Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices

July 2019

Strategic Visioning

Editor's Letter August 2019
By Charis Bhagianathan
For strategic visioning to be successful, several steps need to be actively discerned. Involving all stakeholders from the start, creating a shared mission and vision and setting goals are just a few of these steps. Perhaps the most important is the first – leading with the Spirit and going where you are being called, often when it is inconvenient, difficult and time-consuming. In this issue we bring you ideas from individuals and congregations who were inspired, challenged and positively altered through their visioning processes.
Editor's Letter July 2019
By Charis Bhagianathan
In this issue, we bring you answers to your strategic visioning questions and invite you to look at the process through a fresh lens.
Eight Visioning Mistakes to Avoid
By Melissa Rau
Beginning a strategic visioning process? In Eight Visioning Mistakes to Avoid, Melissa Rau lists common roadblocks that can slow down or halt a congregation’s strategic visioning goals and offers advice on how to avoid them.
Extender nuestra imaginación estratégica
By Lauren Grubaugh
En los estacionamientos de parroquias episcopales se ven frecuentemente automóviles con pegatinas en los parachoques que dicen “Somos la rama episcopal del Movimiento de Jesús”. La visión del Obispo Presidente Michael Curry figura frecuentemente en sermones, en el circuito de conferencias episcopales y en redes sociales como respuesta a la pregunta “¿episco qué?”.
Extender nuestra imaginación estratégica – Segunda parte
By Lauren Grubaugh
Cuando los episcopales hablan sobre el Movimiento de Jesús, a menudo las conversaciones siguientes son sobre evangelismo. Deseamos crecer y eso es algo bueno si el crecimiento ocurre por los motivos correctos. Vale la pena preguntar qué constituye Buenas Nuevas en nuestro movimiento y qué no es más que una estrategia reconstituida para el crecimiento eclesiástico institucional.
Five Questions At The Heart Of Strategic Planning
By Linda Buskirk
Ever felt daunted at the thought of beginning the strategic visioning process? In Five Questions At The Heart of Strategic Planning, Linda Buskirk simplifies the process to core questions that can help you begin your visioning journey with confidence.
Planning Your Work, Working Your Plan
By Jim Said
What role does relationship building play in strategic visioning? In Planning Your Work, Working Your Plan James Said narrates his experience with Invite Welcome Connect; a transformational ministry that helped his congregation address their interest in increasing their ASA thoughtfully and sustainably.
Real-Time Strategy
By Louise Baietto and Leslie Pendleton
Are you feeling stuck with your traditional six-year strategic plan? In Real-Time Strategy, Louise Baietto and Leslie Pendleton explain the importance of real-time strategic thinking and how ECF’s Strategic Solutions program can help.
Strategic Planning Is Overrated
By Christopher Adams
In Strategic Planning Is Overrated, Christopher Adams shares the experience of his parish as it navigated a strategic visioning process, learning that listening to the Spirit and creating a common language together can completely transform a congregation.
Stretching Our Strategic Imagination – Part 1
By Lauren Grubaugh
What occurs at the intersection of the sacramental and the strategic? In Stretching our Strategic Imagination – Part 1, Lauren Grubaugh challenges the Church to think in radical new ways about transitioning from an institution to a movement.
Stretching Our Strategic Imagination — Part II
By Lauren Grubaugh
How do we evangelize and mobilize ourselves to be doers in the Jesus Movement? In Stretching Our Strategic Imagination – Part II, Lauren Grubaugh discusses three ways to activate our souls and bodies towards our work in building God’s Beloved Community. This article is available in English and Spanish.
Through All Kinds of Weather
By Anne Vickers
What role does financial strategy play in strategic visioning? In Through All Kinds of Weather, Anne Vickers shares the Episcopal Church’s unique five-step system of integrated support to transform us into mission-driven, financially-secure and sustainable congregations.