In the pursuit to better serve each other, the Body of Christ, and our city to include the surrounding communities, as President of the Spokane Ministers’ Fellowship, I am sharing with you this 2010 and Beyond Strategic Plan that I have for this fellowship.  I want each member of this fellowship to know that I do not have any “hidden agenda’s” and realize that it is going to take the input and experience/wisdom of each member to make us successful.  This plan is not for me to impose “what I want to do” on you, but to be used as a guide, with your input, to help me lead this fellowship and to advance us in the days/weeks to come.  My goal for this strategic plan is to give us a “blue print” to help us be “effective” as we move forward and prayerfully we will not waste our time spinning our wheels.  It does does not cover everything and has the ability to expand as I receive input from each of you in the weeks and months to come.  I truly believe it will help us to grow and be more effective as we conduct God’s “Kingdom” business.  It will help us to set our agenda for future meetings and to establish and accomplish realistic goals hence forth.  

This plan includes a new vision statement: “Dwelling Together in Unity”.  As many of you know Rev Donnie Stone used this scripture on several occasions during our meetings and I believe God was and is trying to tell us something.  I also believe the Lord wants me to lead according to the scripture in Habakkuk 2: 1-3 which says “I will stand on my guard post, and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me and how I may reply when I am reproved. Then the LORD answered me and said, record the vision and inscribe it on tablets that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time. It hastens towards the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.” (NAS)

Our Vision
“Dwelling Together in Unity” as we conduct Kingdom business/fellowship.
We the members of Spokane Ministers’ Fellowship agree with one another for unity and restoration of relationships among ministers of the Gospel across racial and gender boundaries. We want to fulfill our destiny as a fellowship, as each member fulfills his/her purpose by carrying out their assigned mission for the Kingdom of GOD. We want to be on one accord, speaking in like manner so there is no division among us.  By the Spirit of GOD, we are perfectly joined together – fitly framed members of the Body of CHRIST. With regard to ministry throughout our city and surrounding communities, we want to operate in ways which demonstrate a “Spirit of Excellence” for the glory of GOD. Realizing the Spirit of GOD is with us, we will go out and make a difference because we are co-laborers, with God and is motivated by HIS love to reach out to people, businesses, and learning institutions in our city and surrounding communities.
Our Mission
To provide an interdenominational forum for pastors and ministers in Spokane and surrounding communities to engage in fellowship, mutual support, teaching, training, and Christian service.

I.   In order for us as Pastors and Ministers to carry out our vision, “Dwelling Together in Unity”, there are certain values I believe we must strive to uphold and adhere to.  These values apply to us as individuals.  They are:

TRUST: The Bible has much to say about trusting God.  But what about the trust we place in each other.  Daniel 6:4 says “At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”  Proverbs 11:13 also says “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.”  
We must be committed to give, earn, maintain and enhance the trust of each other. We must adhere to the “confidentiality” that has been bestowed upon us based on our chosen profession in everything we do and say.

FORGIVENESS: We all know that Jesus died on Calvary cross for the forgiveness of sin.  And if we sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins (if we repent), but what about forgiving each other.  Matthew 6:14 and 15 says “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
  We must be willing to forgive and forget past disagreements, disappointments, hurts, bad relationships and forge new relationships in the spirit of the “Love of Christ”.

INTEGRITY:  Webster’s dictionary says integrity is “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.”  Proverbs 11:3 says “The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.”
We must be willing to conduct our personal lives and God’s Kingdom business in an atmosphere of honesty, respect, truthfulness and courtesy towards each other and we MUST be men and women of our word.

ACCOUNTABILITY:  Yes, we are accountable to God, but what about being accountable to each other.  The bible says in 1 Corinthians 4:1 “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.”  Within Luke 16:2, we are admonished to “give an account of thy stewardship”.  
We must be willing to take responsibility for our actions both personally and professionally.   If we are given a task to do, are we willing to give our best effort to accomplish that task? We must also be willing to sit down and discuss issues that bring our integrity into question in love and according to the Word of God.

OPENNESS/CARING:  Proverbs 27:17 says “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
We must be committed in everything we say and do be committed to building each other up and not to tear anyone down.  To be transparent to ourselves and to each other which means we cannot have “hidden” agendas when we communicate with each other.  We should be up-front and open when communicating to each other.  Ministry is a tough and sometimes lonely profession and whether we believe it or not, we need each other.

RESPECTFUL: Matthew 12:25 says “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:”

We must understand that we will not agree on everything and in some cases, we will have to agree to disagree.  But we should be respectful of every person’s views/opinion and agree not to openly put-down or embarrass anyone because of their views/opinion. We cannot allow our disagreements to be a tool to divide us.

DIVERSITY:  We must respect the uniqueness of each member of this fellowship and be willing to work with every person, every member of this fellowship regardless of race or gender.  As a fellowship, we must be willing to “set aside” personal and denominational position/beliefs and nurture successful working relationships with each other for the Kingdom of God.

