SMBC Transition Statements

WORSHIP–Transition from traditional and contemporary worship to one service that unites and even more creatively utilizes the many gifts and resources of our church.
MINISTRIES–Transition from ministries centered mainly on our own members to a greater focus on ministries designed to reach people without a relationship with Christ or without a church home.
MINISTRIES–Transition from a large number of ministries often based on the events/programs of past years to a smaller number of focused ministries based on our church’s vision for the future.
MINISTRIES–Transition from ministries aimed primarily at people with Christian/church-based backgrounds to ministries seeking to reach out to people without a relationship with Christ or without a church home, regardless of their backgrounds and way of life.
EVANGELISM–Transition from a largely passive congregational attitude about evangelism to a congregation engaged in relational evangelism.
DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from a largely undefined discipleship plan to a clearly defined discipleship plan helping all members grow in their faith journey.
MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from ministry and discipleship processes of encouraging involvement by members to processes that facilitate such involvement through training, prayer, Bible study, and mentoring.
MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from ministries and discipleship programs whose effectiveness are uncertain to ministries and discipleship programs which are regularly evaluated in regard to purpose, effectiveness and alignment with the church’s vision.
MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from ministries and programs targeting preschool, children and youth or specific age groups to ministries and discipleship that engage families of all types.
MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from new members joining our church with an undefined commitment for future involvement to joining with an agreed upon covenant to engage in our church ministries and our discipleship plan.
OUTREACH–Transition from staff focused mainly on serving our members to increased staff outreach to the community.
STAFF AND LAY LEADERSHIP–Transition from a staff-focused model of ministries to staff equipping and empowering lay members to conduct ministry.
STAFF LEADERSHIP–Transition from staff being so focused on specific areas, ministries or age groups that “silos” are created to staff becoming a creative team, sharing responsibilities to meet ministry and discipleship needs.
DEACON LEADERSHIP–Transition from unclear expectations about the role of deacon ministry to a redefined role of providing care to the church.
MEMBERSHIP–Transition from measuring ourselves on membership to measuring ourselves on involvement.
MANAGEMENT–Transition from unclear and complex decision-making in our business and management processes to simplified and transparent decision-making processes that clearly define responsibility and authority.
MANAGEMENT–Transition from 3 Councils, 13 Committees and 15 Ministry Teams comprised of many of the same people to fewer groups that more broadly represent the congregation.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS–Transition from a primary reliance on traditional internal communication methods (mail, handouts, bulletins, etc.) to continually implementing more contemporary communications methods (website, email, text, video screens, etc.)
EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION–Transition from unfocused external communications (radio, print, etc.) to a more refined marketing of our ministries designed to reach people in our community.
FACILITIES LOCATION–Transition from on-campus facilities at our current location to other facilities located in other areas of the St. Matthews community.
FACILITIES MAINTENANCE–Transition from a “fix when broken” facilities approach to a financially sound, preventative maintenance program for our facilities.
FACILITIES EXTERIOR–Transition from a largely undefined exterior to a more visually-appealing exterior with clear signage and functional, welcoming entrances.
FACILITIES INTERIOR–Transition from 30-year-old interior finishes and furnishings to functional, up-to-date, visually-appealing interiors.
FACILITIES FLEXIBILITY–Transition from dated, inflexible building spaces to spaces allowing maximum flexibility for church and community use.
FACILITIES LAYOUT–Transition from facilities that force our ministries to adapt to facilities (through renovation, refurbishment, new construction or demolition) that support our future ministry needs.

WORSHIP–Transition from traditional and contemporary worship to one service that unites and even more creatively utilizes the many gifts and resources of our church.

MINISTRIES–Transition from ministries centered mainly on our own members to a greater focus on ministries designed to reach people without a relationship with Christ or without a church home.

MINISTRIES–Transition from a large number of ministries often based on the events/programs of past years to a smaller number of focused ministries based on our church’s vision for the future.

MINISTRIES–Transition from ministries aimed primarily at people with Christian/church-based backgrounds to ministries seeking to reach out to people without a relationship with Christ or without a church home, regardless of their backgrounds and way of life.

EVANGELISM–Transition from a largely passive congregational attitude about evangelism to a congregation engaged in relational evangelism.

DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from a largely undefined discipleship plan to a clearly defined discipleship plan helping all members grow in their faith journey.

MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from ministry and discipleship processes of encouraging involvement by members to processes that facilitate such involvement through training, prayer, Bible study, and mentoring.

MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from ministries and discipleship programs whose effectiveness are uncertain to ministries and discipleship programs which are regularly evaluated in regard to purpose, effectiveness and alignment with the church’s vision.

MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from ministries and programs targeting preschool, children and youth or specific age groups to ministries and discipleship that engage families of all types.

MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP–Transition from new members joining our church with an undefined commitment for future involvement to joining with an agreed upon covenant to engage in our church ministries and our discipleship plan.

OUTREACH–Transition from staff focused mainly on serving our members to increased staff outreach to the community.

STAFF AND LAY LEADERSHIP–Transition from a staff-focused model of ministries to staff equipping and empowering lay members to conduct ministry.

STAFF LEADERSHIP–Transition from staff being so focused on specific areas, ministries or age groups that “silos” are created to staff becoming a creative team, sharing responsibilities to meet ministry and discipleship needs.

DEACON LEADERSHIP–Transition from unclear expectations about the role of deacon ministry to a redefined role of providing care to the church.

MEMBERSHIP–Transition from measuring ourselves on membership to measuring ourselves on involvement.

MANAGEMENT–Transition from unclear and complex decision-making in our business and management processes to simplified and transparent decision-making processes that clearly define responsibility and authority.

MANAGEMENT–Transition from 3 Councils, 13 Committees and 15 Ministry Teams comprised of many of the same people to fewer groups that more broadly represent the congregation.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS–Transition from a primary reliance on traditional internal communication methods (mail, handouts, bulletins, etc.) to continually implementing more contemporary communications methods (website, email, text, video screens, etc.)

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION–Transition from unfocused external communications (radio, print, etc.) to a more refined marketing of our ministries designed to reach people in our community.

FACILITIES LOCATION–Transition from on-campus facilities at our current location to other facilities located in other areas of the St. Matthews community.

FACILITIES MAINTENANCE–Transition from a “fix when broken” facilities approach to a financially sound, preventative maintenance program for our facilities.

FACILITIES EXTERIOR–Transition from a largely undefined exterior to a more visually-appealing exterior with clear signage and functional, welcoming entrances.

FACILITIES INTERIOR–Transition from 30-year-old interior finishes and furnishings to functional, up-to-date, visually-appealing interiors.

FACILITIES FLEXIBILITY–Transition from dated, inflexible building spaces to spaces allowing maximum flexibility for church and community use.

FACILITIES LAYOUT–Transition from facilities that force our ministries to adapt to facilities (through renovation, refurbishment, new construction or demolition) that support our future ministry needs.