospitality space where people can come relax, have conversations, coffee, read, unwind. Children s play space next to the welcome and relaxing center? BUILDING PROJECT PLAN ENGAGING ARCHITECTS AND CONTRACTORS Aner consulmng with three architectural teams, our church has established inimal agreement to work with Arbor South Architecture of Eugene to work with us in two phases of design and planning: 1. Arbor Smith will work with the Building RenovaMon Commihee to determine a priority list of improvements to the building in order to address the ministry needs defined in this Ministry AcMon Plan. They will assist us in coming up with an inimal design concept and esmmate of cost. 2. Aner the church has fulfilled the requirements of consultamon with district boards and communicamng with the local congregamon and receiving approval form Charge Conference meemngs and the district board of church locamon and building, Arbor South will complete architectural drawings and schedules for use by the contractor, which is also associated with Arbor South. They will supervise all construcmon and renovamon, and interface with city and county officials and zoning boards. BUDGET It is the intent of the Leadership Team and Trustees to umlize the funds generated from the sale of the property on 10 th Street to pay for all renovamon and building expenses. There is currently no plan nor interest in indebmng the church in order to carry out this project. Current amount available in permnent accounts: o SELCO Building Account $212, o Oregon Credit Union $215, o Trustees Building Account $ o TOTAL $428, APPROVAL PROCESS Basic steps to take towards Building RenovaMon the United Methodist Discipline of 2012, 2544: 1) Establish a study commihee: a) Analyze needs b) Project potenmal membership c) Write up Program of Ministry d) Develop Accessibility plan 2) Report is made to the Church Conference (2544.3) 3) Building Commihee elected at this Church Conference ( a, ), dumes: a) Develop preliminary architectural plans b) Secure esmmated cost c) Financial plan if needed d) Submit preliminary plan plus costs to District Board for Church LocaMon and Building (DBCLB) for preliminary approval (see next item) 4) Report is made to District Board for Church LocaMon and Building (2544.5) 5) Wrihen consent of pastor and DS. (2544.1) 1/18/2017 Gathering, Growing, Going: Ministry AcMon Plan Page 6

8 6) Approval of DBCLB. (2544.5) 7) Another Church Conference for vote and approval (2544.6): a) Preliminary architectural plans and costs b) RecommendaMons 8) Develop detailed plans, specs and est. of cost, submit yet again to Charge Conference for approval and to DBCLB. (2544.7) 9) Begin building project upon receiving all approvals. (2544.8) In summary: 1. A study commihee writes up Ministry Plan 2. Three separate Church Conferences are held 3. Two reports are submihed to DBCLB, securing approval each Mme 4. Pastor and DS have to consent to preliminary plan 1/18/2017 Gathering, Growing, Going: Ministry AcMon Plan Page 7