Vision Team timeline
People had asked about the visioning process for Lord of Grace. In my previous post I talked a little about the reasoning behind it. Here’s the timeline, also taken from the July newsletter.
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We are excited to give you initial information about the Visioning Process that will take place during the next 6 months at Lord of Grace. Pastor Lars has initiated this process as part of his Interim Pastor responsibilities. This will provide an opportunity for our congregation to pause and evaluate our ministries, become aware of what we can do to outreach into our community, and set forward our church on the path to growth.
This process will be accomplished in 4 phases:
Phase 1: Reflect as a congregation on our hopes, dreams, visions for the future and to look at our strengths and assets.
To begin, we will be sending a survey out at the end of July to all members. We will
have house gatherings to share our stories of faith and hopes for our church. We
also hope to have special forums led by guest pastors.
Phase 2: Study our surrounding community and mission field to discover the unmet physical, social and spiritual needs.
We will assess the demographics of our community and interview people in our mission field. In addition, we will be reviewing other local church ministries.
Phase 3: Study and reflect on the larger trends in religion/spirituality and church in our wider culture and how that might impact our mission as Lord of Grace church
This will be accomplished by reading books/articles on future trends in religion. We will also offer forums with cutting-edge church developers including Rev. Charles Newman of the Grand Canyon Synod.
Phase 4: Synthesis: Council and congregation reviews the information gathered and reflections are made to determine future goals and vision
During the final phase, results of the process will be posted for the congregation to review. The council will meet to review the process and the results. Finally, the council will recommend to the congregation a vision for future growth and a call for a permanent pastor.
The Vision Team, along with the entire congregation will be helping Pastor Lars facilitate this process. By the end of the month all LOG members will receive a survey. That will be our initial gathering of data mentioned in Phase 1. It is our hope that through this process we will discover a clear picture of who we are, and where we are needed to do God’s work. We ask that you pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance throughout the process. Thank you for being an active member of this community! If you have any questions, please contact any member of the team or Pastor Lars.
Peace and Grace,
Vision Team-Pastor Lars, Jim De Girolamo, Lynda Reeves, Jeff Fitch and Phyllis Teager
