Vision Statement
Faith Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

• Jesus is Lord.  We trust and believe in Him with our whole heart and accept no other person or thing as the lord of our lives.  We confess that Jesus is true God; the Word made flesh, who came into our world, was crucified, died, and rose again for our salvation.  We worship the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  Goal: We will identify ways to help our members make this confession of faith a reality in their lives.

• Corporate worship is the heart of our congregational life.  Here the Word of God is truly preached and the Sacraments are administered in accordance with Christ’s instructions. As a congregation and campus ministry, we offer worship that will be meaningful and inspiring to persons at all stages of life with varying lifestyles, while remaining true to Lutheran theology.
  Goal:  We will identify ways to make Faith Lutheran Church a more inspiring place to worship for all who come through our doors so that average weekly worship attendance will increase at an annual rate of 10 percent.

• Everyone is welcome.  We acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of repentance and forgiveness, and that we cannot claim any moral superiority over those who would seek to participate in our worship and fellowship.  The Law convicts us of sin and separates us from the love of God.  But we proclaim the Good News that Christ was crucified for our sin and raised for our justification, and that He offers salvation to all who repent and believe in Him.
  Goal:  Teams of lay members will be trained and commissioned for the purpose of visiting the sick and homebound, visitors to our worship services, and members who have not been present recently. 

• Everyone has something to contribute. When we accept God’s gracious and merciful gift of reconciliation we are called and set free by the Holy Spirit to do good works in God’s name.  In addition to our pastor, we are all ministers of the Church, and every member has a role to play in the mission of our congregation.  Examples of such roles include:  the stewardship of time and talent in service to the congregation, financial stewardship, serving persons in need both locally and globally, and bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all.
  Goal:  We will help individuals to identify their talents so that more of our members will be inspired to become involved in some kind of service to the congregation.  Our members tend to respond very positively to visible projects that they can support, so we will identify at least one major project for our congregation each year. Goal: Giving by members and visitors will increase at an annual rate of 7 percent.

• Bible study, meditation, prayer, and Christian fellowship are essential to spiritual health.  We believe that time should be set aside for daily prayer and contemplation of God’s gifts.  To further this end, we offer daily devotional resources and small group Bible study opportunities.  We also offer ministries of fellowship for our youth, for Miami students, and for adults.
  Goal: We will increase the number of Miami students who participate in Sunday worship and/or Fridays at Five by 20 percent in academic year of 2008-2009.

• Christian education is an essential task of our congregation.  We offer instruction in the Christian faith for young children and teenagers; and we make learning opportunities available to students in the campus community and to adults who are eager to receive the Good News of Christ.
  Goal:  Active participation in Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, youth ministry, and adult Bible study will increase by 50 percent over the next three years.

• We are committed to serving others – in Oxford, in Ohio, and the world.  Whatever we do for the least of these, we do for our Lord.  We are also dedicated to proclaiming God’s Word to all persons.  Nothing is ever lost that is given away for the sake of Jesus Christ.
  Goal: We will increase the number of people who participate in Faith’s outreach programs in service to others by 10 percent.