Vision Statement
The premise behind the Long Range Planning Committee was to establish a vision that will set the present and future direction for St. Andrews United Methodist Church. The committee did not start from scratch, but sought to build upon what God has already and is doing at Saint Andrew's. The mission statement and core values adopted over the last five years remain unchanged. What the vision does is begin to describe how the church will continue to work to "develop mature disciples of Jesus Christ."

Upon approval of the plan by the Church Conference the actual implementation of the plans will be the responsibility of the Implementation Committee. This committee will work with the Church Council and Nomination Committee in establishing specific steps to turn this vision into a reality. The Implementation Committee will run for a term not to exceed three years.

Mission Statement:
Saint Andrew's is a Christ centered fellowship, which offers God's transforming love to the world through worship, discipleship, friendship and missions to develop mature disciples of Jesus Christ.

Central Scripture Passages:
Matthew 22:37-40: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Matthew 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Core Values
· We are called to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ in our community and world
· The church should be culturally relevant while remaining biblically based.
· Every member is called and gifted by God to be in ministry.
· We are to love one another.
· Lives are transformed most quickly in small groups.
· Organizational structure exists to facilitate ministry.
· We are responsible to facilitate each member's spiritual growth.

With the emphasis on the theme "develop/make mature disciples" we sought to describe some of the characteristics of spiritual maturity. These characteristics include:
· a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,
· to understand & practice one's spiritual gifts,
· weekly attendance in worship,
· small group participation,
· daily scripture reading and prayer,
· service to others,
· tithing, and
· humility.

Additionally, the committee understands that St. Andrew's cannot "be the best" at every aspect of faith and Christian living from the beginning. With that understand, the LRP also identified the major "areas of excellence" St. Andrew's on which St. Andrew's will focus over the next three to five years. These areas are:
· Dynamic Worship - enhancing and enlarging corporate worship.
· Lay Ministry Initiative - equipping and training congregational members for ministry.
· Becoming the 3rd Place - making St. Andrew's our community's "place of choice" to develop relationships and find Christian care. These relationships are defined for this report in the following age groups:
· Adults
· Students (Grades 7 - 12)
· Youth (Grades 4 - 6)
· Children (Birth - Grade 3)

What follows are the explanations and recommendations from the committee in these areas of excellence. Following these sections will be an example of a 5 year plan as might be laid out by the implementation committee.

1. Dynamic Worship
Worship is the act of praising, exalting, learning about and communicating with God. Worship can take place in a variety of ways including but not limited to:
· music,
· drama,
· dance,
· giving,
· praying,
· scripture reading and
· meditation, etc.

As a leader in southeast Arlington, St. Andrew's has the potential for continued phenomenal growth. The recommendations that follow are made with the goal of doubling the number of people in worship each week. In effect, that means going from an average of 750 per week to approximately 1,500 per week.
Consequently, for this report, Dynamic Worship will encompass physical facilities as well as worship content.

The following recommendations are made:
· That we, St. Andrew's UMC, continue to grow in the area of worship and consistently provide an environment that encourages worship, is God centered, and of excellent quality;
· That we enhance our worship experience by providing the needed space for people to feel comfortable, secure, and free to worship;
· That we provide the opportunity and means for those who are gifted in these areas to grow and learn;
· And that we equip them to lead the body of Christ to worship God in spirit and truth.

Specifically, these recommendations encompass the following:
1. Enhance and expand the worship space-Needs to be done immediately
· Space
· Provide more parking spaces
· Provide more seating for worship
· Provide cry room area
· Provide larger area to make service transitions quicker without restricting or discouraging fellowship
· Enhancements
· Upgrade lighting, sound, and video equipment to a professional level
· Develop and provide structured training for Ushers, Acolytes and Greeters
· Develop and provide structured training for Sound and Video Technicians
· Meet regularly in worship planning meetings to coordinate all involved in worship and to encourage the awareness of flow and presentation in worship
· Identify and recruit minority persons who are gifted and skilled in these areas so that leadership better represents the diversity of our congregation
· Hire music support staff - Timing to be determined by Staff-Parish Relations committee and Implementation committee.
· Assistant Director of Music
· Emphasis in instrumental music
· Children's Music Coordinator
· Experience in elementary music education
· Worship Arts Coordinator
· Experience in drama, dance, and art
· Develop Fine Arts School - Currently being discussed/implemented.
· To serve the church and community
· Developing the talent in the church as well as bringing new talent into the church by providing Children and Adult programs in music and the performing arts through private and group lessons as well as performance opportunities
· Explore the Potential to Build an Amphitheater - Long-term.
· Optional venue for Christian concerts, praise gatherings, and pageants
· Community outreach
· Forum for cross-cultural gatherings and celebrations
· Venue for performing arts groups local (e.g. Bowie HS's Summer Shakespeare in the Park) and regional (e.g. Dallas and Fort Worth symphonies)

