Council will be forming our Strategic Planning Team, Spatial Planning Team, Financial Planning Team, and Wordsmith Team from now - June 18.
Could you serve on one of these teams? Learn more about the teams and the self-identification process below.
The Teams
Strategic Ministry Planning Team
Grounded in the Gospel, and using the work of the Vision Team, along with supporting documentation (scriptural, historical, contextual, etc.), the Strategic Ministry Planning Team will guide Advent to map out strategic steps to achieve the outlined mission themes and directives as identified through the Vision Team.
Gifts needed: Dreamers, planners, idea-generators, problem solvers, questioners, collaborators, designers, program developers, marketers
Timeline for work: July 2019 - February 2020
Spatial Planning Team
Grounded in the Gospel, using the work of the Strategic Planning Team, the Spatial Planning Team will work on strategies for our physical space to support and grow the outlined strategy for mission and ministry.
Gifts needed: Observers, questioners, spatial thinkers, problem solvers, architects, interior designers, creative thinkers, engineers, contractors
Timeline for work: July 2019* - March 2020
* Note: Initially, much of the work is understanding the current landscape. This initial work is less intensive and can mostly be done off-site.
Financial Planning Team
Grounded in the Gospel, using the work of the Strategic Planning Team, the Financial Planning Team will work on strategy to financially support and grow the outlined strategy for mission and ministry. The Financial Planning Team will also keep under advisement the resolution from the annual meeting to ultimately eliminate draws from the Mission Fund in five years.
Gifts needed: Accountants, creative thinkers, problem solvers, financial planners, fundraisers, collaborators
Timeline for work: July 2019* - March 2020
* Note: Initially, much of the work is understanding the current landscape. This initial work is less intensive and can mostly be done off-site.
Wordsmith Team
Grounded in the Gospel, using the work of the Strategic Planning Team, the Wordsmith Team will distill the work of the strategic plan into a succinct and shareable outward facing mission statement and outreach tools.
Gifts needed: Writers, marketers, brand developers, creative thinkers, communicators
Timeline for work: January 2020 - March 2020
how to self-identify
We invite you to prayerfully consider self-identifying to serve on one of our Strategic Planning Teams by June 18.
The process for forming these teams is one of open self-identification and discerning self-review, followed by discernment and review by Council.
Being on one of these teams will ask for your faith, focus, time, creativity, openness, and collaboration. It will be challenging, because it is important. And for the same reason it will be rewarding. We are not looking for people to come in ready with the answers; we are looking for people who are willing to give their hearts, skills, and time to the process. People willing to learn, live into the big questions, explore and discuss the data and possibilities, be part of a team, and creatively and collaboratively seek solutions.
From those who self-identify, Council will discern and formulate the teams, taking into account the gifts, skills, outlooks, and collaboration styles of all of the candidates. In a desire to make certain that our groups are well rounded and contain a thoughtful mix of experience along with complementary work styles, not everyone who self-identifies will be able to serve on a team. But everyone who identifies will be connected to serve in a particular way that will move forward the mission and vision.
If you are interested or considering serving, please take 20 minutes to complete our Self-Identification form online by Tuesday, June 18.
MOre Info
Methodology
Grounded in Bible Study and prayer, the strategic planning teams will use a methodology called Design Thinking. Design Thinking is a "human-centered" approach to problem-solving, drawing inspiration from the needs, lives, and observations of real people. It is flexible, collaborative, creative and analytical, and is designed to meet the full need of the challenge, rather than yield merely incremental improvement.
Teams will learn more about this methodology during the preparatory stage of work in July and August. To learn more about Design Thinking, check out Change by Design by Tim Brown.
Orientation Retreat
Our goal is to work efficiently and effectively, while being grounded in a common understanding of the Gospel and a shared approach to this work. Each team will be asked to participate in a Retreat on a Sunday. This investment of time will aid in a more streamlined and effective process and is an important step in our grounding as disciples of Jesus doing this work.
How Groups Operate Together
The groups work in active relationship to the congregation. Each team is responsible for refining a part of this mission and vision plan, but we must never lose sight of the larger picture. There is a great deal of cross over. We cannot operate in silos but must be constantly listening, engaging and informing one another. Think of it like a book:
The Vision Team works to craft the foundational story, naming the themes and directions that undergird our identity.
The Strategic Planning team then takes that story and gives it strategy, illustrating and refining the work of the Vision Team.
The Wordsmith Team then takes that story and creates a sound-byte that unites the vision, gives identity, and can be used for outreach so that those who are not yet members understand who we are.
The Spatial Planning Team then uses the directives of the Strategic Plan to explore how to make the story come to life in the bones of our building.
The Financial Planning Team then uses the directives of the Strategic Plan to explore how to make possible the production of this plan from the perspective of financial stewardship.
The Outreach and Empowerment of this plan then comes to the pastors, staff, council and ministry leaders, working with the congregation, to empower us to live together into the story that is God’s mission at Advent Lutheran Church.
Moving Forward Together
One of the things we learned from the listening groups and our experience in September is the importance of ample processing time. There will be time for processing, questioning, dreaming, and listening to one another in safe and hopeful ways before we are asked to move forward with a particular direction. While we know that things often happen more swiftly in the business world, as a congregation it is important to us that everyone is invited along in this journey. The process will not be perfect. But we will continue to work hard to make it honest and faithful, trusting in God to root us in love.