It’s a Winner – Faith’s New Vision 20/20 Logo

The suspense is over and we have a winner! After a tough competition, our logo selection committee chose the logo shown above. We were very pleased with the number and quality of the submissions and thank all of the people who submitted a candidate logo. A couple of the submissions focused on a play with 20/20 vision or eye charts. Another emphasized the church and growth for 2020. Our group believes the winner communicated a growing church centered on Christ, combined with an upward movement supported by our building program. It was interesting that when our committee members first viewed this logo, we saw different images. Some saw an up arrow representing growth of our congregation and our many missions through Vision 20/20 as the basis. Others saw a building represented, again with Vision 20/20 as a foundation. In the end, we liked the simple elegance of the logo, the spirit of the image, and the multiple messages it conveyed. It reflects the theme for our church initiative focused upon expanded mission and education opportunities through improved infrastructure/facilities. Our winner, Jamel Darling, receives a $100 gift certificate and our appreciation for his outstanding imagination.

Vision 20/20 – In the Spirit of our Church Name: Faith When our leadership team engages church members in discussions about our Vision 20/20 initiative, not many of our parishioners know that the last time we completed any significant infrastructure upgrades, remodeling, or additions to the campus was in the 1999 timeframe. Yes, it has been almost 17 years with no major improvements or upgrades. Far too long. It is a testament to our fantastic property board teams over these many years that we have been able to manage this feat and, for the most part, meet the needs of our church body. During that long period, safety and security laws have changed – in some of these areas we are not meeting minimal state and local standards. Only through a legal grandfathering compliance system have we been able to continue without significantly investing in our facilities to upgrade them to meet the changing standards.

Father time has caught up to us, and the moment has come in our church life to invest in supporting our future, children’s education, fellowship programs, and the many new and exciting missions that continue to keep our church body thriving – the missions that directly help our brothers and sisters to literally live, know God, and grow as Christians – the same daily missions we have witnessed grow by a rate of 100% in number and have served so many people so well these past 17 years since we made our last investment in the physical church campus. Fact: Missions doubled in

numbers, campus infrastructure stayed fixed – not a good ratio for long-term success.

As you read the articles in this special edition newsletter, please help us by praying that we, our parish membership, follow the fictional movie hero Indiana Jones’ model and “choose wisely” (he correctly chose the Holy Grail) as we proceed with evaluating the building options, selecting an architect and contractor, and engage the parish body as we invest our time and talent and commit to our future together. All the while, doing so with the intent to provide the next generation at Faith Lutheran Church that is not only thriving, but is a testament to the families who came before, the fulfillment of God’s mission on our small piece of Earth, and a legacy of memories filled with joy, sharing, education, and the love and fellowship a church home brings to our lives.

We need your commitment and input as we continue on the Faith Lutheran Church Vision 20/20 journey. Pray, sacrifice, contribute.

Jim Curtis, Chair, Planning and Development Board

While on vacation last month, I visited a flea market in Branson, Missouri. I’ve been to that particular flea market before and knew there was always one booth in it where books are sold – many of

which are theology books. In the clearance section of the book seller’s booth, I came across a book by Harold Kushner called When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, the search for a life that matters (Summit Books, New York, 1986). It cost me only two bucks and gave me something good to read. I came across an illustrative story that Kushner wrote that spoke to me, especially as I was pondering what it means for our congregation to be considering a building project – Vision 20/20. The following excerpt is from pages 165-166 where Kushner writes:

I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand. They were hard at work building an elaborate sand castle by the water’s edge, with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and sat down to build another castle. I realized they had taught me an important lesson. All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh.

Building onto the church facility is a costly venture which will take a great commitment on our part. However, what concerns me most is that such an endeavor has the potential of producing anxiety which can cause us to lose sight of what’s most important in our life together as a congregation – namely, our relationships to one another and to the God we serve. This is where it will become essential for us to keep our priorities in good order as we move forward so that the building does not become more important than the people who are going to use it. The single greatest test for determining whether anxiety levels in any group is too high, at least according to family systems theorist/therapist Edwin Freidman, is whether or not there is laughter present. In healthy relationships, (whether families, work colleagues, or congregations), there is always the presence of laughter and joy. Conversely, the first thing to go when anxiety takes

Pastor Bob

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over and dysfunction sets in is laughter. Anxiety is just another form of fear. It is toxic to not only our relationships to each other, but also our relationship to God. It destroys faith.

