Action

Entire MAT Report (PDF Format) - 1 MB File

Contents:

A Letter From Session

Vision
MAT Report

Leadership
MAT Report

Sunday Morning
MAT Report

Generations
MAT Report

A Letter From Session
We are embarking on a journey to a marvelous future as a church! You will read the reports and recommendation of the four teams (Mission Action Teams or MAT’s) who have been working for the last eight months to understand, study, and discern God’s direction for us regarding four topics: Vision, Leadership, Sunday Mornings, and Generations.

These topics were selected and the MAT’s chartered by Session in the Fall of 2002. Each team spent three months listening to you, the congregation, to God through prayer and study of Scripture, and to the unchurched through observation of the current culture. They then spent about three months developing options that would address what they heard, which would in part solve some identified problems, but even more importantly, would start to create something new. The final two months focused in on finalizing specific choices, which became the recommendations to Session. These teams started their work independently, but in the marvelous way that the Holy Spirit moves and works, their final recommendations were knit together to create a fresh, wholistic new direction for CHPC.

Session affirmed these recommendations in September of 2003 with gratitude and enthusiasm, believing that God has indeed spoken to us through the hard work and spiritual discernment of these teams. Their recommendations for the future are outlined in this report, and you are encouraged to read them thoroughly. You will have the opportunity in the next several weeks to hear more from the pulpit, both in preaching and in presentations, and to participate in information sharing and discussions after each service and in the evenings. Check the MAT communication schedule on the back cover for times and dates.
The MAT’s have completed their task and have disbanded. So, you might ask, how are we going to turn these recommendations into reality? Session worked on that in the month of October, and you can expect to hear more from us in the near future. Implementation is being organized in a way that continues to be inclusive in decision making. We will to continue to listen to you, the congregation, to the Lord as He speaks, and to the unchurched seeking to find a way to connect to God. We expect to get started within the next few months but also expect that it could take up to 24 months to implement some of these recommendations because of their complexity and their dependence on additional resources, volunteers, and changes to the facilities.

In the meantime, there are several ways you can be involved. There will be presentations and discussion times for each of the recommendations following the services on several Sundays in November and December, as well as on some weeknights. Please watch for more information in the bulletin and plan to attend one of these to learn more and to ask questions. Pray about contributing your gifts and talents to these efforts—opportunities for volunteering will be made available. And, as always, you can contact any of us on Session with your comments and questions either directly or through Jane Booth, current Clerk of Session. Our numbers are in the CHPC phone directory.

We are excited by what God is saying to us and where He is leading us! This is not only a journey of challenge and change but also of joy and expectation that we may be able to serve Him in unique ways as a body that will be pleasing to Him and fulfilling for us.

In Christ’s Service,
The Session of College Hill Presbyterian Church