st. john’s metropolitan community church€¦ · size – average weekly attendance 2....

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ST. JOHN’S

METROPOLITAN

COMMUNITY CHURCH

YEAR-END CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

DECEMBER 11, 2011

MEETING INFORMATION PACKET #2

REMINDER:

PLEASE BE SURE TO BRING THIS INFORMATION PACKET

WITH YOU TO BOTH THE FORUM (12/4) AND THE

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING (12/11).

THANK YOU!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Strategic Planning Team Report ........................................................................................................... 3

Addendum ....................................................................................................................................... 10

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St. John’s MCC Seven (7) Year Strategic Plans Proposed: 12/4/11

Affirmed: 12/4/11

Greetings St. John’s Members!

In July 2011, the Board of Directors appointed a team of individuals to evaluate and develop a

strategic plan for the possibilities of St. John’s MCC future growth over the next several years. This

plan is to be used as a business tool for our church leadership, which includes milestones for

achieving goals in areas of membership, facilities, programs, worship services and church

operations. The Strategic Planning Team (SPT) realized in order to develop a plan for our church it

was imperative to gather information about the current state. This included information on church

facilities, finances, beliefs and activities using our most recent survey. The Board of Directors also

conducted focus groups prior to our survey. In both venues, the feelings and perceptions of the

participants are reflective of a positive growth transition for our church over the coming years.

This transition will include educational opportunities for all levels of individuals from attendees to

members and leaders. The Strategic Planning Team and the Board of Directors realize change can

bring challenges and we all are committed fully to communicating our progress through this process.

Our plan will involve much understanding and may include some changing of leadership styles

within the church.

The leadership style operates every aspect of our church’s life from business operations to greeting

visitors, to ministry areas, to availability of the pastoral staff, and to our outreach into the

community.

So what is “Leadership Style?”

Our leadership style and church culture consist of three major components:

1. Size – average weekly attendance

2. Relationship style – the way members relate to one another

3. Leadership structure – the roles and responsibilities of the Pastor and the Board of Directors

There are four church size types with very distinct characteristics:

• The family-led church contains families that run the church

• The pastor-led church sees the pastor as the coordinator of all activities

• The program church uses lay leaders to lead with pastor being an administrator

• The corporate church is made-up of multiple mini-congregations

St. John’s is currently a pastor-led church; however, results indicate a need to become a program

church. A program church has many lay leaders guiding programs and ministry areas for all age

groups. An example of a program is a small group bible study held in a home or restaurant, prayer

group, athletic activities, service activities, entertainment events and beyond. These various

opportunities allow individuals to engage Christ’s message of love and inclusion while living an

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open testimony of what it means to be “Jesus with skin on” through St. John’s in ways other than

worship.

You can only imagine the new and exciting opportunities for our church to grow closer together as a

body of believers and develop programs reaching deeper into our community than we can imagine!

This journey will enable St. John’s to embody its mission in new ways for an ever-changing world.

Proclaiming Christ by Celebrating... ... the joys of Christian life and the experiences of diversity in worship;

Building Community by Serving... ...God’s church and community, where everyone is equally valued and loved by God, as well as has

the ability and responsibility to serve, and;

Transforming Lives by Growing... ...In God’s grace, equipping people for spiritual living, enhancing interpersonal relationships and

developing a thriving, diverse community of faith.

We are excited our Board of Directors and YOU have given us an opportunity to use our talents to

make God look even better and grow St. John’s to the next level. Thank you for all your prayers,

support and feedback!

It has taken all of us to come this far…and it will take all of us to move us to the next level.

Blessing to you,

Your Strategic Planning Team

Mike Gauss, Patricia Hill, Collis Laton, Renee McCowan and Sandra Whittington

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Seven-Year (7) Vision: Cast by the St. John’s MCC Board of Directors, in conjunction with MCC denominational

leadership at the 2009 Size Summit:

St John’s MCC fully functional as program church by end of 2018 Received affirmation as an overarching vision for St. John’s MCC through our “Growing To

The Next Level For Ministry” focus group study conducted by the Board of Directors in

October 2011. Specific affirmation can be found in the responses to Question 1 part 3 “Who

do we want to be in the Future.” More than seventy seven percent (77%) of respondents

selected “mall.” Additional support for our vision comes from the diversity of programming

listed by focus-group participants in question 8.

