Fresh Eyes for Mission Summit – March 11th

And Jesus stopped and called (the two blind men), saying, ‘What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes and immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:32-34
In ongoing reflection, prayer, and conversation, our church council has voted to join with members of the leadership of the North American Lutheran Church in seeking an integrative approach to our congregational assessment, evaluation, and renewal.
Working together, Assistant to the Bishop for Missions, Dr. Gemechis Buba, Assistant for Domestic Missions Pr. Phil Gagnon, Director for Renewal Ministries, Pr. Brad Hales and Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry, Pr. David Wendel have developed such an approach, appropriately titled, the “Fresh Eyes for Mission Summit!”
The goal of the summit is to involve appropriate leadership in the NALC, together with the Congregation’s pastor and leaders, praying first, “Lord, let our eyes be opened!” We then trust that the Lord will give participants fresh eyes to receive new insight and understanding, all aimed at new or renewed direction for mission and ministry as the congregation seeks to follow Jesus firmly and faithfully!
Each summit begins with pre-work by pastor and congregational leaders, which is reviewed by NALC leaders who bring varied experiences and expertise. An on-site visit is scheduled at St. Jacob’s with an NALC facilitator who will then join two or three of our congregational leaders in a tour of the local area and neighborhoods, surrounding the church, neighborhoods bordering the congregational service area, and making visits, where appropriate, to neighboring congregations, community offices and locations. The goal is to look with “fresh eyes” at the congregation, context and community and develop a strategy for renewal of ministries and growth.
The NALC facilitator then meets with the pastor and summit participants, which should include those currently on council and serving on ministry teams, as well as others who have served in the past and may serve in the future, to review pre-work, asking, “What have we learned? What is a surprise? What pre-conceived ideas were supported or dispelled?”
On Saturday, March 11th, a workshop is scheduled that will be led by the NALC facilitator, involving all members of the congregation who desire to participate in learning more about how to renew the mission and ministry of St. Jacob’s.
ALL MEMBERS OF ST. JACOB’S are encouraged and invited to participate in this Saturday Summit Workshop. Many congregations in the Carolinas have hosted Fresh eyes Summits in the last year, and have found them to be very helpful in learning more about how to renew their church’s ministry and create a vision for future growth.