The purpose of our building is to provide a place for healthy, joyful Christian relationships to happen. The grace of God is unleashed through the ministries we carry out in our Sunday school, worship, PYC, fellowship, adult learning, youth activities, etc. It’s all about the people living in relationship to God and each other. The reason we want to build is to increase the amount of people our ministries will be able to touch so that the joy being a Christian can reach more people. That’s what mission growth is all about. I believe Jesus put it best when he described the purpose of his teachings saying: “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11 NRSV). It may be a building project we’re talking about, but it’s really about people, faith, joy and loving Christian relationships – it’s about a grace filled mission.

Peace and God’s blessings, Pastor Bob

Seven years ago, I served 6 months here at Faith as a vicar, as part of my seminary training. In that time, I worked with Pastor Bob and Pastor Freda, accompanying them on pastoral care visits, teaching

Confirmation, serving in worship, etc. I remember thinking then, “This church is a hopping place!” There was so much energy here and I was confident that energy would continue to grow. It turns out, I was right! When I was called to serve as pastor two years ago, the numbers revealed growth. More programming, more mission work, more small groups, more preschoolers, more, more, more!

But what hadn’t changed was the physical space…Faith had increased in every aspect except in building size. I returned to find Janet surrounded by more boxes than when I left and the kids had pushed the adults out of Sunday School classrooms and into the choir room! In many ways, I am impressed at how creative people must be here in order to find space and time to do their particular ministries; it’s like a human jigsaw puzzle making it all fit. And at the same time, I can see the frustration with having to work so hard at making it all fit. Certainly there are better uses of our creative energies!

When I was a little girl, I wasn’t always as kind as I should have been to my siblings and cousins. My grandma asked me why I wasn’t being nice and I said, “I just don’t

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feel like it.” Grandma replied, “Just be nice and eventually your heart will catch up.” That’s a little like what is happening here at Faith, except our hearts are ahead of us! Our hearts for service and mission have grown our community, but now it’s time for our building to catch up!

I can’t wait to see what will happen to these spaces already bursting with children, like Confirmation and Sunday School, when our building catches up with our hearts. I expect God will be as faithful to us as He has been in the seven years since I was here last- growing and filling the spaces we are willing to create in His service. May the Holy Spirit inspire us to dream big and bless our efforts!

Pastor Candice

As I look towards the future of our church, I am excited at the possibility and the need of expansion. How blessed we are to have this need to grow, transforming lives, driving our missions while

keeping Christ in the center. While thinking about building, I hear the words of hymns like “The Church Is One Foundation” and “The Wiseman Built His House Upon the Rock”. I envision the grounds of 520 E. Hwy 50 continuing to rise up on a firm foundation, transforming into a Christian campus that would meet the needs of many more people of all ages.

In the book of John, when the Lord asked Simon Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Three times Simon Peter replied, Yes, you know I love you. And the Lord then said to him, “Feed my sheep”. This command was not for Peter alone, but for all Christ’s disciples and it is something we do here at Faith and I love this about our church. We are called to care for others, to minister to their physical needs as well as spiritual needs. In doing this Christ’s love flows out

and others come to know Him. As the Chris Tomlin song says “Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city”.

I ask for you to prayerfully look at the various expansion options, pray about God’s mission for our church, see yourself in this process. We are His hands and feet, our labor will not be in vain.

Andy Dichsen, President

President

39 years is a long time to serve in and be served by the members of this church and the church building. I love this church and our church family! I am moved every day by the love and generosity of

our members! I would love the opportunity to share that love with others, many others! We have, through the years, served so many churched and unchurched people. I would love the opportunity to continue that ministry! I’d like to consider the following:

The Prayer of Jabez from 1 Chronicles 4:10 “Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain”. So God granted him what he requested.

I love this prayer and have personally prayed this, believing I have seen God at work through this prayer in my personal life. I know God will support us in this journey. He will not let us fail. He will keep us safe. We just have to do our part – and have FAITH!

Who is Jabez and why ?

