St. Mark’s strategic plan in focus at leadership retreat, adult forum

Jim LaDoux of Vibrant Faith

More than two dozen people in leadership roles at St. Mark’s attended a half-day retreat on Saturday, April 13 to discuss the congregation’s strategic plan, now under construction. The plan also was the focus of the Adult Forum gathering on Palm Sunday, April 14.

Leading both meetings was Jim LaDoux, who works with congregations around the nation as a coach/consultant for Minneapolis-based Vibrant Faith. LaDoux has counseled the new St. Mark’s Compass Team, tasked with developing the plan, which will then be presented to the St. Mark’s Leadership Council for review and consideration.

Three congregational forums also are planned in May (see schedule at the end of the article), during which all are welcome to ask questions and share ideas with the Compass Team.

Participants at the Saturday retreat included Council members, committee chairs and ministry leaders. They heard more details from the congregational survey that was done earlier this year. Nancy Wilkerson, convener of the Compass Team, sketched out demographic data and summarized perceptions and priorities listed by the 70 people who responded to the survey. And they heard key insights from LaDoux about what makes for an effective plan.

Nichole Bishop
Compass Team member Nichole Bishop discusses a map showing where members of the St. Mark’s family live.

LaDoux said the strategic plan aims to help the congregation “create a culture of spiritual vitality” in a way that honors our calling and mission and helps us to bring our best to one another and to our community. That requires inspection and reflection, he said, and an embrace of adaptive change. What should we hold onto? What has been meaningful? We don’t want to lose that. What should we reconsider—perhaps celebrate its value in the past and let it go as something that accomplished its mission? Adaptive change can help to make room for new growth.

“If you want a deeper connection to the community, what does that look like?” LaDoux asked. “Maybe it is three signature programs. You can’t manage 15. To do your best might mean you do less.”

LaDoux said he sees great strengths at St. Mark’s—especially its caring and service-oriented atmosphere. He agreed with all who expressed desire for better communication and said he also sees an immediate need to better define and sharpen the church governance structure. He sees that as necessary before any expansion or new programs or ministries might be considered. He is collating material gathered in the discussion groups, will summarize that information and work with the Compass Team to bring further clarity to near- and longer-term goals.

“There’s a lot to celebrate here,” he said. “Every church has challenges. Sometimes we get so caught up in the challenges that we don’t see the strengths.”

Telling the stories of God’s work in our lives is a powerful way to develop the faith community, he said.

Coming soon:

• Three discussion sessions have been scheduled to give opportunity for all in the congregation to meet with members of the Compass Team, ask questions and share ideas. The schedule is as follows:
Sunday, May 5, 10 a.m. in the Seminary Room
Wednesday, May 15, 7 p.m. in the Seminary Room
Sunday, May 19, noon in the Seminary Room

The Compass Team includes Pastor Scott Maxwell, Nancy Wilkerson (convener), Nichole Bishop, Peg Bradley, Beth Miller, Dwight Novotny and Mike Patterson.

Compass Team analyzing survey data, preparing formal reports

Stylized compass

The St. Mark’s Compass Team, tasked with developing a strategic plan for the church, has a lot of information in hand now, thanks to the 69 people who completed the recent congregational survey by the deadline. A total of 130 surveys were distributed. If you did not receive a survey, please call the church office at (302) 764-7488 to request one. We want everyone’s ideas on how to shape a great future for St. Mark’s.

As those of you who responded to the survey know, there is much to review and a careful analysis is underway.

Nancy Wilkerson, convener of the team, invested many hours assembling the responses, sorting them by relevant categories, attaching numeric scores to priorities and perceptions within the congregation and typing out individual comments.

“We’ll be working on this for a number of weeks,” she said.

Respondents’ statements about the church are divided into seven themes including: fellowship, faith, faith formation and education, outreach, flexibility, leadership, and overall satisfaction.

“We’re evaluating responses in a respectful, positive way,” said Mike Patterson, another Compass Team member. “They’re valuable and we appreciate everyone doing it.”

Surveys of area community groups and leaders are continuing and smaller focus groups will be convened for further discussion to help us clarify our mission.

“How do our greatest gifts help to meet the greatest needs?” Pastor Scott Maxwell said.

Here are a few bits of information about those who responded to the report:

    * 62 percent of respondents have attended St. Mark’s for more than 20 years, 16 percent for 11-20 years, 12 percent for 6-10 years, 10 percent for 1-5 years.
    * 68 percent of respondents are married.
    * 36 percent are between 65-75 years old, 28 percent between 41-64, 26 percent over 75.
    * 52 percent of respondents attend the 9 a.m. service, 23 percent the 11 a.m., 22 percent attend both.

Next steps:

    * Results of the congregational survey will be distributed when the reports and analysis are complete.
    * After release of the results, discussion sessions will be scheduled to address questions, seek more information and further explain the goals of this process.
    * Congregational leaders (Council members, committee chairs, ministry leaders) will gather at a retreat in April to review the reports, discuss priorities and begin to shape the St. Mark’s strategy.

Please continue to pray for this team as this work continues, asking God for wisdom, discernment and strength for the task.

In addition to Pastor Scott, Nancy and Mike, team members include Nichole Bishop, Peg Bradley, Beth Miller and Dwight Novotny.