Strategic Planning
Our Plan In Progress
Bay Shore began discussing the need for a Strategic Plan as a Council in 2021. We worked with a consultant for one year, and we held meetings, conducted our first survey and a retreat to gather ideas and plot out some steps for implementation.
A Guiding Team was formed through the Council in July 2021 and began meeting shortly after. They conducted community interviews and reviewed data received through our consultant firm.
In 2022, the Guiding Team presented to the Council and then the Congregation a new Mission Statement, new Core Values, and a Plan for Ministry. These were formally adopted in August 2022.
Initially, three special teams were created to address the goals and create steps to achieve them. They were the Talking To People Team, the Neighborhood Team, and the Next-Gen(eration) Team. Currently, two of these teams continue to meet and the Neighborhood Team’s work has been folded into the Outreach Committee.
We are now entering our fourth year of work, and we have some goals and initiatives that we are doing which are shared below.
Living Into Our Mission Statement:
Sharing God’s Love with All (And All Means All)
In April 2023, the church held a retreat for planning purposes and to discuss our goals more deeply. It was affirmed the importance of LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
The Council formally approved the creation of the RIC Task Force in May 2023. We have been working very hard on being a welcoming and inclusive church. We have had book studies, discussions and more on what it means to be welcoming and open to all.
Currently, Bay Shore is having a congregation-wide discussion on becoming a Reconciling In Christ congregation. This process is long and thought-provoking. To date, we have had three special discussions/learning times concerning the meaning of the letters: LGBTQIA+ and a presentation on Gender, Identification, and its importance. We also have encouraged our community to attend synod events on the topic for the past 2 years.
In 2025, we plan on having more discussions, and hope that our congregation participates. For the Summer and Early Fall, Pastor Sarah is asking anyone in the congregation with concerns to speak with her directly. In October, Pastor Sarah will share an update with the Council with the RIC Team.
Questions? Please contact the Church Office, speak to a Council member, or make a time to visit with the Pastor!
