Long Range Plan 2023 Presented April 2018
Calvary Lutheran Church Statement of Belief We believe that Calvary Lutheran Church is a people of God, created by God in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We have been called and sent to bear witness to God s creative redeeming and sanctifying presence in the world. We gather in Christ s name as His community of faith and service. As we live in God s grace, we are empowered to love one another as God has loved us through Christ. Mission As priesthood of all believers, Calvary Lutheran Church strives to follow Jesus Great Commission to his disciples: 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 command you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20). To spread the Word of God throughout the world through preaching, teaching and the faithful witness of members lives; To administer the sacraments appropriately To gather together as a community of faith to worship and praise God To encourage the growth of fellowship among members of the community of Christ To serve the humanitarian needs of all people 2
Introduction For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 Dear Calvary Community, In this booklet, you will find the 2023 Long Range Plan Report. We believe this report will highlight many of the strengths of our congregation, while also offering some opportunities for growth and change. Calvary is a vibrant and healthy congregation. We have challenges and obstacles, but by undertaking a systematic and diligent approach, we can continue to make progress in God s work through Calvary. Historically, Calvary has had strong worship, outreach, and financial support for our ministries. As we have done for the past 24 years on a five-year cycle, the Long Range Planning Committee has worked to lead the congregation in discerning God s call for Calvary at this time. The Long Range Planning Committee consists of past Council Presidents, congregational members, selected staff, and Pastor Earl. The 2023 Long Range Planning Committee is: Kent Paulsen-chair, Sue May, Stephanie Macedo, Jay Beirsdorf, Andy Bake, Cheryl Vanderkam, Jeff Martinson, Dennis Diedrick, Mike Anderson, Randy Frailing and Pastor Earl Vorpagel, III. The Long Range Planning Committee has worked diligently since January 2017 to listen to the Congregation and look to the future. This report is the summary of our work. We conducted a congregational survey, looked at data, reviewed previous reports, and prayerfully considered the plans for Calvary s future. The committee also provided much information and resources to the call committee, highlighting the congregation s needs and desires in calling pastors. In 2013, the congregation accepted the report outlining goals for 2018. You suggested, the council listened and acted, and we are happy to report that many goals were met, including strengthening and enhancing our confirmation and youth group programs, and improving the cleaning and maintenance of our facilities. Some challenges from 2013 have improved, but we can still do better in the areas of small group Bible studies, volunteering, and Sunday School, to name a few. This report outlines a vision for the next five years. The Long Range Planning Committee s job is to form the vision for 2023, but it is the job of the Congregation through its leaders to build the road (actions) we will use to reach our vision. We are committed to support the Council, Committees, and Staff in implementing actions that will lead Calvary toward this vision and help us to be true to our mission. We hope that this plan will play an important part in leading our Congregation. Sincerely, The Long Range Planning Committee 3
Long Range Planning Committee Purpose, Structure and Duties Purpose The Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) serves as a visionary function at Calvary Lutheran Church. In cooperation and consultation with the committees of the congregation, we will identify long range objectives for the congregation. We will support the transformation of the long range visions of the congregation, both tangible and spiritual, into action plans. Structure LRPC is a non-programmatic committee consisting of a total of seven or more members. These members are the (5) immediate past Presidents of the Church Council and may have (2) members appointed annually by the Executive Committee from the congregation at large. Duties 1. Every five years, envision the Long Range Plan 2. Integrate the Long Range Plan throughout the Congregation 3. Revisit Long Range Plan Bi-Annually or as requested by the Council (whichever comes first). Long Range Planning Committee Thank You There are numerous people the Committee would like to thank. The Committee is very thankful for all of the responses received from the congregation. It was very helpful and encouraging to receive such detailed and thorough responses. It clearly shows our members care about Calvary s future. We encourage all Calvary members to continue to be involved at Calvary and be part of the various activities and actions that may come out of this Long-Range Plan. We would not have been able to obtain all of the information from the congregation and various groups without the assistance of the church staff and the committee. Kent Paulsen spent many hours drafting and compiling the actual survey which was completed by the congregation, Cheryl Vanderkam spent many hours compiling data charts, and Stephanie Macedo was instrumental in preparing this Long-Range packet. We give them special thanks for their time, commitment and effort provided to the Long-Range Planning committee. In addition, we thank the Church Council and the committees in advance for the work ahead. It is now up to them to come up with the actions and implementation of the Long-Range Plan as we look forward to 2023. 4
