Schools Constituency Input Summary

Staff, parents, and board members of Trinity Christian Preschool, Trinity Child Development Center and Harbour Pointe Christian Preschool met on Tuesday, May 24 to reflect together on these ministries. 

The Schools' mission is to share God's love by partnering with parents and guardians in the social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cognitive development of their child.  We provide an age appropriate environment that is safe and caring where children are nurture in the love of Christ.

Participants shared stories that illustrated strengths of the schools.

•  Several expressions of care for school families in times of crisis, including connecting to Pastoral Care ministries, highlighted a sense of "family" as well as the value of networking with broader ministries in the congregation.
• Attention to helping new students adjust to the environment made the School feel like "a home away from home."
• Cognitive progress of a student, in spite of family crises, demonstrated the consistent, supportive environment that Schools provide.
• Children being greeted by name and a hug each day they arrive indicates the personal attention given to each student.
• A mother's call to alert staff when her child was injured overseas on vacation shows the depth of love and relationship experienced by children and families.
• Watching children being allowed to work on a project at their own pace, to their own standards shows patience and the willingness to allow children to express themselves freely.
• Connections made to the church through the Schools suggests that they sometimes act as a "front porch," welcoming people into broader congregational involvement.

 As potential improvements to the Schools were discussed, desire was expressed for even stronger direct connections with the congregations, including regular pastoral presence; direct outreach and service opportunities for children; more advertising; increased parent interaction; new "family-friendly" events; and upgraded facilities. 

Some of the dreams that captured most interest included improved playgrounds; new/upgraded facilities; extending more services to those who cannot pay; and creating a full service center to support families needs.

Some insights identied by the those in the group were

• While the two different sites share similar dreams, they are also two separate sites with unique needs--one size does not fit all.
• The relational element of Schools' ministry is critical and we should continue to foster this.  Personal relationship is even more important than school work.
• Amazing to recall the progress from one room 24 years ago at the School's beginning.
• There are so many things we love about the Preschool!

Global Engagment Constituency Input Session Results

A group of people passionate about Global Engagement at Trinity/Pointe of Grace gathered on Monday, May 16 to reflect on possibilities for that ministry area.  There is not currently an organized entity in our community that bears overall coordination for this area.  Many of the expressions of Trinity/Pointe of Grace reaching out beyond our local community exist as individual initiatives that have gained varying degrees of involvement by others in the community.  One of the things that happened at the meeting was that these individuals got connected and will begin to explore the possibility of increasing visibility of global engagement activities by collaborating in new ways.

The group celebrated a number of positive dimensions of their experience:

• Direct connections with people in their own communities kindles empathy and respect for the people.
• Relationships with women in Nicaragua warmed as anxiousness and nervousness gave way to understanding and grace.
• Living Water is widely owned by many in the Trinity/Pointe of Grace communuity and other churches are expressing interest in starting a similar project.
• Seeds of Hope was inspired by encounter with a mother who did not even enterain the option of sending her children to school because there was no way to purchase uniforms.  Now mothers like her are being empowered to realize that they do have options
• People are getting the message that they can actually make a difference in real places.

From stories shared, it is clear that globally focused activities at Trinity/Pointe of Grace are currently inspired as individuals who have traveled to various places where they have had personal encounters with the needs of the world, return with a burden to make a difference and share their stories and their vision with others.

Conversations about ways to improve the work of Global Engagement at Trinity/Pointe of Grace centered around ways to communicate  more effectively with others since growth of these ministries seems to be founded on direct personal experience and telling of stories.

A challenge identified by the group was that the variety of groups, each with differing passions and seeking support from the broader community, might be vulnerable to a spirit of competition for resources.  The group aspired to maintain a spirit of abundance rather than scarcity and to look for ways to collaborate rather than compete.

One idea that emerged from discussion was the establishment of some type of common infrastructure that would allow leaders in the various ministries to connect more regularly with one another to find encouragement, share their wisdom and experience, and collaborate on deepening awareness of global opportunities in our community.

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Mustard Seed/Life Groups Constituency Input Session Results

Approximately 15 people gathered on Saturday, May 7, to review Mustard Seed/Life Group Ministries at Trinity/Pointe of Grace.

The group reviewed the Trinity/Pointe of Grace identity statement and the purpose of Mustard Seed/Life Group Ministry: to provide an organic, life-giving process for engaging people, who share a common interest, in relational gatherings, including opportunity for nurturing relationship with God, mentoring one another, and making a positive difference in the community.

Individuals shared stories that they believed reflected positive experience of fulfilling this purpose. The Harmony group was surprised to receive enthusiastic cheers as they marched in the Gay Pride Parade and discovered that was inspired by the uncommon message of acceptance communicated by a religious body. Members of the Journey Group shared the practice of journaling with Fort Lewis families with loved ones deployed overseas to help both the ones deployed and the ones at home process and share their feelings during the period of separation. Living Water representatives heard of others encouraged by their connecting theory and practice in words and deeds of the church. 

Based on shared accounts of positive experiences of Life Groups, the group identified a number of factors that contribute to the current level of ministry sucess. Some of these include:

• The power of allowing groups to form around individual passions
• Flexibility and willingness to allow groups to change with circumstances
• Relationship building

A number of possible improvements to enhance Life Group Ministry were identified. Some of the priority improvements included:

• Develop better ways of communicating with the community about the opportunities available in Life Groups
• Reach outside of the congregation to include and cooperate with other groups and individuals
• Deepening the experience of sharing learning at Huddles (leader meetings) to increase leadership skills and to enable leaders to refer people to groups that might interest them.

