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A Note from Pastor Tutwiler

A Note from Pastor Tutwiler.

steven-castaneda
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A Note from Pastor Tutwiler

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  1. A Note from Pastor Tutwiler I want to invite you to consider making Our Savior Lutheran a more caring and connected church. We are launching a new initiative – Adults Connecting Together – designed to enhance how we care, communicate, and connect with one another. Take a few minutes to review this material and then I’ll let you know how you can help. Pastor Tutwiler

  2. Adults Connecting Together

  3. The Background In 2007 Our Savior conducted a church-wide survey. Two desires showed up again and again: 1) Better Connections - Many people felt like they didn’t know others and were having a hard time getting connected. 2) Better communication – Many people felt like they didn’t know what was going on and were unsure of who to talk to when they had questions or concerns.

  4. Response to the Survey In response to these desires the leadership of Our Savior implemented a number of solutions with mixed results. Small groups were emphasized, which have proven to be a meaningful place of connection. But at this point small groups have only touched about 10% of OSL members. In order to connect a larger portion of the congregation, every member was assigned to an elder, but again, the participation in those gatherings fell short of what was hoped for.

  5. Biblical Foundation … Love your neighbor as yourself … Matthew 22:39

  6. The Way Forward It’s in light of this background that the leadership of OSL is launching a new initiative in order to connect every member, both in relationships and in communication. We’re calling the effort: Adults Connecting Together or ACTs for short.

  7. Objectives ACTs is designed to: • Enhance communication • Build new relationships • Strengthen current relationships • Expand care within the OSL family

  8. Picture of the Present Our Savior Lutheran Church 334 families X 987 members At present OSL is made up of 334 member families. Of this number, some are well connected in a small group or Sunday School class, or they’ve just been around long enough to know a fair number of people and to be in the know.

  9. Picture of the Present Our Savior Lutheran Church 334 families X 987 members When life hits – like a job loss, the connected people have people to turn to, people who can pray for them and encourage them and serve them, like bringing a meal when needed. These people are connected to people who are connected to other people who can help. Prayer Chain, Stephen Ministry, Meals, etc. Loss of job

  10. Picture of the Present Our Savior Lutheran Church 334 families X 987 members But consider what happens when life hits one of the many members who are not well connected. A member suffers a job loss. Where does this person turn for support and help in time of need? Prayer Chain, Stephen Ministry, Meals, etc. Loss of job ??? Loss of job ???

  11. A Recent Example Let me give you an example from earlier this year. One of our members suffered the loss of their house in a fire. While a few people knew of the event and responded, most people remained unaware. Our response to the need was less than what we would have desired. Since that time as people hear of this story, the response is the same: “I wish I had known, I would have liked to help.” ACTs is designed to help on both fronts: we know when people are in need and we mobilize the resources of OSL to meet those needs. As a result, people are connected and cared for.

  12. How ACTs Will Work Here’s how ACT will work: Everyone is connected to someone. No one is responsible for more than four people. So we have four people we will call Tier 1. Each of the four on Tier 1 is connected to four more people. Now we have Tier 1 with 4 people and Tier 2 with 16. Each of the 16 are connected to four people forming a Tier 3 made up of 64 people. Each of Tier 3 are connected to four people, giving us 256 families on Tier 4 and a total of 340 families all connected to one another. Remember how many families are at Our Savior – 334. So we have everyone connected. Here is a picture of ACT …

  13. The Basic ACT Structure ACT Admin Our Savior Lutheran Church 334 families X 987 members 4 16 64 256 340

  14. ACTs in Action Now when someone has a need or a question, they know at least one person to call – the person overseeing their four. That person may not have an answer, but they can pass on the issue to the person overseeing them. When a major need arises, like a house burning down, we can spread the word throughout the entire ACT structure.

  15. ACTs in Action Imagine the difference ACT would make in responding to a house fire. Within hours we have meals organized for the next two weeks. Stephen Ministry is alerted and has someone onsite providing support. Others provide a change of clothes and toothbrushes for the entire family. Within two days realtors in the church have identified several rental properties for the family to look at for temporary housing. You get the picture: both the one receiving and the one giving are blessed as they experience the joy of being a part of God’s church family. Here’s a picture of ACTs in action …

  16. ACTs in Action ACT Admin Coordinates the mobilization of OSL to connect people with the people and resources to meet the need. Loss of job or house “Everyone connected to someone, no one walks alone.”

  17. ACTs Benefits • Better connected • Better informed • A place to ask questions and get answers • A better OSL

  18. ACTs Communication • ACTs is designed to communicate: • Church wide programs • Benevolence/people issues • Emergencies • Vision/goal updates • Questions regarding programs or goals

  19. ACTs Communication • ACTs is NOT designed to communicate: • Personal projects and businesses • Gossip • Misdirected complaints and criticisms • Violations of the 8th commandment

  20. ACTs Communication On all ACTs communications you will find on the subject line: Our Savior/ACTs: (subject of e-mail)

  21. ACTs: Next Steps At present the four Tier 1 slots are filled and the twenty Tier 2 slots are filled. We now look to fill the sixty four Tier 3 slots. ACTs is launching in a beta phase where each Tier 2 leader will oversee a group of 20 families. Over the next two months, Tier 3 leaders will be identified in each group of 20. • We need you to step up and fill a Tier 3 slot. • This means overseeing four families who will each be overseeing four families. Please contact Art Hinrichs to let him know of your interest in helping out. You can reach Art at hinrichs@hughes.net. • A look at the present matrix with actual names …

  22. ACTs Implementation ACTs Administrator Tier 1 Tier 2

  23. ACTs FAQ • How do I communicate with the four I oversee? • Communication primarily takes place over e-mail. • What if I don’t know the answer to a question or am not in a position to do anything about the problem? • You will be provided with training and resources to help you know where to send people for most of the questions you will encounter. When you don’t know an answer, simply pass the question up to the person overseeing you and they will assist. Your primary role is not meeting every need, but in connecting people with the people who can meet their need. • Will this require a lot of meetings? • There will be one or two training sessions early on, but once the program is up and running we don’t anticipate the need for many meetings.

  24. ACTs FAQ • What if someone has a lot of complaints or criticisms? • One goal of ACTs is to help people not fall into the sin of gossip and violate the 8th Commandment. We do this by making clear we won’t participate in gossip. At the same time we want people to talk to the right people about their concerns. We’ll show you how you can re-direct a person to voice their concerns to the person. • Is ACTs going to fill my inbox with a lot of e-mail? • We will limit the kinds of communication that can be sent on the ACTs structure. It will not be used for personal announcements. • Will this require a lot of time? • Once we are up and running, the primary time will be checking in with your four every couple of weeks through e-mail. If a major event takes place, we’ll need to scramble and help out, but for the most part we don’t anticipate this take a lot of time to maintain.

  25. A Final Word from Pastor Tutwiler I believe ACT will be used by God to bless our congregation. The question for you: will you help make it happen? I’ll be praying for you as you consider what role God would have you play in making us a caring and connected church. Pastor Tutwiler

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