What We Learned Along the Way

Our Leadership Board has been intentional the last several years about Salem’s direction. Our goals this past year have been to engage everyone in the life of the church; to develop a system of congregation care; to continue holding “bridge events” outside the building to reach out to our community; and to increase the payment of our apportionments from 40% to 50% (our giving beyond the local congregation to support the general church as well as our denomination’s mission locally and throughout the world).

We learned much as we worked on these goals. We learned that while God is in control, everything takes longer than we think it will. We have to have patience and trust in how God is working.

We discovered that it’s hard to get people to commit, especially to long-term things, but it’s more fruitful with a personal invitation from someone already participating. We also wondered if perhaps we’re attempting to do too much, if the congregation is sometimes spread too thin.

Still, we’re confident there’s something for everyone on Salem’s discipleship path and that everyone has gifts to use. We have additional work to engage the participation of more in the congregation in worship and prayer, mission, and outreach as we make disciples of Jesus who transform the world.

We are excited that we are more visible in the community. Our “bridge events” (e.g. trunk or treat, Easter egg hunt) are awesome. And Salem has been blessed by wonderful financial support.

As we continue to be intentional about Salem’s direction, our goals for 2017 were shared and approved at our annual Church Conference on November 7. This is our aim next year:

First, the leaders of ministry teams and the pastor will work together to create a comprehensive and cohesive ministry action plan for 2017, including budget requests, a coordinated ministry calendar, and resources needed.

Second, this ministry action plan for 2017 will be reviewed by leaders of the ministry teams, Leadership Board, and pastor to ensure alignment with Salem's mission and vision. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And our vision is connecting people, building community, transforming lives through Jesus.

Third, the pastor, Leadership Board, and staff will review the Salem "organizational structure" and determine if changes are needed. We will define the roles of "staff" and "ministry team leader,” determine which areas require leadership, and clarify what activities fall into each area.

Fourth, we will increase the payment of our apportionments another ten percent, from 50% to 60%, as we continue to work our way back to paying 100% of our apportionments.

Our goals for this next year deliberately point us to the systems and structure of our congregation. Our ministry action plan will give us a larger system that encompasses our previous goals of engaging everyone in the life of the church, developing a system of congregation care, holding “bridge events” for our community, and more. That’s great. I am excited for us, however, to think beyond the individual pieces and consider and create more broadly the systems and leadership for what we want to accomplish.

Will you be a part of this? Leadership, of course, is vital. But the church isn’t the pastor, or the staff, or the Leadership Board. It is every one of us together. As the body of Christ, we rise or fall based on each one of us living out our essential part of the body.

This is my ninth year at Salem. So much has been accomplished since the flood of 2008 changed Salem’s course. While it’s encouraging to step back and reminisce, we’re never really done serving. We just continue moving forward, growing and building in God’s kingdom.