Congregational Survey Summary Throughout the process of the Long Range plan and survey, several key strengths of Calvary and several opportunities for improvement emerged. As a summary, we have identified six major strengths and six opportunities for improvement (in no particular order): CALVARY S GREATEST STRENGTHS: Calvary highly values worship and believes our worship services are excellent Calvary highly values confirmation and youth programming and these ministries are excellent Calvary has been blessed and highly values the strong and stable leadership of Pastor Earl for many years, and Pr. Earl is one of Calvary s greatest strengths Calvary has maintained financial stability and conservative budgets, has been proactive in capital projects, is vibrant in its facility use, and is well maintained The Church s staff are highly valued and recognized, specifically mentioned frequently in the survey were Earl, Katy, and Kent Calvary has many great ministries and programs CALVARY S GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH/ CHANCES TO GROW: A renewed vitality to Sunday School in attendance and satisfaction A strong desire for future pastor(s) to be more involved in pastoral functions than administrative functions Improved financial transparency Recruiting, training, and retaining volunteers across the many ministries Awareness of, participation in, and valuing of small groups and Bible studies More fellowship opportunities for everyone The Long Range Plan Committee further divided the strengths and opportunities to match the committee structure of our church council, with specifics for each category which is detailed in the following pages. 5
Worship and Music Worship and Music Vision: Worship is at the core of the Christian life. Worship is the most important thing we do as a church. As a general summary of worship and music, Calvary highly values worship and believes our worship services are excellent. In addition, the congregational survey found the following positive areas: High degree of overall satisfaction with our worship services Strong desire to maintain the five different worship service times and locations, and the structure of worship remaining mostly traditional There were many comments about our excellent music program, the choir and a number of comments complimenting Kent Music is an important part of worship. When new songs are introduced, the congregational respondents felt that it is beneficial to have Kent sing along The Senior Choir is invaluable! The Congregational respondents love when the Senior Choir sings and wish they would sing more often to showcase the talent and beautiful sound of the Choir The result of the recent congregational survey highlighted the following areas of opportunity: Ensure that there are adequate Communion Assistants for each service, and provide continuous training so that communion is more organized There was some significant discussion regarding the frequency of communion and the desire to have communion at every worship service. Youth engagement in worship is important. Work to continue to involve youth in worship Work to increase worship attendance at special services. Worship attendance at main 5 services has remained mostly steady, but attendance at Lenten and special services has dropped more significantly Several areas of concern were raised about the lack of decorations and color in the sanctuary 6
Education Calvary has always highly valued education and youth programming. The most recent survey showed the confirmation and youth programs received very high marks. The current youth director, Katy, received a lot of praise for the work she has done. Calvary recognizes that a healthy church must have a vital youth program. A continued area for growth would be in the Sunday school program. A significant number of people had no opinion or knowledge about Bible studies or small groups. Sunday School: There was a general sense of the Sunday school program being good, but much of the data and comments indicate a desire for more growth and some change There appeared to be less satisfaction with Sunday school from those currently involved in the program than from the congregation in general There were many comments to make Sunday school more engaging and have more activities outside of Sunday school, and there were some concerns about the rotation Sunday school program (we are no longer using this model since September 2017) There were strong suggestions for having a K-5 youth leader Consistent attendance for Sunday school continues to be a concern. Sunday school attendance has been shown to have an influence on worship attendance Confirmation: There were many positive comments about the confirmation program and praise for the work Katy has done with the confirmation program There were a number of comments where people thought it was a positive change to have confirmation on Sunday morning instead of Wednesday evening There was some question if the shorter confirmation program year affects Sunday school attendance Youth Programs: Many members of Calvary highly value the importance of a strong youth program There were some recommendations to hire a youth director for K-5 activities Some concern was expressed regarding the youth group having to spend too much time fundraising and the church should financially support more of the youth group events Need more activities for younger children/sunday school age group to allow them more opportunities to build relationships Comments recognized that a vital youth program leads to a healthy church There were many positive comments about the youth program and praise for the work Katy has done 7