Strategic Plan Road Map: Mission:

Now nearly two decades old, our mission of St. John’s MCC has not changed through

three generations of leadership going through vision and mission exercises facilitated

by third-party professionals:

Proclaiming Christ by Celebrating... ... the joys of Christian life and the experiences of diversity in worship;

Building Community by Serving... ...God’s church and community, where everyone is equally valued and loved by God,

as well as has the ability and responsibility to serve, and;

Transforming Lives by Growing... ...in God’s grace, equipping people for spiritual living, enhancing interpersonal

relationships and developing a thriving, diverse community of faith.

The mission clearly supports our vision, and due to its diverse reach in both

demographics and activities, can only be fully realized within the confines of the

program church operational model.

State of Church 2011 (Addendum 1 – survey results)

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Start, Stop, Continue Plan for 2012:

Starts 1. Church Growth Team - achieve a minimum 500 members and 400 people for weekly

worship services by January 1, 2019

a. Develop a church growth team – February 2012

b. Create an internal* and external** marketing plan – December 2012 *internal marketing plan – This will guide how we engage non-members from attending for the first time

through becoming a member. This can include welcome and missed you letter; helping them “plug in”

to events and activities; connecting them with a deacon; encouragement to participate in educational

opportunities; etc.

**external marketing plan – This would address how we raise awareness about St. John’s MCC and its

ministry outside of the church walls, as well as actively seek and invite people to participate in services,

programs or activities. This can include advertising, sponsorship or participation in community events,

media outreach, flyer and brochure distribution, social media and website promotion and management,

external signage, etc.

2. Educational opportunities to discuss the New Strategic Plan and what it means to you – SPT

will host

3. Operational Guidelines Writing Team – achieve future state of program church operations

a. Appoint a team to review present SOPs/By-Laws and MCC requirements

b. Create supplemental operational guidelines for transitioning to a program church

level

i. To be presented to the congregation by June 2012 for approval

4. Board of Trustees – define the term of “a well maintained” status

a. Create a plan to bring the facilities, fixtures, and furnishing into well maintained

status

b. Work with the finance team to create a fully funded plan for execution

5. Program/Ministry Teams – develop a solid program and ministry growth and support plan

a. Appoint a program/ministry team (David/Wanda)

b. Evaluate current program and ministry areas and present recommendations for

changes or improvement – May 2012

c. Present above plan to congregation in June 2012

d. Write, maintain and communicate the church calendar yearly to congregation

e. Create a plan for program growth in accordance to the seven (7) year Strategic Plan

6. Pastoral Care Plan – achieve multiple worship and training opportunities for pastors, deacon

and worship leadership

a. Evaluate present worship and pastoral care activities and training available to

leadership – May 2012

b. Create a plan for worship and pastoral care in accordance to the seven (7) year

Strategic Plan – May 2012

c. Present above plan to congregation in June 2012

7. Leadership Training (CORES) – achieve consistency across leadership channels to grow and

operate St. John’s MCC cohesively as a program church

*Strategic Planning Team to host this training*

a. C – Communication

b. O – Organize

c. R – Reinforce

d. E – Education

e. S – Standards

8. Bulletin Boards – Designate individual(s) responsible for monthly bulletin boards

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Continues

1. New Visitor Welcome

a. Recognize weekly first time guest

b. Revive the Rappin’ with Revy Rev (a program, open to all, where a pastor sits

down in an informal format and holds conversations on a topics proposed in

advance by attendees)

c. Revive bi-monthly/quarterly “Be Our Guest” program for first time visitors

2. Mission Plan

a. On a monthly basis, revive speaking during sermons, to the future growth

plan of St. John’s (SPT Plan)

b. Revive speaking the mission statement during services and identify how

themes connect to the mission

3. Finance Team

a. Continue and expand education on stewardship and tithing

b. Continue personal finance sessions

c. Continue development of a tithing and alternate funding plan – May 2012

d. Present above plan to congregation in June 2012

4. Congregational Communication Plan

a. Continue weekly announcements

b. Recommendation for reformatting the bulletin and newsletter ASAP

5. After Service Hospitality

a. Continue weekly hospitality as a means of fellowship

6. Education Opportunities

a. Continue and expand on group and individual studies i.e. topics at ten,

Tuesday nights, etc.

