T-WEST 2013 Strategic Plan of the Toronto West Seventh-day Adventist Church 2008

2 2 years in the making 13 meetings: Strategic Plan committee 2 membership surveys Focus group sessions with selected youth Recommended by church board for presentation to church T-WEST 2013

3 BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS: Intro to members July 19/08 Brief Presentation Aug. 9 Consult members/dept thru Oct. Final Report to board in Fall Business meeting in November Implementation in 2009

4 T-WEST 2013 VISION STATEMENT “To equip and empower our members, invest in our youth and embrace our community as Jesus Christ unleashes His power in our lives.”

5 Existing MISSION STATEMENT “The Toronto West Seventh-day Adventist Church, through God’s grace, will spread the good news of salvation to mankind and live in harmony with His commandments, while fulfilling the spiritual and social needs of its congregation and community ”

6 T-WEST year Plan -- Objective “Establish a Centre for Life-long Learning” at Toronto West SDA Church

7 T-WEST 2013 Objective: What it means? By 2013, physically housed at the Toronto West SDA Church, establish a centre to equip and empower each member to pursue education/learning as a life-long goal. Achieve through many ministries/approaches such as: Special projects; Lecture/speaker series, seminars, conferences. Curriculum-based diploma/credit courses. “How to classes – renovations, sewing, cooking, Vegetarian cooking; Stop-smoking; health. Seniors

8 T-WEST 2013 Objective: Practically Speaking WHEN: Full Operation by 2013 WHERE: 1621 Albion Rd. primary WHO: Departments, individuals WHAT: Life-long learning centre WHY: Focus our Rexdale mission. Engage membership in service HOW: Train, provide resources, facilities, opportunity

9 T-WEST 2013 Why? MOTIVATION Disinterested Benevolence (“Love neighbour as yourself”) Smother community with love Be indispensable to Rexdale Multiply # of times non-members enter our building Side benefits: captive audience “They will know we are christians by our love.”

10 T-WEST 2013 EVANGELISTIC?? Different approach. Friendship. Social. Outreach to South Asians Targeted, dedicated Youth Ministry Fewer traditional evangelistic series, but Sabbaths become more evangelistic in focus

11 T-West BIG IDEAS Investigate opportunities to set up a parallel ministry directed and tailored to South-Asians in our community. This initiative be not limited to the Toronto West membership, but that we canvas South-Asians at all our churches to find ones amenable to pursue this idea that aims to see an Adventist company/church, sensitive to the Muslim/Hindu culture, operating out of a section of our building.

12 T-West BIG IDEAS Starting at birth, prepare for the Christian education of our children. Hand out a voucher to the parents of dedicated baby that promises to match, dollar for dollar, a scholarship that pays half the tuition to send that child to one of our Adventist schools. Subject to available funds, start with needy students, but adopt the goal to expand this to all our children and babies dedicated. Finance through fund-raising, endowments, wills. Rationale? Christian education is a tried and true and inspired form of evangelism.

13 T-West BIG IDEAS Pursue ways to integrate the church with the community by providing opportunities for the community to use church facilities, attend seminars and educational programs, receive spiritual and social and physical nourishment. One such move might be to turn over plots of available land for apartment-dwellers to grow community vegetable gardens.

14 T-West BIG IDEAS Recognizing that our youth are our first priority and that we’ve committed to investing in their future, the Toronto West SDA Church declare to the Ontario Conference of Seventh-day Adventists its absolute need for a Youth Pastor. To secure this, the church should pursue with vigour and determination the placement of a Youth Pastor solely dedicated to the advancement and growth and delivery of our mission to the youth, not one assigned as an intern or one shared with other ministries as designed by the Ontario conference of SDA. Practically speaking, this would mean a pastoral roster that reads: Youth Pastor, Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor and Intern.

15 T-West BIG IDEAS Recognizing that Toronto West members feel inspired and moved by the Spirit to establish a Centre for Life-long learning, starting in 2009 and fully operational by 2013, the Building Committee, finance committee, elders and pastors move with dispatch to review the physical facilities needed to accommodate such a vision and report to the members by the end of 2008 on a plan for the renovation or rebuilding the church at 1621 Albion Rd.

16 T-West 2013: Next Steps Share ideas with committee next 2 months, on Sabbath afternoons. Prayerfully seek God’s guidance Commit to ministry of your calling Attend November business meeting

17 T-WEST 2013 VISION STATEMENT “To equip and empower our members, invest in our youth and embrace our community as Jesus Christ unleashes His power in our lives.”