Presented at the Jan 26, 2014 Annual Parish Meeting
Saint John The Evangelist Episcopal Church
Strategic Planning Framework
January 26, 2014
OUR MISSION -- The Collect of Saint John’s:
“Gracious God, by your love you have called us to proclaim with joy the good news of your Son. So
build us up in the knowledge and love of Him that we may welcome all people into this community of
faith and show forth our service to you in our service to others.”
OUR VISION
At Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, we pride ourselves on being more than simply a
church building or even a worshipping congregation. We will be a thriving and nurturing
community that cares about its members and serves Christ in the world. In the years ahead, we
will build on our strong foundation. We will offer vibrant and meaningful worship, music,
programs, and faith formation opportunities. We will cultivate innovative partnerships in the city
around us, responding to our evolving community’s needs. We will serve as an inclusive cultural
center in our neighborhood, nurturing and welcoming both longtime members and visitors of all
ages, backgrounds, and experiences.
INTRODUCTION
To better understand where God is leading us as a community of faith and respond with a plan
for how to get there, the Saint John’s community entered a yearlong strategic planning process in
January 2013. Through monthly meetings, incorporating many voices from our community,
commission members began to develop a three-to-five-year framework for identifying and
achieving a vision for the church’s future.
Over the course of the year, the commission collected information and input on the Saint John’s
community and programs as well as the external environment that may affect us. The group
identified examples of strengths and opportunities for growth. After reviewing the data, the
commission discerned key priorities and developed recommendations in six distinct areas: faith
formation, liturgy and music, programming, new membership, building and infrastructure, and
financial sustainability. The entire congregation was updated on the process—and often
participated in it—through Evangelist summary updates, stakeholder interviews, Sunday
conversations, surveys and discussion groups. With so many opportunities for our members to
provide ideas, reflection and feedback, the strategic planning process—the conversations about
our community’s direction and future—was as valuable as the final results.
The following findings and recommendations will shape and support our community as we
develop specific work plans for the years ahead.
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RESULTS
The strategic planning commission identified the following six priority areas, each with its own
distinct vision, current context and goals. Each goal is linked to the Saint John’s mission
statement.
I. FAITH FORMATION: “Build us up in the knowledge and love of Him….”
Vision
Faith formation involves nourishing our spiritual development so that we are prepared to live out
the Saint John’s mission and identify strongly as committed Christians. Everything, from our
worship and Faith in Action service work to our community life and welcome ministries, should
contribute to this effort. Saint John’s will support Christian formation for members of all ages
through new and existing programs and through external partnerships. Our programs will
include existing and new formation and instruction, and will seek to infuse all of our gatherings
with intentional spiritual practice. We will emphasize building healthy and strong relationships
among members and the leaders who serve them and invite all to walk together with us, learning
and growing in our journey of faith and discovery.
Findings
Saint John’s has a strong youth program—including Godly Play, Rite 13, Journey to Adulthood
(J2A), and hosting Teens Encounter Christ (TEC). Our community’s consensus is that children
and youth programs like these are critical to the church’s future. While recent work to highlight
our strengthened youth programming has led some members to perceive a reduction in
programming for adults, there has actually been a significant increase in adult programs in the
last two years: a second all-ages men’s group, women’s groups, Bible Study, house groups, a
book club, prayer shawl group, Older Wiser Laity (OWLs), Going Sixty retreats, Episcopal 101
and 102, new member classes, and a group for members in their 20s and 30s. Additional staff
support and the new faith formation commission will continue to strengthen these programs.
Priorities
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Provide opportunities for parishioners to deepen their relationship with God, including
programs and conversations that build on the Sunday worship and other services.
Encourage spiritual growth both individually and as a community by increasing
opportunities for all adult members to discern and reflect on their relationship with God
and prayer. Multigenerational programming will be incorporated into this effort.
Strengthen the vitality and continuum of children’s and youth programming.
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II. WORSHIP: “Proclaim with joy the good news of your Son….”
Vision
We aim to engage a diverse community of faith and enrich each member’s spiritual development
through our worship. Our liturgical practice, highlighted by excellence in preaching, will draw
from both traditional and contemporary Anglican practices. Our music program, with
opportunities for participation from parishioners, will provide a broad repertoire and facilitate
other special visual and performing arts events.
Findings
Consistently cited by church members as a key strength, music at Saint John’s is a vibrant
program that helps attract and retain new members. We value our liturgical tradition and are also
open to new expressions of liturgy. We recognize strengths in both paid and volunteer
leadership, and we honor the significant time commitment for our musicians and our
parishioners’ high expectations. Evensong, Compline, sacred music concerts, performing and
visual arts events and other outreach are all offered as gifts to our community.