2. Lay Ministry Initiative
St. Andrew's strength has always been in the willingness of the laity, all those who are not ordained clergy, to do the ministry of our church. Statistically, we have a very small staff, relative to our size of worship. This makes it imperative that we identify, train and equip our lay ministers to work together to fulfill our mission statement: To Make Mature Disciples of Jesus Christ.
This "Lay Ministry Initiative" is a long-term continuing process that will train and equip current leaders who will, in turn, train and equip future leaders. The Implementation team will determine quantifiable goals for this initiative, however, the main goal remains making mature disciples of Jesus Christ.
The following recommendations are made:
· That we identify persons in the congregation that possess spiritual gifts for service.
· That we more effectively communicate service opportunities to the congregation .
· That we provide appropriate training methodologies to assure continuity of programs.
Specifically, these recommendations encompass the following:
1. Identify persons in the congregation that possess spiritual gifts for service - Currently in place, must be expanded.
· Continue to develop and present an appropriate class for members regarding identifying and implementing individual spiritual gifts
· Present a shortened version of this course for new member orientation and identification of gifts
· Assign responsibility to the Volunteer Coordinator for identification of talents and connection of appropriate service opportunities during the first twelve months of membership
· More closely group service opportunities in the In His Steps campaign by gift cluster so that persons can more readily identify appropriate service opportunities.

2. More effectively communicate service opportunities to the congregation - Currently in place, must be expanded.
· Assign responsibility to the Volunteer Coordinator to serve as a Central "clearing house" for service needs and description of duties
· Develop a constantly updated database identifying volunteer
· Opportunities for quick identification of job needs
· Provide updated "want ads" in the newsletter each week
· Maintain a listing of service needs on church bulletin boards
· Maintain an updated listing of current "want ads" and contact persons on the church web page
· At least quarterly, have a person describe their service in church during worship service
· At least twice each year, conduct a "ministry expo" to make members aware of service opportunities

3. Provide appropriate training methodologies to assure continuity of programs - Project started, Needs immediate focus.
· Develop job descriptions for all major volunteer positions in the church. The job description will identify specific skills required and training that will be provided.
· Schedule mentor or classroom training for each person new in their job within the first month after they enter their new duties.
· Identify common skills that are needed in many volunteer jobs, such as recruiting, communication, and organizing, and provide generic training classes throughout the year to assist in the development of these skills.
· Identify persons that have performed jobs in an exceptional manner and recruit them to serve on a training cadre to train new volunteers or persons who require additional assistance.
3. Becoming the 3rd Place
What is a 3rd place? The third place is a location or situation where a person voluntarily chooses to spend time. It is where a person is comfortable and known. Lyle Schaller writes, "A good third place is where a person is identified by who one is as a person, not by what one does for a living or by kinship ties." For Saint Andrew's it would mean becoming the place where people want build relationships with each other and God, the place where people want to be … the place where fellowship happens.
Matthew 18 20: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."
Fellowship is occurring whenever two or more gather together. In a plan to make St Andrew's the "3rd place," fellowship can, and possibly should, encompass all areas where people come together. St. Andrew's offers several different types of fellowship activities in the following categories to meet these requirements:
· large-scale congregational/community social activities (Easter, Halloween)
· "category-specific" social activities (mother's day tea, youth, king's kids)
· small-scale social activities (new member luncheons, youth dinner, choir parties)
· small groups - discipleship based (tlc, Sunday school, Emmaus, UMW, UMM)
· Sunday morning transitionBecause the term "fellowship" means so many different things, the long range planning team defined fellowship and the following recommendations are made. That we will be:
· Helping people build personal relationships with God and amongst themselves by providing the opportunity to study and socialize with other Christians.
· Caring for the hurt, as individuals and as a group, both within St Andrew's and in the community.
· Caring for the missing, as individuals and as a group, both within St Andrew's and in the community.
· Groups of people keeping each other accountable for their actions.
Specifically these recommendations encompass the following:
1. Helping people build personal relationships with God and amongst themselves by providing the opportunity to study and socialize with other Christians.
· Work closely with lay ministries initiative to identify those with appropriate spiritual gifts and per their recommendations provide appropriate training.
· Try to identify group characteristics that ARE NOT participating in these activities. Is there a perception problem? How can we increase participation?
· Create a comfortable atmosphere where people want to linger. Short term, put comfortable benches or chairs in the link, or possibly set up a room in the education building as a social area.
· With only approximately 25-30% of members participating in small groups, determine why. Possible focus groups to see what needs to be done.
· Create short-term (1 or 2 session) discussion groups that meet regularly but change topics or leaders. Get people used to coming to the building on a day besides Sunday.
· Plan adult activities during already scheduled children's activities. These could be anything from discussion groups to social hours with chips and cokes.
· Above all focus on getting more people involved more regularly. By accomplishing this goal we help lower the number of "missing in action" members and visitors.2. Caring for the hurt, as individuals and as a group, both within St Andrew's and in the community.
· Work closely with lay ministries initiative to identify those with appropriate spiritual gifts and per their recommendations provide appropriate training.
· Hold a "caring conference" in 2002 to determine what it means to both the congregation and the community to be "hurt" and to be "cared for."
· Work closely with the "missions" team to develop ideas for service.
· Staff to oversee and coordinate so projects are completed and follow-up handled as necessary.
· Try to insure that any and all "caring groups," whether lay pastors, Habitat, food preparers, whatever … meet periodically or plan a "social" time along with their activity. Use these caring activities to foster closer relationships between people with similar interests.
· Create system/process that makes it easy for members/community to request assistance quietly and privately if needed.