Adult Education: A significant number of people had no opinion or knowledge about Calvary College, bible studies or small groups Several people commented that they wanted more pastoral leadership of Bible studies There was a request for a Bible study designed for parents of school-aged children to connect with other faith-based parents Genesis: There were a number of positive comments for Genesis, although a majority of people had no comment or no opinion about Genesis Genesis program may lead to new members for Calvary It is a well-liked program for those involved, but the numbers are declining Genesis has value as long as it does not become a financial burden to Calvary Vision: Calvary needs to continue supporting its youth programming and maintain its strong position Review staffing for K-8 youth activities and consider more opportunities for that age group Review Sunday school program and research ways to engage Sunday school children and increase attendance Maintain strong confirmation program but continue to strive for improvements and meaningful ways to engage confirmation students Communicate adult education opportunities and seek ways to involve more members Work with membership and evangelism committee to promote, encourage, develop etc. small groups and Bible studies both as a means of Christian growth and fellowship 8
Membership and Evangelism In addition to providing spiritual nourishment, the church is also called to provide opportunities for fellowship and to ensure the House of God is welcoming for all who enter. Following the recommendations of the Long Range planning committee in 2013, the membership and evangelism committee adopted the mission statement above. The focus of the membership and evangelism committee has been committed to finding ways to engage the congregation and, when possible, the greater community in fellowship. The congregational survey found the following areas to have shown improvement since our last report: An overwhelming majority (96%) feel welcomed and a part of the community at Calvary Many new activities have been offered for families, including movie nights, trunk and treat, hayrides and family Christmas ornament tree. 75% of the respondents have participated in one or more of these activities Congregational respondents were clear in that, given the right event, there would be support for fellowship events 87% of the respondents feel Calvary values small groups, fellowship, discipleship and community events and provides high quality programs in these areas The result of the recent congregational survey highlighted the following areas of opportunity: Find ways to engage parents of children involved in Sunday school and confirmation. Comments included Bible studies, small group parenting activities, and general social small groups Work on outreach into the community to potentially attract new members (70% of respondents are looking for this) Find ways to make current members as well as visitors more welcome at Calvary (85% of respondents are looking for this) Capitalize on the excitement and growth in the youth programming to get more people involved in cross-generational activities Work with education committee to promote, encourage, develop etc. small groups and Bible studies both as a means of Christian growth and fellowship As the youth group continues to grow, one of the goals of membership and evangelism will be to incorporate the parents of the youth into Calvary activities. Also, keeping the youth active in church activities as they become adults will be paramount to the future of Calvary. 9
Property and Finance Property and Finance are key parts of the working of our congregation. Most of this work takes place behind the scenes, but is invaluable to helping steer Calvary on the right course. As a general summary of property and finance, Calvary does quite well, but there are a few areas for improvement. Most members believe their contributions are well used and they trust the church on financial matters. The responses regarding the physical property of Calvary Lutheran Church mostly stated that the church buildings are generally in good condition. Many said that our church is kept clean and that our custodial staff is a good addition. Responses regarding the Grumpies stated that we are extremely lucky to have them and that they do a terrific job maintaining the buildings and grounds. Many respondents felt that the Lounge needed some updating. Also it was felt that the Ridge Road entrance should be spruced up, as this is the most visible public area and is seen from the road as people drive past. In addition, the congregational survey found the following positive areas: Much support