This page includes all of the Saint Mark Goals for 2011. After you have studied the goals please consider volunteering for one of the many associated Saints in Service missions. The lists of ministry areas and a signup form are here.

GOD’S PURPOSE OF HOSPITALTY

Living into the Purposes of God in 2011

Our Goals

During 2011 we at Saint Mark will live more fully into God’s purposes of ...

· hospitality by practicing
radical hospitality.

· worship by practicing
passionate worship.

· faith development by
practicing intentional faith
development.

· mission and service by
practicing risk-taking mission and service.

· generosity by practicing
extravagant generosity.

1.  Pastoral and Community Emphasis

· Pastors will renew our emphasis on hospitality in all worship services

· Have Evangelism Ministry Team conduct another worship service centered on Christian hospitality

· Develop new pictorial directory (print/online) for congregation

· Provide training for greeters

2.   Welcoming Congregation Certification

· Renew our certification as a WELCOMING CONGREGATION through the Igniting Ministry program of the United Methodist Church, following through on our earning that Award in 2010

3.  Mentor Training and Support

· Plan and hold a banquet and program of training for our new member mentors

4.  Outreaching Ministries

· Create a support group or groups  (cancer, care givers, divorce, etc.) based on assessed need and in conjunction with community service organizations

· Hold a banquet to honor and support  teachers and administrators who are members of Saint Mark, with the meal and service being sponsored and provided by students and their parents

· Plan and host an appropriate learning and social event with the Muslim community toward living into God’s purposes of peace on earth and good will

· Develop a plan of special recognition of our Saint Mark veterans

5.  Reflection & Evaluation of our Living into God’s Purposes of Hospitality

· Examine how we live into God’s purposes of hospitality through study of Chapter 1, “The Practice of Radical Hospitality,” of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

GOD’S PURPOSE OF WORSHIP

GOD’S PURPOSE OF FAITH DEVELOPMENT

1. Celebration Worship

· Form a team to study how to strengthen and renew our Celebration Service by the following: 

· Initiate a plan to meet our unmet 2010 goal of remodeling the Celebration Service worship space to reflect the reality that this is ongoing and permanent worship space

· Visit other churches to obverse and learn form other contemporary services

· Gather information and perspectives from youth

· Attend a workshop that will offer new ideas for contemporary worship

2.    Missional Emphasis

· Conduct a Monthly Missional emphasis to highlight and interpret various agencies or specialized ministries

3. New Harmony Connection

· Initiate and promote increased conversation with New Harmony regarding planning additional joint worship experiences toward living into God’s purposes for life together

4. Prayer

· Continue quarterly worship services on prayer, lifting up and teaching spiritual disciplines

· Continue providing printed Prayer Remembrance Cards for persons to mail the week before the quarterly services to persons they would like remembered or named in the services

5. Message Emphasis

· Sermon messages will emphasize and expound upon characteristics of Christian worship and Christian community using texts like Romans 12: HUMILITY, HELPING, HOPE, HOSPITALITY, HAPPINESS, HARMONY, HEALING

6. Reflection & Evaluation of our Living into God’s Purposes of Worship

· Examine how we live into God’s purposes of worship through study of Chapter 2, “The Practice of Passionate Worship,” of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

1. Staff

· Program staff again share a one to two day prayer retreat in the first quarter. (at no cost to church)

2. Personal Development

· Re-new the pedometer program with theme of daily “Living into God’s Purposes”, offering different levels of participation

· Have both Lenten and Fall “Walking” challenges

· Develop needs-based programs for personal development based on feedback of personal needs and desires

· Develop basic bible literacy programs for children and adults to address the widespread biblical illiteracy

3. Lenten Observance and Discipline

· During Lent, provide opportunities for persons to study the book “The Four Agreements,” examining spiritually healthy commitments that enable us to ‘Live into God’s Purposes’ in our daily lives

· Build on our 2010 Lenten fast experience by inviting persons to “fast” during the days of Lent, 3/9–4/23, excepting Sundays.

· Repeat the 40 millions Steps Lenten walk challenge

· Take a coin folder offering with the proceeds going to our “Neighbors in Need” assistance fund

4. Young Adults ministries

· Advance the meeting schedule from to twice a month

· Develop and conduct service projects for the group

· Plan and hold a retreat for young adults

· Within two years provide one staff person devoted full-time to each of the following ministries: Children’s, Youth and Young Adult, and Adult

5. Leadership Training

· Conduct a training/prayer retreat for the W.E.S.L.E.Y.S. ministry team leaders in January

· Use the first meeting of the COS in 2011 for training and review of ministry goals

6. Reflection and Evaluation of our Living into God’s Purposes of Intentional Faith Development

· Examine how we live into God’s purposes of Intentional Faith Development through study of Chapter 3, “The Practice of Intentional Faith Development,” of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

GOD’S PURPOSE OF MISSION AND SERVICE 

GOD’S PURPOSE OF GENEROSITY

1.  International Mission

· Send another mission team to the island of Eleuthera to build on our 2010 mission experience there with the goal of raising our missional mindedness and formalizing this international experience as an ongoing mission focus

2.  Child Development Center

· Have the CDC Steering Committee develop a program of systematic communication and intentional interpretation about the CDC with the congregation toward goal of strengthening connection with CDC as ministry of the church

· Have the CDC present at least one program for CFN

3.  Spiritual Gifts

· Re-introduce a program of Spiritual Gifts discovery

· Revamp and re-implement the Saints in Service Volunteer Ministry Program to help members find their places in the ministry of Saint Mark

4.  Missionary Support

· Explore ways to host and help our missionaries during their time of leave back home during 2011 from their service in Africa

5.  Service and Outreach

· Host a banquet at the church for our Wednesday Feeding the Hungry friends to expand that ministry

· Host a banquet for the residents of Our Daily Rest

· Have a team participate in a Society of St. Andrew gleaning project

· Conduct a Vacation Bible School at the Applewood Apartments with a strong musical component

· Develop a lifeskills mentoring project related to Our Daily Rest, “A Ripple of One”, or a similar organization or project

· Hold another ‘Coats for a Purpose’ coat collection drive for distribution through appropriate local agencies

· Increase our Saint Mark involve with Our Daily Bread, as may be needed there

6.   NCD Survey

· Repeat Natural Church Development survey in November, 2011

7.  Reflection & Evaluation

· Examine how we live into God’s purposes of mission and service through study of Chapter 4,“The Practice of Risk-Taking Mission and Service,” of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

1.  New Members

· Have the Stewardship/Finance Committee develop a program of stewardship, pledging, and budget interpretation for all new members

2. Lifestyle Evaluation

· Join the Advent Conspiracy movement (http://www.adventconspiracy.org/) to provide an alternative view and celebration of the Christ’s birth

· Donate 400 boxes for the Operation Christmas Child program of Samaritan’s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org/occ)

· Hold an Alternative Gift Fair before Christmas next year

3.  Creation Stewardship

· Have a team attend the Caring for Creation Conference at Lake Junaluska (March 31-April 3) (http://www.lakejunaluska.com/caring-for-creation/) and bring back ideas and recommendations about how we can be better stewards of God’s creation as individuals and as a congregation.

4.  Year-Round Stewardship Education

· Develop a program that interprets stewardship as a year-round, all-of-life spiritual lifestyle

5.  Reflection & Evaluation

· Examine how we live into God’s purposes of generosity through study of Chapter 5,“The Practice Extravagant Generosity,” of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations