Dear congregant:

I am writing to encourage your attendance of the next series in our Adult Education hour on Sunday mornings. I am grateful for the renewed ministry of education at First Baptist this year, celebrating a return to Sunday school “for all ages”. Over the next four Sundays (October 28 through November 18), we engage in talking about First Baptist’s need for a vision for our ministry. PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND! YOUR CHURCH NEEDS YOUR VOICE!

In a time of transition, congregations find it helpful to assess where the ministries of the church are “right now” and discern where the church needs to be “next” in order to be relevant to the changing needs of the community as well as the internal life of the church. Vision statements help guide a church toward a new day for ministry, and so now is the time to help First Baptist begin discerning what a vision for ministry looks like.

The four Sundays are scheduled as follows:
October 28—Congregations benefit from regular opportunities to think about their ministry and use these insights to make course adjustments to the direction of a church. I will facilitate a discussion around the “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” of First Baptist as an organization or spiritual community. Where do we see opportunities and ways to improve? This discussion is crucial to the remaining three Sundays, so I am hopeful that we will have close to fifty adults in the room discussing a very important issue: the present and future of YOUR congregation. (See the other side of this letter for thoughts on the SWOT analysis exercise to help you prepare.)

November 4—One of the key ways that a congregation makes its ministry happen is through a robust sense of stewardship. As the church is progressing through its first multi-week stewardship emphasis in years, the stewardship planners will guide the congregation through a new way of thinking about stewardship: more than just “talk about money”. Stewardship can be a way of expressing our gratitude to God through the giving of our time, our talents, and our tithes. In my absence, Darcy Oakes, Mary Harrington, and Cindy Watson will be facilitating worship and adult Sunday school that morning.

November 11 & 18—During these two Sundays, we will begin a process of discernment that culminates in a draft (or two) of a vision statement that helps First Baptist move forward in its ministry. Your voice is needed as we listen for God together, finding words that summon First Baptist to a new day for ministry. What will that vision statement look like? I am not even going to guess, other than that with many hearts and minds working together, we will hope to catch a bit of the Spirit’s calling as we look forward to a church that is ready to move forward!
Grace & Peace,

The Rev. Jerrod H. Hugenot, Intentional Interim Minister

P.S.—This past week, we completed the first unit, a seven-week session utilizing our denomination’s Children in Poverty curriculum and the wisdom of speakers engaged in religious organizations endeavoring to address the hard questions posed by the social and economic realities of living in Bennington, Vermont. It is my hope that First Baptist will be in the midst of these questions, helping provide the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus, the One who left no child behind and indeed ministered to all in need. As disciples of Jesus, we can do no less!