Congregational Development

Discovering and Unleashing God's Vision for Your Church

The mission statement for the Diocese of Upper South Carolina is, "One Mission.... One Body.... Changing Lives." We are challenged to overcome the natural tendency for all institutions, including the church, to focus more on maintaining the status quo than on moving forward. The movement of God in churches is not static, yet many congregations pay far too much attention to maintenance instead of working to discover God's vision for their future.

To assist churches in discerning their mission and developing their unique vision path, the diocese has commissioned a group of congregational development coaches to work with church leaders and membership. They have been trained by Mary M. MacGregor, Director of Leadership Development for the Diocese of Texas and a leader in the field of Congregational Development. They represent a diocesan resource available to assist churches in identifying impediments to change and facilitating the development of a consensus-driven strategic plan.

Praying churches are strong churches. Congregations should not move forward with this process unless they are willing to seek God's vision through personal and corporate prayer. Only then should they begin the five steps for developing a strategic plan:

• Examining Core Values
• Exploring Mission
• Assessing Current Ministries
• Articulating the Vision
• Developing a detailed Vision Path

1115 Marion Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201 | 803-771-7800