Jabez is known as a man of prayer and has become famous for directness and simplicity in prayer. Jabez was an honorable and spiritual person. Of all traits in Jabez, it is his faith in God that is most prominent. He believed in God, trusted in God’s goodness, relaxed in God’s powers, and found comfort in God’s concern for human affairs.

His language implies the confidence that he had in the reality of providential blessing. I believe we should join together in prayer. Let’s pray for God to increase our territory, bless our congregation and our community, keeping us from evil and from causing pain. Why is it important to me? Because it is important to my family! Several memories remind me of the need:

15+ years ago Karl Buch and I coordinated a formal Mother-Daughter dinner – We crammed 100+ women into the fellowship hall for a chicken/steak dinner. The servers could barely move through most of the tables, and could not move through some of them at all! That was years ago – before our church had grown to its current size.

Teaching 5th grade Sunday school – One year, we were in the room across from the nursery with 15 kids. In Noah’s words “we all had to fit in that room and nobody could move”. Several years behind a curtain with the 6th grade class on one side and the adult Sunday school class on the other. I struggled to find fun and engaging activities to teach the kids about the Bible without causing too much noise! Our neighbors also

Vice President

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struggled with watching videos at a volume where the “older” adults could hear without interrupting the 2 other Sunday school classrooms! The visitation and funeral for my mother – we almost had to change our plans because there was another activity at the church at the same time. This was one of the most emotional times in my life (and the lives of my family) – and running into space problems led to increased stress during this already difficult time! Fortunately, the staff worked very hard to make things work out for all of us!

Be Like Jesus space limitations – kids cramped into small spaces in the rooms of our building. While this creates a physical closeness that is appreciated by some, it is also a bit claustrophobic for others. Put these kids in an environment to serve God – and add an extra dose of stress with kids they don’t know so well and without their customary routine! This could be disastrous! Praise God for the awesome leadership that kept things calm and comfortable during these stressful times.

Cramped choir room – when I sang with the choir, our space was so tight at times. While again creating a cozy environment, it was uncomfortably tight at times. Some of us have personal space issues – imagine those who avoid singing and praising God because of the space constraints!

My Kids perspectives: Every big church holiday we are squashed in like sardines in the pews and some have to sit in the overflow. Some people probably don’t come the next year, because it is so cramped. Noah, 18 years old

Be Like Jesus puts people basically cuddling each other all night and some groups don’t even have rooms. Noah 18 years old

There isn’t much space in the kitchen when we have big meals, and often there is no place to sit. Caleb 15 years old

My husband’s perspective: New space would allow for more opportunities for Sunday school options, especially for adults. Currently we have 4 options – 1 is based on the arts, which isn’t an interest of mine, 1 is a very large group (uncomfortable for open dialogue), one meets at 10:45 (a different time than the rest of my family’s classes), and leaving 1 class for me. I would like more options, but we are space limited. More space would allow for more options of classes, maybe with smaller groups (ideally 6-8 for a group).

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I also like the idea of a multi-purpose gym/room. We have traveled to many other churches to participate in sporting activities like volleyball (St Clare and Methodist), and basketball. This type of space would be inviting for extracurricular activities for youth and adults. We could host events for our own congregation or the community. It would be great to have a fun place for youth to hang out and spend time. Parents would love to see kids hanging out at church. New buildings bring new life and new energy as well as promoting growth!

A close study of Jabez’s prayer is rewarding. It helps us to understand that praying can brings results. Jabez’s prayer was addressed to God! We, too, should become intimately familiar with our Father! Jabez prayed with clarity! He knew for what he was praying and he asked with earnestness! “Indeed” is the emphasis. He boldly asked for blessings! Let’s not become so accustomed to God’s blessings that we forget to pray for them! It was a prayer for prosperity. Jabez was confident in asking for material things – to serve God! Let us not forget to pray for God’s guidance! Material prosperity without God is dangerous. Let’s be ready to share this blessing with all those churched and unchurched in our community. We can be blessed if we recognize the great need to lean upon God and not personal understanding! Finally, Jabez prayed for safety and purity. He did not ask to be kept from all sorrows in life. He did request that God would keep him from the effects of evil in his life! God granted Jabez all that he wanted. He had success in life; evil was warded off; God richly blessed him!

Let us cherish the thoughts of Jabez and follow his example in our daily lives! Praying to expand the territory of Faith Lutheran Church!! Please join me!

