Strategic Plan
Contents
- Worship, Praise, and Glorify God
- Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- Minister to Members and Non Members
- Stewardship of All Resources - Humans (Staff and Members), Financial and Building/Grounds
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Worship, Praise, and Glorify God
A. Establish one service on Sunday with exceptions for special services (Easter, Christmas Eve).
1. One worship service for the entire congregation will:
- Enhance the worship experience for the pastors, congregation and visitors;
- Promote congregational interaction; and
- Produce a more efficient and cost effective use of our staff and facilities
2. Reevaluate annually or when attendance exceeds 80% capacity on an average Sunday.
B. Develop a plan within six months to establish theologically meaningful, contemporary, creative worship services over the next three years to complement existing worship services.
1. Introducing contemporary elements to worship will:
- Invigorate current worship and members;
- Recognize the needs and interests of youth and younger members incorporating the use of technology where appropriate; and
- Act as outreach to our diverse community.
2. The contemporary elements should also be considered for incorporation into current worship and may encourage additional worship services and/or special services.
C. Develop a plan to provide regular, frequent and various opportunities for communal prayer.
Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ
A. Express the love of Jesus Christ to the community by broadly sharing who and what we are and what we do as the body of Christ.
1. Develop a whole-church mentality with a goal to promote the sharing of the word of God through our events and worship.
2. Establish a community outreach committee with the responsibility to make the membership and community aware of events, activities, etc. through various media, including where appropriate:
- Television
- Radio
- Newspaper
- Welcome Wagon
- PACE
- Sunday Bulletin
- Website
- Regular community outreach contacts
3. Make the church visible in the community by enhancing the physical identification of the building as a church on the Paxtang Avenue side.
B. The Church will consider other uses of buildings and grounds by religious and faith-based organizations to the fullest extent possible.
1. Property and Management will review policies for the use of buildings and grounds to ensure consistency and support of the Church mission and Strategic Plan.
2. Property and Management will develop a plan for regular maintenance and use of the cabin.
3. Encourage school and community tours
4. Allow non-members to have weddings in the Church as this will increase our opportunities to preach the good news of the Gospel.
5. Seek out professional and amateur performances
6. Use church buildings and grounds for church programs and activities, making them visible to the community as a means of sharing our faith.
4. Allow non-members to have weddings in the Church as this will increase our opportunities to preach the good news of the Gospel.
5. Seek out professional and amateur performances
6. Use church buildings and grounds for church programs and activities, making them visible to the community as a means of sharing our faith.
C. Provide and promote educational programs for all ages
1. Continue traditional church school classes
2. Embrace and promote new opportunities for learning:
- Lecture series
- Presbytery classes
- Evening and daytime classes
3. Provide opportunities and facilities for Christian centered programs for:
- Married Couples
- Singles
- Young Adults
- Parents
- Divorced
- Widowed
- Caregivers
- Grief Counseling
- Healthy Living
- Older Person Topics
4. Analyze current youth church school and consider creative methods to promote programming and attract youth to attend—particularly junior and senior high age.
5. Obtain and use a curriculum with specific goals and objectives for various age groups:
- Tie the goals and objectives to Nurturing Faith in the reformed tradition.
- Make congregation aware of goals and objectives by age group.
- Consider activities which allow children to demonstrate mastery of material.
D. Weekday Nursery School – Paxton Presbyterian Church is committed to the ministry and outreach provided to community families with small children through the weekday nursery school. The mission of the weekday nursery school and the Church must be aligned, consistent and complementary.
1. The weekday nursery school must develop and adopt a mission statement and a three to five year strategic plan which defines and, if possible, expands its mission in the community and, to the extent possible, the church.
2. The weekday nursery school must be integral to, consistent with and expressly supportive of the Church’s mission and plan.
2. The weekday nursery school must be integral to, consistent with and expressly supportive of the Church’s mission and plan.
3. The weekday nursery school will report to session at least quarterly on programming and compliance with the school plan and the church plan.
4. Session will support the weekday nursery school as part of the mission and education programs of the Church and as part of the Church’s strategic plan on mission and education.
4. Session will support the weekday nursery school as part of the mission and education programs of the Church and as part of the Church’s strategic plan on mission and education.
Minister to Members and Non Members
A. In accordance with the Great Commission in Matthew 28, membership retention and growth shall be a priority for staff, Session, Deacons and all members as a part of the Church’s mission.
1. Form a task force to consider membership opportunities and develop strategies for same, including:
- Decline in membership
- Possible separation of duties between nurturing current membership and attracting new members
2. Nurturing and attracting new members, particularly young families, shall be properly staffed and funded
- Staff visits to current members and potential members will be a priority
3. Church attendance will be tracked and contacts made when members are absent more than three Sundays in a row. Where appropriate, there will be a referral to the pastors, staff, ministries and/or deacons.
