Over the next several weeks we'll be taking you behind the scenes into Redeemer's Visioning Initiative.
Last month, Redeemer Board of Directors president, Tim Horlacher, sent a letter to the congregation confirming we’re actively moving into the next phase of our visioning initiative. He provided a brief overview of the visioning process and shared a timeline going back to 2017. Over the next month, we’re going to drill down a level and shift the focus from a look back to a look forward.
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We want to provide a more thoughtful perspective on the WHY behind our visioning work.
- We want to keep you informed.
- Our hope is that we’ll inspire you to get involved.
This week we’re taking you behind the scenes into a candid conversation between Pastor Dave and visioning initiative co-chairs, Herb Sanders and Rod Wolff.
To provide perspective, in 2017, our Redeemer Board of Directors undertook an initiative to develop a strategic plan. Fast forward to today, and we are actively implementing that strategic plan with our visioning work at its core. Specifically, the visioning team is chartered with both evaluating the needs of our current facility and looking at the potential ministry opportunities created by the 30+ acres owned by Redeemer, behind our church building.
We should add God is with us on this visioning journey and all visioning work is carried out in alignment with Redeemer’s core values and mission -- living out the Word and healing ministry of Jesus.
Pastor Dave: Why does Redeemer call it a visioning initiative and what does that mean in layman terms?
Rod Wolff: What resonates most strongly when we consider the why behind Redeemer’s visioning initiative is the concept of stewardship. All things coming from God, Redeemer was gifted an incredible church building and school, plus 30+ acres of undeveloped land. As we surveyed the congregation about how we might use the church building and this land to carry out Redeemer’s mission, we received a lot of different feedback but there were also recurring themes. Specifically, the church building had needs (for repair/maintenance) and the land presents opportunities to expand our ministry into the community.
Pastor Dave: So diving a little deeper into the why... I understand the congregation saw both needs and opportunities related to carrying out Redeemer’s mission, vision and direction, but how are they connected? How does the maintenance of the building and the development of the property connect to Redeemer’s mission, vision and direction?
Herb Sanders: As we embarked on the visioning process, one of Redeemer’s core values bubbled to the top -- the gospel travels on the platform of relationships. In other words, it was important for the visioning committee to start with input from our congregation. We sincerely wanted to know what our members viewed as important as we began to develop our visioning plans. Specifically, the question -- how should we leverage our building and the 30+ acres of property in carrying out our mission, vision and direction as outlined in our strategic plan.
Pastor Dave: So this is a bottom up process -- not top down. God speaks through the people -- our Redeemer congregation. You, as a visioning committee, then discern the information received from the people and implement it as part of the visioning plan. Is that accurate?
Herb Sanders: Absolutely. We are using a bottom up approach to gather feedback and perhaps, more accurately, collect dreams. Our members have big dreams for the role Redeemer can serve in our community. Dreams inspired by God and a lot of prayer. As a visioning committee we are now pulling all of that input together to discern areas (dreams) that both align with our vision and are financially feasible. We are identifying missional growth opportunities that we as Redeemer can carry out.
Pastor Dave: This isn’t the first time we’ve taken a run at this -- specifically, the development of the 30+ acres behind the church. Let’s talk about why now. Why is this moment in time unique?
Rod Wolff: I would look at it more as a continuation of a journey rather than a moment in time. Our journey began on Argonne Road and it has continued to where we are today. We were just getting into momentum when the pandemic hit. I wouldn’t say the pandemic hindered our journey but rather opened our eyes (the congregation’s eyes) to new and different ministry possibilities. The Holy Spirit has been leading us -- nudging us along -- for many years. With each passing year, the vision has simply become more clear. What we are feeling today is momentum. The momentum is picking up as all of the pieces begin to come together with input from both our congregation and community partners, like the City of Spokane Valley. Everyone is very receptive that the time is now.
Pastor Dave: Let’s stick with that thought. Partnership. Tell me more about the role of partnerships in maximizing the blessings God has given us.
Herb Sanders: I was actually one of those people who worked on prior runs at this initiative. Looking back, at that time, my thoughts rested on the fact that we have a very big property that presents a lot of opportunity but, in order to finance a project of this magnitude, it is going to require partners. More than partners, we need partners whose mission, vision and values align with Redeemer’s mission, vision and values. We need to partner with organizations that complement Redeemer. Again, the gospel travels on the platform of relationships. By investing in synergistic relationships, we can plant missional seeds that will grow and thrive in the larger community. We can focus our energies on what we do well and align with partners who have the skills, resources and relationships to help us carry out our vision.
Pastor Dave: In 1990, Pastor Phil, his wife Becky, and Cindy and I got together to pray about the future of Redeemer. One of the prayers was that Redeemer would become the community church. A place where people would gather for peace and comfort when hurting or in need. A place where Jesus’ presence is felt. God has answered that prayer. I believe Redeemer is the ideal partner for such a time as this as we continue our mission -- living out the Word and healing ministry of Jesus.
Thank you to Herb and Rod for charting the way for our visioning work. We are excited to see where God’s path leads us as we continue on this journey. Next week we’ll be sitting down with Indy Dehal of ALSC Architects to chat about the conceptual planning process.
You can enjoy Pastor Dave’s full interview with Herb and Rod in the video below.
