Debt Reduction Appeal Presentation

Hi All,

As many of you know, St. John’s has had a very promising launch of our appeal to eliminate one of our mortgage notes. Since late fall 2010 many members of our congregation have made generous contributions toward this endeavor. We are now in the latter stages of this appeal with our goal in sight!

If you have made a pledge or gift to the appeal, thank you for your spirit of generosity. If you still have questions, please look over the presentation and consider how you may be involved in reaching our goal. The whole purpose of removing this debt is to enable St. John’s as a whole to put its best energies into mission: serving our congregational needs through ministry.

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Debt Reduction PP Council1 11.21

Strategic Planning at St. John’s

In November 2010 the Strategic Planning team at St. John’s, led by Mike Berthelsen, launched a weekend-long planning session. This session put into motion a process of re-defining who we are as a church and where our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats lie. The following updates reflect the process to-date as well as the work currently accomplished. Please feel free to leave your comments here.

November 7, 2010

To:      Members and Visitors of St. John’s Lutheran Church

The last two days (Nov. 5-6), 60 of our members spent over 10 hours together talking, thinking and dreaming about the future of St. John’s.  This happened because our Congregation is at a place where we both need and have the opportunity to reflect on who we are today and what we want to become.  This process began at the last Annual meeting as we struggled with how to best solve our budget challenge and was re-emphasized when Pastor Crippen resigned.  A Strategic Planning Process was launched to help guide the Call Process for new leadership and give direction to the Congregation as it reviews and directs our programmatic and budget plans.  The outcomes of the process will be Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Core Values, and several strategic initiatives to work toward our Vision.

We began our time with a review of our past and present, by making lists of:

• Accomplishments at St. John’s we are proud of
• Strengths and weaknesses of St. Johns as a congregation
• Opportunities and threats from outside the congregation that we need to understand

Next, we focused on identifying our understanding of the Core Values that exist at St. Johns and a Mission Statement to articulate our purpose as a community.  Finally we turned toward the future drafting a Vision Statement and ideas for what will become more targeted strategic initiatives.

Out of this work, we are now calling out to all of you for your ideas and dreams.  We are providing for your review all the material from the Strategic Planning weekend.  This will be available several ways:

• Bulletin (abridged content with this letter)
• Email (of this letter and abridged content to full congregation with email)
• On the Church web-site (all material)  (http://stjohnschallenge.wordpress.com/)
• At the Welcome Desk (copies of key components)
• In the Voice (key components)
• In Forums (and forum like events).  The first being in the Sanctuary between services at 9:45 on November 14^th and the second being in a full Forum in January.

We ask for your feedback in these meetings, through email to the Challenge Team (challengeteam@stjohns-elca.org) or by talking to members of the Council or Strategic Planning Core Team (Tim Eklund, Carrie Duba, Dave Neuger, Pastor Johnson, Regina Hassanally, Todd Nichol, Cheryl Buck and Mike Berthelsen).  Your input will be used to further develop these early Draft documents.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Mike Berthelsen, Chair Challenge Committee

Mission and Vision Statements – draft form

INITIAL DRAFTS FOR CONSIDERATION AND FEEDBACK: NOVEMBER 8, 2010

Mission Statement

A “mission statement” is nothing less than a way for the congregation to define itself.   The mission answers the question, “What is this organization attempting to accomplish?”  Mission provides the major standard against which all the activities, services, programs, policies, and decisions are evaluated. Mission is the preserver of congregational integrity.

A mission statement should be Clear, Concise and Compelling.  Put another way:

1) The statement is no more than a single sentence long

2) The statement is easily understood

3) The statement can be recited by memory

Draft Mission Statement for St. John’s:

As followers of Jesus Christ, St. John’s welcomes all to celebrate God’s grace, to nurture their faith, and to reach out to the world in love and service.

Vision Statement:

A vision is how the congregation will live out the mission in the future. A common vision provides an image of a chosen future. It is an expression of hope. A vision captures people’s imagination, mobilizes people’s energy, and connects them with one another.  Vision is what a congregation wants to become, what it cares about, and what it can be.

Draft Vision Statement for St. John’s:

St. John’s aspires to become a visible community of faith:

-        Celebrating through joyful and music filled worship

-        Connecting children, youth and adults in faith;

-        Calling us to each use and share our gifts;

-        Committing to each other through our faith journeys, and

-        Caring though acts of compassion and kindness.

