Strategic Plan 2006 ver4.indd

Strategic Plan
year
2006-2011
Training on the Corner to Reach
the Community for Christ
I M M A N U E L
B I B L E
C H U R C H
Immanuel Bible Church exists to build believers to
the glory of God. We accomplish this by building mature
followers of Jesus Christ who
• Seek Him Constantly
• Serve Him Faithfully
• Share Him Boldly
To achieve our mission as stated above, the Elder
Council has developed a Strategic Plan, with measurable objectives, which will guide IBC’s activities from
2006– 2011.
The purpose of this document is to:
• Describe where we are as a church.
• Define our planning assumptions.
• Describe our vision.
• Present new programmatic initiatives.
• Identify our ministry audience.
• Set a measurable goal for success by the end
of 2011.
The Elder Council recognizes that a plan of this magnitude that is not powered by the Spirit of God is only a
document. Therefore, it’s our responsibility to identify,
as we are led by the Spirit, what God would have us
do, and then try to explain it in a strategic plan that can
serve as a guide in assessing ministries and in allocating
resources.
Immanuel is effective at attracting families with children, often people with military, government, professional, and technical backgrounds. The Elders recognize that
such people form the majority of the IBC church family,
but that there is a pressing need to cultivate the next
generation of leaders both for our church and for our
community at large. The Elders have decided that for the
period covered by the 2006–2011 strategic plan, it will
be a priority for the IBC Pastors, Elders, and Deacons to
identify and invest in exceptional young men and women
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who are willing to join them in ministry leadership
and development. Included in this investment will be a
systematic effort to mentor these young people and open
them to significant leadership opportunities across the
full range of ministries within Immanuel Bible Church.
BACKGROUND
Background
In 2001, the Elder Council approved a five-year
strategic plan built around our mission of “Seeking
Him Constantly, Serving Him Faithfully, and Sharing
Him Boldly.” That strategic plan, among other things,
established three major programmatic initiatives which
included: 1) planting a new church, 2) developing a
contemporary worship service for young adults at Immanuel, and 3) completing the final expansion of IBC’s
current building and parking lot. Five years later, our
church plant, Gateway Bible Church in Gainesville, is
thriving; the VeNture ministry to young adults is healthy
and growing, and we are preparing to break ground for
the IBC building and parking lot expansion.
As of 2006, Immanuel is the church home for more
than 3,000 members and regular attenders. Our church
is known throughout the region as a place where the
Bible is taught with excellence and where a diversity of
exceptional programs and vibrant ministries are available.
By way of an honest assessment, Immanuel Bible
Church has excelled at the “Seeking Him Constantly”
and “Serving Him Faithfully” but has, in general, been
less effective at the “Sharing Him Boldly” leg of our
three-fold mission. In fact, the abundance of superb
specialized programs and ministries at the IBC campus
perhaps may be inadvertently diminishing the opportunities for our members to be out in the community because
they are too busy attending activities at IBC. The result
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is a spiritually well-fed congregation with a disproportionately small influence in the community given the size of our congregation and the availability of excellent training.
The Planning Context
In formulating a strategic plan, it is helpful to list our planning presumptions, which are outlined as follows:
• Our congregation will continue to be fairly transient, with a 50%
turnover rate every three years.
• The number of people attending Immanuel will grow.
• Revenues will continue to be sufficient to meet IBC’s growing
budget needs.
• No program at IBC is (in itself) sacrosanct, and that in an effort
to become more balanced and sustain balance across all three mission areas, each ministry program will undergo an annual review
by council to determine a recommended course of action for the
future of each specific ministry program.
Our Vision
• To continue building mature followers of Jesus Christ who seek
Him constantly, serve Him faithfully, and share Him boldly.
• To grow as an equipping center and be a place where people continue to come for outstanding corporate worship, Bible teaching,
and training in ministry.
• To grow through encouraging, connected, and accountable community groups.
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OUR INITIATIVES
OUR INITIATIVES
Immanuel Bible Church will pursue six initiatives
during the five-year planning period.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Community and Group Development
Leadership Training
Personal Evangelism
Church Plant
Local and Foreign Missions
Personal and Corporate Prayer
INITIATIVE 1 – COMMUNITY AND GROUP
DEVELOPMENT
In order to achieve a greater impact in our community, we need to be in the community. Our vision is to
take the body-life ministries we experience on-campus
and expand them into our neighborhoods. IBC members’ needs for fellowship will be met through encouraging, connected, and accountable community groups,
the majority of which meet in locations other than the
Immanuel campus. Thus, much of the time, energy and
resources that have previously been invested in programs
at the Immanuel campus will be freed to allow Immanuel members to have a greater and more deliberate
impact in their community. As members spend less time
at Immanuel and more time in their community, it is our
hope that they will be afforded the necessary time to
build additional relationships with non-believers. Those
relationships may then become the context to effectively
and boldly share the good news about Jesus Christ.
IBC members will be encouraged to engage in every
aspect of community life, to include local government,
clubs, sports, service groups, scout troops, homeowners’
associations, and volunteer settings. As a result, it is our
hope that people from every walk of life will be exposed
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to committed followers of Christ, boldly living out their faith in our community.
Strategies to achieve this goal:
• Enhance community dynamics at IBC through increased attendance in
encouraging, connected, and accountable community groups.
• Encourage every adult IBC attendee to serve as a volunteer somewhere in the community (Little League coach, PTA, volunteer
fire department, literacy tutor, etc.) by the end of 2007, with the
specific intent on sharing Christ.
