Gettysburg Presbyterian Church

Gettysburg Presbyterian Church Long Range Plan - 2001

Our Motivation:
"Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established." (Proverbs 16:3)

Our Vision:
The Gettysburg Presbyterian Church seeks to experience and reflect Christ by:

reaching upward in worship,
reaching inward in spiritual growth and
reaching outward in service to others
on our faith journey together.

Our Goals and Objectives:

I. Reaching upward in worship

A. Continue our current meaningful Sunday worship services

1. Expect and provide high quality worship leadership, preaching and music that includes a balance of styles and expressions.

Vehicle - Assign the Worship and Music Ministry Team to create and then conduct annually a "worship audit"

2. Retain quality staff to provide excellent worship experiences.

Vehicle - Assign the Personnel and Administration Ministry Team to be in constant contact with the staff to assess their level of satisfaction

3. Encourage the inclusion of a variety of expressions of worship response to meet the changing needs of worshipers

a. Promote use of dance and drama in worship

Vehicle - Request Worship and Music Team to develop a plan

b. Examine the use of audio/visual technology in worship

Vehicle - Create an A/V Study Team consisting of members from Worship and Music Team (1), Contemporary Worship Team (1), a Trustee (1), at large member of congregation (1) and Director of Music and Sr. Pastor

c. Promote combined choir music for morning worship combining our choirs with choirs outside the church: ie. College Choir and future community choir

Vehicle - Request Worship and Music Team and Director of Music to examine possibilities

B. Maximize our potential for our membership to attend worship

1. Study ways to maximize attendance at both services
Vehicle - Assign this task to the Church Ministry Staff

2. Examine our current seating and parking capacities

a. Investigate expanding our existing balcony to increase seating

Vehicle - Create a Facility Expansion Study Team: Long Range Planning Team (2), Trustees (2), Worship and Music (1), at large (1), and Sr. Pastor

b. Study ways to best use the parking space available to us

Vehicle - Create a Parking Ministry Team within Worship and Music Team to consider a Parking Attendant and satellite and shuttle parking options

c. Investigate transportation to church for residents in retirement facilities.

Vehicle - Assign to the Deacons

3. Investigate use of alternative worship settings as a compliment to our existing traditional sanctuary

a. Consider alternative site in Gettysburg or elsewhere for unique types of worship

b. Consider acquiring land for alternative worship site.

Vehicle - Create an Alternative Site Study Team and utilize services of a new Presbytery staff person hired for this very concept: Long Range Planning Team (2), Trustee (1), Session (1), at large (2), Sr. Pastor

C. Maximize our potential for our membership to participate actively in worship

1. Continue and expand Minutes for Mission/ Ministry to encourage members' involvement in the ministry of GPC

2. Continue and expand "lay preacher" Sundays (Presbyterian Women, Youth, Honduras, Workcamp, South Dakota, Mission Preacher, Thanksgiving, and possibly "Resurrection")

Vehicle - Assign Worship and Music Team this task

II. Reaching inward in spiritual growth

A. Evaluate our Sunday School program for children- adults to determine its
effectiveness in its current format

1. Envision a new and different way "to do Sunday School" in order to increase enthusiasm and involvement among children

a. Think "outside the box" with respect to models for spiritual growth for our children and youth

b. Consider new models for Sunday School and Children's Church so that our children learn the Bible stories in the most effective manner

c. Examine a high school Sunday School model consisting of:

9^th grade: Christian ethics and decision-making
10^th grade: Christian theology- Confirmation Class
11^th grade: Comparative Religions
12^th grade: Christian Service- hands on ministry

2. Assess our current adult education program

a. Design short "niche" adult education options with emphasis on parenting and family issues

b. Examine feasibility of a breakfast class for adults on Sunday mornings in Fellowship Hall with outside speakers to address Christian perspective on current issues

Vehicle - Assign Christian Education Team to create a Sunday School Evaluation

Team to include a broad spectrum of GPC members

B. Maintain and expand our commitment to youth ministry

1. Conduct a ministry assessment of our Youth Club, Middle School Fellowship and High School SHIP to determine how to involve more of our church youth to determine whether our current staffing model best maximizes our youth ministry potential

