Revision Plan for St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church
Introduction
We, the congregation of St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, have developed over the past several years comprehensive vision and mission statements for our church. Both of these statements are relevant and effectively express our church’s view of what is today and what will be when God’s will is fulfilled. The Revision Task Force does not recommend any changes to these statements.
Our Mission
We, the St. Luke’s family of believers, are dedicated to demonstrate our love for God by serving him in all areas of life.
Our Vision
Our vision is to become a Christ-Centered community where:
Our Mission Context
Titusville is a wonderful community in which to live. We have natural beauty, semi-tropical weather, and the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. Many of our church members are involved in our space program, which reminds us daily of the wonders of God’s world and the excitement of mankind’s first efforts to explore beyond our planet.
But our community is not without its challenges. Traditional family units are in decline, and there is much economic, educational and social diversity. The Percept survey indicated a longing to learn more about God and His word from many residents.
Our congregation is older, less diverse and better educated than our community. Without conscious effort on our part to lessen this gap, this divergence could create a barrier between our church and our community.
St. Luke’s is noted for its friendliness. There is a real feeling of amity and many of our members enjoy worshiping together and common fellowship. Traditional worship services meet the needs of many of our members.
Our youth programs are growing and our church is making a difference in the lives of our young people and many of their friends. Youth ministry and mission opportunities are growing. These young people are more comfortable with contemporary worship programs.
Bible study, especially for adult groups, is an expressed need of both our congregation and our community.
The need for expanded church leadership is becoming very apparent at St. Luke’s. We have had problems filling leadership positions. We must recruit and train new leaders if we are to continue working to fulfill God’s plan for our church.
A 3-Year Plan for St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church
We believe that St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church should focus on these 4 key initiatives:
Plan Do Strategies
Our three year initiatives form the basis of our annual efforts. During the first year of our plan (September 1, 2007 – August 31, 2008), our goal is to:
Specific recommendations for the first year:
a. Expand the once-a-month evening dinner to twice-a-month and offer children’s program and small group Bible studies for adults on weeks when we do not have committee meetings.
b. Develop afternoon social programming for retired and elderly members who do not drive at night.
c. Develop a mentoring program to foster a close relationship between some of our senior members and our youth.
Specific recommendations for the first year:
a. Work with the pastor, Worship Committee and Music Director to form a Praise Team capable of leading a contemporary style worship service on Sunday mornings.
b. Once a contemporary style service begins, offer a traditional style service at another time on Sunday morning.
Specific recommendations for the first year:
1. Develop a New-Member Orientation class by the end of October 2007 to include
a. Our calling as a congregation (St. Luke’s history, Mission/Vision Statement, 1 and 3-year plans, Bedrock Beliefs and our Core Values)
b. Our Life as a Congregation (worship, study, fellowship and service opportunities available through St. Luke’s.)
c. Our Organization as a Congregation (the Presbyterian Church, the way it operates and how St. Luke’s fits in).
d. A Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ (What it means to be a Christian); the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; a membership covenant (what St. Luke’s expects of its members AND what they can expect from us).
2. Identify and train small group leaders in August and September, 2007.
Specific recommendations for the first year:
1. Women's Bible study “A Woman’s Heart” beginning September 10, 2007.
2. Begin a Men's’ Bible Study Class in October, 2007
3. Begin a Small Group Bible Study on the Book of James in October, 2007
4. Begin a Small Group Bible Study on the Sermon on the Mount Program in Spring, 2008
5. Begin a Truth Project Group Study in January, 2008.
6. Begin a Young Adult Bible Study peer driven group for college-aged kids.
During the Second Year (September 1, 2008 – August 31, 2009):
1. Start a Purpose Drive Life Study (Daytime) Group 5-10 members – 7 weeks
2. Start a Purpose Driven Life Study (Evening) Group 5-10 members – 7 weeks
3. Start a new Men’s and a new Women's Bible Study Class
4. Pastor-led book of the Bible in depth study, Spring of 2009.
5. Use people who go through The Purpose Driven Life Study and those from
other small groups as leaders to spawn more small groups with training by
Barbara Sayles.
During the Third Year (September 1, 2009 – August 31, 2010):
1. Continue the Men’s and Women’s Bible Study Programs
2. Continue with Small Groups
3. Begin a Couple’s Bible Study Class
4. Continue an In-depth Bible Study Program led by the pastor.
Justification for the Three Year Plan
We are not a large church, but the needs of our congregation and our community are great. We must concentrate our efforts so that we do not stretch our resources too thin. Our hope is that by focusing on these four initiatives, we can establish a basis to build upon in subsequent years.
The Fellowship Initiative – This initiative builds on the friendliness of our congregation by providing more opportunities to grow in Christian fellowship and support, for our members and our community. Christian fellowship leads to enhanced mutual worship and makes our church an attractive place for our community to worship and learn about God.
The Worship Initiative – We must continue to provide traditional worship opportunities while developing new contemporary worship opportunities for members not comfortable with traditional forms of worship.
The Leadership Initiative – No new programs can be effective without church leaders to implement them. Indeed, without expanded leadership, our current church leaders are likely to “burn out” and leave us without experienced hands on the helm. We cannot fulfill God’s plan without experienced and committed leadership.
The Bible Study Initiative – the results of our survey indicated a thirst for more Bible study among both our congregation and our community. We must develop and provide opportunities to meet this need, one of the primary ways to enhance our growth as Christians.
The Plan Do Strategies
The three year initiatives provide direction for our mission, but what do we do first? We have identified four areas.
The first strategy involves enhancing and supplementing our fellowship opportunities. We need to continue our, Parents Night Out and family night suppers, refreshments after worship services, youth and adult outreach programs, while exploring new ways to enhance them.
The second strategy is to conduct a single, 10AM Sunday worship service while we put a team together to lead a contemporary service. This will provide the opportunity for people from both former services to “reconnect,” enhance the choir program, and provide a period of stability before we offer two distinctly different options for worship..
The third strategy is vital to the long term viability of our church. We must strengthen our new-member orientation, establishing clearly what St. Luke’s expects from its members and what new members can expect from our church. We also need trained leaders to support an infrastructure of small group study and fellowship opportunities which will give our members, new and established, the opportunity to grow in faith and to emerge as leaders.
The fourth strategy is to meet the expressed needs and desires of both our congregation and our community to study God’s holy word. These opportunities should include study programs for all ages, with established programs such as the Beth Moore study series for women; small group studies; men’s and/or adult couple’s bible study; and a series for younger children on traditional bible stories.