I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8

Aren’t these comforting words from our loving God? The Church Leadership Board kept this scripture in mind as we determined our goal for 2017:

For each board member to identify and intentionally build up relationships with an owner segment of the congregation.

We will determine action steps to meet this goal and hold each other accountable for reaching it.

This goal meets several areas of our policy manual, but first let’s consider who the Owners are.

Our policy manual describes “Owners” as Jesus followers who invest dollars, time, and emotion with some conscious risk in order to enhance and expand the spread of the Gospel through the Church’s mission. These Owners are actively engaged in our strategy (lifeWorship, lifeGroup, lifeServe) and are able to say:

• I am sustained by the Word.

• I am dependent on Christ.

• I am a visible reflection of Jesus.

• I am the missional heartbeat of God.

Policy that is congruent with our goal includes:

1.2 Results – this section talks about “owners actively engaged in our strategy” (talking with active owners ought to give us insight in how to forward our ministry),

2.1.5 – Leadership board members are to work to expand their “understanding of the mission and ministry of the congregation”,

2.1.7 – “make informed decisions by insisting on complete and accurate information”

2.1.9 – “Invest personal energy and skills in the mission and ministries of the congregation…”

2.1.10 – “Relate to other individuals with integrity, honesty and straightforwardness”

2.4.3 Policy Development  – policies are to be active and dynamic…based on the…changing context within which the congregation functions (talking with owners will help us be aware of any changing contexts)

2.9.4 “Identify and establish relationships with groups that have the potential to have a felt ownership in the congregation.”

2.11.1 “The Board shall yearly identify the congregation’s key Owners segments.  The Board shall discuss shifts in the Owners segments over time and shall respond appropriately to communicate with and address the concerns of the current Owners.”

This goal is also is congruent with Catalyst 100: “By the end of 2017 in true reformation style, we will be experiencing a significant increase in contagious joy, because we will be able to identify 100 people who are re-examining missional living as they practice and experiment what it means for them to live missionally.” What better way to live missionally than to build relationships? We hope this relationship building can be a model for living missionally in our families, neighborhoods and workplaces.

This goal is in addition to all of the regular responsibilities of the Church Leadership Board. Some of our tasks include reviewing the strategic plan, informing the owners of the degrees of success in meeting the Desired Outcomes of the congregation, and revising the policy manual.

We are looking forward to building relationships with you as we all work towards our desired outcome: The people who live in and around the Greater Madison area will be connected to life in Jesus and live a life that is distinct and set apart for mission through our responsible use of the resources that God provides the Church.

As always, if you have questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the board.