The Vision Implementation Team (VIT) continues to make really good progress in identifying ways we can realize the future God has in store for us. Building on our article in April’s LoL Newsletter we want to share with you what we’re doing and some important next steps.
The VIT prioritized the input from the Vision Summit conducted in early March so that we could focus our initial efforts on the five most important items first.
Job Descriptions – using various sources of information, including conducting interviews with staff, updated and revised job descriptions for Pastor, Deacon, musician, choir director, and office administrator were drafted and are currently being reviewed. We want to be sure all the critical congregational priorities are supported by at least one staff member. Some responsibilities may lend themselves to being entrusted to trained volunteers to reduce the burden on staff plus provide additional opportunities for LoL members to serve the congregation. The next steps include finalizing the job descriptions, securing the Council’s approval, and designing and implementing an overall staffing structure that most likely will include an additional staff person.
Visitor Follow Up – a visitor tracking system is being developed so that LoL can follow up with them to thank them for visiting and invite them to return to learn more about us. After we set the system up, the next step will be to test it to see if it’s as helpful/useful as we expect.
CYF Involvement in Worship (Children, Youth, and Families) – a survey is underway with the LoL families with children and youth to determine what they enjoy about worship and other LoL events. This information is being sorted so that it’s easier to tell what’s working and what isn’t for each age group. The next steps will be to incorporate some of this information into the job descriptions and to make the necessary changes to make worship even more meaningful for our CYF.
Keeping LoL Informed – we will continue to use all the communication tools available to keep the congregation informed about what’s happening with the VIT. Look for the next periodic updates on the VIT bulletin board in the Narthex, in Wednesday Emails, LoL Newsletter, mission moments and announcements, Faith Formation classes and other targeted events.
Community Involvement – for us to make an even bigger impact on our community, we need to know what we’re already doing. This information will allow us to recommend to the congregation any changes that we think will result in an even wider impact. The next steps involve sharing the VIT’s conclusions with the congregation and the Council. It’s likely that these changes will help identify potentially new mission areas and support the development of our annual church budgetary process.
Once these five initiatives are completed, the VIT will move to the next 5 -6 items in the priority list. It remains a priority for the VIT to develop and implement a staffing path forward in anticipation of Deacon Heidi’s approaching retirement. As described above, a critical next step is to design, and with the approval of the congregation council, implement an overall staff structure. This must be done in a very systematic fashion to ensure there are no overlaps and/or gaps in what LoL needs from its staff. We must also consider the preferences of the staff who will remain. Further, we understand that timing is important given Deacon Heidi’s timeline.
Much more information will be shared during the adult Faith Formation class scheduled for Sunday, May 12 – please come. Finally, please continue to pray for the work of the VIT.