4. Develop and incorporate a greeter program to identify and contact visitors
- Visitors will be contacted within one week of participation in any activity at Paxton Presbyterian.
- New and current members will be invited to participate in Church activities and to assume Church responsibilities.
- Develop computerized “spiritual gifts” data base to insure new members are able to participate in areas that interest them and incorporate the use of the database into this plan and the Church’s mission for lay members, where appropriate.
5. New members will be recognized in the Bulletin, in PACE and on Church displays.
6. Develop plans to increase diversity among congregants—attract new members from the community.
7. Develop plans to attract and retain youth:
- Hire youth director to address particularly junior and senior high age children
- Create and fund programs designed to attract and nurture youth
B. Develop plan for annual, church-wide visitation of all members
1. The plan shall incorporate tools to make visits creative, meaningful and Christ-centered.
2. Both the plan and the results of the visitations shall be reviewed and evaluated annually immediately following the visitations.
2. Both the plan and the results of the visitations shall be reviewed and evaluated annually immediately following the visitations.
C. Outreach to the community
1. Mission to the community must be incorporated in all phases of planning and programming
2. Session will review and analyze the current method and level of mission giving and projects.
3. Provide Stephen Ministry training for staff, and Pastors within one year, and members within 18 months to two years, thereafter.
(Stephen Ministry equips lay people to provide confidential, one-to-one Christian care to individuals in the congregation and community who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.)
4. Offer recreational and social activities for all ages
2. Session will review and analyze the current method and level of mission giving and projects.
3. Provide Stephen Ministry training for staff, and Pastors within one year, and members within 18 months to two years, thereafter.
(Stephen Ministry equips lay people to provide confidential, one-to-one Christian care to individuals in the congregation and community who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.)
4. Offer recreational and social activities for all ages
Sports
- Movies
- Picnics
- Games
Stewardship of all Resources – Human (Staff and Members), Financial and Buildings/Grounds
A. Human Resources
1. Pastoral/Staff Relations shall establish and review staff goals and objectives to ensure consistency and support of the Church’s mission and Strategic Plan.
- Complete the pastoral and staff policy manual within six months.
- The policy manual shall assist the staff and Session with assuring consistency as the ministry changes.
- The ministry and the policy manual shall also address the physical, educational and spiritual needs of the pastor and staff.
- There shall be at least an annual review of each paid position including pastors.
2. Establish a task force to recommend the optimum structure and size of church leadership (Session and Deacons) with the following goals:
- To create leadership structure which supports the Church mission and Strategic Plan
- To result in committees which align with the Book of Order
- To work efficiently and avoid overextension of staff or membership
- To establish policy for Ministry membership, including length of service.
The task force will begin work as soon as possible after January 1, 2008 and report to Session by June 2008. The task force will be comprised of one pastor, one other staff member, two elders, two deacons and two members at large.
B. Financial
1. Complete funding of the Capital Campaign – Phase 1
2. Determine method for funding Capital Campaign – Phase 2 and complete the funding and the Campaign.
3. Redesign budgeting and stewardship drive to align with modern non-profit guidelines, requirements and technology; so that giving will better represent our strength and depth of our faith in Jesus Christ.
2. Determine method for funding Capital Campaign – Phase 2 and complete the funding and the Campaign.
3. Redesign budgeting and stewardship drive to align with modern non-profit guidelines, requirements and technology; so that giving will better represent our strength and depth of our faith in Jesus Christ.
- In order to create an overall picture of the Church’s financial resources and expenditures, present all aspects of income and expenses for the Church in one comprehensive annual operating budget. Financial reports will be consistent with the budget.
- Create the following year budget and compare to actual previous year revenue and expenditures rather than budgeted
- Computerize accounting and financial records
- Create redundancy of accounting knowledge to provide back up and support for Treasurer
- Explore and implement modern methods of fulfilling pledges such as automatic electronic transfers.
C. Buildings and Grounds
1. Establish a task force to evaluate and make recommendations with regard to the manse.
- Recognizing the use of the Manse as a pastoral residence is no longer a viable option, the task force will be comprised of no more than five persons, including a current or former Property Management Ministry member, a Stewardship and Finance Ministry member, a contractor or individual with similar knowledge/experience, and a realtor.
- The task force will begin work no later than January 1, 2008 and report to Session in May 2008.
- The task force will present a maximum of two recommendations on use or disposal of the manse.
- No recommendation shall require the use of Church general funds unless the use is directly linked to current or planned Church programming/Strategic Plan.
- Any recommendation which is not directly linked to current or planned Church programming must be funded from sources outside the Church general fund.
2. The Grove Committee will create a landscape design plan with a goal of making the grounds more useful to the congregation and the community.
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