Strategic Vision Update: Congregational Collaboration and our Small and Mid-sized Churches

On February 10, 2025, we gathered the lay and clergy leadership of our small and mid-sized congregations for their fourth meeting of the program year. This time the presentation focused on three areas: defining committees and teams, tools to discern priorities, and the importance of focusing on mission. Mission is also key to collaboration, because we want to ask the question: how can collaborating with other congregations help us better to meet our mission?

The Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer (p. 855) offers us the language of mission as followers of Jesus Christ:

“Q. What is the mission of the Church?

1. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
2. How does the Church pursue its mission?
3. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love.
4. Through whom does the Church carry out its mission?
5. The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members.”

The mission is central to the ministries of our local congregations, and everything that we do must stem from it. Do you know what your mission statement is? It should be prominent in your materials, both digital and print, and included especially in your service bulletins, newsletters, and vestry agendas, as a reminder that it is the touchstone for congregational life. We recommend that all congregations revisit their mission statements at least every 10 years and make revisions that reflect the time and place. Missions statements should be one sentence long, memorable, and address your role in your local community.

Understanding how to determine what issues and tasks are urgent and important is also essential work of the vestry. At our last meeting, we shared a particular tool that we believe can guide vestries in identifying which issues are most important for them to address: the Time Management Matrix, also known as the Eisenhower Matrix. Originally developed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and later popularized by Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, it is a powerful tool for prioritizing tasks and making the best use of time. Eisenhower famously distinguished between tasks that are urgent and those that are important, recognizing that leaders often spend too much time reacting to crises instead of focusing on strategic priorities.

The matrix divides tasks into four quadrants:

Quadrant 1 (Urgent & Important) – Crisis Management & Immediate Tasks

1. A major facilities issue—the church roof is leaking, requiring immediate action to prevent further damage.
2. A pastoral emergency—a key member of the congregation is in crisis, and the clergy or vestry needs to respond right away.

These are critical issues that demand immediate attention, but if a vestry spends too much time in Quadrant 1, they risk being constantly reactive rather than proactive in their leadership.

Quadrant 2 (Not Urgent & Important) – Strategic Leadership & Long-Term Impact

1. Developing a long-term vision for the church—working on a strategic plan to grow the congregation and strengthen ministries.
2. Spending time as a group—considering changes in the neighborhood and how the church can respond with new ministries or outreach initiatives.

Quadrant 2 is where effective leadership happens. The more time a vestry spends here, the better positioned the church will be for growth, sustainability, and mission-driven impact.

Quadrant 3 (Urgent & Not Important) – Distractions Masquerading as Priorities

1. Spending vestry time word-smithing an event description—something that could easily be delegated to staff or a communications volunteer instead of taking up leadership discussion time.
2. Handling logistical details better suited for a committee—such as coordinating coffee hour supplies when a hospitality team could take the lead, or debating the repair or maintenance proposals that a property committee could manage.

Quadrant 3 tasks often feel urgent, but they do not require vestry-level attention. Leaders should delegate these tasks to appropriate teams or individuals.

Quadrant 4 (Not Urgent & Not Important) – Time Wasters & Distractions

1. Endless debates on minor issues—spending 30 minutes discussing the color of tablecloths for an event instead of focusing on mission-related priorities.
2. Excessive time on unproductive email chains—replying to or reading emails that don’t require vestry involvement or decision-making.

Vestries should aim to eliminate or limit time spent in Quadrant 4, as these activities drain energy without advancing the church’s mission.

By using this matrix, vestries can assess how they are spending their time and shift their focus toward what truly matters, ensuring they lead with wisdom, intentionality, and a commitment to the church’s future. Prioritizing Quadrant 2 work will help vestries move from reacting to urgent demands to leading with vision and purpose.

Finally, we spent time discussing committees and teams, using definitions created by John W. Wimberley, Jr. for his book, Mobilizing Congregations: How Teams Can Motivate Members. Teams need a well-defined, time-limited task but should also have the freedom to figure out how to accomplish it–within set boundaries. Committees, such as vestries, provide the strategic direction and oversight to the teams.

As vestries consider ways to meet their congregation’s mission, they might form teams to examine ways to collaborate with other congregations that share geographic proximity, size and configuration, or similar mission-based ministries.

Congregational leaders from all churches will have another opportunity to build their leadership skills at the next Diocesan Learning Event on Saturday, April 4 from 9 AM to 2 PM at St. Elizabeth’s, Ridgewood. The presenter is ministry developer Mary Foster Parmer, author of the award-winning book, Invite Welcome Connect: Stories & Tools to Transform your Church. Learn more and register for the event here.