Sheri Engel, Vice President

Admins thoughts on Vision 20/20

In our positions we see both the physical and the missional reasons for why we need to upgrade our infrastructure.

On the physical side, our infrastructure is like a game of Jenga on steroids. You start out with a strong base, but as you build, grow and remodel, eventually the base can’t support the additions. We have great people putting things into place and making them work but they are building from a base that is too outdated to support the changes. Did you know that our current phone system was a hand me down system and is more than 25 years old at this point? They don’t even make the phones anymore. If a phone goes out, we have to toss it and hope one of the one’s sitting in a box will work.

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How many times have you come into the building and have not been able to get onto the wireless router? We are better, but it still needs improvements. We don’t have the seemless wifi connectivity throughout the campus. It is more patchwork.

Have you been in the Fellowship Hall and felt like you were melting though the AC is running like mad? Or have been in one of those side classrooms in the winter and had to bring a blanket for warmth? We have had the pastors sucking up water in the fellowship lounge because it is pouring in through the garden door during a storm. We have had PYC teachers have to shut down portions of their rooms because ceiling tiles are buckling under water damage. Ask any property board chair and they will tell you that Wendy and I send them an email just about every day with something that needs to be fixed or replaced.

On the missional side, did you know that we have almost 30 of Faith’s own small group and adult education groups plus another 5 or so outside groups meeting at Faith? Between our meetings/groups and community groups, we spend a good portion of our time trying to think creatively on how to find space for groups that would like to meet on our campus.

In the past few years we have gone from 2 adult Sunday school classes to 4 on a Sunday - 1 has to meet at 10:45am and another 1 has to meet on the weeks Stephen Ministry does not meet simply because we are out of room on Sunday mornings. If any other adult Sunday school class wants to meet, they have to meet at a time other than the traditional Sunday school hour of 9:30am. Did you know that the choir has to make sure they are cleared out of the choir rehearsal room prior to the Sunday school hour so that the space can be used for an adult Sunday school class? Even our Vision 20/20 open houses on Sunday mornings are running into the Sunday school closing with the kids. Use of our building has to be time out for quick turnaround of the space. Starting in January, the Fellowship Hall will be used for fellowship (donuts after 1st service), Sunday school closing, 10:45am Adult Education class, Financial Peace University and then confirmation class in the evening – 5 different groups will be using that space between 8:30am-8:30pm.

It is beyond Sunday though. We have groups running into and around each other all week long. We would venture to say that if you were to pass by and look at our parking lot, you would find cars in the parking lot any day between the hours of 8:30am-8:30pm…with the possible exception of Friday night…oops, that is not true anymore; new small group – Soul Sisters – meets on Friday evenings. Matter of fact, we even double booked ourselves this summer with mission trips spending the night! We are using our current space to its maximum for not only our own needs but also the needs of our community and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Janet Hernandez, AdminCoordinator Wendy McDonnell, Secretary

Vision 20/20: Preparing for growth at Faith! What does this look like for PYC?

Challenges with current building for PYC and hope for change:

1. Shortage of classroom space! Because of the number of days required for a quality PreK education, we are not able to offer two morning classes that meet the needs of children and families. We currently have two morning preschool (3 year olds) sessions that have to flow into one PREK classroom. We can offer an afternoon class but it is often a hard sell for parents that are in the routine of morning drop off that coincides with their children in elementary school or interferes with an afternoon nap schedule. We often turn families away who really want to be a part of our dynamic PreK program because of the schedule. Our afternoon enrichment class has to take place in another area of the building because of lack of an age-appropriate room.

Ideally, having 3 classrooms, a Godly Play Room and staff area that can be used during the week would lend itself to:

· provide space for more families looking for a quality, Christian preschool for their child(ren)

· meeting the needs of families who desire morning programming · continue with a dedicated, worshipful space for teaching our Godly Play curriculum · allow enrichment classes to take place in the education wing rather than expanding

into church space that is sometimes needed during the week · more Sunday School classrooms that are grouped together rather than spread across

the building.

2. The lay-out/make-up of our facility limits our ability to offer the best in quality. Adaptations will be needed to accommodate drop-off and pick-up times, continued outdoor play needs and classrooms organized around activity areas that promote play-based experiential learning. A preschool's physical appearance is especially important and does have a strong influence on parents as they decide where to enroll their children. First impressions make a difference!

