Ministry Action Plan: Board of Music & Fine Arts – 2018

STEP ONE

Align the specific ministry purpose to the overall church vision, mission, and strategy; then, explain how your plan contributes to the church’s mission purpose.

In this step, the team will review the ministry mission or purpose. This clarity will ensure that each team member understands why your ministry exists.

  1. Record your ministry team’s current mission statement below.

It shall be the duty of this board to (1) develop, organize, promote and evaluate a comprehensive program of music and arts to provide an integral contribution to the overall mission of the Church; (2) provide music and art for the worship services of this Church; and (3) foster spiritual growth and enrichment of the Plymouth membership through music and the arts.

The mission of the Arts @ Plymouth is to explore, nurture, and celebrate the relationship among artistic expression, personal enrichment and spiritual growth. Through offerings that reflect the church’s ministry and mission we seek to enrich Sunday morning worship, offer artistic programs for children, youth and families, and present outstanding free concerts for our congregation and community.

  1. Review your ministry team’s mission statement against the following criteria:
  2. Does the mission have a primary target audience? If so, specifically describe the main target audience and possible secondary audiences.

The target audience is the Plymouth membership that attends worship, and those who offer their time and talent to provide music and visual arts for Saturday and Sunday worship. The secondary audience is the community that attends worship as visitors, and those who attend music/arts events throughout the year as offered.

  1. Does the mission align with the overall church vision, mission, or strategy? Describe how this particular ministry contributes to the overall success of the church’s vision, mission, or strategy.

It is the goal of the Music and Fine Arts Department to provide music/art that inspires, nurtures and supports the spiritual development of our target audiences. Those who participate in the performing ensembles strive to offer an experience of God through music and the arts. The mission aligns with the church mission by contributing to excellence in worship through outstanding music and visual arts; musical education of children, specifically sacred music; musical poetry that reflects our progressive theology; and openness and inclusivity that says all are welcome.

The language in the Board’s Mission Statement does not reflect the heart and soul essence of our experience as givers or receivers. It is the goal this year of the Board of Music and Fine Arts to continue to look at all we do through the lens of “growing in love of God and neighbor,” revise our reporting through the MAP so that it becomes more of a living document, and expect our Committees, governing teams, and performing ensembles to expand the use of their individual MAPs as an outgrowth of the BMFA.

STEP TWO

Evaluate which ministry goals, plans, strategies, activities, and tactics were successful, need strengthening, or need elimination.

  1. List what you believe have been your team’s major outcomes and accomplishments both in terms of what you accomplished and how it was done.
  2. We again offered meaningful and spiritually heart-felt performance in music and visual arts for worship and special events, led by staff that inspires excellence.
  3. Through authentic standards, goals and performance, we attracted new members to all our ensembles and groups.
  4. We participated in conversations that engaged our Board, Committees and performing ensemble governing teams, to look at all we do through a standard of call and service to our target audience, our core values and strategic initiatives.
  5. List what you believe were the critical success factors in these accomplishments:
  6. Long term commitment of participants in our performing ensembles and visual arts groups
  7. High expectations of giving one’s best to God, the people of Plymouth Church, and one another as a response to the call to serve
  8. A high energy around the strategic initiatives and how the new vision towards “growing in love of God and neighbor” infuses spirit into all we do
  9. List what your team’s primary disappointments, difficulties, or misses both in terms of what you were trying to achieve and how objectives were ultimately accomplished:
  10. We were not able to offer more intergenerational opportunities
  11. Inability to offer more arts programming to non-singing arts events to children, youth and adults through the Chancel Arts and Gallery Committees.
  12. Completing a MAP document for monthly Board review proved more difficult than anticipated due to the performing nature of our groups
  13. List the critical aspects which mediated against success (these may have been controllable or uncontrollable):

a.Difficulty finding time to collaborate within our own department and other departments within the church due to existing commitments, meetings, and performing expectations

b.The challenges of participants’ busy schedules impeding their ability to reach out to the community because of commitments already scheduled for worship and other arts events/activities

c. Lack of staffing funds to hire professionals to facilitate part-time arts programming for music, arts projects, events, and new performing groups

  1. List what activities, strategies, tactics, etc. you will eliminate:

At this time we do not plan to eliminate any of our activities, as we are preparing for a new Director of Music and Fine Arts.

