CROSS AND CROWN LUTHERAN CHURCH
LONG RANGE PLAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. DEFINITIONS
III. CURRENT SITUATION
V. CORE VALUES
VI. MINISTRIES
VII. TARGET MINISTRIES and STRATEGIES
VIII. BARRIERS
IX. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Committee Information Sources
2. Implementation and Administration Process
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The author of the book of Proverbs understood the need for direction. Throughout biblical history, the people of God have deliberated, reflected and prayed about their future as a community. They asked God for guidance in new ventures and wisdom to confront challenging times. Moses, David, Solomon, Peter, and Paul all took time to “wait upon the Lord” for direction. Jesus spent hours praying about his ministry and the task he was called to do.
Since the mid 1970’s Cross and Crown has occasionally put a group together to look at the long term needs of the congregation. This visioning group assessed the current climate and ministry of the congregation, and looked ahead to see what new ministry opportunities God might bring to the church. Out of this group have come suggestions for ministry programs, facility improvements, and staff additions .
In May 2002, the Church Council re-formed the long range planning committee with the assignment to evaluate and propose longer range directions for the church to develop mission, and include the effect on the facility, church resources, priorities and schedules. The committee was also tasked to suggest changes in management strategies.
The committee has met roughly every two weeks since to educate themselves on the process of long range planning, to amass the information and data available since the 1996 report (See the appendix for a listing of information sources used by the committee), and to publish the findings and recommendations of the committee back to the Council as mandated.
The committee used a combination of process tools to fashion this long-range plan, including brainstorming, The ABC’s of Natural Church Development, and The Rolling Model of Strategic Mapping. Prayer, patience, and efforts toward discernment have been the mainstays of the committee.
We recommend to the Council that portions of Bill Easum’s The Rolling Model of Strategic Mapping be used for the implementation and administration of this plan. Refer to the appendix for details of this process.
We further recommend that the long range plan for Cross & Crown Lutheran Church should be updated yearly or as needed, and the committee should meet every six months to evaluate church progress and the need to update the document.
Because words mean different things to different people and many of the resources we used had different definitions for the same words, the committee’s understanding of key words in this document are listed as follows:
MISSION STATEMENT:
Very high-level statements about the purpose of the congregation.
CORE VALUES:
MINISTRIES:
TARGET MINISTRIES:
The major ministry thrusts we will do in the next 3-5 years that uplift our core values and help us advance to our mission statement.
STRATEGIES:
The set of activities, projects and programs we must commit to today to ensure our Target Ministries are accomplished.
TACTICS:
Specific focused activities with timelines, action items, resources required and people identified that are needed to implement the strategies. These may be large or small, with one or more required.
Pastor Kerney joined our ministry in the year 2000 and has worked very hard with the laity in program recovery throughout the church. Pastor Erisman and Pastor Ziehl joined us early in 2002 and have been wonderful ministry workers and effective leaders. With the recessionary effects and the recent addition of staff our 2003 budget is very lean. Congregational financial response for 2003 will need to be significant to not limit the growth that is anticipated in programs and membership this year. The facilities are aging and repair costs are a continuing concern.
We reaffirm this statement as our congregation’s reason for being in this time and this place:
As a community rooted in grace, we exist to:
INVITE people into a relationship with God,
GROW together as devoted followers of Christ,
And
SERVE others through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The key words, INVITE, GROW, SERVE may have different meanings to people; here are some descriptors for what these words, and the statement, mean at Cross & Crown.
INVITE - attractive, tempting, welcoming, inclusive and encouraging.
GROW – knowledge, leadership, and spirituality.
SERVE – others first, freely sharing, and material/emotional/spiritual support.
The committee spent a lot of time praying, searching, and discerning the essence of values for Cross & Crown. We recommend this value statement:
In the Spirit of the Living God we are committed to:
§ Hospitality
§ Inspiring Worship
§ Quality Christian Education
§ Caring Relationships
§ Compassionate Service
These core values will be used to guide church decisions and directions, support who and what Cross & Crown stands for, and to share with visitors as to the nature of our church.
There are many wonderful and meaningful ministries at Cross & Crown! Large or small, they all add to the richness and diversity of love and activity, in this community of faith. The appendix lists the majority of ministries at Cross & Crown:. Our effort was not to be comprehensive but to show the scope of our congregational ministries.
VII. TARGET MINISTRIES and STRATEGIES
In each phase of a church’s life there are particular ministries that will enhance a congregation’s faithfulness to the gospel. Listed below are the key Target Ministries the committee recommends Cross and Crown focus on in the next 3-5 years. They are listed in priority order. We feel these Target Ministries are the most important ministries to focus on in the next several years. Listed under each Target Ministry is a set of strategies (activities, projects and programs) that we recommend be strengthened or implemented. The leadership of the congregation will develop tactics to support these strategies.
1) Extensive Welcome Ministry
a) Strengthen:
i) Greeting of visitors
ii) Usher’s role
iii) Visitor friendly worship services
iv) New member seminars
v) Small groups
b) Implement:
i) ALPHA program
ii) Visitor follow-up
iii) Community advertising/awareness program
iv) Visitor education/information program
2) Strong Christian Education Ministry
a) Strengthen:
i) Sunday School for all children and youth
ii) CCLS
iii) Youth Program
iv) Small Groups
b) Implement:
i) Adult Sunday school
ii) Spiritual gifts assessment
iii) Family Ministry program
iv) New member “confirmation” classes
v) Lay leader training
3) Congregation Care Ministry
a) Strengthen:
i) Eucharistic ministers
ii) Bereavement Committee
b) Implement:
i) Stephen Ministry Program
ii) Parish nurse Program
4) Compassionate Action Ministry
i) Strengthen:
(1) Nothing identified at this time.
ii) Implement:
(1) Create umbrella group to identify key potential Compassionate action ministries and link Cross & Crown to them.
(2) Community advertising and awareness program
The committee has identified several potential barriers that may impact the implementation of this long range plan. Recommended strategies are listed under each barrier. In no particular order the barriers are:
1. Financial resources. In periods of recession/depression the prospect for increased giving to fund strategies is diminished.
Strategy: A stewardship plan that will educate the congregation in biblical giving.
2. Meeting space for the many committees, project groups and task forces necessary to move the strategies forward.
Strategy: A plan to maximize the use of all facilities.
3. Sufficient numbers of trained lay leaders.
Strategy: Implement a formal lay leader training program.
4. Insufficient numbers of lay volunteers answering the calls to service.
Strategy:
a. Create a Volunteer Coordinator position to manage the lay resources of the church.
b. Create and implement a Spiritual Gift oriented training program.
5. The current organization of the church may limit our ability to react and change quickly.
Strategy: Evaluate our organizational structure.
6. The Cross & Crown person to lead Stephen Ministry has not yet been located. Stephen Ministry (if not taught completely by a pastor) needs an energetic teacher with skills in supervision and group work.
Strategy: Identify and recruit a leader.
The team that generated this document, in part or in whole, are: Jay Alpers, Betty Blackstone, Jim Brog, Janis Brokaw, Wes Claassen, Jennifer and Justin Flory, Jim Fulkerson, Pastor Kerney, Paul Konanz, Dick Noreen, Trice Padecky, Joel Pedigo, and Connie Sabin. Thank you for your considerable time and talents!
Paul Konanz, Chair