LEAD Strategic Process

January 29, 2025 - update

Our LEAD Team, with support of the Congregation Council, has been working hard behind the scenes to discern God's call for our congregation. In the last six months, we have completed Listening to the Congregation with 72 people responding to our survey as well as 80 responses to our communications audit. We held 10 focus group conversations in which many members participated. Everyone's input has been valued and appreciated.

Most recently, we wrapped up Listening in Our Neighborhood that included 14 structured interviews with organizations and individuals who serve our local and surrounding communities. They included those dealing with: food and housing insecurity, at-risk youth, parents of young children, seniors and veterans, children and adults with disabilities, mental health, and other congregations. We have learned a lot!

We are now moving from the Listening phase to the next phase of focusing on our core values, purpose statement, and goals. Because we have invested so much time discerning, we anticipate this going more quickly.

We also want to update progress on Sprinter Goals which were identified during our initial meetings:

Communications - As a result of the Communication Audit, leadership has contracted with Stacy Eppel as a communications consultant. Through working with Stacy, we are in the process of updating all communication channels and already have a more prominent social media presence. Her efforts helped boost invitations to the Brass Concert and Christmas Eve Service in December. More improvements are still to come.
Outreach to Homebound Members - On December 8 we commissioned 13 volunteers to visit our homebound members and give communion to those wishing to receive it. There have been three training sessions for these volunteers and are working on organizing and mobilizing the team to make visits. This new ministry will be called MaTch which stands for Ministry at Church (and matching volunteers with folks to visit).

You can look forward to a draft of our core values and purpose statement with us in March. Please continue to pray for our team as we make important recommendations to the congregation about our future. And as always, feel free to reach out to any LEAD Team member with questions or comments.

May 8, 2024 - update

The LEAD Team had our third meeting this past Wednesday (May 8). The meeting was focused on the following:

• Continued discernment of God's word and discussing different versions, interpretations, and messages in Acts 8. How the images and meanings inspire us to think differently about Philip and Ethiopian Eunuch.

• Pastor Amy shared paragraphs on discernment and change from Acts: Catching up with the Spirit (the discussion topic in Adult Education) that was thought-provoking.

• Prayerfully preparing for listening sessions to help lead us all to what God is calling us to do.

The next meeting is scheduled for May 22 and will include our LEAD consultant, Deacon Peggy Hahn.

• We will continue our spiritual discernment with the study and discussion of scripture.

• Review the findings from the Communications Audit and any recommended changes.

• We will also be further refining plans for the listening sessions that will begin in June.

Overall, investing in the time for discernment is proving to be integral part of the process. We are all learning that this is how the Holy Spirit will guide us to best serve God’s purpose for St. James and the world around us.

April 2024 - update

The LEAD (Living Everyday As Disciples) strategic planning process is now in month two and the team had the second scheduled meeting this past week. Many of you have asked how things are going and what to expect next. Here is a progress update along with some background information and expected next steps:

Background
- Our Congregation Council voted to engage the LEAD organization https://leadconnects.org/ to assist with our strategic planning and the congregation approved the investment at the Annual Financial Meeting January 28th, 2024.
- LEAD’s work is built on Adaptive Discipleship which is made known through: the acts of the apostles, the work of the early church, and leading social science research.
- The LEAD Strategic Planning process typically takes 12 months.
- LEAD’s executive director, Deacon Peggy Hahn, is carefully guiding us through their proven practices.
Progress to date
- The St. James LEAD team of Pastor Amy Gillespie (Spiritual Advisor), Steve Thornberry–(Facilitator), Dave Moore (Communicator), Tom and Emily Bohac, Jim Davoux, Tom Ebert, Doug Gerber, Marilyn Koepke, Lisa Kollmorgen, and Susan Olsen participated in the launch seminar the weekend of March 8-10.
- Since then, the team has been working to discern God’s call, and to reflect on the shared commitment and expectations to each other and the congregation.
- We have been grounding ourselves in scripture and most recently studied and discussed the Ethiopian eunuch from Acts 8.
- Peggy Hahn has interviewed staff and key committee chairpersons to help her gain an understanding of the various ministries, our facilities, and surrounding communities.
Next steps
- Finalize and communicate our Team Covenant to ensure we maintain a culture of trust, collaboration, and creativity.
- Conduct a Communications Audit to gain better clarity for how to utilize our website and social media to attract more visitors. And the resources needed for execution.
- Listening, listening, listening – we will be scheduling congregation “listening sessions” in which we pray and hope everyone will participate.

Please hold our team in your prayers as we listen to the Holy Spirit guiding our work. We will continue to provide periodic updates and strive to keep everyone informed. Also, feel free to reach out to any LEAD Team members with questions or comments.