Our Future

We’re working on becoming the best possible reflection of our faith and community values.

Though we have been around a long time, here at FCCOL we’re are always looking towards the future.

A team of our leaders and members has been working with Convergence, a church consultancy centered on “an inclusive, progressive theological vision for a more just world for all.” Through that partnership, we are finding exciting new ways we can be be bold in our vision for social justice in our community; exploring how to be more sustainable and welcoming in our efforts to serve the world around us; and discovering new ways to be a loud and proud refuge for our neighbors who have not always found the church to be a safe harbor. 

We believe this work matters deeply, not only for the people inside our walls, but for the city, state, and country we call home.

While growth always requires some room for change, we’re whole-heartedly committed to continuing to live out the values that make us “us.”  This is an inspiring and transformational time for our community—one that honors the traditions we’ve held for over a century while creating space for new generations to respond to a changing world and find new ways to connect with God and with each other. 

We are truly excited about what’s coming next, and we look forward to sharing each new insight and update with you.

Our Strategic Initiatives

The Board of Stewardship has enthusiastically embraced the concept of continuous, year-round stewardship activity and messaging. These activities include:

  1. A stretch campaign goal. The financial goal of this year’s stewardship campaign is $650,000 compared with last year’s goal of $600,000. This goal is based on the need to restore the benevolence giving budget to previous levels. It had been reluctantly reduced in recent years. The mailing materials to all members and friends is attached to this document.
  2. A “Giving Matters” column in every church monthly newsletter that reaches over 700 members and friends. The column for the October newsletter is also attached to this document.
  3. A shorter weekly stewardship message is included with each weekly email newsletter.
  4. Frequent written testimonials in both the monthly and weekly communications. The Board of Stewardship will work with the Ministers to develop a systematic way to encourage testimonials.
  5. Pulpit testimonials, at least monthly, by members and friends. Testimonials will no longer be confined to the Stewardship Campaign calendar.
  6. Presenting the Stewardship message will also be discussed with the Communications Committee of the Board of Trustees to develop strategies for presenting the Stewardship message on the church website and in external media.

The Board of Trustees, the Ministers and the Task Force have endorsed investigating the feasibility of a capital campaign to strengthen the financial stability of the church in the future. A capital campaign committee has been formed consisting of the Church Treasurer, the former chair of the Board of Trustees and the Chair of the Endowment Committee. It is expected that one or two members of the current Board of Trustees will be added to the capital committee when the Board of Trustees formally approves the project at their meeting on October 14th. In the meantime the intention is to contact the Horizons firm the week of October 6 to begin the discussion of proposals for a feasibility study and the capital campaign itself. 

The Board of Deacons has embraced this challenge of both attracting new members and finding new ways to integrate them into active participation.  This initiative is still being formulated. The Ministers are currently working with the Board of deacons to develop new approaches and action plans.

With the approval of the Board of Trustees and the ministers, the Communications Committee has begun to undertake a complete overhaul of the church’s communications—in keeping with the findings of the research, which indicated that strengthening our messages and communications with the congregation and local community are a priority. This overhaul will include a redesign of the church website and a revitalization of its social media presence. The Committee hired the communications firm SmallGood, which has solid experience working with churches, to assist with the overhaul.  As an important first step, after interviewing church officials and congregation members, SmallGood has developed a brand strategy that will define the church’s messaging and values—which will, in turn, shape the redesign of the website and social media presence. A draft of this brand strategy is currently being reviewed by the ministers.

The ministers have agreed in principle to undertake this initiative, which will be in addition to the original scope of work by Convergence. The task force leaders will set up an initial meeting with the ministers and Gregg to move this forward.