Michigan District President Hoesman, who was elected by an overwhelming 87%, writes
about the District's Core Values as follows:
"The Board of Directors, in concert with the Staff, has developed Core Values.
They have worked at understanding to whom the Board is accountable in reporting
performance and achievement as outlined in established Goals of Outcomes."
Again Hoesman writes:
"Core Values have been developed, as referred to above. These Core Values,
developed by the Board of Directors in conjunction with the District Staff, are those
guiding principles and values that we hold near and dear as brothers and sisters in Christ
in carrying out the mission of the Lord of the Church..From these values will come our
Outcomes. Any decision of Outcomes must also carry with it ways of evaluating and
determining whether Outcomes have been reached. The Board of Directors and Staff continue
to work toward establishing goals and holding ourselves accountable."
These Core Values were sent to every congregation. They were published in the District
Paper. There were presented one Core Value at a time in eight separate presentations
during the course of three days to the Michigan District Convention. Fifteen minutes was
allotted for a member of the District Staff to explain each Core Value.
The delegates adopted the Core Values as part of a resolution dealing with the use of
funds from the sale of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Detroit in Resolution 1-09 B "To
Substantially Honor the Final Request of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Detroit, and thereby
Highlight Core Values of the Michigan District."
The final resolve commits the District to the new District Core Values as follows:
"RESOLVED, that the District administration seek to involve urban pastors and
leaders in discussion and decisions that affect urban ministry, perhaps through the
CMF/Urban position - thereby showing its commitment to Core Value 1 (locally rooted
mission development), Core Value 2 (congregation and District staff accountability) and
Core Value 3 (networking congregations)."
The Michigan District Convention was repeatedly told that the following eight Core
Values are listed in order of priority.
(As for this writer, I spoke against the Core Values and offered an amendment to strike
the last two lines about Core Values from the final resolve but no one in the Convention
would second the motion. Resolution 1-09 B was adopted by a strong majority.)
(The following list of Core Values are as published in their entirety in the Michigan
District Convention Work Book.)
Core Value 1: Intentional Mission Development
Under the Gospel Imperative of the great Commission, the Michigan District deeply
values the development of new and established congregations and missionary agencies which
generate a new audience for the Gospel by bringing Jesus Christ to the unchurched and
dechurched populations within the State of Michigan. This core value will serve to
prioritize such activities as:
- New mission starts
- Both locally rooted and district called/deployed mission initiatives
- Urban, ethnic and trans-cultural ministries
- Encouragement of culturally relevant congregations
Core Value 2: Accountability
The Michigan District deeply values accountability for church workers, congregations,
and District staff. Accountability preserves integrity and encourages ministry success. To
this end, the District, through the Office of the District President, will exercise such
accountability by:
- Doctrinal supervision
- Regular reporting and performance evaluation of all District personnel
- Congregational performance in winning new and nurturing current disciples
- Celebration of congregation ministry milestones
- Congregation filing of accurate and timely statistical reports to the Synod and District
Core Value 3: Networking Congregations
The Michigan District deeply values collaborative, interdependent and coaching
relationships between congregations. Such networking provides a positive pathway to
expansion of congregational mission and ministry. To this end, vital linkages between
congregations shall be established, providing a forum for such mutually beneficial
functions as:
- Diffusion of innovation
- Access to Synodical and district resources
- Process consulting for planning and decision making
- Healthy congregational systems
- Congregational self-study, evaluation and planning
- Affirmation of congregational uniqueness
- Pastoral, staff and lay leadership development
- Effective community outreach
- Sponsorship of large(r) events for collaboration and learning, such as:
a. Fellowship
b. Forums to address issues of diversity
c. Leadership development and training for clergy and lay leaders
d. Affinity-based learning clusters and networking events
Core Value 4: Providing and Supporting Professional Church Workers
The Michigan District deeply values assisting congregations and professional church
workers. To this end, high-quality staff support services will be provided such as:
- Coaching for staff configuration and/or expansion
- Development of relevant and appropriate ministry descriptions
- Assisting congregations to identify staff candidates
- Church worker support, health and encouragement
Core Value 5: Support for Families
The Michigan District deeply vales ministry to the Christian Family. Recognizing that
the families of District congregations are defined by different generations, life-stages
and social configurations-and that families are under considerable stress-the District
will engage in intentional services which are designed to support and strengthen the
Christian family, such as:
- Educational resources for family enrichment
- Vacation Bible School
- Sunday School
- Children's Ministry
- Youth Ministry
- Singles' Ministry
- Nurture from cradle to eternity
- Older Adult Ministry
- Home schooling issues and resources
- Support and recovery groups
- Human Care Ministries
Core Value 6: Lutheran Schools and Child Care Centers
The Michigan District deeply values the discipling of children through Lutheran Schools
and Child Care Centers in spiritual formation and local mission outreach. To this end,
such educational agencies will be supported through high-quality support services which
include such activities as:
- Skill development opportunities
- Accreditation and certification
- Encouragement
- Crisis intervention
- Liaison with state and/or private educational agencies
Core Value 7: Locally Rooted Support for Mission and Ministry to Special
Mission Fields
The Michigan District deeply values congregation and cluster-based outreach into
special mission fields (ethnic groups campus, chaplaincy, deaf). In addition to calling
and deploying Mission Developers for specific and appropriate mission fields, the Michigan
District will seek collaborative relationships with congregations and local agencies and
will provide appropriate resources and funding support as local congregations and ministry
agencies sponsors such ministries and call ministry staff.
Core Value 8: Financial Development for Both Congregation and District
Ministries
Recognizing that congregational, district and Synodical ministries will benefit from
all legitimate sources of funding support, the Michigan District deeply values aggressive
financial development through such God-honoring strategies as:
- Stewardship of life resources
- Funding congregational ministries
- Michigan District Development Officer(s)
- Establishment of Ministry Endowments/Foundations
- Fiscal integrity
- Maximized use of resources
- Core Values and ministry priorities determine spending plan