for the way capital projects have had advanced planning both in funding and implementation Calvary has maintained financial stability and conservative budgets, has been proactive in capital projects, and there is strong support for Calvary s financial management Our facilities are used regularly and are well maintained, and there was much praise for the improvement in cleanliness Many comments regarding how fortunate we are to have the Grumpies and how much money we save with their efforts The result of the recent congregational survey highlighted the following areas of opportunity: Improved Financial transparency: there is a significant gap between ages. Calvary s younger demographic feels less confident in Calvary s use of their resources than the older respondents Concern that we are not up to date technologically with financial record-keeping Concern that pastor finances are not transparent-desire to see more clearly Several comments about updating lounge (furniture), improving Sanctuary decorations (banners, ribbons etc.) and some concern about appearance of the church from Ridge Road Budget re-evaluated to have less fundraising burden on youth missions and youth programming More committee and congregational input into budget process Vision: The Property and Finance Committees will continue the excellent work they are doing, while aiming to improve areas of concern and financial transparency. 10
Stewardship and Service Vision: Stewardship and service are key parts of a Christian s life. Stewardship and service (volunteering) are the people of Calvary doing God s work with their own hands. Supporting the church financially and serving others are not optional, but are an essential part of the work of Calvary both in our community and throughout the world. God calls us to a life of service and sacrifice. As a general summary of stewardship and service, Calvary does quite well, but there are many areas for improvement. Most members believe their contributions are well used and they trust the church on financial matters. In addition, the congregational survey found the following positive areas: Much support for the way capital projects have had advanced planning both in funding and implementation 90.26% of respondents agree or strongly agree that Calvary has many opportunities to volunteer and serve, and does a good job of communicating about these opportunities Members appreciate that Calvary is not often talking about money or asking for money So many of our wonderful volunteers put in countless hours supporting all of the different ministries Calvary has a great number of ministries and programs The result of the recent congregational survey highlighted the following areas of opportunity: Recruiting, training, and retaining of volunteers in service across the many ministries. In response to this, the Celebration of Service event was instituted and the Service in Ministry brochure (Volunteer recruitment) form and process were significantly improved From survey responses we have a two-pronged challenge with volunteering: 1) people claim to be too busy or not know about the opportunities, and 2) people sign up and aren t called, or go and don t feel welcomed or accepted Quite a discrepancy among support for mission partners--some say we give to too much to groups, and some don t know what the mission partners do or why we should be giving to them. For example, the largest amount of benevolent dollars goes to the Synod, but they received the lowest score on how members view what ministries are most important More effort should be made to educate about role of different mission partners Recipients of our financial partnerships should share their experiences with us Some of the concerns regarding volunteerism: failure to call after indicating an interest to volunteer, not feeling welcomed at some of the ministries, failure to incorporate new people and make them feel welcome and appreciated, people fill out the volunteer forms but then do not receive calls to help. Vision: The Stewardship committee will continue the strength of its approach, while seeking to improve the recruitment, coordination, and communication with volunteers. 11
Demographic Summaries 1. Total membership by year: 2013: 2034 2014: 2080 2015: 2012 2016: 1993 2017: 2021 (less than 1% fewer members than 5 years ago) Calvary s membership by type, as of 12/ 31/17 was: Baptized 1997. Confirmed - 1606 2. Total worship attendance by year: 2013: 22,752 2014: 22,255 2015: 21,855 2016: 21,096 2017: 20,662 Does not include: special services such as Easter, Christmas etc 3. Total offerings by year: 2013: $654,736.34 2014: $631,649.17 2015: $728,481.18 2016: $489,716.18 2017: $695,307.27 The total amount of Pledged offerings as of December 31, 2017 was: $375,472.09 The total amount of Unpledged offerings as of December 31, 2017 was: $319,835.18 During 2017, the Long-Range Planning Committee of Calvary Lutheran Church sent out a survey to the congregation. The following data was collected from the Congregational Survey. There were 177 responses (approximately 13% of the membership) 12
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GENERAL SUMMARY DATA FOR CALVARY 15
