"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16

About Our Vision

In the spring of 2008 St. John’s embarked upon a visioning process that involved the entire congregation. Everyone was invited to participate in a 7 week small group study entitled “Do You See What I See?” The purpose was to discern through bible study and prayer what the future of St. John’s should be. Over 200 people participated in these small groups. Then a representative from each small group went to a visioning retreat to develop a strategic plan based on everyone’s input. The following is the vision, mission and priorities developed for St. John’s:

• The mission of St. John’s UMC is be a community of faith guided by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the work of Jesus Christ with all people.

• St. John’s vision is to be a beacon of faith and service reflecting Christ’s love to the world.

PRIORITY ONE: We must expand education and spiritual growth opportunities for all ages. A specific goal is to increase children, youth and family ministry opportunities.

PRIORITY TWO: We must provide more local, national and global mission opportunities to support and serve. One goal is to research local mission options and partner with 3 to 4 of them.

PRIORITY THREE: We must become a more visible church leader in the community through outreach and support. The goals for this priority include adding 2 new outreach programs for the community, increasing our visibility by participating in two existing community events, and communicating the vision, mission and programs of the congregation through 3 new creative uses of media.

PRIORITY FOUR: We must find ways for people to connect, belong and serve within the church. The goals include connecting people’s gifts from the congregation with the needs of the church and community, and connecting with and retaining those who visit our church.

PRIORITY FIVE: We must better educate and motivate our membership to be good stewards of our budget, our staff and our building. This can be accomplished by increasing the congregation’s knowledge of and commitment to stewardship. A second goal for this priority is to reduce the church’s debt to under $1 million by 2015.

These specific priorities and goals will allow us to focus our efforts on achieving the larger mission and vision. This is an exciting time at St. John’s! If you would like more information or to get involved, call Pastor Sheryl at 656.1853.