Introduction: Ingomar Church Our Plan and Vision for Making and Being Disciples of Christ April 2012 Why does the church exist? According to Matthew s Gospel, the risen Christ made it clear: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20) Based on this Great Commission, our United Methodist Church has stated its purpose: The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs Our Mission: Our Mission states the reason that we exist. (From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2008) To reach people with the good news of Jesus and together become fully devoted followers of Christ. Our Vision: Our Vision states what we believe God is calling our church to be. We believe that God is calling our church to make lives better and transform the world by valuing each person and guiding them to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Our process has included opening our hearts and minds to what God has in store for us. Through prayer, scripture and discussion we are seeking his will. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 Page 1 of 8
Our Five Practices: The people of Ingomar Church believe we can achieve all that God has in store for us by perfecting five practices (based upon Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase). We embrace all five of these practices and strive toward the following. Strategy 1: Radical Hospitality to unapologetically invite, welcome and care for those who are friends, acquaintances and strangers to enthusiastically welcome and engage each person in unexpected and personal ways to make every individual feel important to God and important to our church by accepting, listening, helping, involving, loving, supporting, and encouraging them to providing each person with a sense of comfort and belonging Strategy 2: Passionate Worship to actively and personally engage in worship experiences that honor God, refresh our spirits, provoke change and transform our lives to provide excellent, profound and intimate worship services in various styles that enable each person to connect with God and with others to support and nourish all other ministries of the church through the vision, direction and encouragement experienced in worship Strategy 3: Intentional Faith Development to encourage and foster lifelong spiritual growth through small group and personal study experiences to be fully-devoted followers of Jesus who learn in community to allow the Spirit to perfect us in the practice of love Strategy 4: Risk-taking Mission and Service to make the world a better place through the active and personal engagement of every person in the church to serve willingly and eagerly to put the love of God into practice through bold demonstrations of service that stretch us and transform the lives of others Strategy 5: Extravagant Generosity to give freely, joyfully and faithfully in response to God's love for us and as an expression of our love for God to honor God by returning to him ever-increasing proportions of our time, talents and wealth, with a goal toward tithing and beyond; to give extravagantly so that we may empower the dynamic vision of our church and promote the kingdom of God for future generations Page 2 of 8
Our Strengths Existing congregation it s size, collective membership talents, diversity of thoughts and backgrounds, energy Welcoming practices already strong in greeting people, have some processes in place for providing a welcoming environment, name tags, greeters at doors, smiling faces Christian education Small groups, Disciple Classes, Confirmation, Sunday School, people who are spiritually mature and can mentor others Worship contemporary worship, variety of styles and times, great preaching, music, drama Missions something for everyone local, national, international; ways to contribute, be active, make a difference Youth Programs Pre-school; Sunday School; Family Ministry; middle school and senior high youth programs; confirmation class; retreats; Campus & Community our buildings and their multiple uses; Day care and Preschool; being on a visible road in an active community Strong giving $1.1 million in operating donations for 2011 Enthusiasm people excited to be who God is calling them to be as individuals and as a church Our Areas to Build Upon Connection & Fellowship: More opportunities to connect and interact with others between worship services and outside of services Communication: strategic and tactical; among leaders, from leaders to congregation, from congregation outward; (web presence, signage, who s who, social media) Outreach: reaching out to non-congregation, preschool parents, elderly, friends; move beyond charging our own batteries to charging others Active Involvement: connect people to volunteer, mission and ministry opportunities get more people involved; keeping confirmation families involved Taking risks: move out of our comfort zones, try new things Page 3 of 8
Initial Focus of Our Reach: Upon identifying our strengths and areas to build upon, we explored the groups of people on which to focus. Two key groups of people emerged that hold the most potential for our church to grow disciples of Christ and to sustain a thriving and active church. These groups are a starting point. We focus our initial efforts in order to make the most of our resources (people, time, facilities, dollars). No one will be excluded. Every person will be valued. Our entire church can be involved, empowered and equipped to work together toward being the church God is calling us to be. We believe we have the most potential to grow Disciples of Christ and sustain a thriving and active church by first concentrating on these groups: People who are touched by the church but are not actively engaged People who are partially engaged, but are open to higher levels of engagement A few examples include: ICEC/preschool students and their families as well as teachers Current Confirmation Class members -- students and adults New church members People who attend regularly, but are not yet members or are not yet involved in other groups Past confirmands, College students 18-32 year-olds Youth and their families Easter and Christmas worshippers People who attend small groups but not worship Page 4 of 8