3. Caring for the missing, as individuals and as a group, both within St Andrew's and in the community.
· Work closely with lay ministries initiative to identify those with appropriate spiritual gifts and per their recommendations provide appropriate training.
· Set processes in place to identify the "missing."
· Have staff in place to facilitate contact, etc., of the missing. LPR encourages this to be a "human" contact as opposed to a postcard or mailing.
· Create continuity program to follow-up on the missing.
· Set up official "visitors" for Sunday mornings, i.e., people who would simply walk around the sanctuary and link greeting people.
· Working with the above mentioned "Caring Conference," generate consensus on what it means to be "missing."
For Saint Andrew's to become a 3rd place it will have to deal with adults, students, youth and children as previously defined. While the LRP understands that there will be program differences in the "youth" and "children" areas, for the purposes of this vision statement, these two groups are covered as children.

The following pages deal with how the church will do this for each of the groups.
Adults
For adults the 3rd place will encompass their social and spiritual lives. Therefore, there are plans to include social activities, discipleship and missions. To help people feel Saint Andrew's is their place. There is a section on guests. Finally, there is a section on what it means for Saint Andrew's to care for its membership.
Our goal is to increase the number of adults who participate in faith building experiences.
More specific goals will be set by the Implementation Team and appropriate groups.
Adult Ministries - Discipleship: Foundation for Christian Living
Provide biblical and theological foundations that support Christian lifestyle transformation. The goal is to develop mature disciples of Jesus Christ.
The characteristics of spiritual maturity include but are not limited to the following: understanding & practicing your spiritual gifts, a personal relationship with Christ, weekly attendance in worship, small group participation, daily scripture reading and prayer, serving others, humility, tithing
1. Help individuals in Saint Andrew's identify where they are in the life of faith.
· Provide means for individuals to understand what it means to be spiritually mature and to assess where they are spiritually.
· Provide a variety of types of discipleship/mentoring to help individuals determine how to move forward in faith.
· Connect the individuals to the community in this process.
· Develop means to help individuals measure their spiritual growth. Either create or find a tool to help individuals assess where they are in faith and what they needs to be done to move forward.
2. Provide appropriate pathways to help individuals mature in faith.
· Continue to provide a variety of Sunday school classes and small groups.
· Develop a series of courses/learning opportunities that specifically focus on the areas of spiritual maturity.
· Continue to provide a wide variety of short-term classes that deal with specific spiritual and relational issues.Adult Ministries - Missions
Adult mission opportunities allow us to reach out in the name of Jesus, to people in need.
Missions can encompass several levels including:
· local,
· regional,
· national, and
· international.
In a program to develop "Mature Disciples of Jesus Christ," we must encourage every member to participate on a regular basis in a mission related activity or event. Working with existing social service agencies we will identify and prioritize the needs of our neighborhood and encourage ministries that address those needs. We will measure our success on an annual basis by the number of SAUMC members involved in mission activities or events and the number of individuals reached by our activities or events.
Adult Ministries - Guests-Inviting & Caring
Provide an awareness that encourages every member of this congregation to seek out his or her gift of evangelism. We will spread the word our Christ through our words and our actions throughout the course of our daily living.
Evangelism can take the form of:1. Inviting your neighbor to worship
· Seek out non church goers and look for an opportunity to minister.
· Be aware of those in need due to physical illness or emotional set backs, they may find it difficult to seek out the Lord during this time.
· Involvement in your children's activities that could lead to opportunities to minister to others
· The goal is to increase the number of first time guests.
2. Pay attention to first time worshippers at St. Andrews and to all guests
· Develop and/or improve on what we are currently doing to monitor the attendance of our guests. Form Committee to address.
· Make periodic phone calls (do not seek donations or contributions).
· Make church staff aware of any crisis or celebrations that guest maybe experiencing.
· Provide an introductory class and time of fellowship for guests.
· Provide a guest information packet to each member.
· The goal is to increase the percentages that return a second time.
3. Offer Jesus to everyone
· Continue to evaluate and assess needs of our congregation-form committee to oversee.
· Survey congregation to find areas for improvement and to seek out new opportunities to grow in faith.
· Formalize the TLC structure provide a main contact.
· Further develop our SAMM group and UMW group-develop new marketing approach
Children (Birth - 6th Grade)
(Priority for staffing - 2002)
A full-time Children's Ministries director will be vital to the future of St. Andrew's Children's Ministries. A director can bring organization to programs that could make children enthusiastic about church. Ambitious plans will demand a director who can devote his/her full energy to year-round programming to ensure all needs are being provided. A part-time Children's Ministries coordinator would be in charge of specific
duties as related to outreach activities such as missions and evangelism. This would allow the director to focus on education and other areas as needed.
Children's Ministries - Missions:
· Senior adults and children getting together for individual story time and interacting