Priorities
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Attract, welcome and engage a diverse cross-section of our community through liturgy
and the performing and visual arts.
Continue the growth and excellence in liturgy and music programming, including
recruiting new talent into our choirs and other liturgical ministries.
Maximize our church space’s beauty and utility in more creative ways to further enhance
the liturgy and the music.
III. PROGRAMMING & PARTNERSHIPS: “Our service to You in our service to
others…”
Vision
We will be a parish that seeks to understand the issues in our community. We will provide
opportunities for meaningful involvement, from social activities to outreach beyond our walls. We
will pursue partnerships with others in our community, using our shared assets to develop
collaborative programming. This sustainable programming, along with thriving fellowship groups
and volunteer opportunities—supported and led by staff and church members—will be available to
parishioners. Service to community and pastoral care will be hallmarks, their comforting resources
integrated into everything that we do.
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Findings
In addition to wonderful existing programs, the Faith in Action Commission has a well-defined
mechanism for evaluating new programs and supporting ones that meet those criteria. We have a
robust partnership with our companion parish, Holy Apostles, which adds richness to our
community life and is valued by members. A church with both volunteers and staff coordinating
programming comes with challenges. There are many ways to get involved, but parishioners may
not be aware of all of them. Programming has been described as broad but shallow, and there is a
perception that our programs are understaffed and underfunded. Recruiting and retaining
volunteers to lead programs is an ongoing challenge, and some programs rely too heavily on the
commitment of a small loyal group of members. Members noted that pastoral care is extremely
important to them.
Priorities
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Reinvigorate our volunteer engagement and management approaches so that communication
is comprehensive and the availability of volunteer opportunities is well-integrated.
Deepen community partnerships that leverage mutual strength; continue to strengthen our
partnership with Holy Apostles.
Expand the ongoing and objective assessment of current programs to ensure mission
alignment and effective use of resources.
Develop an effective, sustainable model of lay and ordained pastoral care.
IV. MEMBER INTEGRATION: “Welcome all people into this community of faith….”
Vision
We will thrive as “the church of the open door,” and we will be known across the community for
our inviting spirit. We welcome visitors, Project Home guests, concert attendees, neighborhood
partners, and diocesan event participants. We will nurture a growing congregation and invite
visitors to consider making Saint John’s their spiritual home; and we also welcome every person
who enters our building, whether he or she is a longtime parishioner or a first-time visitor. We
cherish a community that is diverse in all ways.
Findings
Generally perceived as a friendly church, we have new people joining us on most Sundays, and
many of them remember being welcomed personally. The clergy, music, liturgy, location and
current members all draw visitors to St. John’s. We would like to be a diverse congregation, but
we are still lacking diversity in many areas. Some of the feedback indicates that we may be
perceived as inaccessible and somewhat formal.
We are looking for more opportunities to connect new members to longtime ones, beginning
with vestry members taking a more active role in welcoming new members. Integrating new
members and retaining existing members require diligent follow-up and staff time.
Learning about the actual numbers of sustainable growth will help our community plan and
budget accordingly.
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Fortunately, recent efforts have enabled us to better track visitors and new members. We’re
receiving more substantial feedback from new members about why they joined and from visitors
who did not return. We have defined membership as: regularly attending worship; generously
giving to Saint John’s by pledging, serving, and offering talents; being baptized, confirmed,
and/or received into the Episcopal Church; and participating in New Member gatherings.
Priorities
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Develop clarity around the process of becoming a member, including the opportunities,
expectations and criteria for membership.
Involve parishioners in welcoming visitors and encouraging membership.
Identify and reach out to members who have become inactive.
Seek new ways to welcome people who may be different from us.
Cultivate a culture of invitation - equipping and encouraging our members to
communicate the joy of our parish community and the faith it holds to the city around us.
V. BUILDING AND INFRASTRUCTURE:
(Our tools for mission/vision fulfillment)
Vision
Our beautiful building in the heart of a vibrant neighborhood is an historic landmark and one of
Saint John’s many treasures; it is a resource to be well-maintained and used faithfully for
ministry. Our vision is to maintain and regularly update a building that serves our mission and
community, a space that draws hearts and minds toward God.
Findings
For being more than 110 years old, our building is in great shape. However, there are many
potential projects not currently prioritized and no long-term plan for capital funding. Building
projects are funded currently from the operating budget and some designated funds. Despite our
physical plant providing capacity (a valuable asset as new partnerships are considered), funds for
ongoing maintenance are inadequate. Our current annual budget, funded largely by our pledge
drive and endowment revenue, does not support developing extensive building renovations. There
is ongoing tension between our community’s wishes and the funds available in our annual budget.
