Focus Areas Spotlight - Crossroads Ministry Consulting

Jeff Abrahamson and Derek Meyer met with Pastor Elton Stroh from Crossroads Ministry Consulting. Jeff and Derek were very encouraged by the discussion and offerings Crossroads Ministry can provide to St. John. Both agree this is a better fit for St. John than the previous consulting group - MLI.

A few key highlights of their meeting is below. We are still evaluating how this may fit with happenings with Divinity, etc.  Pastor Stroh has provided a proposal to St. John, so the next step is for the council to decide if we want to move forward and how Divinity fits in, and then present a recommendation to the congregation.

• Pastor Stroh has 18 years of consulting experience between a prior role in WELS Parish Assistance and the last decade founding Crossroads. He has worked with approximately 200 different congregations.
• Overall they offer various levels of support from a basic program that is only a weekend long, to a comprehensive 12+ month program, and can modify as needed to meet congregation needs.
• Primary goal of the process is to develop a strategic plan and then support the implementation of that plan. 
• This process differs from the MLI process as it more broadly engages the congregation and Pastor Stroh would play a more active role in helping us define the vision.
• There is some overlap with the SAA that would save us as a congregation some time in the Crossroads process; however, the process is mostly new. The overlapping items are the member pulse survey and congregational profile.
• The effort would be led by a "guiding coalition" of 5-7 members that represents the congregation (both men and women).