Looking Back to Move Forward

The Looking Back to Move Forward workgroup, led by Sue Schmidt-Decker and Michelle Eisenhauer, will look back through the history of the congregation - beginning with the earliest thoughts about starting a congregation in the northwestern part of Kenosha. Old annual reports will be combed through to identify mission, strengths, things that got in the way of mission, and the major shifts of the congregation. This group will study and assess the history and effectiveness of the move from a “Pastor-Centered/Led” to a “People-Centered/Led” congregation. The idea is not to hash through old problems, but to learn from when things went well, and when things didn’t go so well.

Looking Into the Congregation

The Looking into the Congregation workgroup will do just that: look deeply into the congregation and how it has done during the past 3 - 5 years. It will look at all the ministries during this time, and gather information from the congregation on what went well, what got in the way of it going well, what might need to shift in the future. It also will delve into the report and recommendations from the Zeidler Center process that was done in 2019. Another task will be to begin to consider the important ministry tasks for leaders in the future. Facilitators for this group are still needed. (Contact Pastor Carol if you feel called to facilitate this group.)

Looking Into the Community

The Looking into the Community workgroup, led by Lynn Kancian and Kathy Sadowski, will draw on some of the “Faithful Innovations” process the synod has put together. This involves exploring where God might be at work, and what God might be up to in the community (as well as in the congregation). It will involve careful study of our community - its needs and resources. The underlying question is: how can Lord of Life be part of what God is about in this place and time.

Looking Into the Future

Looking into the Future is the fourth workgroup. These folks will spend time doing research: reading books about the changes and challenges of the church moving into the future, about mission, and about the context of the church. They will look around the community, the nation, and possibly the world to learn how other congregations are thinking about and meeting new challenges. They may even pick the brains of people in the congregation about what they think is important, and pick the brains of leaders of congregations that seem to be finding creative ways to carry out God’s mission in their context. John Meyer is the facilitator of this workgroup.