Long-Range Planning
Planning for Our Future
Implementing the Long-Range Plan
In spring 2024, the Long-Range Planning Task Force proposed and Session approved the long-range plan, a plan shaped by congregational input gathered in the Long-Range Planning town halls and feedback sessions.
With that we as a congregation have moved from planning into the implementation phase.
As we undertake the shared opportunities before us in this work, we encourage you to take some time to read the outline of the long-range plan.
Throughout you will see a particular sense of call that emerged time and again in the long-range planning sessions — the theme of “Reflecting the light of Christ by loving God and one another.”
That vision finds its biblical grounding in Jesus’ teaching about the Great Commandment:
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28b–31)
Integrating passion for mission with a life of faith — love of neighbor and love of God — is what we, as church, have to offer. It’s what differentiates us from other ways to engage, be it nonprofits, affinity groups, or other secular associations.
This life of faith, we recognize, does not happen in isolation. As Tom Are has pointed out, “Christianity lives in relationship. Our faith is found in the space between us; it connects us.”
Thus weaving the long-range plan —and its strategic directions together — is a commitment to connection, to spiritual nurture, to community, and to sustainability.
Strategic Directions
Providing the framework of our long-range plan are four strategic directions.
1. Connections and Belonging
Build and sustain an all-encompassing culture of personal invitation and welcome — from the pulpit, in the pews, online, and throughout the church — that creates opportunities for deeper engagement and meaningful connections.
2. Faith Formation
Be a faith community that supports individuals and groups in exploring and growing their relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
3. Community Engagement and Partnerships
Live out our faith by serving as a catalyst for a healthy, flourishing community through targeted, impactful programs grounded in community need, by working in solidarity with community partners, and by raising our voice through advocacy and social leadership.
4. Church Sustainability
Create and sustain a shared purpose and common set of values among Fourth Church staff and leadership, develop our internal skills and talents, and ensure the systems, structures and financial resources needed to preserve the long-term impact of our ministry are in place.
Goals and Timeline
Each strategic directive is supported by goals that are outlined in the long-range plan. Those too are outlined in the long-range plan summary. Our pastors, staff, and congregational councils have reviewed the specific goals and identified where these teams will focus their work.
They have also identified proposed tactics for goals to accomplish in the first year and, along with that, progress measures to assess the effectiveness of the tactics.
Following the timeline for our long-range planning work, proposed tactics and progress measures were shared with the Long-Range Planning Task Force and Session in June 2024 as Session looked at how we plan to move forward in this first year of the plan.
Like you, we are eager to be seeing the first steps of implementation underway, and we encourage you to watch for ways in which you might join in these efforts to continue to reflect the light of Christ by loving God and one another.
As we lift up the integration of mission with a life of faith, we are also reminded of words Tom Are recently shared with us:
“Mission churches can sometimes take for granted the church family. We assume that what draws everyone is the light we are shining in the city. But our capacity to reflect the light of Christ to others is connected to our capacity to stand in that light. We all have different seasons in our lives. Sometimes we are serving, but sometimes we need to be fed, need care and comfort, and sometimes we just need our faith to grow.”
In whatever season you may find yourself, we are confident you will find a connection point in our shared life of mission and spiritual nurture. We look forward to meeting you there!
Background: The Planning Process from the Beginning
Since 1871, the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago has stood as a light in the city.
Through wars, economic hardship, pandemics, cultural change, prosperity, and an ever-changing neighborhood, our faith community has remained steadfast and resilient. Our faith calls us to embrace these challenges and opportunities bringing us closer to God and the work that embodies who we are as Presbyterians.
In addition to the Word of God calling us to periodically renew, there are external forces: the impact of the pandemic, social unrest, societal polarization, changing viewpoints on religion, and a heightened need for help from our community and neighbors all require us to find the best way to engage in this new reality and plan for uncertainties.
Further, our Fourth Church community is facing internal challenges as well: decreasing onsite attendance at services; decreasing pledges, offerings, and financial support; fewer volunteers to carry out our programs; less predictable participation from guests, students, and congregants; and shifting demands on our physical plant and digital platform.
Given these realities and in embrace of renewal, in late 2022 Shannon Kershner tasked a diverse group of church members with the responsibility of developing a long-range plan to ensure our strength and presence into the future.
The four guiding principles of the Long-Range Planning Task Force have been
The process
The planning process was guided by an outside consulting firm. Together they and the task force were charged with engaging you, the congregation, as well as pastoral staff, lay staff, guests, and partners to develop a three-to-five-year plan for Fourth Church.
The first step in this planning process began in January 2023 with the issuance of a request for proposals from consulting firms and the selection of consulting partners in the spring.
In June 2023 the Long-Range Planning Task Force met with current congregational leaders, the Senior Leadership Team, and pastoral staff to explore strategic opportunities and gather information before engaging the congregation, administrative staff, guests, and partners to co-create a three– to five–year plan for Fourth Church ministries.
The consultants then worked with the task force to conduct individual conversations with clergy and other members of the staff as well as community partners. That gathering of information was followed by engagement with the broader congregation.
In late summer 2023 the task force emailed a survey to the entire congregation to gather responses and comments to inform both our long-range plan and the Ministry Information Form that is needed to call our next Pastor.
September 2023 began a season of discernment for the Long-Range Planning Task Force as they worked through the comments and suggestions from the survey and interviews. That information and input provide the foundational work from which the long-range plan was developed.
Town Hall and Feedback Sessions
In October 2023 the task force presented two town hall sessions, during which they shared the draft strategic directives coming out of the information gathered. There was also opportunity, as part of the presentation, to offer feedback.
View the October 15 town hall here. You an also read the October 15 presentation slides online.
In November 2023, the task force held two town halls to take a more in-depth look at the long-range planning work.
View the November 12 town hall here. You can also read the November presentation slides online as well as the summary and analysis of key themes appearing in the survey and interview feedback.
These town halls were followed in January and February 2024 with listening sessions at which the task force shared the strategic plan directions with the congregation and gathered their feedback.
The task force, which has now concluded its work, brought together individuals from different areas of the church and with a diversity of experience and viewpoints.
This is indeed an exciting time, as we implement the plan for our future together as Fourth Presbyterian Church!
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