Our Journey - A Message from the elders
We believe the next steps for us as a church is to focus on transformational activities, as well as filling open staff positions. Transformation is a core value at Sugar Grove. Our TPP (Theology, Philosophy, Practice) on Transformation states that we believe everyone has a next step. We believe that is also true for our community.
We thought a good word to describe where we are going in the next several months is to use the Hebrew word masa, which is the Hebrew word for journey. This is the word used in Numbers 33:1 “Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt…”
Sugar Grove will be partnering with Siburt Institute (siburtinstitute.org). Siburt Institute was established by Abilene Christian University in 2012. Its mission is to equip and serve church leaders and other Christ-followers for God’s mission in the world. Our brothers and sisters from Siburt will come walk along beside us to provide us tools and resources to assist us during our season of transition, spiritual growth, and transformation.
Our Masa will have three main parts.
Part One - Evaluate
In the first part, we will be doing 3 activities
A Church Health Assessment is an online survey that will be used to help measure the overall spiritual health of our community.
A Community Assessment will be completed by a Community Assessment team. The team will survey organizations in our area, such as police departments, fire departments, schools, churches, and charity agencies to better understand their needs and how we can best partner with them.
We will be conducting Listening Groups, which will be an opportunity for us to gather in smaller groups and to talk and to listen to each other.
Part Two – Reflect
In the second part, we will be doing 3 activities.
We will meet as a community and have a Readout Session on the results from the Church Health Assessment, the Community Assessment, and the Listening Groups.
We will have a Spiritual Renewal Weekend, where we will spend some extended time together in worship, prayer, and teaching.
We will enter a season of focused Prayer, where we will be asking God to lead us in our next steps.
Part 3 – Equip
In the third part, we have 3 key objectives.
We will work with Siburt Institute to develop a Staffing Model to enable the carrying out of the ministry priorities we have determined by listening to each other and to God through our joined prayers of petition for guidance.
We will create a Minister Search Team to recruit identified staff positions.
We will work with Siburt to create a Leadership Development Program to nurture, train, and develop all leaders at Sugar Grove, regardless of role.
On this journey ahead, we all have a part to pray. Here is how you can help.
Pray. Thank you for your prayerful support over the past several weeks. We ask that you continue praying for our community.
Participate. We ask that you please prioritize your participation in the upcoming meetings and events. Your involvement is critical to the success of our journey.
Patience. This is going to take a while. We expect this to take at least the rest of 2022.
Pardon our dust. We will be operating over the next several months with staff shortages. We have an amazing staff, gifted volunteers, and talented teachers. However, things might not always rise to the level of excellence we are used to at Sugar Grove. We ask for your grace and understanding. And we also ask for your feedback. If something is not going well, please let us know.
Some have expressed concern over possible changes in women serving at Sugar Grove, and our Community Worship. We are not changing our position on either of those.
Although we are excited and optimistic about the journey ahead, we understand you might be feeling anxiety, doubt, or confusion. Please talk with us. If you prefer email, we are all reachable at elders@sugargrove.org. Or you can contact us individually at dave@sugargrove.org, jay@sugargrove.org, mark@sugargrove.org, and randy@sugargrove.org.