We're Here for Good

By Rev. Jasper Peters, Associate Pastor

In taking steps toward a healthier and more vibrant life, small, meaningful, intentional steps are necessary. At the end of January, our church completed a year-long process of discerning our future. This all-church event was equal parts beginning and end, finalizing the initial discernment, and hopefully launching us into a rich future.

We wanted to share the nuts and bolts of the Vision 2020 process. Here you can view our initial findings, including data, reading material and some early survey results. In this post, my hope is to sketch out the less tangible parts of how the work will proceed. This is, admittedly, more difficult to define. It can be even more difficult to measure. In some ways it is like a vaccine: it might be hard for the casual observer to see effects, but the long term effects on health can be seen and measured.

In January, Trinity Council and your Trinity Staff gathered to begin to put our visioning into practice. We produced a large number of recommended actions. Some of these were small, granular, and are simple to accomplish. Others are large in scale and will require months or years of work to bring to fruition. Large and small, simple and difficult, they were all listed and compiled to form a living document. This document is held and managed by Trinity Council. Through partnership with every area of ministry through our church, the document is and will continue to be a call to action for us, individually and collectively. At the first Council meeting after our Vision was laid out, the church began to work at ways of bringing these dreams to life.

As we go forward, you will probably not see every new initiative or project labeled as “Vision 2020.” As such, I realize that it is reasonable to wonder what was the result or effect of this project. In reality, much like that vaccine, or a regular dose of vitamins, the effect is not always visible, but is important nonetheless. My hope and sustained belief is that the result of Vision 2020 will be seen through the kind of ministry and programming decisions we make as we move forward. Our first, best example of this is the #TrinityRunsColfax2016 project, culminating on Sunday, May 15. Additionally, more new projects, ministry, and service opportunities are being developed and deployed nearly every week! This is an exciting time for our congregation, our city, and the Church as a whole.

Grace and Peace,

Jasper