• Have 50% of our adult congregation actively participating in
connected, accountable, and encouraging community groups by
2008 and 75% by 2011.
INITIATIVE 2 – LEADERSHIP TRAINING
There is a pressing need to cultivate the next generation of leaders
both for our church and for our community at large. The Elders have
decided that for the period covered by the 2006-2011 strategic plan, it
will be a priority for the Immanuel Pastors, Elders, and Deacons to identify and invest in exceptional young men and women who are willing to
join them in ministry leadership and development.
Strategies to achieve this goal:
• Develop and equip current and future ministry leaders through increased participation in IBC training programs such as Immanuel
Bible Institute and Lay Counselor Training.
• Develop and formalize a vibrant internship program designed to
develop men and women for Christian ministry and graduate six
people annually from our internship program
• Establish an expanded partnership with Capital Bible Seminary
and host seven Capital Bible Seminary courses each semester on
IBC’s campus.
• Establish a program designed to encourage and enable IBC members and attendees involved in ministry to recruit, train, and equip
at least one new ministry volunteer
• Have 280 people successfully complete a leadership training track.
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INITIATIVE 3 – PERSONAL EVANGELISM
Jesus Christ has enlisted all believers to participate in sharing the
Good News and introducing others to the life changing relationship
that they can experience when they simply place their faith and trust
in Jesus Christ. “Personal Evangelism” is best understood as giving
unbelievers the opportunity to make an informed decision to trust in
Christ. It is our obligation to engage the non-Christian world around
us. Finding By finding common ground, the issues and perspectives that
we share with non-Christians, will increase our evangelistic effectiveness.
Strategies to achieve this goal:
• Implement an evangelism training program that equips Immanuel
members and attendees to include outreach as an emphasis in all
ministries of the church.
• Provide training and encouragement to each IBC attendee in an
effort to collectively lead 365 people to Christ each year beginning
in 2006.
• Integrate evangelism training into a broad range of IBC programs.
INITIATIVE 4 – CHURCH PLANTING
Church planting – the development of new congregations in areas of
a growing populations – is a significant way to broaden the outreach of
Immanuel Bible Church. Our recent involvement as the “sending church”
in the establishment of Gateway Bible Church in Gainesville, VA, in 200203, and our partnership with Grace Bible Church in Lorton, VA in 20052006 have helped us to realize both the importance and joy of forming a
new congregation.
Strategies to achieve this goal:
• Research, recommend, and implement a satellite church.
• Establish one or more new church plants or struggling church
restarts.
• Implement the process for one or more church plants/restarts.
INITIATIVE 5 – LOCAL AND FOREIGN MISSIONS
Immanuel Bible Church has from its inception has had a global vision
for fulfilling the Great Commission. Whether across the street or around
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the world, our role is to live the Great Commandment of loving others as
Christ loves them; and fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciples
of EVERY nation.
Strategies to achieve this goal include:
• Establish a church-wide outreach to the urban populations in the
metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.
• Accelerate the assimilation of internationals into the Immanuel
family through outreach programs, ethnic fellowships, and specific
initiatives in each ministry council.
• Establish a long-term relationship on a foreign mission field
involving IBC attendees in short- and long-term mission commitments.
• Send at least 150 IBC members on short-term mission trips each
year.
• Develop Immanuel’s Hispanic Ministry as a congregation fullyintegrated into the life and ministries of the church and led by its
own pastor and ministry council.
INITIATIVE 6 – PERSONAL AND CORPORATE PRAYER
To be powered by the Spirit of God, and in order to experience success in any of these initiatives, we must pray. Prayer is a vital part of a
spiritually mature Christian, and an emphasis on prayer is essential for the
spiritual well-being of a church. A well developed and consistent prayer
life is desired for all at Immanuel Bible Church.
Strategies to achieve this goal:
• Establish and sustain a monthly all-church prayer meeting in
which our church will 1) praise and thank God for his work in
and through our church, 2) ask him to cause spiritual awakening
in our communities, 3) intercede for the ministries and needs in
our home church and in the mission field, and 4) pray for other
needs (our country, military, emergencies, etc. as decided by the
pastors/elders)
• Establish and sustain a monthly prayer guide for personal prayer that
will remind IBC attendees of our total dependence upon God as He
moves in our individual lives as members of the Body of Christ.
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HOW DO WE DEFINE SUCCESS?
For Immanuel Bible Church, our desire is to
• Become a church comprised of encouraging,
connected, and accountable, COMMUNITY
GROUPS, spanning both the current and next
generation.
• Train and equip and fully prepare the “next
generation” for LEADERSHIP AND MINISTRY.
• Win new believers into the church through
PERSONAL EVANGELISM.
• Advance our participation in spreading of the
gospel by PLANTING CHURCHES in a strategic areas.
• Αdvance our participation in spreading of
the gospel by PLANTING CHURCHES in
strategic areas.
• Broaden our involvement in LOCAL AND
FOREIGN MISSIONS in a variety of ways.
• Become a church with greater devotion to
PRAYER as we commit ourselves to the work
of the Lord.
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IMMANUEL BIBLE CHURCH
6911 Braddock Road | Springfield, VA 22151-3602
703.941.4124 | FAX 703.813.1957
www.immanuelbible.net
TRAINING ON THE CORNER TO REACH THE COMMUNITY FOR CHRIST