· Our entrance into the preschool becomes a bottle neck which creates congestion for families who enter or leave the building. This can cause feelings of conflict or fight/flight. If we had a larger area to welcome families, it would encourage positive feelings which tends to promote enrollment and parent involvement in our school. Families feel comfortable and welcomed in an open and inviting entrance. It also provides a space where parents can engage in quiet time to ease the transition

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Programs for Young children (PYC)

for children experiencing difficulty separating. The layout and furnishings of the entrance area can encourage parents to linger and interact with other parents and provide places for parents to talk privately with teachers/staff.

· Our classrooms are currently small in square footage. To be competitive and have the ability to work towards accreditation, we would require each classroom to have at least 50 square feet per child (this is the new guideline from NAEYC and Headstart for quality). An 800 sq ft room would accommodate 16 children--a manageable group size for quality early childhood classes.

· Our PreK classroom often feels cramped and limited due to the lay-out design. Not all areas are visible to the teachers which can lead to safety concerns. Opening up the classroom would help with this issue and lend itself to the ability to have more options in the design of the classroom learning areas.

· Because half of our walls are made out of metal, the climate level in each classroom is often affected by the heat/cold of the outside temperature. Often teachers/children are overheating in one room while the other classroom is going in the other direction. Having adequate insulated walls may help to solve these variances and also improve working conditions for teachers.

· Storage is a huge problem. Teaching requires a lot of STUFF! Having spaces to store the needed supplies/equipment in a manageable way will help us keep our area clean and organized and also lend itself to staff morale.

3. Toddler Programming is separated from the rest of our school. It would be beneficial to have all children's programming in one wing of the building for adequate supervision and ease of use for families. Our toddlers also need an outside play area that is safe, age-appropriate and in close proximity to their classroom.

· Our littlest learners are as important to us as our preschoolers. Research shows the value of quality programming for children 0-3 years of age and the impact it has on their learning. Let's offer the best!

· Expanding the classroom space so that there is a place for babies to play safely as well as places for toddlers to explore would be ideal.

· Having an outdoor play space connected to the indoor toddler classroom would eliminate the stressful transition across the church building to the outdoor playground. It would also give the toddler classes more flexibility in their schedules rather than having just one dedicated time that they can go outside due to the other classes schedules during the week.

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· Providing a quality place for toddlers encourages growth in our school! Families tend to stay in an environment that they are comfortable in, making the transition to preschool easier for all.

· Having the nursery near the other Sunday school classes also helps ease the stress on families with multiple aged children on a Sunday morning. This leads to church satisfaction for families.

Why invest in ministries to children and young families? It leads to growth! Our understanding as Christians that each person is made in the image of God leads us to recognize that every child (and his/her family) is precious and valued in God’s sight. At PYC, we consider it a privilege to walk beside children as they hear the good news about Jesus and His love for them. The goal of our Christian curriculum is centered around developing a healthy view of who God is and forming people who love God and follow Jesus. Many of our families come to us because they are looking for a Christian preschool for

their child. Christian values are important to them and even though they may attend a church on Sundays, they want to give their children the opportunity to be nurtured by Christian teachers and to grow in their faith throughout the week.

I think most of us have heard the research that churches that commit themselves to grow and develop children and family ministries and invest the resources in that tend to grow. Looking to the future of Faith Lutheran Church and the Preschool and the desire to grow, it becomes obvious that we need to continue investing in children and young people and be willing to put the resources into nurturing them. Making sure that the church building includes spaces for children and young families is key to help them feel supported and to encourage them to grow in faith.

As we consider how to move forward with this new Vision 20/20, let's make sure to look at how we engage with and express God’s love to the community that includes children and young people, whether through PYC (Faith's preschool ministry) or another church program. Isn't it our desire that all (even our littlest ones) should see and experience love, welcome, hope, forgiveness and the possibility of new beginnings whenever they encounter the entity of Faith Lutheran Church.

Respectfully, Kim Lloyd, PYC Director

The Faith Support and Enrichment Board was formerly Lay Ministry. Along with the name change, the board also assumed the responsibility for adult education and oversight of small groups. As our church continues to grow, small groups (whether a Bible study group, Sunday school class, or dining or craft group) increase in importance to enhance church related connections. Our main problem right now is finding space for groups to meet, and groups that have rooms are often too large for the meeting space provided. Vision 20/20 will address this problem and give us more and proper sized rooms.

