Visionary Center

For many months, the Visionary Team worked with the groups and members of the congregation to gather input and information which would lead to the creation of OSLC's first strategic plan.  The constitution directs the Team to complete a two-year plan by December 1 of this year.

Over the past several weeks, we've been working to review, analyze, and digest this information, and to discern the lessons and conclusions it provides.  We met three times during September, and we have worked together extensively by email.  

By October 15 we'll have finished drafting the tentative areas of focus, strategies, and action plans.  We will then begin discussing and refining them with the groups which would be responsible for carrying them out, with our leaders, and with the entire congregation.  It's a great feeling (a W.A.R.M. feeling, in fact!) to see the many good things which OSLC can pursue and accomplish in the furthering of its mission, purpose and vision.

Gene Maddox, Visionary Team Chair
Kathy Kelley
Bev Gugliotta
Mitch King
Kevin Schutt
Rebecca Hayden

Come December, OSLC will have its first strategic plan in place, covering the years 2010 and 2011.  The Visionary Process to produce that plan will have involved many a discussion among members and groups in the congregation, along with work, time, and effort on the part of many people.  Here's a brief look at the kinds of benefits a congregation can obtain from effective planning.

Business planning is considerably different from congregational planning... That's one of the reasons we changed the name of our group from Strategic Planning Committee to Visionary Team.  But there are similarities between the two as well.  And some of those similarities can give us an indication of the advantages a congregation might derive from effective planning.

During the latter part of my career with a large company, we identified our main strategic direction as being a particular type of specialty manufacturing in which our larger customers were becoming interested.  We planned and acted accordingly in the following years.
 
As we considered where to place our priorities in hiring skilled people, or in buying new equipment, or in developing computer systems, the answers were obvious: The strategic plan caused us to orient those decisions toward the new manufacturing process.  Whenever unexpected problems arose, they were deemed top priorities if they might interfere with the new process; but they were handled more routinely if they did not.  And when the chance arose to acquire a manufacturing  facility with the desired capabilities, we didn't have to pause or ponder, because we'd already planned and prepared:  We leaped at the opportunity and made the acquisition.  It was a huge success, and it transformed the company in many ways.

In congregational planning, we're guided by factors considerably more important than market share, revenue growth, or return on investment.   We're guided by our answers to the questions of who we are, and what it is that God would have us do.  And because we'll have planned and prepared, we'll all be able to better focus our efforts on common and coordinated directions.  When problems arise, we'll be better able to deal with them.  And when unexpected opportunities appear, we'll be better able to seize them.


Gene Maddox, Visionary Team Chair
Kathy Kelley
Bev Gugliotta
Mitch King
Kevin Schutt
Rebecca Hayden

There are said to be three basic questions at the heart of congregational planning:

-- Who are we?
-- Who are our neighbors?
-- What has God called us to do?

The OSLC Visionary Team is currently working with the committees of the church, in order to help discern answers to these questions in their respective areas of ministry.  These discussions are a key step in moving forward.

As we've looked ahead to the next steps after the committee discussions, we've been struck by the amount of progress OSLC has already made toward answering the three questions.  Some of this work was done directly for the purpose of congregational planning, such as the identifying of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats last year.

But other valuable work has been done without the visionary / planning process being specifically in mind.  For example, the congregation's Purpose Statement, Vision Statement, and Mission, each of which are now contained in the constitution and bylaws, provide important illumination for the three questions.  So does the annual Vision Statement which the Council prepares each year at its retreat.  And the committees have each been developing their own Vision Statements, which will become a part of the congregational bylaws, and which are important steps in helping to define who we are as a church (us).


The in-depth survey of the congregation back in 2005 still provides valuable insights into who we are and what we believe we have been called to do.  There is a wealth of demographic data and other information available about our city and our region. OSLC is in the process of transitioning to a programmatic church, which further defines who we are, what we are to do, and how we are to go about doing it.

The initiative within OSLC to identify spiritual gifts within the congregation also helps to define us.  And the discussions regarding future alternatives, aspirations, and directions regarding the building and grounds will help to paint a key part of the overall picture.

The OSLC constitution directs the Visionary Team to complete a two-year plan by December 1 of this year.  This will be OSLC's first-ever strategic plan.  It's gratifying and exciting to see many of the pieces of this tapestry beginning to move into place.

Gene Maddox, Visionary Team Chair
Kathy Kelley
Bev Gugliotta
Mitch King
Kevin Schutt
Rebecca Hayden

OSLC Committee Guide:

• The OSLC Committee Guide is intended to provided a framework for guiding and recording discussions between the Visionary Team members and each OSLC committee.

OSLC SWOT's:

• The following is a list of selected items from the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Strengths ("SWOT's") as developed by the OSLC congregation during 2008.

OSLC Major Goals 2009:

• This Vision 2009 Statement was prayerfully designed by the Congregation Council at their retreat and following meeting in February. Some items will be multi-year initiatives, some will always be part of a vision, and others will be completed this year.

Purpose:

• The purpose of the Visionary Team, as established by the OSLC Constitution and bylaws.

From the book Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations by Gil Rendle and Alice Mann. Copyright © 2003 by the Alban Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.  Reproduced by permission.  Access is restricted to logged-in members of Our Saviour Lutheran Church.

• Types of Planning
• Understanding Your Congregation's Life Cycle
• The Redevelopment Loop
• A Road Map to the Full Planning Process