Core Values

The term “values” refers to the guiding principles and behaviors that embody how your organization and its people are expected to operate.  Values reflect and reinforce the desired culture of an organization.  Values support and guide the decision making of every workforce member, helping the organization accomplish its mission and attain it vision in an appropriate manner.

Draft Components of Core Values for St. John’s:

¨ God /Jesus/ The Word

¨ Grace/Love

¨ Faith/ Spiritual Growth

¨ Connection/Community/Family/Inclusivity

Strategic Planning Weekend: Accomplishments

Below is a list of the church’s accomplishments as articulated by the congregational members who participated in the Strategic Planning weekend in November.

Accomplishments:

• Worship

o   Strong, well planned worship

• Music Tradition

o   Quality of music program

o   Choirs for all ages

o   The only HS church choir in town

o   Home of St. Olaf Choir

• Preaching excellence, high standards
• Sunday School programs
• Great youth programs
• Biblically sound education
• Rich heritage, Long history of congregation
• Member experience and knowledge
• Generosity of congregation outside of our walls, mission

o   Maintaining benevolence giving

• Facility

o   building addition – (for mission of congregation)

o   new roof

• Welcoming congregation, friendliness
• Ability to draw excellent staff
• Community outreach, Service

o   Resettlement of refugees from WWII

o   Christmas Dinner

• Meeting today – to dream big!
• More professional practices in congregation (systems, policies, procedures, etc.)
• Shared Ministries
• Grief ministries
• Stephen Ministry
• Grooming Lay leaders
• Legacy of “saints”

SWOT Analysis

No, St. John’s Strategic Planning hasn’t hit military heights. This is a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the current ministries and overall church life at St. John’s. Have a read below and let us know what you think!

Strengths

• Building/Physical space/facility
  • Location
  • Increased opportunities for ministry to St John’s and community
• Worship and practices
  • Worship God!
  • Rich heritage
  • Wednesday meal
  • Confirmation
• Music
  • Good music program
• Leadership
  • Staff
  • Current pastoral leadership
  • Strong Laity
  • Core, faithful membership
• Demographics
  • Grey haired saints/silver lining/foxes
  • Well educated
  • White collar membership, wisdom, learning, experience
• Rich heritage
  • Burning ember at our core
  • Longevity
  • Heritage of Faith
  • Good response to calls for giving
  • Potential out there to respond anew

Weaknesses

• Very busy families
  • Outside environment
• Complacency about Gospel
  • Focus on superficial
• Location
  • Not downtown
  • Not in area that is growing
• Debt
  • Deficits
  • Living within our means
  • Out balanced proportions
• Membership base decline
  • Attend to membership rolls
  • Youth choir attendance declining
  • What is SS attendance trend?
• Could improve welcoming atmosphere
  • Misperception about how well we do it
  • Lack of integration of groups within congregation
  • Poor integration of new members into service
  • Groups can be devisive
• Lack of diversity in age, economics and culture
  • White/collar blue collar (again)
• Good at think tank
  • Not so good and hands on
  • White collar/blue collar
  • Engaging snowbirds
  • Lack of volunteers
• Marketing our product:
  • what we do and offer
  • website!!!
  • Don’t use technology
  • Communication
  • Need a picture directory
• Allowing people to try and risk
• No small group meetings on Sundays
• Groups can be divisive

Opportunities

• Create an environment of faith
  • What is our motivation
• Build up programming to compete
• Take what we do out into those organizations in the community with which we are involved
• Faithful witness
• Older members offer opportunities to use their knowledge base for programming at St John’s
  • E.g. daycare or childcare, tutoring, partnership with the preschool
• More consciously welcoming
  • Creating a more welcoming atmosphere
  • Make outside inviting inside
  • Post College opportunities
  • More inclusive worship services
• Faith exploration
• Vital youth program
  • Connect with models here
• Mentoring, adopt a grandparent, bringing generations together
• Service groups: reviving them in order to integrate new members increasing involvement
• Northfield is growing: new members?
• This event opp. For change
  • Define what the model of our leadership could be
  • Define what and why we’re here
  • Shape the future
  • Pastoral intern
  • Harness experience for new opportunities
  • Encourage a laity driven ownership
• New goals for confirmation