· Mother's Day Out program can grow into a four-day a week program when the proper facilities exist. This facility should meet city and state licensing requirements. This would allow the Mother's Day Out program to grow into a four-day a week program. Some examples of the requirements are hand washing sinks and small toilets in toddler rooms and the temperature of the water has to be a certain degree. All agencies should be contacted prior to making a decision on facilities to make sure everything meets their requirements.
· Planning of monthly mission trips (such as soup kitchens, homeless shelters etc.)
· Encouraging children to participate in giving offerings for specific missions.
· Mission drives with reward incentives that children can work toward (completion of doing so many hours in mission outreach).
Children's Ministries - Evangelism:
· Develop weekly activities throughout the year (Wednesdays- more worship centered and Sunday evenings geared toward other activities). A library/ reading/meeting room geared toward children with a stage area for a children's church service, plays, puppets, story-time and more. Young children should be considered when developing plans for future indoor and outdoor areas. This could include a playground with areas for different ages. Our current playground does not meet city and state licensing requirements.
· Continuing programs such as Easter Egg Hunts and Fall Festival
· Developing a Christmas program with children in mind (live manager scene; special Christmas service for kids)
· Sports camps for children of all ages which would include the need for facilities such as ball fields, soccer fields, and a gymnasium.
· Day camps in the summer for children of all ages.
Children's Ministries - Worship:
· Children's worship service instead of children's church where the children are involved in all aspects including communion, offering, storytelling and more.
· A variety of children's choirs, which would require a part-time staff person in charge of Children's Music. Music is an integral part of St. Andrew's and children can participate in service through music.
Children's Ministries - Fellowship:
· A once a week program/activity for children during the summer
· Encourage youth to become mentors to children (Vacation Bible School is a good example of this)
· Develop more involvement between children and older groups (adults, seniors, and singles)
· Parent's Night Out with a theme to encourage attendance (such as a beach party or a fiesta party).
Children's Ministries - Discipleship:
· Purchasing some Christian videos for all ages especially nursery age.
· The need to continue improving Sunday School curriculum to keep children coming. The need for classrooms that cater to children's needs such as layouts conducive to programs based on centers or stations.
· The need to continue some type of additional program for 1st - 6th grade
· The need to continue the Saturday night Sunday School and expand into separate age groups as it grows.
· Developing a program that is strongly religious based that teaches children about the beliefs of being a Methodist and what it means to be a Christian.
Students (7th - 12th Grades)
(Priority for Staffing 2001)
3rd Dimension Fellowship is the student ministry program at SAUMC. It exists to make a Godly generational impact on students by:
· Igniting their faith through intense Bible study, and powerful worship,
· Encouraging accountability,
· Motivating and training students to take leadership positions offered by SAUMC
Student Ministries - Worship
Continued efforts on implementing professional, powerful and effective student worship.
· Clearly communicate and develop opportunities of student leadership in worship and train students to lead these areas.
· Increase the use of modern technology during worship
· Develop a drama ministry that would perform during student worship
· Increase professionalism and quality of music for worship
· Have the appropriate facilities to reach our goals of student participation during worship. Student attendance potentials are:
· September 1, 2002- 150 students
· September 1, 2003- 300 students
· September 1, 2004- 500 students
· September 1, 2005- 1,000 students
· Eventually provide a Sunday morning worship service for students at 11am and possibly 9:45 am. Once this has taken place, add a Wednesday night worship service for students.
Student Ministries - Discipleship
· Provide "at home" devotions, Bible studies, and materials customized to 3DF that address student habits outside the influence of the organized activities and structured worship of SAUMC.
· Increase the variety of topical Bible studies provided to students.
· Incorporate a consistent cycle of 101, 201, 301 and 401 Bible studies to encourage continual growth of students' faith. Our goal is that these students will become adult lay leaders of SAUMC.
Student Ministries - Accountability
· Develop small groups that met off the SAUMC campus. These groups will be facilitated by one student leader and guided by one adult coach.
· Formation of CAP- campus accountability partners.
Student Ministries - Evangelism
· Continued efforts to bridge the gap between SAUMC and school campuses.
· Provide community connections to SAUMC through area-wide events
Student Ministries - Missions
· Provide mission opportunities local and foreign.Implementation of SAUMC Vision Statement
As the implementation team begins their work the desire is that they would work with the church council and nominations to help the vision become a reality. Part of their work will include coordination of annual goals for each area listed in the vision.
SAUMC Vision Implementation Team:
· Liz Hannabas, Kim Isbell, Perry Allen, Kate Titsworth & Al Faustino
· Directly affected staff &
· Directly affected lay leaders.
Staff and lay leaders will meet and contribute as each specific area is being discussed.
Conclusion
This report has been developed with a great deal of research, consultation, discussion and prayer. During the course of it's development, the LRP discussed many important issues facing the future of St. Andrews United Methodist Church.
We are poised on the cusp of becoming not only a leading church in southeast Arlington, but a leading church in the Metroplex and the Central Texas Conference. How we choose to respond to our future potential will define our future identity. It is the hope and prayer of the Long Range Planning team that St. Andrews continue to envision a future centered around our mission of making mature disciples of Jesus Christ.

