With two members dying the same weekend that Concordia held its meetings with the CID Consultation Team, I was unable to sit in on the sessions, but I was able to pick up and read the Team’s findings that were given out after church on Sunday, December 13.

There were some five strengths, five concerns, and five prescriptions in the report. The strengths speak for themselves, and if I may address the one regarding the school and pre-school, my girls from Riverton are happy to be here as am I, their home pastor.

Regarding Concordia’s facilities, my two best mechanical friends here are the Smart Boards in the Computer Lab and the Heritage room, and the big copier in the teachers’ workroom (when I’m not jamming it). The former enables me to scribble all the Greek and Hebrew I want to, while the latter enables me to copy sheet after sheet of Bible Class material. And Lord knows I’ve made my share of copies.

Regarding the concerns? Lack of spiritual growth and intentional outreach are two of the five the Consultation Team found.

Bible Classes and Sunday School continue their decline (downward spiral, perhaps?), for which I have no easy answer. All I can do is hope and pray that more of you will avail yourselves of the opportunities on Sunday mornings at 9 am and Wednesday mornings at 10 am. One can never say "genug" ("enough") to the study of God’s Word.

As for intentional outreach, this is where most churches, I feel, have the most difficulty. It is certainly where I fail the most. My biggest frustration (and biggest disappointment), at least at my place, is my inability to attract, and then retain, new members. With only one exception that I can think of, all of the members I’ve taken in at Riverton by transfer or Adult Class, have gone by the wayside. As with the decline in Bible Class and Sunday School, I have no easy answer as to how we can attract (and retain!) new members.

As for the concern of Lack of Organization, Planning, and Vision for the Future, I certainly plead guilty. As one who (more often than not) has no sermon title or text for the bulletin simply because I can’t plan that far ahead, I have no vision for the future other than to have another sermon ready and waiting – that plus new Bible Class notes. My short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals are the same: being prepared for Sunday morning and the one after that. Some outside help would be invaluable in planning for the future.