A time to Tear Down. A Time to Build.: WPLC’s 2026 Goals

INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit has been moving through Wicker Park Lutheran Church for generations. Each year, we pause to discern where God is calling us next. As the council engaged in this reflection, they centered themselves in Scripture—especially Ecclesiastes 3: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven… a time to break down, and a time to build up.” In this season, shaped by our A Place for All campaign and our life together, we recognize that 2026 will be a time to tear down and a time to build. We will literally see barriers removed so that all may be welcomed, and we will witness our community strengthened in faith and love. We will tear down injustice and build up God’s vision of grace, hospitality, and hope.

Join us in this time to tear down and to build –always in God’s name.

Table of Contents

• 2025’s Progress
• 2025’s Ministry Evaluation
• Priorities and Goals
• How We Succeed
• Questions and Feedback

2025’s Progress

Let us celebrate our successes since our goals were last set! Click here to see our “Strengthening Foundations” goals.

Since last year, we:

• Expanded children’s ministries
  • Increased children and youth engagement at social events, fellowship, and volunteer opportunities
• Launched youth programming with a twice-per-month Youth Group
• Encouraged and supported new leaders
  • Began a weekly playgroup organized by a new leader
  • Worked to diversify leadership across task forces and committees
  • Hosted our first diaconal resident, Vicar Kornelius
  • Welcomed a full-time pastoral intern, Vicar Sarah
• Expand Engagement
  • Integrated diverse data gathering methods to better streamline engagement with new leaders
• Kept pastor and staff’s salaries aligned with inflation
• Made significant strides toward a Comprehensive Building Plan
  • Completed permit and construction documents phase for construction
  • Applied for over 20 grants to support the campaign
  • Selected a General Contractor and prepared for construction
• Financially supported the Lighthouse Foundation and Reconciling Works
• Utilized the Gathering Garden for fellowship time, meetings, and events
• Worked with Wicker Park Lutheran Building Friends to our Construction Kickoff and Block Party

As a passionate, Christian community, we are committed to nurturing and building up the body of Christ through welcoming, creative, and diverse ministries.

WPLC’s Mission

2025’s Ministry Evaluation

In early 2025, the congregation shared feedback on our collective ministry over the last year. We received 38 responses this year. Each response was read multiple times and the comments were complied to develop 2026’s goals. Below is a summary of the responses we received.

To be a thriving Christian presence in metro Chicago, recognized as offering spiritual and social resources in our community.

WPLC’s Vision

PRIORITIES & Goals

Priorities

• Priority A – Engage with our community in inclusive, diverse, creative, and hospitable ways both virtually and in person.
• Priority B – Equip and empower our community to be agents for justice.
• Priority C – Improve space use opportunities, facilitate congregation growth, and provide more inclusive accessibility (virtual and physical) to our facilities by implementing a comprehensive building plan.

A Facilitating Long-term Goal

WHY WAS THIS CHANGED?

• Our staff and pastor are essential for helping us enact all three priorities. Therefore, this goal has been called out separately rather than being reprinted under each priority as it has been previously. 
• This has been a long-term goal for years and sometimes gets lost within a list of long-term goals under a specific priority. To emphasize the importance of this goal, it has been separated out as a goal that facilitates the realization of all other priorities and goals. 
• We recognize that our pastor and staff often exhibit above average skill. While we do not foresee any changes in relationship to our pastor and church musician, it is important that we appropriately compensate them for their skill to better retain them. Furthermore, if we did need to conduct a search for a new pastor or church musician, the strong compensation package would ensure we could call or hire an individual of similar caliber. 

WHY IS THIS GOAL IMPORTANT?

• Our Governing Documents remind us that we are in a mutual relationship with our pastor to carry out God’s mission in our congregation. Part of this mutuality is to provide market-rate compensation to our pastor. 
• Our bylaws remind us that we treat our pastor and staff as siblings in Christ. In providing equitable compensation, we care for our pastor and church musician treating them as our beloved siblings..
• Because our pastor and staff are critical for our ministries, this facilitates us reaching our long-term goals within each priority and helps ensure long-term sustainability for our ministry. 

Priority A

Engage with our community in inclusive, diverse, creative, and hospitable ways.

WHY WAS THIS LANGUAGE CHANGED?

• We chose to remove “virtually and in person” from the priority because this has become part of our ethos and community. Virtual ministry will continue, and it no longer needs to be called out separately.

Why is this important?

• Helps us realize our vision to “be a thriving Christian presence in metro Chicago, recognized as offering spiritual and social resources in our community.”
• Empowers us to live out our purpose to reach all people as stated in the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28).
• Roots us in our focus to worship God through lives of prayer, praise, thanksgiving, witness, and service (see C4.02.a. of our constitution).

