May 18, 2011

Dear Trinity Members and Friends:

As you know, Trinity has launched a mission planning process to help guide our congregation through the next 3-5 years.  We will be posting to this webpage certain important information and links to documents relating to that process.  To put that information in context, it is important to keep in mind why we are engaging in mission planning, what the planning will consist of, and what we hope to achieve at the end of the process.

For most congregations today, there is a danger to staying too long in one place.  Statistics tell us that eighty percent of the 350,000 Christian congregations in America are at a plateau or declining.   Sixty-seven percent of the ELCA Metro Chicago Synod’s 200 + congregations fall in this category.  And “mainline” churches like Trinity are the most at risk.

This means we have new challenges, but also new opportunities for mission and ministry – opportunities we can pursue, if we are actively planning to do so.   Clearly, God will help and guide us as we undertake our planning, but we must be open to His calling and ready to follow where we are led.

What is Mission Planning?

Mission planning can mean many different things.  At its most basic, it involves an honest and frank discussion of who we are as a congregation, where we want to go together, and how we want to get there.  We cannot look too far into the future, but we can hope to map out the next 3-5 years.

What process will we follow?

After assessing various avenues for conducting our mission planning, we decided to engage John Holm of TAG to assist us with this process.  John is an ordained Lutheran minister within the Chicago Synod who served as a senior pastor for 19 years.  A number of years ago, he discovered that his true calling was to use his knowledge and expertise to help congregations as a consultant.  

The process followed by TAG for mission planning consists of an initial “Assessment Phase,” followed by a “Planning Phase,” and concluding with an “Implementation Phase.”  So far, we have completed the “Assessment Phase” of the process and begun the Planning Phase.    

What are the reports that are linked at the bottom of this page?

On this page, you will find links to three reports generated during the Assessment Phase.  One report provides demographic data about our community.  Another report provides the results of the congregational survey that was conducted.  This survey is known as the Transforming Church Index and allows comparison of our congregation to the other 75,000 plus surveys in TAG’s database.  The third report includes TAG’s overall observations based on the demographic data, the survey results, and a series of focus groups that were conducted with visitors and members.

What happens during the Planning and Implementation Stages?

All of the information is being used during the Planning Phase to chart our course into the future.  The Planning Phase involves a series of three retreats for 24 members and staff.  These retreats have occurred or will occur at the church between May and the end of August.  They are spaced approximately one month apart so that we will have an opportunity to report back to the congregation about our progress and to get the congregation’s feedback.

The last phase of the TAG process will consist of the “Implementation Phase.”  During this phase, TAG will step back and congregational staff and leadership will step forward.  To ensure that this phase goes as planned, TAG will provide a year of coaching for Pastor Tim and staff/lay team members.  TAG is one of the few consulting organizations to offer this coaching as part of the same package as the mission planning, and they consider it to be critical to the success of the planning efforts.  Many self-led planning efforts falter as they move to this final stage of “working the plan.”

Why are we conducting Mission Planning now?

One final point needs to be made about our mission planning process.  We are blessed as a congregation to be undertaking this process when things are going well.  We have excellent staff, our membership has been stable, and we have a congregation who gives generously of their time, talent, and treasure.  Many churches only turn to mission planning when they are in crisis, and by then it is sometimes too late for them to recover.  With God’s help and our commitment to this process, we can ensure that Trinity continues to be a vibrant, mission-driven faith community for many years to come. 

Together in Christ,

Peter F. Donati
Congregation President

Report Links (Updated 5/19/11)
Demographic Report

Congregational Survey Results

Trinity Assessment Report

Overall Summary