Nurturing & GRowing: WPLC’s 2027 Goals

INTRODUCTION

Wicker Park Lutheran Church is growing through the work of the Holy Spirit. Over the past year, our in-person worship attendance has increased by more than 30%, and we have welcomed 46 new members since last fall.

Each year, we pause to discern where God is calling us next. In 2027, that call is not simply to celebrate the growth God is providing, but to nurture it—strengthening the ministries, relationships, staffing, and spaces that help our community grow deeper in faith, connection, and service.

Join us in nurturing and growing our congregation in 2027 and beyond.

Table of Contents

• 2026’s Progress
• 2026’s Ministry Evaluation
• Priorities and Goals
• How We Succeed
• Questions and Feedback

2026’s Progress

Let us celebrate our successes since our goals were last update! Click here to see our 2026 goals.

Since last year, we:

• Reduced the market-rate compensation gap by 40% ($17k)
  • Created a “Compensation Gap Task Force” to strategize the best ways to close the compensation gap.
• Expanded children’s ministries
  • We will divide Sunday School into two classes (ages 5-7 and ages 8-9) on major church holidays and when attendance is expected to be higher.
• Grew our youth programming
  • We are piloting weekly Youth Group during worship beginning in fall 2026.
  • Confirmation classes (called “Confirm not Conform”) begin in fall 2026
• Strengthened engagement within the congregation
  • Shared a monthly worship announcement regarding existing volunteer opportunities
• Pursued justice in the church and the world
  • Offered post-worship and midweek gatherings to discuss “bound conscience” as a congregation
  • New staff and Council are attending an anti-racism training in December
  • An Accessibility Task Force was formed to better include people living with disabilities, with a survey scheduled to launch this fall
• Made significant strides toward our Comprehensive Building Plan
  • Almost completed construction on Phase 2 (A Place for All), making our building more accessible to people with disabilities
  • Navigated community life while portions of the building were closed

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

2026’s Ministry Evaluation

In early 2026, the congregation shared feedback on our collective ministry over the last year. We received 56 responses this year. Each response was read multiple times and the comments were complied to develop 2027’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

• Facilitating Long-term Goal – Assess staff and pastor salaries to meet market-rate compensation by the 2030 budget.
• 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 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

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

WHY WAS THIS LANGUAGE CHANGED?

• We have seen significant growth in worship attendance over the past nine months. Rooted in our mission, vision, values, and purpose, we are called to continue to widen our welcome. Therefore, the Council has added “grow” to our priority to make clear our intention to prioritize supporting and encouraging the growth of our congregation.

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: To support lay leaders, which may include Christian education teachers, in hosting two social engagement opportunities for children and youth outside the church in 2027.

• Long-term goal #2: Invite the congregation to participate in new and existing engagement opportunities through 2027.
  • Related short-term goal: In early 2027, the Council will facilitate small group conversations, like the Listening Project of 2020, within the congregation to understand how we can best support the growth of the congregation, improve communication, and deepen connections within the congregation. These conversations will be in place of the annual ministry evaluation survey to identify the current strengths and opportunities of our congregation members, visitors, and community members. 

• Short-term goal: Work to call a part-time associate pastor or deacon to better support the congregation’s growing pastoral needs by mid-2027, and to establish a 2027 budget line item to financially support this position. 

Priority B

Equip and empower our community to pursue and support justice.

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 2027, 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 2027, host a post-service education event about the draft changes to “bound conscience” beliefs following the work of the ELCA’s task force.
  • 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, and to update policies and governing documents to reflect this as a standing priority by the end of 2027.

• 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: Implement the results of the Accessibility Task Force’s survey and research by late 2027.

Priority C

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

Why did the language change from last year?

We added the word “nurture” to describe our approach to congregational growth by making clear that we are not simply letting the growth happen absent our engagement. Instead, we are putting into place systems, staff, and policies to support that work, so we also want to ensure that our facilities will enhance that growth as well.  

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: Encourage the congregation, through the end of 2027, to continue their A Place for All pledge and/or make donations to help the church complete the loan payments ahead of schedule.

• Short-term goal: Based on the Steering Committee’s assessment of the A Place for All capital campaign, establish a plan by fall 2027, which may include but is not limited to allocating responsibilities to appropriate groups, committees, or task forces to best support the launch of Phase 3 of the comprehensive building plan in 2028 or later. 

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 2027 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.