So what now? I know that has to be what many of you are asking. We have just concluded our vision process, and I am truly excited about our future. We have come to a clarified sense of where we believe God is leading us as we journey together toward our 100th anniversary in 2024. So where do we go from here? How do we keep the excitement going? How do we continue to build momentum toward the future?

Bill Wilson of the Center for Healthy Churches sums up where we are going now with a single two-word phrase: Relentless Alignment. You may not have realized it as we were moving through the vision process, but that was the easy part. Naming the positive aspects of our core identity and dreaming God-sized dreams was only step one. The truly challenging work to achieve our vision begins now.

Now we know the destination. We know where God is leading us over the next six years. The question that must be answered is about how we get there. Now is the time that we start mapping out the work that must be done to take us from the church we currently are to the church God is calling us to be.

This summer we will begin the process of structuring our implementation teams. These teams will be situated around each of the God-sized dreams we discerned in our vision process. Each
team will be comprised of four to six of our most passionate people in the areas of Radical Hospitality, Transformative Relationships, Engaging Worship, and Faithful Service. They will be tasked with analyzing every area of our ministries to determine where we do not currently measure up with God’s vision for our church. They will look at our Facilities, Finances, Staffing, and Structures and pinpoint the places where we need to adapt in the ways we operate, explore new resources, and lead our congregation toward innovative practices. They will then determine the work that needs to be done in years 1-6 to help us achieve our vision.

This summer you will also see us begin to implement some of the suggested action items that came out of our vision process. These will be small steps over the first 30-90 days that will help us continue to build momentum, see needed changes, and keep our focus on our vision. We will keep you aware of all of these updates to our ministries. They will simply prime the pump for the greater work our Implementation Teams will be doing in the future.

Finally, you will be hearing me preach about the aspects of our church on which we must focus in order to lay the groundwork for our vision implementation process. I will be utilizing themes from two books by Mark Tidsworth of Pinnacle Leadership Associates (Shift: Three Big Moves for the 21st Century Church and Farming Church: Cultivating Adaptive Change in Congregations)as our Sunday worship throughout the summer helps keep our eyes on the journey forward. We will focus on moving from understanding ourselves as members of a church to disciples of Christ. We will rethink an attractional model of church, and focus on a missional model. We will move from a consumer mindset to the idea that we are part
of sacred partnerships. Then we will seek to understand the qualities of a forward thinking church that will allow us to make the adaptations God would lead us to as we implement our
vision plan.

Thank you again for your participation and prayers throughout the vision process. I will say it again. I am more excited about the future of our church than I have ever been. The journey has just begun, and we serve a God who will guide and bless all that we do if we submit ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit and partner in God’s mission for the world. I am truly looking forward to the results of this process. Please continue to pray that we follow God’s will for our future together.

Peace,

Rev. W. Mattison King