INNOVATION: We all know the parable of the talents.  The one particular area I want to focus on is Matthew 25:19-21 “After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.  His lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
 We cannot be satisfied with the “status quo” of yesterday/yester-year but we must be willing to encourage and support new ideas and creative approaches to conducting our business and ministry for the Kingdom of God. I believe God want us to grow and He expects us to enhance what He has entrusted to us.  This fellowship of Christian Ministers belongs to God and I believe we must be willing to use advance technology to advance the Kingdom work He has for us to do. (Website, social networks, etc…)

II. In order for us to advance the Vision and accomplish our mission, I want to share with you the following GOALS that I have for our fellowship for 2010 and beyond:



2010 and Beyond GOALS

To connect with Pastors and Ministers throughout this city who are not members of this fellowship and try to establish, and in some cases reestablish relationship(s) and/or connection.
Contact Pastors/Ministers via letter and face-to-face
Have a fellowship luncheon for pastors/ministers
Have a meeting with African American pastors/ministers. (I believe this is necessary because if we cannot reconcile our differences with each other, how can we ever forge a relationship with pastors/ministers of other races and genders.)
Connect and forge relationships with other Christian Minister Alliances/Fellowships and other Faith-based Organizations
Realizing that the SMF is not the only ministers alliance in Spokane and surrounding communities, we must attempt to establish contact with other Ministers alliances for dialogue and possible joint ventures
How can we assist other faith-based agencies (ie..Union Gospel Mission, Teenaid and others)

To complete the required paperwork for the fellowship to receive its’ 501c3 status.
To create a Spokane Ministers Fellowship “Foundation”  (SMFF)
Designate a certain amount of funds annually to go to this foundation
Funds generated from fellowship events and donations from churches and individuals.  Also special fundraisers and dinner events can generate funds for the foundation.
The fellowship will vote annually what to support (Examples: Scholarships, homeless charity, a church in NEED, a Food bank ect…)
 
To forge a relationship/dialogue with the Spokane City Mayor, Police Chief, Spokane City Ombudsman and City Council.
2-way communication in which they share their concerns with us and we have the forum to share our concerns with them.
To see what are the possibilities of some of our ministers becoming a part of the Spokane Police Chaplain program.
Be able to contact them and have dialog with them when one of our citizens have been mistreated or falsely accused/abused.
To see what can they do to help encourage the local city government as well as local businesses to be more diversified in their hiring practices.
Do we need to look as becoming a member of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce?
To forge a relationship with all education institutions (Elementary/High schools and local Colleges)
2-way communication in which they share their concerns with us and we have the forum to share our concerns with them.
To ensure we do our part to ensure no child (black, white, Hispanic or any other persuasion) is left behind.  If we are to be effective, we cannot focus totally on African American children only.
At the same time we must ensure administrators/teachers are educated on diversity and ensure African American students are not unjustly targeted or misrepresented.
To build upon the foundation laid by Dr. Arthur Jarrett and create a “Ministry Training Institution” as a resource for this fellowship and possibly be extended to include other local pastors and churches.
Review the proposal by Dr. Jarrett and also consult with pastors on topics to be taught.
Create a counsel (we have people with their Doctorates and other educators who are members of this fellowship and in our churches) to create a curriculum for each topic.
Start by having a low or no cost seminars and build from that. (Maybe start by taking up a love offering at each class to help with the cost).
Use the talents we have within this fellowship to teach the courses

To be a solid backbone for other advocacy agencies such as the NAACP, Legal Justice and MLK Center.
Get more fellowship members involved with the above agencies and promote membership within our churches and communities.

Keep the line of communication open with the President of this fellowship and the President of the both organizations listed above.

Help to advertise the above agencies to educate the community on their reason for existence
To build upon the three events currently held within this fellowship: (Watch Night, Sunrise and Thanksgiving Services)

Have a annual “Juneteenth” Celebration/Picnic/Service

Have a annual City-Wide “Holy Convocation bringing all churches together.Have a service specifically designed for members of our churches to promote their talents (drama/dance/mime/singing/poetry, ect…) A service strictly for the arts.  No Preaching
An annual banquet which will allow Pastors/Ministers and their spouses to come together in fellowship.  We could maybe even recognize people from within our churches for their service to Christian ministry.  

Use available technology to become more innovative.
Create an organizational emblem/pin
Create membership certificates and cards/credential
Create a official “Seal” for the fellowship
Create a membership package to include a membership directory.
Create a fellowship website and/or social networking page (face-book) to promote the fellowship and associated churches.
Create an official email address for elected officials of the fellowship.
Create a Quarterly newsletter
Official Photos

To display a “Spirit of Excellence” and Unity in everything we do.

III.  In order for us accomplish the above goals, there are some “Critical Issues” we must be willing to take into account: (Things that are important that could help or hinder us from reaching our goals)

Critical Issues

Actively Engaged Members - Every person who is a member of this fellowship should want to be active on a fellowship committee.  Be willing to (as much as possible), support fellowship sponsored events.  
Assimilation - Every member of this fellowship must be excited about coming together to conduct Kingdom business, to worship, and to fellowship.  We currently meet the 1st Saturday of every month.  Do we need to consider the 1st Friday evening of each month or another week day that will work for all?
Recruitment/Retention – What do we have to offer a pastor/minister to make them want to be a member of this fellowship and what do we need to do to keep them?  The fellowship must insure all members, whether they are a pastor or minister, feel they are a viable part.
Evangelism/Church Growth–We should be able to teach and promote Evangelism and Church Growth as well as how to better market our different churches.  
Clearly Defined Target(s) – Any business owner will tell you the in order to be successful, you must “Know who your customers are.”  As a Fellowship, “Who are our customers?”  Who are we trying to reach? Let’s identify our customers and implement the plan to reach them.
Marketing Communications/Visibility - There is a business saying that “No one will know what you have unless you tell them what you have.”  Coming up with marketing strategies to reach our community for God. (Radio, TV, news paper, newsletters ect…) How can we as a fellowship or even our local churches become involved in community events without compromising our beliefs? (Bloomsday, 1st Night)  How can we become more visible within the city/our communities?

IV. This Strategic Plan is a guide that I want to use, with your help, support and input, to lead this fellowship and to help ensure we maintain a “Unified” organization.  Hopefully it will help me to serve you and us to better serve each other, the people of our city and surrounding communities and last but not least, “The Kingdom of God.”  It is not designed to be all inconclusive and can be added to with input from you, members of the Spokane Ministers’ Fellowship.

Sincerely in Christ


JIMMY D. PIERCE
SMF President