The Faith Support and Enrichment Board also talked about having prayer warriors available before and after church services. If someone is dealing with an issue and would like to privately pray with someone, we would like to provide that opportunity for them. The problem here is that there is no private space to meet and pray. Vision 20/20 could solve this problem, and we could provide this private prayer time for our congregation.

We welcome newcomers and hold an orientation luncheon for them. It would be nice to have a space big enough for the entire congregation to meet and welcome all the newcomers in a given year. A gathering area close to the sanctuary would be nice so we could introduce newcomers to other members without worrying about interfering with people entering and exiting church services and being concerned about the level of noise.

Carol Bandre & Lené Shepherd, Faith Support & Enrichment Board

After years of working with groups of people to help them revitalize their organizations and set and achieve new goals, I have come to the realization that we all are more motivated, happier, and more fulfilled when we are engaged in a cause bigger than ourselves. Faith 20/20 presents us with a challenge looking to the future of this congregation’s life and work in the community for Christ. Our mission, or strategic direction, is to ensure that everyone hears the good news. The means for doing that rests with each of us and requires that we use our time and talents toward that end. The message from stewardship is one of encouragement to our members to live out their faith in working together to achieve the goal, to successfully move toward the accomplishment of our mission. I have discovered in my own life that the joy in life is found in giving. Giving has become a central theme as I continue to discover how powerful it is in being happy and feeling like life really matters.

To feel fulfilled, people need to live, love, laugh, learn, and leave a legacy. Faith 20/20 provides each of us with an opportunity to do all of those things. I urge each member to get involved, participate in Faith’s mission through the various avenues of service, and enjoy the rich blessings that come from being part of something bigger than ourselves.

Jim Campbell, Stewardship

Vision 20/20 - Fellowship Board

Fellowship is an enabling Board in the church, to encourage the gathering of groups to share comradery, common interests, hobbies, food and to have fun.

We help coordinate events from Funerals to Concert Series, Fundraisers and many other events. But we are also the Cookies and Coffee Crew on Sunday morning.

Our vision for the 2020 Drive is to make more comfortable spaces to gather, between and after worship services, open and inviting and close to the sanctuary, but not getting in the way of folks going to the next service or worrying about being too loud and interrupting the service. A comfortable convenient place to have your cookie and coffee in a nice chair, to sit and talk. A dedicated area near the sanctuary to brew coffee and serve cookies would help accomplish this.

We also need space to hold the larger events like the Funfest and other sit down meals in one room, so everyone can see the program and feel like part of the event, removing the need to spill out into the lounge and allow for a more welcoming atmosphere.

We have a nice kitchen, but I would like to see it improved to include commercial grade equipment like a dishwasher, freezer and a second oven. If done smartly, it would give programs like PYC an ability to consider an expansion to offer breakfast or lunch service. Some investigation is in order to see what State requirements may need to be addressed to meet a lunch program. Additionally, it will allow the growth of the outreach dinners we have been offering to the community (i.e. Community Meals, Community Thanksgiving). The kitchen is a shared area and it has to have improved storage spaces. We see this as one of the most important areas to improve upon. This would ensure the kitchen is stocked with appropriate

level of supplies to be able to handle any event at any given time. We have to stock paper and plastic goods, dry and perishable foods, small equipment, serving and dispensing items and cleaning supplies. These all have specific requirements and we need to be able to maintain the certificates from the Health and Fire Departments to

operate the kitchen properly.

Karl Buch & Tim Peterson, Fellowship Board

The Bridge is built....Where does it lead? The Church has Left the Building....Faith Lutheran is out in the community, creating relationships, working to meet the needs of people desperate for hope. How do we welcome those we reach outside the door?...How do we help them come inside to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus and the God who gave us this incredible gift of grace? How does Faith Lutheran create larger footprints to lead to the Gospel? Who are we? Are we a church that is too full inside every minute of every day to invite others in? Are we the place where community groups used to meet, but now every space is full?

