Greetings Immanuel Family!
As the summer heat begins to give way to cool, crisp fall days, the activity at Immanuel begins to heat up as preparations are in full swing for our September kick off! Your Council was busy this summer reviewing our Vision, Mission, and Values and developing several strategic pillars or priorities for us to consider embracing over the next 5-years or so.
REVIEW OF VISION, MISSION & VALUES
After reviewing these, Council agreed that these remained relevant and resulted in a few updates to language, but largely intact.
OUR VISION
God is calling us to reach deeper into our congregation and further out into our community to better know and care for one another.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
CELEBRATE that God is with us!
GROW as Christ lives in us!
SERVE as the Spirit loves through us!
OUR VALUES
Loving God and one another
Through one another, we meet Jesus Christ as we focus on relational faith through a welcoming and inclusive community.
Intentional faith development and expression
We experience God in our midst through engaging, vibrant, and authentic worship that brings faith to life.
Active service in the community
We are God inspired and committed to collaboratively engaging within our community to respond to its needs with fearless love led by the Holy Spirit.
Practicing transformative generosity
We are intentionally grateful and purposefully share our gifts and blessings with the joy of deepening our relationship with God.
STRATEGIC PILLARS
In addition to the review of the Vision, Mission, and Values, we began the process of looking forward asking the important question – “What does our community of faith look like in 5-years? 10-years?" After much discussion, drafting, discerning, and praying, we present the following pillars. As you review, please consider that you are reading these statements 5-years in the future, not today. Therefore, these pillars are aspirational and may not demonstrate completely who we are as a community and what we look like.
1) We know who is at the center of all we do – Christ. We remind ourselves continually that we are together in the name of Jesus Christ and seek to follow Him and become a reflection of His love in everything we do. We focus on maintaining and deepening a relationship with Him and sharing the Gospel as He calls us to.
2) We welcome, affirm, and celebrate diversity in all contexts as we work toward a fuller understanding of God’s call to justice. We believe that all people are created in God’s image and that God’s imagination for diversity and justice is limitless. We listen to and learn from diverse voices resulting in deeper relationships with individuals within and outside of Immanuel, and with partner ministries. We participate in God’s continuing work of restoration, reconciliation, and redemption for all creation.
3) We have strong engagement within our community. The engagement of members and faith partners is high and broad. We do this by encouraging each member to maintain a personal ministry to help meet the needs within our church and surrounding community. We are demonstrating a love and faith in Jesus Christ through the programs we offer to our members. These programs support our faith and encourage members to seek Christ in all circumstances and situations.
4) We are a growing congregation. We strive to welcome people of all generations, to understand their needs and perspectives, and help them grow in their relationships with Jesus Christ. Our activities and plans reflect a lively, rich, inclusive congregation with a deep and sincere passion for worshipping, learning, and serving God together with people of all ages.
5) We are transitioning staff effectively. Through open, honest dialogue, we are executing against plans to transition a long-term, seasoned team and leadership. The new faces and perspectives are bringing forward new ideas and perspectives that build upon and acknowledge the foundations that have been built. Our systems and processes help attract and retain a strong staff team.
NEXT STEPS
It is our intent to engage the congregation in small, working group discussions groups to strengthen our collective understanding of the pillars and to develop 3-5 plans to pursue them. As part of our September kick off, we will be inviting the Congregation to select one of the pillars and commit to participating in the working groups In September – December.
This is an exciting time for our community of faith. Please prayerfully consider how God is calling you to help us continue to keep our eyes on Him and spreading the Gospel within our community.
Peace,
Tony Szczepaniak, President
Paul Nelson, Senior Pastor