Threats

• Lots of opportunities in Nfld
• Time competition
• Priorities
• Financial situation: Debt/budgeting
• Giving fatigue: demands from lots of different places, are people tired?
• Demographics in Nfld. : more grey than younger
• Categorical thinking: stuck in conversations regarding contemporary and traditional
• New people arriving are retired by a large degree, not so many younger
• Societal changes taking people away from churches
• Aging congregation
• Financial situation
• Watering down Gospel to make church more appealing to more people
• Competition for financial resources
• Overscheduling: competing for time.
• Discussions, opportunities, openness has been somewhat limited
• Poor leadership in some areas
• Discussions have been limited to one side of the topic

Discussion:

Our focus is on superficial concerns: Focus should be on Gospel it is a means but not the reason

Fallacy: Silver Lining has a lot of time to be involved

Silver lining has same pressures as everyone else

Silver lining: aging will eventually need ministering to

Individual giftedness that hasn’t been taken advantage of: retired profs., ministers, artists, musicians

Aging is the trend locally and nationally

Prepositions like we, with, by and among better used for discussion, we are at different times in need for, and able to give ministry. We are with and along side one another

Christians must find where our passions intersect with greatest needs

Some people turned off, dropped out – threat and opportunity. Be more intentional in outreach and evangelism. See them as people loved by God. Be inconversation with them. They can be reconnected to the Gospel

Freezing/Unfreezing: this is our opportunity of unfreezing. We will become frozen at some point, but this is our time of unfreezing and is the opportunity before becoming frozen

Threat=Opportunity

Our faith and the Gospel is the point

All is here to forward the Gospel. Not just about teaching about God, but comes to us in the flesh. The needs of the world.

SWOT of Nfld? Where does God’s incarnate love fit into that?

Strength is in colleges

Also can be threat

Where one lives in town: north end high rate of commuters

Weakness: a bedroom community

Strength: willing to commute in order to live in Northfield

Opportunity: tap into Hispanic community

Opportunity: preach the Gospel, yes – good for when I die, but what can be here and helpful to me now?
Do we serve a practical need for the community?

What are the tractors we can buy for the community? Not just Bible based – see the Gospel in action.

Preschool

Unemployment.

We are connected and serve in some sharing ways already.

Mentoring opportunities – we must also be intentional about going out and offering ourselves rather than waiting to be asked. Bodies and not just financial.

Business model: entrepreneurial mind set. Making changes, vision and plan Times change and we must be willing to respond to change. Everything is on the table. We shouldn’t dismiss any opportunities just because it hasn’t been done before

Gospel has hands and feet. That is the Gospel – doing.

We don’t need to leave things functioning as they have been for the last 30 or 40 years. As people walk through their faith journey, there are deviations. Do we acknowledge and support through that. Do our practices communicate that?

Many of same ideas come up over and over again. We all have thoughts and ideas. How do we ignite people to step up and do it?

A lot falls on the staff because we ideate, but don’t work at it? How do we help folks choose? Will we freeze without taking action.

How do we take action on our ideas? That is our intent for this process

Holy Spirit=Holy Disturber

Thoughts on Ignite…the way Christians get frounded is through study of scripture, prayer, Catechesis. A thriving denomination requires these three – something to wonder about if we are not ignited here.

Update from Challenge Committee and Church Council

The challenge team is still at work and is working in new ways. With the support of Council two task force groups have been formed.

The first is a financial team. The financial task force is focusing on a coordinated effort with our annual pledge drive to address annual giving levels, debt reduction and planned estate giving. More details on this effort will be shared in the fall.

The second group is a strategic planning team. Right now a strategic planning process is being developed for the congregation to participate in this fall that will be brought to the annual meeting in January. The work to create the first draft of this plan will be completed in a focused 2 day event with a large and diverse participation from the congregation (estimated at 50 people). This draft would then be widely discussed and consulted with the congregation through December.

A core team of staff, council, challenge team and other members is meeting to plan the logistics of the process but the actual plan will be created with the larger group and then the congregation as a whole. If you are interested in participating or would like to recommend someone to participate in the focused event, please leave a note in the church office for the Strategic Planning Team or email your recommendation to challengeteam@stjohns-elca.org