In 2000, as we entered our last building project, Faith Lutheran's motto was "Building Bridges, not Castles." That project connected two buildings, creating a bridge between our Fellowship and Christian Education building and our Worship and Administration areas. When we began developing preschool programs, a member said, "Don't put limits on God's plans." We planned for a preschool that could accommodate 12 children in a morning program. God had bigger plans. We planned for individual, intimate Christian Education programs. God had bigger plans. Confirmation classes and Sunday School class sizes grew. Adult education classes evolved. The music program grew. We planned for a space to gather large groups. God had bigger plans. Be Like Jesus now involves other churches and gathers more youth. Community ministries like DivorceCare, GriefShare, Fit4God, Community Meals, Programs for Young Children multiplied and grew. Take a look at the church calendar ... it is not just about Sunday

mornings here. God has big plans for Faith Lutheran.

We have filled the space, is there room for growth? Is it about us staying comfortable in this space, or does God require us to "gather in" those who come to us through our many Outward Ministries?

As O'Fallon has grown, so have the community gatherings that were once possible in our Fellowship space. The Community Thanksgiving Dinner that we initiated has outgrown us. Meetings and meals that seat more than 100 are impossible without squeezing together. Could Faith Lutheran be the location for ecumenical gatherings like the Martin Luther King breakfast or UCM Prayer breakfast ? Could Faith Lutheran gather all the families and supporters of Programs for Young Children without crowding? Could Faith Lutheran accommodate far more in Adult and Children's Christian Education and support programs?

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We have outgrown the space we envisioned 20 years ago, when our mission was to "Build Bridges, not Castles." Ultimately, space creates opportunities for growth and change as God's vision for Faith unfolds.

For Outward Ministry to truly welcome those we reach outside our building, we must be able to show them the opportunities inside that will nurture their growing understanding of the Gospel. Bringing young people and families in the front door requires a ministry space that meets the needs of physically active youth, flexible gathering spaces, and up-to-date, easily maintained facilities.

The "Bridge" built in 2000 now limits our ability to accommodate those who want to cross it. As we look toward 2020, we need to envision the ministry opportunities and challenges God will open to us. We need flexible space to gather those we reach on one side of the bridge into the community of Faith on the other side. God's vision for His people is so big. Let's make space for His plan.

Here is a list of "What If's" to help jump start our Vision 20/20. Can you think of more? · What if Outward Ministry could invite and welcome more members of the community to

Faith? · What if Outward Ministry could offer space to large community groups or churches that

have no building to use? · What if our building could nurture high school youth by offering an open gym or after

school gathering place? · What if our Community Meals ministry welcomed 100 people every Monday? · What if we could become a licensed child care facility to offer more comprehensive

services to families? · What if Faith could host a food packing event where we could pack 100,000 meals in one

evening because we could accommodate more packing stations and volunteers? · What if we could welcome newcomers after church in a space in close proximity to our

worship space? · What if Faith Lutheran could host large community ecumenical events like the Martin

Luther King breakfast, or the UCM Prayer Breakfast? · What if ? What if we prepare our building for the opportunities that God might present

us to share the Gospel to those in need in our community and beyond?

Cari Symonds & Kie Zelms, Outward Ministry

Vision 20/20 – Worship and Music Board’s Perspective

We are a melting pot of people united through Christ. Our church is made up of a mixture of people—different ages, genders and family size; varying length of time we’ve been a part of Faith Lutheran; the role church has in our lives and activities we choose to be involved with. These all impact our perspective on future direction for our church. Change is a part of growth. Between 1982 and 1999, I was assigned to Scott 3 different times. In fact, I was married in ‘86—in what’s now the Fellowship Hall. I’ve seen lots of change, but the most impressive changes have been in church-related activities/participation, as well as outside groups wanting to use our property. This is wonderful, but also presents a problem--straining the limits of what we can do with the space we’ve got. I wish the church was like Mary Poppins’ carpetbag! Wouldn’t it be cool if our interior spaces could change based on our needs, and the outside stay unchanged? That’s fantasy…unfortunately, so as a board, we’ve identified some key areas expansion would really make a difference in. · Seating. It’s pretty obvious when we have special

church celebrations/concerts, we experience seating challenges in the Sanctuary. However, did you realize, the “overflow seating” that once could be closed off is now routinely used by many families and often newcomers? It’s not a bad space, but due to the location of the sound booth, this area also has issues with dimness, noise, and impaired visibility. In a church where people would rather sit in the back ¾ of the sanctuary, pushing families, latecomers, or visitors out of this space won’t work. Sanctuary seating also impacts music programs. We used to have tympani for Easter and Christmas—these days, bell tables compete with pew space, let alone having room for larger instruments or more bells. Seating with flexibility will allow our church to grow in many ways.

