We met for the first time today–20 folks who have dedicated themselves to meeting for an hour a week for the next year.
And it was great.
We had our first conversation around the topic of “What it will take to grow beyond 200 members.” We began with a simple question: What are we not doing yet, here at Trinity, that we really should be doing?
We talked about welcoming the guest intentionally. We talked about movement in discipleship. We talked about individuals reaching out to people in need rather than folks who look like us. We talked about establishing relationships with new friends. We mentioned training sessions for leaders and learners alike.
And through it all, the answer became clearer and clearer: one person, one pastor cannot do it all. Our focus became “The Ministry of the Laity.”
We began to identify areas of resistance within our culture to the notion of laity performing some of these functions. And we discovered together that there are many reasons for resisting, just as there are many reasons for moving ahead.
Our job will be to determine the best way forward. What to retain? What to embrace? In the coming year, we will begin the conversation that will spread through Trinity with the purpose and intent of creating an atmosphere of intentionality. I’m fine with retaining our traditions, as long as we aren’t doing so out of a fear of engaging in conversation about the new and improved ways of doing things. If there are good reasons, let them stay!
In our hour long conversation, we touched on a variety of areas of opportunity. I’m glad we set aside a year for these conversations.
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