Goals

• Long-term goal #1: Establish a sustainable and robust children’s and youth ministry by 2030.
  • Related short-term goal: Continue to develop and deepen youth group ministry in 2026.
  • Related short-term goal: Work to subdivide Sunday School into two or more age groups by mid-2026. 

• Long-term goal #2: Invite the congregation to participate in new and existing engagement opportunities through 2027.
  • Related short-term goal: One Sunday per month, in 2026, give a special announcement regarding existing opportunities during worship.

Priority B

Equip and empower our community to pursue and support justice.

WHY WAS THIS LANGUAGE CHANGED?

• “To be agents for justice” was changed to “to pursue and support justice” to better clarify that:
  • Justice work requires communal engagement inside and outside of our congregation. 
  • This is an active and proactive process.
  • This is an on-going process in alignment with our Christian vocation and Jesus’ ministry.

Why is this important?

• Expands our commitment to justice in our community (see C4.03.f. in our constitution).
• Helps us to live out our mission to be “a passionate, Christian community that is committed to nurturing and building up the body of Christ.”
• Allows us to better engage with our purpose to “challenge, equip, and support all members to carry out the calling” and also, to “respond to human need” (see C4.03.c. in our constitution).
• Centers us in the Biblical text of Micah 6:8, stating “what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” (NRSVue)

Goals

• Long-term goal #1: Reaffirm our commitment to anti-racism work and the affirmation of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions as a part of our Reconciling in Christ designation with expanded emphasis through 2028.
  • Related goal: Work internally and externally to advocate for the ELCA Constitution to better embrace anti-racist ideals by engaging with the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church leading up to the 2028 Churchwide Assembly.
    • Related short-term goal: During 2026, host a post-service education event about the Commission and, possibly, ELCA opportunities to participate in anti-racism work.
  • Related goal: Work internally to educate about and externally to advocate for the ELCA to remove queer discrimination (known as “bound conscience”) from the teaching documents of the ELCA leading up to the 2028’s Churchwide Assembly. (Note: “Bound conscience” is the part of the ELCA’s 2009 Human Sexuality Social Statement that allows congregations to actively affirm queer ministers or discriminate against queer ministers.) 
    • Related short-term goal: During 2026, host a post-service education event about “bound conscience” and, possibly, the history of queer discrimination in the ELCA.
  • Related short-term goal: Ensure all staff and council members engage with “Beyond Diversity: How to Build a Truly Antiracist Organization” or other similar training provided by Crossroads Antiracism within 18 months of starting through 2026.
  • Related short-term goal:  Identify and empower organizational liaisons to engage with and amplify the work of The Lighthouse Foundation and La Trinidad Lutheran Church by mid-2026.

• Long-term goal #2: Explore and implement strategies for increasing accessibility and inclusivity for people living with disabilities beyond the physical facilities related to the “A Place for All” campaign through 2028.
  • Related short-term goal: Create an “Accessibility Task Force” with diverse representation by June 30, 2026 to explore and champion this work.

Priority C

Improve space use opportunities, facilitate congregational growth, and provide more inclusive accessibility (virtual and physical) to our facilities by implementing a comprehensive building plan.

Why is this important?

• So that we might continue to live out our vision to provide “spiritual and social resources in our community.”
• Allow us to be good stewards of our financial and physical resources so that we might best fulfill our mission, vision, values, and purpose.

GOALS

• Long-term goal: Complete Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Building Plan (called A Place for All) including all construction and loan payments by the end of 2035.
  • Related short-term goal: Navigate the impacts of construction on congregational life through 2026.
  • Related short-term goal: Support the staff to navigate the needs and concerns offered by Space Use Groups and the broader community during construction through 2026.
  • Related short-term goal: Encourage the congregation to continue their A Place for All pledge for another nine months and/or make donations to help the church complete the loan payments early by the end of 2027.

How we Succeed

1. Pray that our work might best support God’s vision for the world.
2. Support the work by volunteering your time. Remember, these are not council’s goals, these are our goals. Let Pastor Jason (pastor@wickerparklutheran.org) know if you’re particularly interested in a goal.  
3. Communicate your 2026 gift to support our annual budget during our Giving Campaign in October. Begin to imagine how your financial gifts can help continue what we’re doing and make all these new goals a reality!

Questions or Feedback

You are invited to contact the Executive Committee of the Congregation Council with any questions or feedback on these goals. Please email exec@wickerparklutheran.org to contact the full committee.