Vital Church Initiative Implementation Team Assesses Progress

In April 2015, a team of Brighton First congregation members came together to oversee the implementation of the VCI Consultation prescriptions (see document link on this blog page), adopted by the congregation. After more than a year of consulting with church staff members and team leaders and meeting monthly, the Implementation Team assessed the church's progress at its August meeting.

The team was joined by Naomi Garcia, our church's "VCI Directive Coach". Garcia, a staff member for the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church, asked two basic questions. First, how was the VCI Implementation Team and other church committees, boards and teams working together. She also asked how Implementation team members felt about progress in each area of the VCI prescriptions.

The team talked about progress and needed growth in the areas of hospitality, community outreach, worship, faith development, strategic planning, and leadership development. Brighton First opens a new worship service on September 11 and introduces new community outreach efforts in September and October. The Adult Faith Formation team introduces a new comprehensive program for disciple education and growth in September. The Administrative Board will adopt a 2-year strategic plan in September. The Hospitality Team is joining with many faithful volunteers to offer a warm welcome on Sunday mornings.

These combined efforts are moving Brighton First forward in its mission to help people Know God, Love God and Serve God. Ultimately, Brighton First is committed to making disciples for Jesus Christ.

There is, however, one challenging area of the Vital Church Initiative that is in its beginning stages. The alignment of church programs and ministries with the church's mission and vision will be the focal point of the VCI Implementation Team this fall. In order to use the church's resources most effectively, the congregation has agreed to an alignment of what we do with our purpose and our vision for the future. This means that some ministries and programs will continue, some will be modified and others will be celebrated and ended.

The authors of Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples, Thom Reiner and Eric Geiger, studied the difference between churches that are thriving and those that are anemic and struggling. They came to the conclusion that churches that carefully choose how they will accomplish their mission and avoid putting resources into programming that does not ultimately grow disciples for Jesus Christ, are more likely to thrive. Reiner and Geiger write, "Churches with a simple process for reaching and maturing people are expanding the kingdom. Church leaders who have designed a simple biblical process to make disciples are effectively advancing the movement of the gospel. Simple churches are making a big impact."

While there are very good reasons to align our church's ministries and programs with our mission and vision, it will be a difficult task. The VCI Implementation team committed over 16 months ago to leading Brighton First through this process and they will continue to seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in the months ahead.