Grow Christ's Church Deep and Wide - Westminster Presbyterian Church

In 2008 the Session of Westminster Presbyterian Church decided to embark upon a process of visioning and strategic planning to discern God's will for the Church. The task force worked with Mike Murray, a consultant skilled in leading churches through strategic planning, to develop and implement a process, as outlined in the attached Timeline. Rev. Murray provided the task force with numerous reading materials and resources to both provide context and to aid in the development of the visioning process. These materials included resources on the emerging church, the role of the church in a post-modern society, and the book Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations, by Gil Rendle and Alice Mann. The task force embraced the themes of the resolution adopted by the 218th General Assembly in the summer of 2008 called "Grow Christ's Church Deep and Wide," which encourages our church to grow in evangelism, discipleship, servanthood, and diversity. Using the resources in Holy Conversations and these four themes, the task force developed a format to engage the congregation in a dialog regarding its vision for Westminster through the All Church Retreat at Mo-Ranch and the adult and youth Sunday School classes. In addition, the task force also received input via individual conversations, written correspondence, and discussion among the session, diaconate, staff and various session committees.

The Holy Conversations at the All Church Retreat were further guided by an original composition of "Deep and Wide" and the following scripture readings that were chosen for the weekend.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-21

But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15-16

As the task force began to summarize and formulate the results of this conversation, four distinct themes emerged:

CONNECT - There is power and importance in connections and relationships at WPC. Many members have long-standing and deep relationships here. Members clearly value and are seeking deeper significance in their relationships, and in creating authentic connections with other WPC members.

SERVE - There is excitement in the idea of taking on a unifying cause. Many members feel that a "whole church" mission to serve outside of our church walls (i.e., one that affects many areas of congregational life for some period of time) could be used to build local identity, focus resources, and provide diverse opportunities for members to plug-in, reconnect, and/or deepen relationships.

TEACH - Teaching and equipping spiritual growth of our own membership is an integral part of WPC's history and identity (i.e. we believe that spiritual formation and nurture are important for persons of all ages.) The primary challenge of our era may be embracing/coping with rapid change.

TELL - Telling the outside world "our" story and inviting others "in" to participate with us. Is WPC a place you are comfortable inviting those to whom you are personally connected? How shall we welcome those outside WPC with whom we have connections? Are there other ways WPC could show hospitality and grace to those who visit us, with little or no existing personal connection?

In particular, through each conversation, the importance of personal relationships, feeling connected to and a part of the church and other members and the sense of community, emerged. Almost as frequently mentioned was the importance of service, both inside and outside the Westminster community. After further discussion, the task force concluded that by focusing primarily on forming and strengthening connections and service, education and evangelism, or in other words, teaching and telling, would also result.

These Holy Conversations, a goal unto themselves, also spurred the congregation to identify and implement several new ministries:

As the task force concludes its work, we challenge the session, the diaconate and congregation to carry forward our mission identified through these Holy Conversations. Further, we recommend the officers evaluate this mission at the Officer's retreat in January 2010 and in mid-2010 to ensure we maintain our focus and ensure this mission is integrated into the life of the Church.