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Vision Board Insights
Ch-Ch-Changes!
Many of us view our faith and our church as a source of stability in our lives; a constant during times of turmoil or unrest, and a reliable friend at least weekly if not daily. There is little doubt that our Savior will forever be a foundation rock to steady our soul. That being said, the manner in which we relate to Him as individuals and as a church is in the midst of a tremendous run of changes. Significant impact is already evident from some of the change we have experienced, but several more are in process now, with yet more on the horizon!
New Staff
Since last summer, we have obviously added several members designed to assist us in our faith journey. CT Harris (Youth Ministry), Scott Stivers (Music Director), Chris DeGraff (Associate Pastor), and Lisa Norbeck & Kim DeVries (Children’s Ministry) have all been assembled as critical
cogs in this mechanism we call Grace.
There is no question that our staff has been in a state of flux in recent years, but perhaps never in our history has there been such a complete assembly of called servants. Grace is now poised to serve our attending congregation, and reach out to our community like never before. Each of these positions, along with those already in place, is an investment in ourselves and our future. The fruits of these investments are already evident in the increased attendance month on month from February to March to April, bucking the historical trend of a drop in that third month.
New Board
Recently, Grace held the 2008 annual meeting where four new members were elected to the Vision Board; Vickie Meade, Tom Weaver, Mary Jo Davich, and Kathy Tingelstad. This is a pretty significant transition within
a Vision Board of only seven total members. As one of the members continuing my term, I welcome the newly elected with open arms. I sincerely look forward to sharing new ideas around a developing vision while enjoying fellowship, worship, and study. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the outgoing Vision Board members for their valued time and service. Pete Weikle, Chuck Hedstrom, Thad Richardson, and our outgoing president Scott Christensen have
each provided insights and wisdom invaluable to the function and development of our Vision Board. Thank you for everything.
New Vision
Ten years ago Vision 2000 was published as an amazing effort
by our leadership to pull together
a document that would establish
a direction for Grace. “Principles
We Hold Dear” and the “Welcome”, “Encourage”, and “Equip” Mission Statement were offered as guidance
we can all operate by. Vision 2000 has served us well! All vision documents will eventually require updates, as 7-10 years is the expected lifespan of this sort of publication. Therefore, a visioning committee is currently in
the formation stage that will be tasked with developing a new vision. Ministry direction, staff structure, locations, worship, fellowship…All aspects of what we do will be given focus and clarity through this intensive, and invaluable effort.
New Grace
There are many, many more activities and ministries that help define what Grace Lutheran is all about, and I certainly don’t expect that everything will be covered within this short article. If any one item does get communicated by this writing, let it
be this: We, as a body of Grace, are
in a transitional phase that will afford all of us new opportunities to grow in faith, serve each other, and mission (locally, nationally and internationally) like never, ever, before. Our success will be measured not in headcount or offering, but in how many ministries we can support, or number of people served. It’s not the amount of people in Grace, it’s the amount of grace in the people.
There is a lot, and I mean a LOT, going on. I sincerely hope that you
are as excited about this as I am!
God bless!
Jason Hoopman
Vision Board