Strategic Planning

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Strategic Planning

This year, our church is engaged in a strategic planning process to discover God’s vision for our church in the next 4-6 years. We want to discern God’s call together for First Baptist through 2020.

This process involves several stages of gaining information from the church and community, planning with staff and deacons, and sharing feedback and information with the church as a whole.

To begin this process, our Strategic Planning Committee invites you to join us for a listening session on Sunday, January 25. These sessions run concurrently with worship services and are designed for you to come during the hour in which you do not normally worship. We also have a session for anyone who is not able to attend the other two. Childcare is provided, and a light pizza lunch will be provided for the 1:00 session. You only need to attend one session, and you do not need to sign up ahead of time. Regular worship and SMBS classes will meet as planned. The sessions are as follows:

  • Session 1: 9:00-10:00AM in the fellowship hall (for 11:15 worshipers)
  • Session 2: 11:15AM-12:15PM in the fellowship hall (for 9:00 worshipers)
  • Session 3: 1:00PM in the CLC 2nd Floor

During the session, you will meet Dr. James Furr, President of the Houston Graduate School of Theology. Dr. Furr is the co-author of Leading Congregational Change and has extensive experience as a consultant for Baptist churches and associations across the country. Our strategic planning committee will be facilitating the discussion. Participants will be asked to respond to a series of at least 5 of the 7 questions below:

  1. What is the story about our church that you hear yourself most often telling?
  2. What do you perceive to be FBC’s key strengths, assets, and opportunities?
  3. What barriers or challenges work against First Baptist becoming all that God wants?
  4. What commitments do you think will need to be made in order to proclaim the gospel where we are?
  5. What mission initiatives do we need to equip people to carry out over the next five years?
  6. As we love our neighbors as ourselves, how can we welcome our neighbors into our church?
  7. Have we missed anything? What is the single most important thing our church needs to know at this time?

This will not be your only chance to meet with the strategic planning committee. If you cannot attend these sessions, please e-mail me or contact one of the Strategic Planning Committee members by January 28. They will set up a time to meet with you no later than February 8. We will also be sharing the information we receive from the sessions with the church as we develop future plans.

Over the last two years, we’ve studied Nehemiah, Scouted the City, carried out kingdom assignments, and started Life Groups. With our Kairos journals, we’re paying attention to God’s work in our midst and studying Ezekiel together. With all this in mind, these sessions are designed to discover where we are as a congregation. I know you’ve been praying—and seeing—God’s work around you. Let’s share together this Sunday.