Mission
Study Document
Approved by Session July 21, 2009
I. Who We Are
The Core Spiritual Identity (CSI) of Community of Grace Presbyterian Church
Why Do We Exist?
Our mission is to build
confident followers of Jesus Christ who love God, neighbor and self.
What is God’s vision for us?
We are called to be a community
growing in love, compassion and justice.
What values guide our
ministry?
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We are led by our Session,
Pastor and Area Leadership Team in prioritizing spiritual practices of
worship, scripture study, and personal prayer as essential to develop a strong
personal and corporate relationship with God.
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We love others where they are and we encourage them on
their spiritual journey.
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We strive for excellence in teams and systems to honor
God and inspire people.
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We share Christ with others in word and deed.
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We communicate the gospel in practical, meaningful, and relevant ways that touch the heart and head.
What behaviors are we
developing in people who desire to be confident followers of Jesus Christ?
We are leading people to…
Connect deeply
with God through Christ-centered relationships.
Grow and
mature to follow Jesus Christ in all areas of life.
Serve in ministry offering our resources, gifts, passions and
strengths.
Share God’s love by reaching out to others in word and deed.
Live worshipfully,
practicing the presence of God as the dominant reality of our lives.
We are a local congregation
of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.
II. What
We Are About
Key Ways - we do, and will
continue to implement, our Core Spiritual Identity (CSI)
Outreach and
Mission
At Community of Grace, one
of the ways we build confident followers of Jesus Christ who love God, neighbor
and self is through the ministry of Outreach and
Mission
.
Outreach and
Mission
exists to:
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Invite others to experience life as confident followers of Jesus
Christ.
§
Welcome genuinely all who are drawn to us by the Holy Spirit.
§
Serve our local community, our nation
and the world as the hands and feet of Christ. Service experiences are intergenerational, as well as geared for
specific age groups.
Children’s Ministry
Our nursery is open during worship with at least two staff nursery
attendants and with volunteer support as needed. We believe that our nursery is a child’s
introduction to a God of amazing love as demonstrated through caring
interactions. Safety and health are a
priority. Pagers are provided to each
parent during worship.
We provide opportunities for children to:
Worship: One service is designated
for children to remain and worship with their family; the other service offers
a separate children’s worship time with music, a message, prayer and activity
designed to engage a truth of God.
Grow: Sunday
School is offered each Sunday during the school year (September to May) with teams of
3-4 teachers in each class committed to teaching a Bible story using FaithWeaver curriculum’s use of interactive learning tools
for different learning styles.
Serve / Connect: Tweens--5th-6th graders, have the opportunity
to participate in ACTS (Accepting, Caring, Telling, Sharing), a program that
serves and encourages interactions between Community of Grace and community
Senior Citizens.
Outreach events such as
Vacation
Bible
School
, an annual Easter
Egg Hunt and the Birthday Party for Jesus allow kids to invite friends to fun
activities.
Youth Ministry
Youth Ministry is designed with a desire for REAL
values: Relevant, Excellent, Active
Participation, Love.
The Message is a program designed to help youth grow in understanding God’s truths and worship Christ through a relevant
message.
Sheer Fun events are planned for Sheer Fun – to allow kids
to invite friends. Our annual Fast has become another tool for
kids to invite others into the
challenge of fasting to make a difference with a need around the world.
Connecting in Christ-Centered relationships through small
group Bible Study, service and fun together is a priority to develop.
Mission
trips primarily for youth, and intergenerational trips, offer
opportunities to receive a life-changing blessing from serving and caring for others in need.
Adult
Ministry
Our desire is to welcome
every adult and encourage them to enrich their relationship with God. We invite them to participate in adult
ministries that highlight the key characteristics of building confident followers: Connect, Grow, Serve, Share and Live worshipfully.
Connect: Small
groups allow interaction that connect and develop relationships within our
faith community which are critical for building a strong body of Christ.
Grow: Sunday School classes offer opportunities to grow through Bible study, book
discussion and relevant information sessions.
