Choosing Initiatives for Our Vision

By Kari Slotten
Project Manager: Vision Implementation

For the last several months, members of staff, council, and leadership teams have been expanding upon our vision of "Welcome, Transform, Send" by developing a revised mission statement with corresponding initiatives. Below is an update on this progress. You will have an opportunity to give your feedback at one of three upcoming Congregation Dialogues: Saturday, March 7 at 5:00 pm in the Atrium and
Sunday, March 8 at 11:00 am or 12:00 pm in the Chapel.

I’d especially like to hear your feedback on proposed initiatives by March 15, 2015. Council will vote on these at its March 19 meeting. You can contact me at (952) 985-7356 or kari.slotten@sotv.org. 

In February, Council approved our updated Vision and Mission. The Vision is aspirational, and reads as follows:

VISION:  We invite all people to experience the Welcome, Transformation, and Sending of Jesus Christ.

Welcome: We invite people in all stages of their faith journey to experience Jesus through our ministries in Christian community.
Transform: We are changed as we experience Jesus through our relationships and ministries.
Send: We are inspired to apply our faith daily by loving others and sharing the Good News of Jesus.

We will also have revolving focus years of “welcome, transform, and send,” when each component in turn receives special emphasis and targeted initiatives.

The Mission highlights why we exist, and will help us choose initiatives as we live into our Vision.  Our Mission reads as follows:

MISSION:  In community, we discover, grow, and live into our individual relationships with Jesus Christ.  Four core ministries support faith formation:

Worship: We praise God, and are spiritually fed, through God’s Word, music, prayer, and sacraments.   
Learn: We grow our Biblical knowledge, enrich our understanding, and apply our faith to daily life.
Connect: We develop and strengthen relationships in our congregation, local community, and global community through invitation and service.
Care: We offer compassion, companionship, and faith affirmation throughout life’s journey.

These statements come through congregational surveys and discussions, and many discussions with Council, Staff, and Leadership Teams.

Now, the goal is to choose initiatives.  

These are ways to focus our efforts within each area of our Mission, so that we’re working toward common goals.  After discussion with Staff, Council, and Leadership Teams, we’ve drafted some initiatives to share with you.

Recommended WORSHIP initiatives focus on growing worship:

• Explore new ways to promote worship and SOTV, especially Saturday
• Explore new ways to make worship more engaging to all ages

Recommended LEARN initiatives focus on creating goals and identifying gaps:

• Develop goals and strategies for cradle to grave learning
• Offer a variety of experiences to learn in different ways
• Examine Children, Youth, and Family programs and structure
• Identify and address perceived gaps
• Offer progressive courses

Recommended CONNECT initiatives focus on relationships: note this is a new pastoral role, and is under development.

• Within the congregation:
  • Evaluate current fellowship offerings, and explore opportunities to use them for reaching out to the community too
  • Explore ways to foster connections and relationships around SOTV, centering on “invitation” and “service”

• Within our community:
  • Work with civic, non-profit, and business leaders to better understand unmet needs in our surrounding area
  • Identify and strengthen partnership opportunities

Recommended CARE initiatives focus on promoting our offerings:

• Increase awareness and utilization (as needed) of care and support offerings
• Prayer chain
• Care available from lay leaders, parish nurses, and pastors
• Support groups
• Develop intentional connection to Worship, Learn, and Connect

Several initiatives that impact all areas are already in some form of development:

• Website – Especially important in connecting with visitors, and regulars wanting to register for events and classes. Website, database, and social media initiatives fall under the Engagement Team.
• Database – Consistent information that can be accessed by all staff as appropriate is important. Seeking improvement in maintaining current information and interests, promoting events in relevant ways, fostering connection and caring, facilitate volunteer registrations, among other things. The Engagement Team has recently begun work on assessing our database needs.
• Membership – Would like to explore rationale for membership, and promote ways that commitment (through membership or otherwise) can deepen faith and foster connection. Focus on responsibilities (like partners) vs. expectations (like membership). Consider task force, sermon series, etc.
• Simplifying communications and processes – Emphasize visitor-friendly resources, simpler bulletin/newsletter handout, common information for staff and volunteers to guide others, opportunities for cross-promoting worship and programs

What do you think about these initiatives?  Would you like more information?  Does something sound exciting and you’d like to get involved?  You can contact me at (952) 985-7356 or kari.slotten@sotv.org.