Understanding the Synod Strategic Plan

Understanding The Synod Strategic Plan
By Annie Lynsen
Excerpted from an article printed in the November 2004 issue of River Crossings - click here to download the complete article as a pdf document (you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view this document. Get it free at www.adobe.com)

You've been reading about the synod strategic plan, "Called into God's Marvelous Light," since the fall of 2003, when the bishop asked all congregations to distribute a yellow questionnaire to those in worship the second Sunday in Advent. The questionnaire, which was developed by the strategic plan task force, contained three questions:

1. What does my congregation do to make my faith meaningful and compelling?

2. What more can my congregation do to make this happen?

3. What can the ELCA congregations of Southeastern Minnesota do together to make this happen for me and our community?

The 5,000+ responses received by the synod office revealed many different opinions from the members of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod. On Feb. 9, 2004, a group of over 40 people from around the synod came to help evaluate and compile the responses. The results from that day are the basis for what is now the synod's strategic plan, which was unanimously approved by the 2004 Synod Assembly.

Continue to...The basics of the strategic plan