7. Children Ministry Programs

a. Continue bi-weekly children’s ministry and consider expanding to weekly

b. Expand on abilities to serve children with special needs

c. Expand on opportunities for children to be part of the overall services

consistently

d. Integrate visual elements that connect with the children communicating their

place in the body of the church

Stop

1. Leadership Communication and Etiquette

a. Dysfunctional Acts - Any and all activities that do not forward the seven (7)

year Strategic Plan, or are a distraction from the short term objectives agreed

upon in this plan.

b. Negative Correspondence – Negative is defined by “any oral or written

communication that is attacking, insulting, divisive or not intended to build

up the individuals or the body of Christ.

c. Reply All – Stop as the default way of responding to mass communication.

d. Covert Conversations/ Personal Agendas – Any and all side bar conversations

with the intent to under-mind individuals, ministries, or the body of the

church.

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1,3,5 Benchmark Report:

This report outlines the 1, 3 and 5-year benchmarks that need to be achieved in order

to be a fully functioning program church by the end of 2019.

1 year plan (accomplished by December 2013):

1. Review supplemental operational guidelines for program church model size for

implementation

2. Board of Trustee’s facilities maintenance plan on bringing the building into well-

maintained status to include active funding program

3. Develop operational outlines for in-reach* and outreach** ministries to include

but not limited to bible studies, small groups, weekly worship, evangelism etc.

(SOP)

*in-reach – small groups, worship, Bible studies

*outreach – evangelism, missionary or external groups

4. Three worships services each week

5. A membership roster of 150 people

6. An average weekly worship attendance in excess of 175 people

7. Employee proper staffing level at one full-time and one half-time Pastor, a full-

time Office/Business Manager*, and a full-time Music/Worship Director

*job description change from the current church administrator position

3 year plan (accomplished by December 2016)

1. All leadership positions filled with fully vetted and trained individuals based on

the position requirements outlined in the SOPs

2. Development of ministry facility reconfiguration/reconstruction/relocation or

expansion plans. This includes funding, identification of architect/real

estate/contractor as appropriate and a transitional operation plan.

3. Multiple (minimum of seven each) in-reach* and outreach** programs operating

independently, with activities scheduled monthly or more frequently

4. Multiple (minimum of 24 each) in-reach and outreach activities operating

independently, that scheduled quarterly or annually

5. A membership roster of 250-275 people

6. Weekly worship service attendance in excess of 300 people

7. A minimum of two full-time pastors, a full-time executive director/business

manager*, and two full-time employees

*MCC may require that ordained clergy hold this position.

a. Music/worship director

b. Office manager with special skills in marketing and human resource

management to provide volunteer coordination

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5 year plan (accomplished by December 2018)

1. Implementation of ministry facility reconfiguration/reconstruction/relocation or

expansion: this includes a funding plan, furnishing plan, architectural and

engineering drawings, permits and an operation plan for the transition period

2. Extensive (minimum of 12 each) in-reach* and outreach** programs operating

independently with activities scheduled monthly or more frequently

3. Extensive (minimum of 48 each) in-reach and outreach activities operating

independently, that are scheduled quarterly or annually.

4. A membership roster of 400-425 people

5. Weekly worship service attendance in excess of 475 people

6. A minimum of three full-time pastors, a full-time executive director/business

manager*, and four full-time employees

*MCC may require that ordained clergy hold this position.

a. Music/worship director

b. Program director with special skills in at least one area of special

programming i.e. youth, children, education, homelessness, etc

c. Office manager with special skills in marketing and human resource

management to provide volunteer coordination

d. Funding coordinator with special skills in grant writing, event planning

and coordination and fundraising program management

7. Establish Volunteer Coordination Plan and team to support all monthly church

activities and to work directly with office manager and executive

director/business manager

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ADDENDUM

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