Strategic Process
The strategic process of Holy Cross is important to the
future of our church. We need to become
a church on mission. The Great
Commission is to go outside of the walls of the church and spread the word of
Christ and His Love for us. Christ tells
us that the gates of hell will not stand against the church. That means we need to be outside of our 4
walls and in the world and community around us.
If the first followers of Christ did not leave home and spread the world
where would we be?
The whole point of the Strategic Process map is for us to Connect
with the community around us. We then
will Welcome
them into the church. Where, we help
them Grow
closer to God and to each other. Then we invite them to join us as we Serve
the world.
In order to be best prepared for our guests we need to
create a Welcome
Team. This team is being
formed now. If you would like to be a
part of this important ministry please contact Pastor Schack or Dan
Johnson. This team’s primary focus will
be on ensuring that ANYONE who comes to our building for any reason is made to
feel welcome and wanted. They will look
at all aspects of the building and property, the worship services, signage,
publications etc…
But it is important to remember that we all are responsible
to do our part to make Holy Cross a place you want to bring people to on a
regular basis. Some things to keep in
mind as we strive to be welcoming:
1)
Guest
Parking Spots are for Guests. Sounds
simple. If a potential guest pulls up
and is not easily able to find a parking spot it sets a bad tone for their
visit. Please as members of Holy Cross
do not park in the Guest spots. On a
recent Sunday I pulled into the church during the 8:15 worship to see almost
every guest parking place full. I was
excited to see guests. But when I went
in we only had 1 guest family.
2)
Help us
keep Holy Cross Clean. Everyone can
help clean up. Is the trash full? Take
it out. Does the restroom need supplies
either get some and replace the missing items or let someone know. Did you
spill something? Wipe it up. It is not somebody’s job to keep Holy Cross
Clean. It is everybody’s job to help
take care of God’s house.
3)
Be
welcoming. Did someone sit in your
pew? Try worshiping from a different
spot.
4)
Dress
Code. People coming to church for the first time, do not understand that
you “must” dress up for church. In fact
many people do not have Sunday Church clothes.
But God loves them anyways. Watch
out for the little silent messages we send to those who do not dress the way we
think they should. Church is
changing. We need to change with it.
5)
Greet
people. Our building is easy enough
for us to get around. But someone new to
the place may not know what a sanctuary is.
If you see someone new stop and see if you can help them. If they seem to not want help then be polite
and over a good morning.
6)
Outside
groups. One of the best tools we
have for connecting with outsiders is our building and grounds. Outside groups use our building on a regular
basis. If you are here when an outside
group is please do your best to offer them the spiritual gift of
hospitality. Please remember that they
do not know how to do thing around the place.
We are starting to have some success in getting these outsiders to check
us out for a path to Jesus.
7)
Offer
Coffee. I have told the story of a visit to another church. I wandered the building for 25 minutes
without being greeted. I walked past the
coffee setup 3 times and never was I offered coffee. Nor was there any sign
that I could help myself. We are Lutherans
We live on coffee. It is an easy way to
make someone feel at home.
If we want Holy Cross to celebrate another 50 years we need
to start focusing on others today. We
all need to understand the importance of connecting with those around us. The days of build it and they will come have
passed. Connect with those around you and
invite them to join you this Sunday.
