Discovering God's Unique Plan for Trinity United Methodist Church

Trinity hired a consulting firm to help us identify our church’s unique strengths – essentially what makes Trinity - Trinity. The firm also provided a demographic assessment of our community help us identify ministry opportunities.  The ultimate goal is to use our strengths along with the assessment to focus and direct everything we do - from worship to outreach - in the years to come - thereby being more effective stewards of our time, talents and tithe.

The process of strategic planning or “visioning”, identifying Trinity’s unique mission and vision, was a remaining piece of work to care for after the restructuring work of several years ago when Trinity went to the Purpose-driven Church model.  It is also a logical and appropriate follow-on to the two “Forty Days” programs in which the church engaged. 

We live in a changing world and for any organization to remain relevant and viable it must continually assess where it is going, how it is getting there, and how well it is doing.  Many organizations undertake a process similar to what Trinity is doing on an annual basis.  While their direction and purpose typically remain unchanged, the methods and practices they are using often do.  Unless they adapt to work within the culture they exist in, they are destined for irrelevance.  If we want to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ, we don't need to change the message, but we do need to look at how we effectively communicate that message today. 

What has been done so far?

The process started with a congregational Survey in spring of 2010.  Information was also obtained on the demographics for our community to help us understand our neighborhood.  During the summer, a number of focus groups meetings were conducted with a cross section of Trinity's members to explore and understand the results of the Survey.  Then during November 2010-Januard 11, three weekend retreats were held. 

What happened at the retreats?

The purpose of the retreats was to look at the results of the survey, the focus groups, and the demographics, and from that to discern and develop:

• Trinity's Core Values – Identifying those items that define Trinity Church
• Trinity's Mission Statement - A statement of Trinity's purpose that the leadership of Trinity will use to focus all of its ministry efforts.
• Strategic Objectives - Key objectives to lead us in the “next steps” toward fulfilling our mission

Approximately 30 Trinity Members were asked to participate in these retreats - to talk about, pray for, and strategize a vision that would help us define Trinity’s unique mission – all the while building on the comments and concerns of the survey results and the focus groups. The composition of the members at the retreats spanned every segment of our congregation from young adults to senior citizens, from long time members to relatively new members.  There was also diversity in theology and points of view. There  was a great deal of healthy, frank and honest conversation and  exchange of ideas, and the result was a set of core values and mission that captures the essence of who Trinity is as a church and a community as well as a focus for the Ministry and Mission of Trinity Church.

Where are we at now and what is the next step?

A set of core values capturing the “DNA” of Trinity have been identified, and a mission statement has been crafted. Pastor Harrell and Pastor Wilson will be formally presenting these to the congregation in a series of messages starting on January 23rd and ending on March 13th.  They will also be presented for review and approval by the Church Council.

Who participated in this process?

• Survey Participation: All church members and attenders where invited to participate.  A total of 172 responses were received.  TAG, our consulting firm indicates this is a very good response rate for our church.

• Focus Group Participation: A cross section of Trinity Members that spanned age, length of membership, involvement in Ministry, gender, and marital status were selected for the groups.

• Retreat Weekend Participation: Leaders from the Church Council and Trinity's Ministry areas as well lay members to provide a representative cross section of Trinity's Membership.

Those participating in one or more of the Weekend Retreats included:

What is the end result of this process and how will it impact me?

As the core values and mission statement are shared with the congregation and taken to the Church Council, objectives and action items will also be developed along with our Ministry Teams and committees.  Some of the objectives require much additional research and preparation; all of them will need refinement.  There is plenty of room for, and a need for, full participation by the whole church in discussion and working together.  Everyone’s prayer, ideas, work, and heart for Christ and His ministry at Trinity are needed.