· Can you hear me now? We all know the narthex is a tight fit for people transitioning between services. Because of this, and use of the narthex for socialization, noise is an irritant for anyone sitting to the rear of the church. This is a no-win situation, and the crowd in the narthex is also a challenge for newcomers to our church. Having larger area for the narthex and gathering space is a key to making people feel welcome and comfortable.

· Is it a hallway or storage closet? If you’re a pastor, acolyte, or altar guild member between services, you may feel the sacristy, closet and hallway to the sanctuary often seems like an obstacle course! Why? Every bit of wall and closet space in this area is filled

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with worship related supplies--from acolyte robes, banners, crosses, and even Christmas trees. Storage capability is a major need throughout the entire church facility.

· In other cases, we need a hall and not a room! This is the case of the cry room. It’s great to have, but it often becomes a thoroughfare and storage spot for musical groups entering/exiting the sanctuary during services and special occasions so disruption of the service/program is limited. Perhaps the cry room would be more peaceful for child and parent if it were located elsewhere?

· Let’s raise a joyful (but squished) noise! Faith’s music programs are appealing opportunities for members, but... The senior choir has outgrown the “choir room” and is often so crowded singers are within 3-4 feet of the piano. The room is easily overheated due to the number of bodies, and the sound of piano/choir is too much for the space. Warm up time for Sr Choir and Praise Band competes with Sunday School who need to use the room due to inadequate class space. Music office space is cramped and our storage is insufficient. Getting Sr Choir members on the risers to sing can be entertaining, since we have more people than riser space; and when the choir shares space with Praise, it’s even more awkward. Despite the adversity, our music programs thrive, but they could be so much more with additional space!

· The Sound of Music. Music provides a wonderful outreach opportunity to bring in people from the community. However, the more programs we sponsor leads us to believe early planning teams never considered something like this happening at Faith. Lighting, space for musicians and visibility are all areas we could improve during the expansion. This would benefit not only the Concert Series but Children’s musicals and church-centered music/drama programs as well.

The opposite of growth is death. It’s amazing to see how far our church has come since its last construction project. It’s even easier to want to stick with the status quo. However, if we want to continue to grow God’s church and open our doors to a variety of people and programs, we have to have faith that He’ll walk beside us every step of the way as we move toward expansion.

Thank you for all your support to our board and programs over the years!

Mary Beth Brown & Gail Buck, Co-Chairs, Worship and Music Board Ingrid Heinrich, Asst. Chair, Worship and Music Board Robyn Runyan, Music Director Dave Filkins, Praise Director

Infrastructure Design Concepts

During the process of evaluating Faith’s infrastructure and facilities, we formed a steering committee to develop a vision for the future and potential requirements that a building program would satisfy. From these requirements, we calculated approximate sizes the buildings would need to be to meet the projected need based on published metrics for designing churches. These “blocks” representing new buildings were placed on drawings of our church property to evaluate different options for placing the buildings on our lot. These are not architectural drawings; they are concepts that we are using to get feedback from the congregation on the potential location of new buildings. If the congregation decides to move forward, we will hire an architectural firm to formalize a detailed plan. We will be providing the feedback we receive as part of the information to the architect.

Please Attend One of the Open Houses to learn more about Vision 20/20

Why should you attend an open house?

This is casual, one-on-one opportunity to speak with your leaders on our vision for mission and why we believe this expansion of our infrastructure is so important to God’s calling for us. Choose any date to attend one of the Vision 20/20 presentations:

September 25th at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall October 3rd at 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall. Come early for

Community Meals October 12th at 6 pm in the Fellowship Hall October 23rd at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. This will be the

last Open House before the Special Congregational meeting that evening.

There will be a special congregational meeting on October 23rd at 7 pm (we will have childcare available) to review the progress of the Vision 20/20 initiative, answer questions about the next steps, and vote to affirm the congregation’s commitment to moving forward.

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