The Dream & Decide Phase

Brainstorm outcomes, aspirations, and your sense of call as a community of faith. How can you be ‘on mission’ with God? This is an opportunity for every wild idea to be heard and respected. Visit the “Mission Planning” page on the UCWA website (quick link: tinyurl.com/ucamission) for inspiration if required.  

This may require one or several “dreaming days” where you allow yourself to think beyond those things that currently restrain the church and its thinking.  

It’s useful to have these ‘dreaming days’ in a different location to where you normally meet for business discussions. Hire a venue in your local community, use an outdoor venue, or find a place where you are not constrained by the things you’re used to, as this can often help in thinking differently about those things that are familiar.  

Remember to compile a short summary of this step for your final mission plan (on the template provided or in a separate document) 

Consider the following: 

• How ready and available people are to be involved in mission, partnership opportunities and the physical resources of finance and property. 

• Spend time working at becoming clearer about the costs and opportunities. Develop a budget that is realistic as well as visionary.  

• Consider the barriers in the way and how they may be overcome. Thrive may be able to connect you with congregations who have wisdom from previous attempts at similar plans.  

• Some congregations find it useful to do a SWOT analysis, looking at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. 

• Has your congregation considered a Seed, Feasibility or Future Mission Fund grant to help resource your mission, or the feasibility of mission ideas:  https://unitingchurchwa.org.au/presbytery-synod/synod/future_mission_fund/   Also, there may be community grants, for example from your local government or LotteryWest you can apply for.

Remember to compile a short summary of this step for your final mission plan (on the template provided or in a separate document) 

You have dreamed big and done some measuring. Now it’s time to put them both together.   

Discern the immediate action plan, stepping out the strategies for resolving the resourcing that is required. Keep good documentation. 

Test the call by ongoing discernment and by waiting for consensus and conviction. Consider trialling something for three to six months. 

Keep the congregation involved throughout the process, always describing it in terms of your identity, purpose, and context – stay positive and excited.

This is the step where you compile the “action plan” part of your mission plan. It is the culmination of the work done (and documented in the previous steps). You can use one of the templates provided below, or use a format that you prefer. The key is to have clear goals as well as practical steps.