The Vision Implementation Team (VIT) is excited to bring you news of what it’s up to and the progress we’re making. We will be providing information and updates to you in upcoming Wednesday Emails and monthly newsletters. This is just the first in a series of articles that we hope will keep you aware of, and involved in, this important work that will help us together realize the future God has planned for us.
With the help of Sean Williams of Ministry Architects, the congregation members participated in a process of envisioning the future of Lord of Life Lutheran Church by providing input for a Mission Statement, Core Values, and a set of three-year revolving goals. These were summarized in a single-page handout that is available on the main Strategic Planning page. Please read through, and direct any questions about it to any member of the VIT.
Anne Crotty, Marlies Wuttig, Lindy Anderson, Bob Bryce, and Jerry Ethridge are the volunteer members of VIT with the responsibility to ensure that the outcomes of the process are achieved. Sean leads the group and Pastor Kirsten is an ex-officio member. The VIT has prioritized several steps that are critical to successful implementation. One of these steps is to ensure the congregation knows its mission, values and goals so that you can join in the work of the church and understand why decisions are being made or why work is being done in a particular way. Toward that end, this article is to help in developing a deeper understanding of LoL’s new Mission Statement.
Based upon the input provided by the congregation, the VIT developed the following LoL Mission Statement.
As Lutheran Christians, Lord of Life invites all people, wherever they are on their spiritual journey, to worship God, serve others, and build community, in order to transform individuals, the Tri-Cities, and the world.
This statement is the embodiment of the Great Commission given by Jesus to his disciples as recorded in Matthew 28:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember I am with you always to the end of the age.
In addition, it also preserves a number of LoL’s Guiding Principles such as ….welcoming everyone,…..caring community, and …..serving others.
And like the Guiding Principles, this Mission Statement will serve us well into the future in providing the foundation for defining our ministry priorities, allocating future resources, as well as grounding leadership decision making. Everything we do for, with, and through Lord of Life should support our mission. If we have difficulty relating what LoL is doing to our mission statement, we should reconsider. This doesn’t mean the mission statement shouldn’t also be revisited periodically to assure it remains applicable to what God is calling us to be and to do.
Know that the VIT is always open to any feedback from the congregation about the LoL’s Mission Statement. Keeping you informed of our actions and deliberations is the purpose behind this, and future articles from the team.