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ADDITIONAL SURVEY DATA: WORSHIP AND MUSIC Question #8: Calvary has high quality worship which draws people to Calvary and keeps current members coming back Strongly Agree/ Agree 86.14% Question #15: When I leave church after a worship service, I feel my relationship with God has been strengthened Strongly Agree/ Agree 90.31% Question #16: The music (liturgy, hymns, songs etc.) during the worship service I attend enhances the worship experience Strongly Agree/ Agree 94.01% Question #17: Calvary does a good job of explaining the importance of baptism Strongly Agree/ Agree 87.43% Question #18: Calvary does a good job of explaining the importance of Holy Communion Strongly Agree/ Agree 84.43% Question #21: Pastoral leadership over the years at Calvary has been of high quality Strongly Agree/ Agree 89.44% ADDITIONAL SURVEY DATA: MEMBERSHIP AND EVANGELISM Question #35: I feel welcomed and part of the community at Calvary Strongly Agree/ Agree 95.52% Question #36: Calvary values small groups, fellowship, discipleship, and community events, and has high quality programs in these areas Strongly Agree/ Agree 86.37% 17
ADDITIONAL SURVEY DATA: EDUCATION AND YOUTH Question #25: Calvary values Sunday School, Confirmation, and youth programs, and has high quality programs in these areas Strongly Agree/ Agree 94.87% Question #28: Calvary s Sunday School does a good job teaching about God and faith Strongly Agree/ Agree 80.00% Question #29: Our Confirmation program does a good job equipping young people to grow in their Christian faith Strongly Agree/ Agree 86.76% Question #30: Our youth programs do a good job equipping young people to grow in their faith and build fellowship among youth Strongly Agree/ Agree 88.82% Question #31: Calvary College does a good job of teaching about the Bible and relevant Christian issues, helps members to grow in their faith, and is an important part of Calvary s ministry Strongly Agree/ Agree 55.92% No opinion 43.42% Question #32: Our Adult Bible studies do a good job of teaching about God, the Bible, and faith Strongly Agree/ Agree 46.05% No opinion 53.92% Question #33: Genesis Christian preschool is an important part of Calvary s ministry Strongly Agree/ Agree 68.83% No opinon 30.52% 18
ADDITIONAL SURVEY DATA: FINANCE and PROPERTY/ STEWARDSHIP and SERVICE (VOLUNTEERING) Question #42: Calvary has many opportunities to volunteer and serve, and does a good job of communicating about opportunities to serve the church and/or community Strongly Agree/ Agree 90.26% Question #43: Calvary is a financially healthy and transparent congregation, and financial resources are well managed Strongly Agree/ Agree 87.02% Question #44: I believe my contributions to the church are used well to support appropriate ministries Strongly Agree/ Agree 92.21% Question #47: Our building and facilities are well kept and maintend Strongly Agree/ Agree 94.74% Question #45: Calvary finanically partners with the following groups and organizations. For each one, please indicate how important to you this partner is to the ministry of Calvary (choices were: Very important, Somewhat important, No strong opinon, Not very important, and not at all important Very important: NEW Community Shelter 54.73% Woodside Lutheran Homes 54.42% Golden House 51.70% St. John s Homeless Shelter 48.99% Freedom House 48.30% Ecumenical Partnership for Housing 47.26% Lutheran Social Services 44.26% Seminaries 41.67% Simply Smiles 37.41% Crossways Camping Ministries 35.92% NEW Curative Workshop 33.33% Missionary Support (Erik Roth) 29.33% Synod (ELCA) 28.28% 19
5 Year Averages by Worship Services (Percent of change) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 5 year change Thursday 28 27(4%) 27(NC) 30(11%) 25(17%) (11%) Saturday 31 37(19%) 31(16%) 26(16%) 26(NC) (16%) 7:15 51 49(4%) 47(4%) 47(NC) 47(NC) (8%) 8:15 181 174(4%) 173(NC) 169(2%) 169(NC) (7%) 10:30 172 161(6%) 161(NC) 155(4%) 155(NC) (10%) Observations: There was not a significant change in any of the services in the 5-year period of time. The percentages of the smaller services (Thursday, Saturday and 7:15) were affected more by only a change of a few people. Red is a decrease, blue is an increase, and NC means no change or a change less than 1%. I rounded the yearly averages to the nearest whole number in this table. 5 year Average: observations (2012-2016) Thursday Saturday 7:15 8:15 10:30 5-year Average 27.24 30.19 47.95 172.99 161.31 Jan May 24.92 33.40 45.33 180.63 183.55 June Aug 28.40 23.05 46.20 134.02 120.12 Sept Dec 29.43 31.14 48.90 194.38 166.60 Packer Home Sunday 22.36 33.30 38.78 189.96 125.53 Red lower than 5-year average Black basically the same as the 5-year average (less than 5% change in either direction) Blue above the 5-year average 20
Special Services total attendance (Percent of Change from previous year) 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Ash Wednesday 401 317 (21%) 258 (19%) 256 (NC) 140 (45%) Lent (5 week average) 226 161 (29%) 150 (7%) 148 (NC) 123 (17%) Easter (includes sunrise) 1108 1214 (10%) 1072 (12%) 988 (8%) 1016 (3%) Christmas * 1600 1482 (7%) 1576 (6%) 1294** 1482 Includes Traveler s Christmas, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day Special Services Observations **2016 only had 4 services because of a home Packer game that day. The service times were also adjusted. In 2012 there was a blizzard on the night of the Traveler s service. In 2016 the Thursday Traveler s service was one of the Christmas Eve services, due to the Packer game. 21
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