The following plan comes out of the work of the Learning Team using a model detailed by Alice Mann in her book Raising the Roof. In the spring of 2005, the Vestry charged Amy Hunter, Derick Gates, Anne Whitaker, Melanie Hickcox, Lynne McSheehy and Tom Barrington to use Alice Mann's technique to look at what it would take for All Saints' Church to grow. The Vestry wanted better to understand the factors that have kept All Saints' at the same size for at least the last dozen years. The Learning Team went through a process of answering the questions: 1. Who are we? 2. Who is our neighbor? 3. What is our present vocation? In this process we uncovered at All Saints' both a desire to grow so that we might more faithfully respond to God's call to us, as well as barriers that have effectively prevented us from growing. The following Strategic Plan is our recommendation of steps we can take to respond more fully to where God is calling us now and for our future.
In our work we have determined that growth, whether measured by Sunday attendance, participation in programs or size of our budget, is not our first concern. We believe that the following recommendations will allow us to live more faithfully as Christians and as a Christian community. We do believe that a byproduct of this growth in depth will be a sustainable growth in numbers because we will have responded to the needs of our people and will be communicating a clearer identity that will invite others to join us. We will be functioning as a multi-cell organization rather than a single-cell one. We also believe that if we are able to effect these changes we will be able to better retain our existing members.
We realize that what we are talking about is changing the culture of All Saints' Church. Even so we see these changes as developing out of existing trends and inclinations rather than a wholesale makeover. By spending the time understanding the history of the parish and our current realities, we have all deepened our appreciation of the faithfulness of the members of All Saints' Church. This is a healthy and strong parish. We have been blessed with incredible lay and clergy leadership; we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit working through us; and we have been the recipients of extraordinary grace and blessings. We feel that because of the strengths of this parish, we are ready to delve into a deeper, more intentional, and more faithful life with God and one another.
The following are the areas we feel from our study are critical to the improved operation and growth in mission of All Saints' Church. There are current weakness areas to improve, and strength areas that are growing and already have momentum to build off of. We discovered and articulated these needs from a study of our history, our current story, and from input of All Saints' Church members at forums we conducted.
Six areas of need were determined, and for each of these six we asked the following questions:
We realize that building a mission focus is an abstract concept which can be hard to quantify. The model of conversion, that is God's work of changing hearts, is more appropriate than measurable statistics like the number of people attending education programs. Even so the goals we suggest are intended as ways we can keep a mission focus before the congregation. We are also differentiating between having a mission focus and specific mission or outreach activities. A mission focus, along side our Baptismal Covenant offers the foundational concept of all we do.
The Outreach Team is working on strategic planning in the area of mission. We agreed to let them define the goals and objectives in this area. This part of the plan is about providing specific outreach and mission opportunities. This is building upon creating a mission focus, trained leadership and administrative support.
We acknowledge that this has been identified many times and we still are not able to do very effectively. We believe that as we can develop a wider sense of hospitality and with it an openness to newcomers we will also be a community that more easily provides welcome for events and is the base of mission. This area will also rely on success in having a mission focus, trained leaders and members and administrative resources to do the work.
We are charging the Vestry with implementing the recommended Strategic Plan.
The next step is for the Vestry, after discerning this information, and meeting with the Learning Team, to then take this plan and move it forward with more detailed and specific accomplishments expected, dates, and people assigned to each area.
Our prayer is that as we give to the vestry and the parish this plan, it will stir the imagination of all so that it will continue to develop as it is tried, tested and implemented. We are all grateful for having had the opportunity to work with each other, to have our own faith nurtured and deepened. We hope that all those at All Saints' Church might have similar opportunities to grow in their faith and service.