A Guiding Vision and Mission for Ministry

“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.” Psalm 72:18

On Saturday, March 29th, 2008, the St. Peter Church Council came together to set a guiding vision and mission for ministry that will steer the work of the congregation in 2008 and beyond. During this time, we reflected on the past by creating a “time line” of the congregation’s history and ministry. Here are some major insights we gained from the time line:

- We also have learned that it is important to encourage and assist the pastor in balancing church leadership with personal/family life. We should not look to the pastor to solve all of the church’s issues or lead change alone – we are all called to be ministers of the gospel, and ministry is not a one-person task.
- We value the opportunity to be a church family, and minister to one another in times of need, change, and crisis.
- We acknowledged that contemporary family life has many challenges. We must make ministry with families, children, and youth a top priority.
- We want to be a community where all people are valued and encouraged to grow in their Christian faith.

We also acknowledged some strengths and opportunities in our current church environment. Our biggest strength at St. Peter Lutheran is that God has promised to build up the church on earth, and that includes us. In Christ, we have everything we need to sustain and share our faith. Other strengths include our worship life, relationship with the pastor, and the fact that our congregation is made of many strong leaders and loving people of faith. Our facilities and finances are two other great assets. All of these strengths are gifts from God upon which our future ministry can be built.

We see two major areas that need growth and change in 2008: Christian Education and Faith Sharing/Outreach.

- Christian Education. This includes re-visioning and strengthening our Sunday School programs and educational opportunities for children, adults, and confirmation students. The church nursery will need to be re-coordinated in the fall. We need adults to coordinate high-school events and serve as mentors to our youth.
- Faith Sharing/Outreach. We want to better strengthen fellowship, leadership, and personal connections within our community. We brainstormed ideas on how to include more people in the life of ministry and be a witness of Jesus Christ to the community.

You are asked to join us in enacting change in these two areas of church life. If you are willing to help us plan and lead change in the realm of children/youth education, please attend the Education Committee’s meeting on Thursday, May 8th, at 7 PM. (Note: A committee meeting for strengthening our adult educational opportunities will be scheduled at a later date.) If you would like to help enhance our church’s life of fellowship, please attend the Faith Sharing/Outreach meeting on Thursday, May 15th, at 7 PM.

The intent of these first meetings is to brainstorm, share ideas, and identify leaders in our church who can help carry out the mission and ministry of the congregation. We can use anyone and everyone at these meetings, and nobody will be asked to take on a commitment that they cannot handle, or that God is not leading them to do.

In Christ,

Rev. Katherine Olson
Dave S., President and Education Co-Chair
Dan K., Vice-President and Property Chair
Rick D., Treasurer and Faith-Sharing Co-Chair
Dave M., Secretary and Worship Co-Chair
Ryan T. Education Co-Chair
Dan M., Education Co-Chair
Susan M., Faith Sharing Co-Chair
Bob W., Worship Co-Chair
Lynn K., Stewardship Chair