Guiding Purpose

Our visioning experience began in 2005 with the question, “What does God envision for St. Peter’s?” Shortly thereafter, Rev. Stephen Kanouse, Mission Director for Texas and Louisiana, came and spoke to the Congregation Council. He pointed out in his presentation that in order to continue to have a growing, healthy, vital congregation, we need to have a vision for mission, we need to be innovative, and there needs to be relationship with God and among our members.

The council determined that it is the responsibility of each and every member to help determine the vision God has for St. Peter’s. The best way to do this is through the study of scripture, prayer, and conversation. Rev. Kanouse’s recommendation to the council was to begin by studying the book of Acts in small groups. Over that twelve-week period, we built relationships, discussed the text, and prayed together.

In November members gathered for a weekend discussion of our Purpose Statement and Guiding Principles. Rev. Lori Ruge-Jones led us through this process. Again using Acts we discussed and prayed about what God envisioned for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in the years ahead. Each of the six groups wrote their own Purpose Statement and Guiding Principles for St. Peter’s based on their assigned Acts passage.

Later our Visioning Committee honed and crafted the six quite similar ideas into one. The Visioning Committee worked diligently to ensure the Pupose Statement and Guiding Principles were short, easily remembered statements that even our youngest members could understand and recite. In the following months the congregation worked to become familiar with the statements and principles through sermons, various formal and informal discussions, and Bible Study opportunities.

On July 30, 2006 at our Semi-Annual Congregation Meeting the members of St. Peter’s adopted our Purpose Statement and Guiding Principles unanimously.