On January 29, 2006, the Ministry Plan Task Force presented the Draft Ministry Plan to the Annual Meeting of the Congregation.

Download a copy of their PowerPoint presentation.

The Ministry Planning Task Force welcomes your comments, questions, and suggestions. Use this form to send your thoughts, submit your comments to the Task Force via email, or bring or mail them to the church office.

The links below will take you to information related to the activities of the Ministry Plan Task Force.

LCH Mission and Values Statements
Task Force Charge, Membership, and Process
Results of Natural Church Development Survey (June 2005)
Results of our Historical Reflection (July 2005)
“Norms” that Underlay the Life of our Church (November 2005)
Results of First Vote on Draft Goals (February 2006)

Draft Ministry Plan Goal Statements

As we create a ministry plan to guide our church through the next 20 years, we reaffirm our mission:

Welcoming to all
Worshipping, growing, serving
Christ’s community

We challenge ourselves to welcome all who seek to share in our community of faith. We strive for diversity in our congregation, not as a goal in itself, but as a by-product of our theology, our evangelism, and our accessibility. We seek to re-invigorate the ethic of evangelism and “passionate spirituality” in the congregation. Healthy inward growth fosters outward growth. With renewed spirit we can project ourselves into our community as witnesses to our faith and representatives of our church. The strength of our ministries and the future growth of our congregation builds from our biblical and theological roots. Faithful outward growth also helps to encourage inward growth.

WELCOMING

We have a strong welcoming ethic and our hearts are ready. There are a few more things we can do to follow through on our desire to be welcoming. Our mission:

Recognize that we are all guests of God.
Create a welcoming environment where all are received with joy.
Foster a community of diversity and affirm God’s grace to all.
Offer hospitality and accessibility to all.

HORIZON	GOALS
Short Term	Greet every newcomer individually.
Short Term	Invite people into fellowship service with equal emphasis as inviting them to worship.
Short Term	Develop detailed information on ministry opportunities, including time commitment, tasks, and contacts.
Medium–Long Term	Renovate the facilities to be more inviting, particularly from Punahou Street, provide easier orientation, be accessible and open (all weather access) to all. Improve physical facilities (courtyard, signage, sanctuary entrance, nursery care, bathrooms) and dedicate space to learning ministries.

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WORSHIPPING

We have a very strong worship program with the 10:30 service. There are opportunities to explore other formats in conjunction with the goals of welcoming and growing. Our mission:

Reflect a dynamic and life-giving God in our worship life.
Provide a diversity of worship experiences that are faithful to our teachings and traditions.
Encourage the use of music, drama, art, and other worship forms that utilize and develop congregational talent.

HORIZON	GOALS
Short Term	Maintain the high standard for sermons and worship format.
Short Term	Explore new formats for 8:00 service. Explore possibility of developing a “Seeker Service.”
Short Term	Establish process for congregational input into worship format decisions.

GROWING

We want to share our theology and faith with others by intentionally focusing on growth of our congregation. This will involve building on our strengths and improving some identified areas of weakness—in addition to inviting people into our faith community. Our mission:

Offer educational opportunities for all ages.
Expand our care for each other and for all in need.
Offer resources for the development and maturity of our faith.
Create a place of both comfort and challenge.
Foster the spiritual lives of our youth.
Actively seek and invite new members.

HORIZON	GOALS
Short Term	Identify our capacity for growth and service. Educate ourselves about the requirements of program growth. Determine our level of commitment to growth—money, time, talents.
Short Term	Gather and share testimonials / individual faith stories.
Short Term	Prayerfully and thoughtfully consider new programs and efforts to ensure that there is council / congregational / administrative support to sustain the effort.
Short Term	Increase plate offerings to support ministry growth.
Short Term	Establish contact with neighbors and surrounding community leaders to identify neighborhood needs.
Medium Term	Conduct re-commitment services / meetings.
Medium Term	Identify the strengths of LCH that we want to publicize and promote. Worship / Music Values—Social Ministries Sense of Ohana Sense of Humor
Medium Term	Enhance communication to promote LCH to the public.
Medium–Long Term	Improve appearance and functional use of the built facilities.
Long Term	Break the negative, politically correct stereotype of being Christian.
Long Term	Improve outreach to surrounding neighborhood.

SERVING

We serve others in many ways through church and outside of church. There are many demands on our time, so we need to focus our time and talents by inviting people to participate in core programs. As the congregation grows, so may our capacity to add or expand programs to serve others. Our mission:

Be deliberate in addressing the needs of our neighborhood.
Work in partnership with the ELCA and other Christians to serve our community and world.
Actively respond to social challenges and continue to advocate for social justice.

HORIZON	GOALS
Short Term	Identify LCH’s focus for service. What ministries are we best able to serve? We can’t do it all.
Short Term	Increase invitations to congregation to serve in specific capacities.
Short Term	Support existing opportunities for serving with: well-promoted sign-up lists clear points of contact / individual invitation master calendar
Short Term	Support campus outreach ministry in ecumenical setting.
Medium Term	Link talents to tasks. Rethink the ways we connect with volunteers and capture momentum.
Medium–Long Term	Utilize our property for the greatest good. Poki lot / housing community groups / neighborhood center after school programs parenting resource center (parenting classes, baby sitter pool) seniors and singles gatherings

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CHRIST’S COMMUNITY

We have many strengths to build on. We are blessed with many passionate, caring, talented congregation members. Our mission:

What we already are.
What God calls us to become.
What we live when we welcome, worship, grow, and serve.

HORIZON	GOALS
Short Term	Develop a nursery care program with adequate paid and volunteer supervision. Upgrade physical space as medium / long-term goal.
Short Term	Establish and support small groups for sharing faith stories, fellowship, scriptural education and discussion, and learning ministries. Develop framework for institutional continuity and accountability.
Short Term	Evaluate our ministries / services to identify areas of church strength and commitment. Target our efforts towards core service areas so as not to dilute our effectiveness.
Short Term	Improve communication and a venue for congregation members to express ideas and concerns, and resolve conflicts.
Short Term	Improve communication among committees.
Short Term	Instill a sense of stewardship in congregation members to support and sustain the day to day church operations and campus facilities. Actively recruit members for specific tasks.
Short Term	Increase plate offerings to sustain church operations and support ministry growth.
Short Term	Coordinate the Ministry Plan priorities with the long-range development plan, e.g., The ministry plan will guide capital improvements in support of learning ministries, nursery care, pre-school, fellowship space, sense of welcoming.
Medium Term	Support the pastor financially, to at least the synod level.
Medium Term	Develop a youth / young adult program that is sustainable.
Medium–Long Term	Upgrade nursery facilities as medium / long-term goal.
Medium–Long Term	Maintain and enhance fellowship space (courtyard).