Vision to Action

Vision to Action II: Seeking God…Sharing God

Renewing the Mission of Pasadena Covenant Church – 2007

 

Background to “Vision to Action II”

At the beginning of 2003, our church’s first Vision to Action process concluded. That process involved numerous meetings with various groups in our church and resulted in our current mission statement and ministry commitments. The first Vision to Action team also charged our congregation to make “Vision to Action” an ongoing process.

In 2005, consequently, the Trustees launched a second Vision to Action process (V2A2) to help discern next steps for our church ministries and wrestle with the need for major renovations to our facility. The V2A2 team held eight extended meetings beginning in March, 2006 and listened to many different ministry teams. It presented its recommendations to the Trustees in December of 2006.

To discern the best way to act on the V2A2 team’s recommendations, the Trustees began holding special meetings in the spring of 2007. A key conclusion they arrived at was that a sufficient response to the V2A2 recommendations would require more than a single presentation to the congregation followed by a vote. Instead, any new directions should be enacted with strong congregation-wide understanding and commitment.

It was therefore decided to facilitate a church-wide discussion about the V2A2 recommendations by hosting house meetings during the months of August and September. Such a process is consistent with our church’s congregational structure which holds that each member’s voice is important and essential in decision-making. It is hoped that these discussions will enable us to celebrate and ratify together as a congregation, and in a more meaningful way, any new directions that result from V2A2.

 

Guiding Principles of V2A2

1. Look for where God is already moving and become a part of it.
2. Effective and sustainable ministries require the leadership of ministry teams which are regenerative or are successful in identifying and developing new leaders.

 

Key Recommendations

The discerning work of the V2A2 team along with the Trustees and various ministry teams has resulted in the following THREE key recommendations for Pasadena Covenant’s future:

 

1. Reaffirm PCC’s mission, core values, and ministry commitments as expressed in Vision to Action 2003

Together we are following God on a “journey inward” and a “journey outward.” This is our call; this is why Pasadena Covenant Church exists. We therefore call our congregation to a renewed commitment to the mission, core values, and commitments embedded in this dynamic process.

Our church’s Mission Statement is: Seeking God…Sharing God.

Our stated Core Values are as follows:

·    We seek to follow God as a multigenerational community of believers living in openness, humility, and freedom.

·    We seek to know God through prayer and the study of Scripture, as well as through spirited dialogue.

·    We seek to worship God with passion, thought, and creativity.

·    We seek to honor God in welcoming all whom seek a spiritual home, offering our hospitality to those unfamiliar to us and those who call us by name.

·    We seek to serve God by caring for the needs of others, in our midst and in the world at large.

·    We seek to share God by proclaiming God’s great love and compassion for us all, as shown through Jesus Christ our Lord.

·    Diverse in gifts and faith experience, we are an Evangelical Covenant Church, united by the Holy Spirit, devoted to Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, Messiah.

We have made the following three Ministry Commitments:

·    Make prayer central to everything we do

·    Pursue intentional spiritual formation

·    Extend God’s grace “beyond our walls”

2. Focus on outreach ministries that flow from and support PCC’s mission, core values, and ministry commitments and which reflect the guiding principles of V2A2 (there are signs of God’s movement and there is potential for an active and growing team to lead the ministry).

We recognize and appreciate the influx of new people including young adults and couples with young children into our community. We sense God drawing our church’s attention to key opportunities by which our growing community can together learn to Share God more effectively:

…with new friends via Alpha and other outreach efforts

…in our city by learning to pursue Justice and offering the Bad Weather Shelter

…beyond our walls in ongoing partnership to plant Church of the Redeemer

…throughout the world through A Million for Missions

 

1. Renew our commitment to creating a home for the spiritually homeless

i.         Support and expand our Alpha ministry and view it not only as an effective outreach but also as an important learning opportunity for ourselves

ii.       Work on expanding our intentionality around spiritual formation to include intentional care for the spiritual formation of others

 

2. Support the Peace and Justice Team to lead us in learning to do justice locally around issues related to homelessness

i.         Call a Ministry Team in 2007 to increase our ability to provide a home for the physically homeless by increasing our involvement and effectiveness in serving our neighbors through the Bad Weather Shelter

ii.       Build on our years of involvement with the BWS ministry by learning how to respond biblically as a church to key underlying causes of homelessness in Pasadena and surrounding areas

 

3. Recommit to partnering with Church of the Redeemer

We challenge our congregation not only to renew but also to strengthen our partnering relationship with the Church of the Redeemer.

i.         Call an expanded joint-PCC/COR Ministry Team to lead this partnership and guide our involvement

ii.       Commit to ongoing financial support for Church of the Redeemer

 

4. Continue our historically strong tradition of support of international missions

i.         Complete our Million for Missions initiative

ii.       Recognize and promote innovations such as our grant-making strategy 

 

3. Renovate and remodel our facilities in a way that furthers our vision and ministries (3-15 year plan)

Proper stewardship requires that we address the need for significant upgrades to our facilities. We sense God is leading us to go beyond simply repairing our ailing physical plant, and instead develop a long-term renovation plan that supports and flows out of our ministries. We are proposing the development of a major renovation and remodeling plan that will allow us to:

1. Present our campus as a place of hospitality, beauty, and spiritual retreat to serve members and guests;
2. Share God through more effective multi-use/multi-purpose rooms suitable for community use and outreach and services to guests of the Bad Weather Shelter;
3. Rent up to date and well maintained facilities to guests and neighbors, including hosting another church in need of a place to get started. (NOTE: Indications are that we will not be able to provide adequate space and facility needs much longer for the church that we currently host, IMHA.)
4. Participate in addressing a growing need in our community by pursuing options for retaining an affordable housing component on our campus.

 

Concluding Thought: Seeking God, Sharing God – Here is a word from the Lord as heard and conveyed by Elmer Fredrickson, a member of the Vision to Action II team: “Having submitted my life to Jesus Christ, I have peace and joy as I willingly and humbly serve God and others.”