OUR STRATEGIC PLAN The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We make disciples and transform the world by gratefully worshiping God, joyfully learning discipleship, gracefully loving one another, and faithfully serving the world, all under the guidance and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Gratefully Worshipping God (Worship) Goal Statement: We are a community that experiences spiritual growth and relationship with God and share it with others. Priority: Through worship we find and discern our roles as Disciples of Christ Jesus. We believe that worship is the primary place of connection for most persons in the church community and is thus the most likely place for people to become disciples and remain connected to a life of discipleship. Worship attendance will be tracked and a goal of increasing worship attendance by 7% annually will be established from now (June 2015) through June 2020. Persons on the membership roster will be encouraged to be present in worship and will be contacted when absent for more than 3 consecutive weeks. We ve missed you in church. Your presence is important. Persons unable to worship due to health limitations will be regularly visited by pastors and lay visitation volunteers. If you can t come to church, we can bring church to you. We believe our worship experiences should provide many opportunities for participatory leadership within the church family. There will be a worship ministry team established that will include among its responsibilities the action items below: o Develop an inventory of current worship volunteers by September 2015 and seek to double the number of volunteers by September 2017. (Worship volunteers include liturgists and lay worship leaders, ushers, greeters, acolytes, musicians, choir members, altar guild members, and communion servers.) o Youth and Young Adult worship volunteers will be used at least once a month (in each service) as liturgists. Families will be used at least once a month as ushers or greeters. o Lay volunteers will be recruited to do highlight announcements of ministry and fellowship opportunities on at least 12 Sundays each year. o Lay volunteers will lead children s moments at least 8 times annually. o Opportunities for personal witness and testimony from lay persons involved in church and community ministries will be provided as part of our Offering time at least monthly. o Worship services will be developed on a regular basis to celebrate the various ministries of the church (i.e., Stephen Ministry Sunday, Youth Sunday, Children s Sabbath, Various Mission Sundays, Scout Sunday, UMW Sunday, etc.) The schedule of such special Sundays will be developed by the pastoral leadership of the church. o There will be Ask the Pastor Sundays on a regular basis (4-6 times) throughout the calendar year. There will be alternative worship and spiritual formation experiences provided throughout the year in addition to the two principal worship services, especially during the seasons of Advent (4 weeks) and Lent (6 weeks). Services might include prayer services, hymn services, services commemorating special days, causes, or needs. There will be at least 12 alternative worship services annually beginning in 2016. The church will establish a weekly prayer service, beginning in 2017. The church will launch a new worship experience in an off-site location with a targeted congregation sometime before 2020.
Gracefully Loving One Another (Love) Goal Statement: As God s diverse family, we are a welcoming sanctuary of love, acceptance and compassion for all. Priority: Provide opportunities for people to be engaged with the church and build relationships with fellow disciples. We believe that strong relationships are second only to worship in terms of importance in helping people become disciples and continue in a path of discipleship. A Discipleship Ministry Team will be created no later than July 2015 to assist the staff in giving leadership to small group ministries. The church will communicate the expectation to the church family that all persons should be connected to the church through at least one small group, in addition to regular worship participation. Small Groups will be established for fellowship (affinity groups), study (see further information under the Learn section of this document), service (within the church), mission (service beyond the church), and spiritual formation. It is recognized that these major categories will always have significant overlap. There will be both long-term and short-term small groups continually in development with a goal of 2 long-term groups and 6-8 short-term groups launched annually. At least half of these groups will be focused on youth, young adults, or families. A list of existing small groups and participants will be established. The church database will be used to track participation and identify persons who are not participating regularly in any small group. Persons not currently participating will be regularly invited to join existing and new small group ministries. Total participation in small group ministries will grow by 10% annually with the goal of 100% participation. Small group leaders will be regularly contacted by pastoral leaders for support and small group leaders will be encouraged to regularly participate in training and team building experiences. (The above implementation and revitalization of small group ministries at First Church will begin immediately and will be fully implemented by September 2016.) The church needs opportunities to come together as a faith community with all church events at times other than worship. There will be at least 4 all church events (5 th Sunday potlucks, concerts, talent shows, mission fairs, retreats, Church is a Verb rallies, marches, etc.) in 2017 growing to 10 such events by 2020. A Congregational Life Ministry Team will be established no later than July 2016 to design and promote the above objective. The church recognizes that Pastoral Care is an important need for many in the congregation, especially as people age. There will be a regular program of pastoral visitation established. Homebound persons will be visited regularly by both pastors and lay visitors. A Homebound Communion delivery program will be established as part of the regular visitation ministry of the church by June 2016. Hospital visits will be conducted regularly by lay volunteers and clergy. The ministry of Stephen Ministry will be promoted and strengthened. We will grow the number of trained and active Stephen Ministers by 10-15% annually and will provide funding for training of Stephen Leaders. Support groups and short-term classes will be established for those who are grieving in 2016. Additional support groups may be established for other need demographics (grandparents raising grandkids, divorced persons, Compassionate Friends, Christian Twelve Step groups, etc.)