In summary, neither the current budget nor the endowment provides for a way to fully fund both
expected and unexpected maintenance. For example, when the 100-year-old roof needed to be
replaced, we borrowed money. A better and more thoughtful approach could be to provide a
sinking fund that could be built up for both anticipated and unanticipated capital needs.
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Priorities
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Determine the best way to plan and fund our ongoing and future capital needs.
Develop and implement strategies to make the most efficient and effective use of our
physical space.
VI. FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY:
(Our tools for mission/vision fulfillment)
Vision
Generosity, gratitude, hope and charity are at the core of Saint John’s, and those values must
translate to our community’s financial practices too. We strive to make stewardship part of the
fabric of our daily life together. This includes engaging our members to take ownership in our
church’s programs and its future by pledging toward our annual campaign and considering
planned giving options. We will use our endowment judiciously and evaluate our plans for the
future through an ongoing appraisal of our current resources and program impacts. Because we
are a church whose members believe in our mission to serve, we envision that Saint John’s will
continue to thrive both programmatically and financially.
Findings
In its early days in the late 1800s, Saint John’s was considered a wealthy parish in a newly rich
community, thanks to the booming railroad business in town. By World War II though, the
neighborhood was in decline, with many families moving to the suburbs and the business
community’s focus shifting westward. By the 1960-70s, the Church also started to experience
declining revenues. We are extremely fortunate that the neighborhood has been revitalized, with
the parish today composed increasingly of young professional families. The Saint John’s parish is
becoming younger as a congregation and has a growing community presence.
There may be an assumption that Saint John’s is still a wealthy parish that does not need
participation from all members. We are a congregation seeking to grow, yet our current budget is
stretched to meet the needs of our existing congregation. Our financial model may not be
sustainable in the future as the age and economic demographics of our membership change. We
need broader and deeper participation in our stewardship and planned giving programs, as well
as a standing committee focused on planned giving.
With a few exceptions, early members and their families did not provide for a parish endowment.
The endowment grew gradually through modest bequests, and the earlier draws were larger than
could be sustained and provided no real growth. In 2008, the Cornerstone Trust was created,
providing a vehicle to contribute funds in. This change was followed by a major gift, then by
two generous bequests from leading parishioners.
Today, income from the endowment provides for maintenance of the physical plant and some
programming. As stated earlier however, neither the current budget nor the endowment provides
for a way to fully fund both expected and unexpected building maintenance.
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Similarly, current pledges and Sunday offerings from the congregation tend to support the majority
of church programming, but not all. Finally, the annual endowment draw of slightly more than 5%
may exceed what is prudent to preserve long-term the value of the endowment principal. It would
be desirable to reduce the draw to 3.5%-4%, and have programming supported by pledges,
offering, and other revenue sources. A preferred approach would also be to budget and make
annual contributions to a sinking fund or reserve that could be built up to fund periodic anticipated
major replacements and unanticipated capital needs.
Priorities
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Create and deepen a culture and expectation of stewardship, and develop that value across
all aspects of what we do, including new and existing member integration, programming
and faith formation.
Develop a financial plan that provides adequately for ongoing facility maintenance and
replacement, funding from reserves for periodic capital replacement, and long term
preservation of endowment principal.
Increase the endowment and planned giving program.
Determine strategic ways to use our physical plant’s assets to generate additional
revenue.
NEXT STEPS
The above findings and recommendations represent PHASE I of the strategic planning process,
i.e. developing a strategic vision and framework that provide for a three-to-five-year blueprint
for achieving our faith community’s future.
After the commission’s findings are presented first to the Vestry and then at the congregation’s
annual meeting in January 2014, the congregation will have the opportunity to provide further
feedback and insights. Parish commissions and committees, with staff support, will begin to
develop specific action plans (PHASE II) in collaboration with the Vestry. Phase II will also
ascertain how Saint John’s is viewed in our external community, plus finding out what the
community views as its most pressing needs and the alignment, as appropriate, of our
programming to those needs.
PHASE III will lead to implementation of the action plans, along with tactics and specific
measurements for ensuring vision achievement and success. The overall alignment of the
mission, the vision, the strategic framework, and resulting action plan implementation will create
and nurture a dynamic, vibrant future for Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church.
The Executive Committee of the Vestry will be responsible for general oversight and support for
Phases II and III.
The Strategic Planning Commission is grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this
yearlong process of discerning where God is leading us as a community of faith, and through that
discernment, creating our vision for the future. Thank you.
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