About the Flourishing Forward Team:

Given our commitment to our mission and to our calling to be a community of belonging in Christ, Council established the Flourishing Forward Team to answer some of the big questions in front of us. 

Council is asking them to gather input from the congregation, staff, and other stakeholders and discern the direction in which God is calling us. They are presently reviewing input from the Council retreat, past visioning exercises and congregational master planning, and engaging with various people within the congregation at COS. 

The Team’s members are Claudia Beversluis, Ken Heffner, Ruth Lemmen, Kate Snow, Andrew Vyumvuhore, and Klaas Walhout. Please be in prayer for them as we seek God’s will.

March 2024:

Council has asked the Flourishing Forward team to help discern COS’ ministry priorities and make recommendations regarding some of the complex questions facing the church. We’ve been meeting since December 2023 and have gathered input so far from ministry leaders, staff members, and All Nations congregants. This month, our focus is on listening to Tree of Life congregants.

Some of the questions we’ve been grappling with include: 

  • What are COS’ ministry priorities?
  • Should we replace our second pastor? What leadership model should we use?   
  • How should we move forward in our relationship with the CRC? 
  • What is the relationship between the All Nations and Tree of Life services? 
  • How can we nurture involvement among all age groups? 
  • How do we embrace the Statement of Belonging and our commitment to welcome queer people?  

We’d love to hear your thoughts on these questions or any other issues you feel we should consider. We’re providing two different ways to share your input with us. If you’d like to talk to one of us in person, we will be available for drop-in “office hours”-style conversations in the library or glass room after church on Sunday, March 17 or Sunday, March 24. 

If you’d prefer to put your thoughts in writing, we’ve created a short online questionnaire. You can access it here.

Thank you, 

The Flourishing Forward Team