The group named some challenges that might be faced as they move forward and tried to generate possible solutions.  Some of these included:

• Challenge:  Limited Resource       Solution:  Consider applying for grants, share resources, develop co-ops
• Challenge:  Rejuvenating groups Solution:  Give personal invitations to others, share stories of what Life Groups are doing to make a difference in the world, listen to others’ interests and refer them to groups they might connect with
• Challenge:  Personality clashes in groups         Solution: Provide education and/or coaching
• Challenge:  Communication          Solution:  Utilize multiple avenues for different audiences, remember not everyone is present in worship or receives What’s Happening

Some of the insights gleaned from the session were

• We can still learn more about being in community with people who are different from us
• There is not yet a “whole” structure that contains/links the multiple life groups
• We can learn to respect diverse opinions
• If we pay attention to our experience, we can see more of what is being accomplished
• We are all part of the body of Christ—with different expressions

All of the information gathered at this session will be included in the action planning process for future Mustard Seed/Life Group ministries.

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Pastoral Care Input Session Summary

A good group of folks gathered on Tuesday, April 25, to review Pastoral Care Ministries at Trinity/Pointe of Grace. 

The group reviewed the Trinity/Pointe of Grace identity statement: We manifest God's dream as a community that makes space for people to recognize what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world and discover and assume their unique roles in partnership with God; and the purpose of Pastoral Care Ministry:  The purpose of the Pastoral Care Team is to identify, invite and offer educational experiences, emotional and spiritual support to caregivers within our faith community so that we all recognize and share the presence and power of God's love in our relationships. 

Based on shared accounts of positive experiences of Pastoral Care ministry, the group uncovered a number of factors that contribute to the current level of ministry sucess.  Some of these include:

• Everyone empowered to minister, not just clergy
• A large cohort of people trained in listening and in following through on needs
• A computer tracking system so that no one "falls through the cracks"
• Formal and informal referral process identifying and screening needs and making connections to resources
• Building relationships leads to discovery of places where people can serve
• A culture of acceptance and non-judgment nurtured at all levels

A number of improvements possible improvements to enhance Pastoral Care Ministry were identifed.  Some of the priority improvements included:

• Expanding on quality training offered to Pastoral Care and Stephen Ministers and offering more specialized trainings
• Paying attention to the concerns of older members of the community
• Remembering that all are ministers
• Share stories of people who have benefitted from care of Pastoral Care Ministers and Stephen Ministers

Participants spent some time imagining new possibilities might take Pastoral Care Ministries to a new level of effectiveness.  Ideas that seemed most popular were

• Offer some level of training in listening and caring skills to many more members of our community
• Build a Community Center to house additional ministries to Neighbors in Need, Cold Weather Shelter, Counseling Services, Seniors Services
• Have professionals (doctors, lawyers, counselors) available for consultation
• More people viewing themselves as ministers
• Youth-related counseling ande mentoring services
• Full range of Senior Ministries

Some of the insights gleaned from the session were

• When we break large challenges down into small steps, they seem more doable
• Hiring another pastor may not "solve" everything
• Some in the community prefer the ordained ministers to offer pastoral care and others hold that all are ministers
• These kinds of conversations can be encouraging
• Pastoral care is being offered in many places beyond our congregation.

All of the information gathered at this session will be included in the action planning process for future pastoral care ministries.

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Pointe of Grace Community Visioning and Staffing Conversation

On Wednesday, May 4, approximately 30 folks gathered for a visioning session to inform planning for staffing the Pointe of Grace campus to support emerging ministries.  Following this session, the Mission Council approved a position description for a Ministry Developer to be based in Mukilteo.

Rather than simply filling the vacant position left by the recent resignation of the Pointe of Grace administrator, a conversation was held to imagine possibilities for future ministry and think about what kind of staff would support community members in creating those possibilties.

Pointe of Grace currently houses several distinct community elements:  Sunday morning worshipping community, Harbor Pointe Christian Pre-School teachers and parents, Unbend and The Pointe, high schools ministry, and the Community Gardening community.  Representatives of all these, plus several members connected to the Lynnwood campus, told stories of personally meaningful experiences they've had at the Pointe of Grace campus; generated visions of future ministry results; and identified the kinds of staff functions that would best help them succeed in developing those results.

Participants imagined a future characterized by such things as comprehensive programs for children and youth, thriving Vacation Bible Schools, alternative style worship services, a Pub-style drop-in center, serving as a bench-mark example of community gardening, integrated relationships between Pre-School and congregation, and impactful discipleship programs.  At tables, five small groups listed skills they would like to see in a staff person.  This input was incorporated into the Mission Council's work on position description for what is being called a Ministry Developer to serve at the Pointe of Grace location.  This position is envisioned as a 25-hour position.  The Ministry Developer position is an unfolding expression of the Trinity/Pointe of Grace identity of "manifesting God's dream by making space for people to recogize what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world and to recognize and assume their unique roles in partnership with God."  This position will focus on encouraging and equipping individuals to understand and fulfill their personal vocations to ministry and service.   You may click here to view the Ministry Developer position description.  Since staffing the Pointe of Grace campus is an immediate priority, the council is actively engaged in the search and hiring process.

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