Three initiatives are intended to enable many or all ministry areas to be more effective in their ministry.

Enable Thriving Ministries to Keep Growing with Expanded Facilities

What we believe
We praise God for the thriving ministries at FPC. We believe God is at work in these ministries, and desires to see their continued growth. Our physical facilities influence how these ministry areas are conducted, and to a degree, their health and growth. For example, there is no question that Phase I changes have enhanced the worship, fellowship and children’s education experiences at FPC. Where possible and practical, our facilities should not limit the effectiveness of the ministry areas of our church.

Where we are now
FPC is known for its youth and university ministries, as well as for outreach through the deacons and missions ministries. Currently, these ministry areas are constrained by space. To remain strong and grow, we need to expand and improve facilities. Additionally, our current space is completely full for meetings and other events on certain days, some staff is “shoehorned” into former closets and adult education classroom environments are less than ideal.

Where we should go from here
Refine the Phase 2 plans to ensure that facilities project an outward-looking ministry focus, such as upgrading the annex, to enable more service and evangelism. Make certain there is adequate space for staff offices and administrative functions to support the various ministry areas. Provide a multi-use space to function as a gym and alternative worship area (such as a large university gathering or emergent worship service). Provide expanded space for adult education opportunities, particularly on Sunday mornings, and expand space available for evening meetings and classes.

Ministry Master Plan Goals

• Move forward with the planning and implementation of the Phase 2 development plan (2004-2007).
• In support of the first initiative (Increasing our External Focus through Outreach and Service), Phase 2 should include the redevelopment of the Annex as an outreach center to those in need.
• Phase 2 development should clearly reflect other Strategic Initiatives: deepen and broaden the feeling of community; increase passion and grow resources; use effective communications.

Improve the Effectiveness of Our Communications

What we believe
If we are to be a light to the world for Jesus Christ, we must shine, and shining means communicating to others the good news of our ministries in an effective manner to inspire them to use or participate in these ministries. FPC has an abundance of wonderful ministries that provide great value to its members and non-members. Additionally, they provide excellent opportunities to serve, if the church and the community are informed.

Where we are now
Providing meaningful communications within a large diverse congregation such as the FPC Family is not an easy task. Communications need to be delivered on many levels and by different means to effectively reach our congregation and the area communities. Our communications have been criticized by some as being “too Christianese” and poorly understood by those who have not been associated with a Christian environment.

Our current communication network has not provided many in our congregation with an understanding of the mission, full range of ministries, and needs of FPC. Communications should be coordinated and should be designed to support all of the ministries of FPC.

Where we should go from here
We must encourage ministry areas to try new ways of communicating about their programs, activities, needs and opportunities for serving to people within and outside the church. At the same time, we must begin to develop an overall strategy to improve communications church-wide.

Ministry Master Plan Goals

• Identify three ministry areas that will take on a task of improving communications about their ministry area during the next year (2004-2005).
• For 2005-2006, Session establish a permanent communications committee to look at ways to improve overall church communications.

Establish and Track Measures of Success

What we believe
In order to serve Christ to our fullest and meet the needs of our congregation and community, we must use our resources as effectively as possible. We must be willing to try new things, but we must also be willing to prayerfully evaluate what we undertake to determine if it is effective. There may indeed be times when we feel led to prune or discontinue a ministry and shift resources to new areas. We must do so in a consistent and constructive manner. Session and ministry areas must work together to make certain the spiritual, financial, staff, leadership and facility resources of FPC are being optimally used to fulfill the mission and vision of the Ministry Master Plan (MMP). To accomplish this, each ministry area should set their priorities and define measurements for success using the MMP as a guide.

Where we are now
The 2000 MMP was a remarkable document, and accurately reflected the direction FPC wanted to take in 2000. It was used very effectively by some ministry areas, and less effectively by others. For some ministry areas, setting goals and measuring results are part of their yearly process, while other ministry areas are less disciplined in this regard.

All ministry areas, at one time or another, feel they have more to do than they have time and resources to accomplish. Setting goals and measuring results is not a consistently followed process at FPC. This leads to the feeling at times we are not focusing on the most important needs of our church and community.

Where we should go from here
For the new MMP to be effective, each ministry area must use it as a basis for setting goals, and each ministry needs to develop an annual process of evaluating the effectiveness on the ministries and programs in which they are involved. When necessary, activities which are less effective should be dropped.
This may be a difficult or unfamiliar process at first for some ministries. To help them in the process, assistance should be provided to help set priorities and measure results. This process should not feel like “big brother is watching you,” but “how can we help you be as effective as possible.”

Ministry Master Plan Goals

• Session establish a resource group willing to assist ministry areas in establishing and tracking measures of success (2004-2005).
• Identify three ministry areas to work with the resource group to establish and track measures of success (2004-2005).
• In each of the following two years, identify three additional ministry areas each year to work with the resource group (2005-2007).