Our Future: Five Practices Strengths People Areas to Build & People to Reach The path to our future starts with our specific vision for each of the Five Practices. As the graphic above illustrates, these practices should encompass everything we do. Taking into account our strengths and the people our church can encounter, we develop action plans that focus our efforts where they are likely to have the most impact. Action Plans: Action Team Facilitators have been assigned to each of the Five Practices. Action Team Facilitators are charged drafting plans for review by Lay and Staff Leaders, so that all parts of the plan can be coordinated and working together. Each Action Team has at least two facilitators: one member of the church s Lay Leadership (selected from Leadership Council or other committees or ministries) and one staff member (appointed by the senior pastor.) Each facilitator is to assemble action teams and provide a liaison between the members of the team and the church staff and lay leadership. Each Action Team (representing one of the Five Strategies) has defined three objectives and at least three action steps for the year toward reaching those objectives. Teams will execute the steps by recruiting people to be involved. All people will be encouraged to be involved in as many ways as possible. Action Team Facilitators will report progress monthly to Leadership Council. As the year unfolds and new actions are proposed, Action Team Facilitators will review these and present them to Leadership Council and the Senior Pastor to assure cohesive adherence to the plan. Page 5 of 8
Anticipated outcomes: Although we feel it is important to anticipate the impact of our actions, we also agree that the church is more than just a set of numerical goals. In anticipating our progress over the next few years, we don t want to minimize or limit the far broader mission of the church in the world. As we articulate the broad aspirations of our church the five practices are our guiding principles in all that we do. While some outcomes cannot be foreseen, we anticipate the following to occur if all five practices are successfully executed. Average attendance at worship services will double within two years (to average total of 1100 weekly attendees). Small Group participation will equal 100% of weekly worship attendance. All people who regularly attend worship services will engage in two service projects or ministry areas within Ingomar Church and two mission projects (locally, nationally, or abroad) each year. The number of people practicing self-reported proportional giving and tithing will increase, with 80% of the congregation reporting that they are practicing proportional giving and/or tithing. Our prayer is that as we devote ourselves to perfecting these practices, God will continue to grow our church. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 Page 6 of 8
The Process: Since August 2011, our church leadership and staff, with input from three congregational meetings, have gone through a process of planning and visioning our future. The three major phases and inputs to each phase are defined below. Clarity Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations Mission of the Church Defining Strategies Focus Strengths Areas to Build Upon Today s Congregation Potential Congregation Unity Agreeing to Goals Fine tuning Mission and Vision Aligning Actions Clarity: We may not be able to see exactly where we are going, but a clear and common vision of where we are today and where we could be will enable us to all work together toward whatever God may have in store for us. Inputs to Clarity: July-September, 2011 Review of previous (2009) Ingomar Church Strategic Plan Review of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, by Robert Schnase. (12-week Summer Sermon Series; All members of leadership committees given own book and asked to read.) Meetings with Church Leadership and Staff to discuss the Five Practices, Draft a Mission of the Church and a Vision for the future. Writing specific definitions for the future of Ingomar church in each of the Five Practices. Review& feedback on all of the above by members of church leadership. Focus: We have limited resources (time, people, money, facilities). If we focus the use of these, we can achieve greater things than if we scatter them. Inputs to Focus: September-November, 2011 Meetings with Staff and Leadership on Ingomar s Strengths, Unique Factors and Areas to Build Upon All-Church Meeting and Workshop (September 29) on Strengths, Unique Factors and Areas to Build Upon Meeting with Staff and Leadership (November 12) on Congregation of Today and Potential Congregation for Tomorrow All-Church Meeting and Workshop (November 29) to review the outcomes of November 12 and add to the discussion Page 7 of 8
Unity: If we align our activities, connecting all things together, we become a body that is greater than the sum of its parts. Inputs to Unity: January-April, 2012 Draft Plan reviewed by Leadership Council January 23. Leadership Council and Staff facilitators meeting January 30 to finalize next steps. Church-wide Meeting and Workshop (February 27) Team Leaders get input on action plans and objectives for 2012 Pastors and Leadership meet with facilitators to finalize objectives and overall actions Facilitators begin to recruit action teams and implement plans, March 2012 Church-wide Vision Day launches plan, communicates the future directions, invites every individual to be involved. Action Plans to be reviewed and updated monthly. Throughout this entire process, we have been praying and reading scripture and seeking God s direction. We use our intellect and reason to try to pull inspiration and ideas into cohesive actions. But the most important thing that we must do is seek God s direction. This is His plan; we are merely the instruments for executing it. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29: 11-13 (NIV) Page 8 of 8