Joyfully Learning Discipleship (Learn) Goal Statement: We are a community that discovers God at work in our own lives and in the world and helps disciples lives out God s purpose for us. Priority: Learn about ourselves and each other to help draw out our talents and inspire each other We believe that the faith journey is a lifelong process of discovering God in our midst and that all disciples of Jesus Christ should be actively learning and growing in their faith and knowledge. We also believe that we are each called to use our God-given gifts and talents to help strengthen our church, community, and world. In order to better connect disciples with specific ministries we will: Conduct a comprehensive all church survey (or surveys) by September 2016 to determine: 1) individual skills and talents and willingness to share, 2) interest in and willingness to serve and share in existing programs and ministry tasks/areas, and 3) interest areas for study and training opportunities. Use the church computer database to manage the survey information acquired. Recognizing that classes for learning are a significant component of an effective small group discipleship ministry program, we will: Establish a repeatable but attainable curriculum for belonging to First Church and the United Methodist Church by January 2016 (Confirmation for Grownups). Existing members will be encouraged to repeat the curriculum as a refresher course. Newcomers will be expected to complete the curriculum prior to joining the church as members. This course will be offered quarterly at varying times and days. By December 2020, 75% of members should have completed this basic course. Establish a core curriculum of repeatable classes for more advanced learning about 1) the Bible, 2) Christian Belief (including classes on basic theological positions and the sacraments), and 3) Christian Spiritual Practices (prayer, justice issues, worship, etc.). The framework for this program should be in place by September 2016. Establish First Olympia UMC as a center for arts in the community o Start a Sanctuary Concert Series by 2016 o Establish a new expression of the historic Arts Alive program by 2017 o Create an After School Arts program for youth and children by 2018 Encourage congregational participation in programs of spiritual formation, including Emmaus Walks, 5 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation, 2 Year Academy for Spiritual Formation, Renovaré, annual conference sponsored and endorsed trainings and events, etc. Recognizing that leaders in the church must be nurtured, we will establish a program for training new church leaders at every level: Expand the work of the lay leadership committee to be an ongoing ministry for nurturing leadership. Create job descriptions for all church leadership positions. Establish mentor/intern relationships where appropriate to provide for smooth leadership transitions. Pastors will actively identify persons who seem especially suited to ministry as a vocation and will seek to develop within persons a sense of call and nurture persons into various forms of representative ministry.
Faithfully Serving the World (Serve) Goal Statement: We extend God s work in the world through service and mission to others. Priority: Balance engaging the maximum number of individuals in the congregation with maximizing the greatest transformation of the world in the ministry and mission of the church. Our mission statement clearly tells us that we make disciples for the purpose of transforming the world; therefore we believe that the faith journey should include opportunities for service in the world, beyond the local church, that glorifies God by making the world a better place. Our church has a long history of excellence in mission ministry that we wish to preserve by clarifying our focus and relevancy for the present and future. To accomplish this we will: Continue to provide an annual opportunity for participation in an adult mission trip. Alternate local/regional projects with out of area projects. Projects shall have an identifiable, determinative Christian presence. Continue to provide an annual opportunity for a summer youth mission trip. Provide an out of area youth experience once every four years. Projects shall have an identifiable, determinative Christian presence. Continue to sponsor two covenant missionaries through the United Methodist Church but increase congregational awareness of this ministry through regular publicity, site visits, etc. Regularly participate in annual conference and district mission activities. Evaluate the numerous current local mission projects of the missions committee, UMW, and other church groups and annually select no more than 12 projects for all-church promotion in order to avoid mission-burnout and compassion-fatigue. Support full payment of conference apportionments as an act of mission. Participate in United Methodist Special Day offerings. Recognizing that service ministries sometimes do not address root causes of injustice and suffering, we will provide opportunities for social justice advocacy within the congregation. Partner with Faith Action Network, Church World Service, Bread for the World, and similar organizations to promote justice advocacy and actions as part of our congregational mission program. Establish stronger connections with area advocacy groups and provide assistance in the form of meeting space, event recruitment, membership drives, etc. Host an advocacy day one Sunday a year and invite area and regional advocacy groups to be present and celebrated on site. Thoughtfully Guiding (Organize) Goal Statement: We will organize for efficient and effective ministry. Priority: Provide congregational infrastructure and resources to enable and empower the ministry of every disciple. On an annual basis, the church council will evaluate the existing organizational structure, facilities, staffing model, financial health, and vision of the church community. The council will provide an effective communication plan that supports the full mission and ministry of the church.