Quarterly Town Hall

September 7 | Combined SMC: Quarterly Town Hall

Each quarter we gather as a church family to be encouraged by receiving updates from the many ministries in our congregation and discuss plans for the coming months. There will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions

This month, we will be sharing our plans for bringing the entire congregation into a Season of Vision. Read Simon’s letter to the congregation (below) for details.

6 August 2025

Subject: A Season of Vision: Join Us on the Journey

Dear Church Family,

I’m excited to share with you an important next step we’re taking as a congregation—one that has the potential to shape the next chapter of our life together in meaningful, lasting ways.

First, let me say that we are financially and organizationally as healthy as we have been in years. We’re no longer in “rescue mode” in our church. In fact, it’s just the opposite. God has been abundantly faithful to us, and we’re in a strong, stable place.

In this next season, we’re ready to ask bigger questions:

• Who are we as a church?
• What sort of work does God have for us to do—in His Kingdom, in our community, and in one another’s lives?

These are questions of mission and vision. And the answers aren’t just strategic; they’re spiritual. They require us to listen to God, to one another, and to the unique story Christ is telling through our church. This is holy work—and I’m inviting you into it.

Why This Matters

Mission is about what we do. It helps us steward our time and energy for the sake of God’s Kingdom. It ensures we’re not just busy, but faithful. Vision is about where we’re going. It articulates our shared dream for the Kingdom, our city, and our church. Ultimately, it shapes our actions so that we arrive at a destination.

A clear mission and vision provide not only clarity but also helps to unify us and focus our efforts on a common direction. These are necessary elements for our church to thrive.

There are two risks we want to avoid in this process:

• Risk #1: That we will drift—We need clarity to set the direction of where we will ultimately go, what we will say yes and no to, and the impact that we believe God is calling us to make on the world. We could avoid this work, keep busy, and even do some good things, but ultimately, we would be missing the unique calling God has for us as a congregation.
• Risk #2: That this work will become the task of a few—me, or a small group of officers, going up on a mountaintop and returning with a tablet from on high. That’s not what we’re doing. While the session and I are ultimately responsible for the vision, we believe deeply that God works through the whole church. If we are going to go anywhere together, we need you to help discern where and how God is calling us to go. We need your ideas, your buy-in, and your willingness to speak into the process, and we need you to join with us wherever we finally decide to go.

The Process Ahead

To give this process the focus it deserves, we’re giving you “permission” to pause on extracurricular or external activities this fall to provide families with sufficient capacity to fully participate in this process. Annual events, choir performances, and worship services will continue, but we’ll pause on launching new programming or recruiting for extracurricular activities, so that we can free up time and space to give our best attention to the task in front of us.

Here are some ways you and your family can get involved:

• Nominate: Mission/Vision Committee – A small team of members will help lead and shape this process. The session will appoint them, but we’re asking you to nominate people you believe should be considered. This nomination will happen in mid-September, and we will announce the committee by the end of that month.
• Participate: Community Group Engagement – Join in as groups read, reflect, and work through spiritual exercises that speak into the mission and vision. If you’re not part of a group yet, this is a perfect time to jump in and give voice to what you’re seeing and where you hope our church lands.
• Attend: Evenings of Prayer and Praise – Gather with us for worship and prayer, asking God to guide our hearts and show us His way forward. These will happen throughout the Fall on September 21, October 5, October 19, and November 2. More information will be distributed at our quarterly Town Hall on September 7.
• Engage: Congregational Retreat (Nov. 14–16) – Join us for a weekend retreat right here at the church, with food and childcare provided, where we’ll listen, talk, dream, and seek God together. Mark your calendars. We want you there!

Please embrace this as the work God has for our church in this season. Pray—for me, for our staff, for our officers. And participate to the fullest extent that you can.

This isn’t something happening to our church. It’s something happening through it—and we need each of you to be part of the journey.

With earnest hope and a full heart,

Simon Stokes
Lead Pastor