Below is an Example of how the implementation team might create the goals.
Specifically, this plan is for Missions (Adult/Student and Children)
2001
Apportionment: Meet all apportionment goals.
Activities/Events: Support and encourage the following ministries.
Local:
Nursing Home Ministries
Prison Ministry
Habitat for Humanity
Living in America - ESL and job skills training
2nd Saturday Volunteers in Mission
Arlington Charities - Supplemental Food Bagging
Hope tutoring
Laundromat Ministry Feed Arlington
Mission Possible Auction
School supplies drive
Thanksgiving Food Basket drive
Angel Tree
Jaye's Xmas Toy drive
Establish a formal relationship with Eastside Ministries to provide moral support.
Regional:
Junior High Mission Trip
National:
Senior High Mission Trip
International:
Raise funds for new churches in Africa
Exploratory trip to San Pablo Methodist Church in Mexico
Adult Mission Trip to Mexico
Equipment:
None.
Impact:
Our goal for this time period is identify the number of members participating and the number of individuals assisted.2002
Apportionment: Meet all apportionment goals.
Activities/Events: Support and encourage existing ministries. Add the following ministries/events after determining the needs of the community surrounding SAUMC.
Local:
Patriotic Picnic and Revival on 4th of July
Provide financial support to Eastside Ministries
Regional:
Establish Regional Disaster Relief Teams
National:
Establish National Disaster Relief Teams
International:
Adopt a Methodist Church in Mexico.
Adult Mission Trip to Mexico
Equipment/Facilities:
Acquire and equip a Regional Disaster Relief Trailer.
Acquire space and facilities for a Food Bank Extension.
Impact: Our goal for this time period is increase the number of members participating and the number of individuals assisted by 10%.2003
Apportionment: Meet all apportionment goals.
Activities/Events: Support and encourage existing ministries. Add the following ministries/events.
Local:
Establish and operate a Thrift Shop.
Regional:
National:
Youth Mission trip to Appalachia
International:
Adult Mission trip to Asia
Impact:
Our goal for this time period is increase the number of members participating and the number of individuals assisted by 15%.
2004
Apportionment: Meet all apportionment goals.
Activities/Events: Support and encourage existing ministries. Add the following ministries/events.
Local:
Regional:
National:
International:
Impact:
Our goal for this time period is increase the number of members participating and the number of individuals assisted by 20%.
2005
Apportionment: Meet all apportionment goals.
Activities/Events: Support and encourage existing ministries. Add the following ministries/events.
Local:
Regional:
National:
International:
Impact:
Our goal for this time period is increase the number of members participating and the number of individuals assisted by 25%.