Serve: Service opportunities in our local community and
beyond allow us to put our faith in action and experience the love God has for
all creation.
Share: Sharing our faith through leadership and mentoring
deepens our faith experience.
Live worshipfully: Practicing
the presence of God as the dominant reality of our lives engages the dynamic
component of the relationship and celebrates the gift of grace.
Recent examples of
Ministries in place... Lunch Bunch Bible Study, Faces & Places of God
Sunday activities, Taekwon Do, Salvation Army sandwich making and serving,
Crossroads Food Co-op distribution location, Rebuilding Hope In New Orleans (RHINO) mission trip.
Family Ministry
Families are contacted
monthly by their Deacon, and special care is offered during times of
crisis. Ongoing prayer support is
available through a Prayer Chain and Prayer Team on a daily / weekly
basis.
We are currently
encouraging our families to participate in Summer
Sunday Faces & Places of God events to engage fellowship in partnership
with service or entertainment. These
events have included lunch with the homeless in Pioneer Park, visiting Tracy
Aviary, group hikes, July 5th Pancake Breakfast, Royal Family Kid’s
Camp support, Salvation Army sandwich making / serving, and Jordan River Parkway
clean up.
During the year
quarterly service events and other fellowship activities are on the calendar.
Quarterly service events: Crossroads “Fall Leaf Haul” leaf raking, Salvation
Army Bell Ringing, Crossroads Turkey Giveaways, support for 10,000 Villages,
Tree Utah / Tree Planting.
Worship
During the school year (September to May) we offer
two Sunday worship celebrations with distinct styles. At 8:30 a.m. it is contemporary, with the
Spirit of Joy band and communion around the table weekly. At 11:00 a.m. it is more traditional, with
piano and choir, communion monthly and a Children’s Message.
During the summer we offer one service (at 9:30 a.m.), followed by after-worship
opportunities where people can experience the joy of God¹s creation through
the places and faces of people in our community.
Operations and Finances
Excellent physical plant – Three
building phases have been completed in the last 25 years. Outstanding location with
adequate space inside and out (including parking) to handle considerable
growth. No significant deferred maintenance.
Finances are down somewhat over
recent past, but a new direction in stewardship planned for Fall 2009 is expected to close the gap, together with a better-communicated vision.
Non-program staff is approximately
1 FTE and well organized / knowledgeable / efficient
III.
Where We’re Headed
Key Themes for 2009-10
A) Outreach
and spiritual growth through hands-on practical ministry locally and short-term
mission trips.
B) Deepening
commitment to children and youth ministry leadership.
C) Leverage
ALT (Area Leadership Team) organizational structure through:
1.
Building / training ministry teams.
2.
Developing Session as the center for ministry leadership and
values.
3. Calling a permanent pastor supportive and skilled
at collegial and mentoring / encouraging styles of leadership with staff, Session
and individual elders.
4. We will retain
and build on our ELT (Executive Leadership Team) by repositioning it into ALT (Area
Leadership Team). Most of this is a
matter of reshaping perceptions such that the Area Leaders are, and are seen
as, servants / encouragers / coordinators / resource-ers / mentors, rather than “executives”. We
also plan on more deliberately working this way with Session as a body, and
with individual elders to help them develop more fully in their spiritual
leadership role(s).
D) Our congregation
theologically is represented by the bell-shaped curve with fairly short tails. We have been evolving, and plan to continue evolving,
an increasingly “balanced Christianity”; meaning deepening personal
relationships with Christ, going deeper into knowledge and appreciation of
scripture, and finding both faith expression and spiritual fellowship in a
variety of service opportunities.
E) Developing
small groups that enjoy meeting weekly to engage in study, support, service and
outreach.
F) Extending
the thematic use of water-related missions and teaching: Clean Water for all God’s Children, Come to the Waters Vacation Bible School, etc. into all appropriate ministry areas, building on the vision of Rev 22: 1 – 2: “Then the angel showed me
the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of
God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree
are for the healing of the nations.”