2. Evaluate our current youth ministry's effectiveness in the spiritual growth of our youth and introduce adjustments if needed

Vehicle - Assign Christian Education Team to create a Youth Ministry Study Group consisting of the staff of our three youth groups, an adult advisor from each group and at large members

C. Develop new opportunities for spiritual growth for youth and adults.

1. Plan more retreats for various segments of the church- utilize teams of interested members to plan the retreats

2. Offer courses on prayer and meditation and other spiritual disciplines (utilize the resource of the Sabbath House ministry of our presbytery)

3. Offer an annual mid-week class for adults led by the Sr. Pastor

4. Examine the possibility of an online chat room between the Sr. Pastor and thecongregation for biblical, theological and ethical dialogue.

5. Define ways to involve more adults in spiritual growth options, especially adults who are reluctant to get involved

a. Interpret and communicate in better ways existing and new opportunities

b. Actively recruit people for classes

Vehicle -Instruct the Christian Education Team to plan events for children / youth spiritual growth and one for adult spiritual growth and to work with Evangelism Team to increase member participation

D. Maximize the spiritual care and support we offer to people in our church with

personal needs

1. Continue the visitation to elderly and shut-in members by our Deacons and our youth groups

2. Consider expanding our staff to revitalize and increase the Stephen Ministry, the small group ministry and a prayer group ministry

3. Expand our opportunities for family ministry possibly by freeing up Phyllis Dowd from some of her current duties to focus more on family and marriage issues

4. Consider developing a holistic care ministry to include a Parish Nurse to work with our infirmed elderly, to promote overall health in our congregation and to work in conjunction with the community health initiative from Gettysburg Hospital

Vehicle - Instruct the Sr. Pastor and Assoc. Pastor to pursue this in conjunction with the Personnel and Administration Team and the Deacons

III. Reaching outward in service to others

A. Expand our members' involvement in cross-cultural mission trip experiences

1. Increase the number of mission trip options

2. Examine financial assistance options from the congregation to the individuals who participate so they go as missionaries of our church

Vehicle -Assign this to the Mission and Interpretation Team

B. Expand our outreach to unchurched youth

1. Maximize our potential of outreach to youth given our proximity to the Lincoln and Middle Schools

2. Study ways to staff for expanded youth outreach

3. Include in our Middle School Fellowship youth of middle school age who have been involved in our Neighborhood Youth Club

Vehicle -- Instruct our Assoc. Pastor, Director of Christian Education, Middle Fellowship Director, Director of Community Outreach and an adult advisor from Youth Club, Neighborhood Youth Club, Middle School Fellowship and SHIP to pursue this task.

C. Evaluate the effectiveness of our Migrant Ministry

1. Consider use of alternative worship site to involve migrant workers more in our worship life

2. Study housing needs among the migrant community that makes Adams County their permanent home

Vehicle - Assign to Peacemaking Team

D. Network with churches (especially AME Zion), social service agencies, and

children and youth outreach programs

1. Become more involved in peace and justice issues in our community

2. Discover ways to direct GPC resources (human and financial) to address community problems

Vehicle - Assign to Director of Community Outreach and Peacemaking Team

E. Create increased sensitivity within GPC to diversity

1. Expand our Neighborhood Youth Club ministry

Vehicle - Instruct current NYC leaders to create an NYC Leadership Team to relate to the Session through the Director of Community Outreach and Sr. Pastor

2. Offer seminars to build understanding of diverse cultures and perspectives and create opportunities for dialogue with leaders of minority groups within our community

Vehicle -Assign this task to the Peacemaking Team

F. Study the feasibility of acquiring land outside the borough for outdoor ministry

use. Potential uses of such land include:

1. Youth Groups usage

2. Construct overhead pavilion

a. alternative worship site

b. overnight use by visiting scout and youth groups

c. Vacation Bible School

d. Basketball court

3. Sports fields- soccer and softball

4. Community vegetable gardens for in-town people and NYC kids

5. Pond- fishing for all ages

6. Create a walking trail for meditation and exercise (spiritual journey stations)

(Any land acquired should have the potential for any future usage the congregation might be able to give it and be within a 3-5 mile range of our church.)

Vehicle - Assign this task to the Alternative Site Study Team in I.B.3.b.