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 and a retreat to gather ideas and plot out some steps for implementation.

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 have covered more in detail the work of the Plan at our Annual Meetings. We are now entering our third 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) 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 two special discussions/learning times concerning the meaning of the letters: LGBTQIA+ and a presentation on Gender, Identification, and its importance. In 2025, we plan on having more discussions, and hope that our congregation participates.

Our research and discussions highlighted a strong need to invest in the future of the church, and our congregation especially, in the areas of youth and young adults. After several months of searching for a good fit, Bay Shore has hired a Youth & Fellowship Director, Marissa Knopick. Marissa is a recent graduate of UWM and plans on attending seminary in the future. Marissa's job description holds our goals for our youth and young people at the forefront. Re-establish youth groups for Middle School and High School students, create a strong Young Adult fellowship, and continue to create new ways for all generations to grow together in community and fellowship. In 2025, Marissa will continue to build what she has started in late 2024, as well as lead a new Fellowship Committee to plan more opportunities for all age groups. Marissa also serves on the Next-Gen Team which is focused on building our children's ministries.

Bay Shore also is focused on our worship and service opportunities. We are grateful to have a fabulous music team, and that this past year we are now offering more consistent offerings for the children's choir to sing with Ben Perkins, our Choir Director. We offer handbells and a Church Choir--always open to new members! We also are focused on our marketing in late 2024 with ads, special postings and mailings in the community. We often feel that Bay Shore is a well-kept secret--it shouldn't be! We desire to open ourselves more to the surrounding areas. We also will continue to serve in our community and invite people to join us--for example, our next MLK Day of Service!

Questions? Please contact the Church Office, speak to a Council member, or make a time to visit with the Pastor!

Check out our “Why We Love Bay Shore page–a special project of the Talking To People Team.