  1. List what activities, strategies, tactics, etc. you will modify:

Same as #5

STEP THREE

Determine what new goals, plans, strategies, activities and tactics are needed for next year.

  1. List what additional new outcomes, activities, strategies, tactics, etc. you will pursue and utilize this year:
  2. Utilizing a new review process through the lens of the MAP employing a format to discuss current progress from the standpoint of our goals, rather than merely reporting on what happened.
  3. Utilizing a monthly review process through the lens of the MAP goals to discuss past and future events/elements of the Department of Music & Fine Arts.
  4. Projects:
  5. Intergenerational opportunities for choirs and performing ensembles
  6. Continue to examine and integrate art that provides strong connections to Plymouth’s Core Values and the entire community.
  7. Theatre Group will continue to look for meaningful opportunities for the spoken word to be integrated into worship and for sacred theatrical productions

STEP FOUR

Set your goals and/or outcomes for next year.

Your ministry will pursue many different goals, activities, programs, etc., but not all are of equal importance. Because the church has finite resources, church leaders must make strategic decisions about funding. To that end, each ministry is asked to determine the following:

  1. What are your goals or outcomes in order of priority, with “1” being most important?

#1 – To support the new Director of Music and Fine Arts as they become familiar with

the culture, mission, acitivities, and oversight of music and fine arts programming.

#2 – To have in place adequate leadership to assist the new Director.

#3 –

What are your essential (must have ministry and funding needs (without these your ministry will fail)?

  1. Continue to offer outstanding musical and artistic presentations for worship
  2. Continue to retain and hire competent trained professionals to direct our adult, youth and children’s choirs, and Plymouth Bells.
  3. Continue to fund the hiring of professional instrumental musicians for worship, special concerts and events.
  4. Continue to offer additional music and arts events through the Arts @ Plymouth
  5. Continue to enhance worship in the sanctuary and Waveland Hall during the special seasons of the church
  6. Continue to hire music and arts professionals from the community to enhance worship and stimulate spiritual growth through the arts
  1. What are your expanded (would really like to have) ministries and funding needs?

a. the formation and financial support of a youth bell group (grades 7-12)

  1. What are your advanced (innovative) ministries and funding needs?

Because of the hire of a new Director of Music and Fine Arts the Board is not currently visioning and planning programming for the 2017-18 program year.

STEP FIVE

Validate each budget line item under your responsibility with previous year’s budget expenditures.

Music Supplies: ability to replace outdated, worn out, and damaged materials (choir folders, music stands, educational materials used by our children’s choir directors, music library storage, office supplies, music paper supplies.) The cost of supplies is continually rising.

Middle School, Children’s Music, Youth Music, Adult Music, Handbell Music*, Instrumental Music line items are essential to the ability to purchase new and relevant music that represents our progressive theology; new music for ensembles as number of participants and individuals abilities ebb and flow; and the ever increasing cost of music and supplies. Each year the cost of individual choir anthems and instrumental music rise. An anthem that cost $1.25 five years ago, is likely to now cost $2.75 – $3.75.

Professional Resources (professional musicians) – enhanced worship through instrumental accompaniment not available in our church. These musicians play as an independent ensemble (Plymouth Brass Consort), or accompany anthems for choirs and bells. Our goal is to have a professional ensemble play in worship once a month throughout the program year.

Instrumental Maintenance: necessary regular tuning of our rehearsal and sanctuary pianos.

Chancel Art: new visuals in worship for both the sanctuary and Waveland Hall require purchase of new materials

Gallery: purchase of supplies related to new exhibits. The Gallery is a big evangelism tool as many from the community come into the church to view our exhibits.

Theatre Committee: minimal amount necessary to produce non-worship theatre productions. As this Committee grows, more funds may be required.

Music Licenses: required by law for use of printed words to the songs and hymns in the bulletins for Saturday night worship.

Saturday Night Music and Misc: for the purchase of new music and supplies for worship/outreach for this worship service. Their requirements for music and musicians is unique from Sunday worship.

Organ Maintenance: upkeep of our pipe organ is necessary to insure we have the best instrument for worship and to ensure that we are avoiding costly big repairs by regular maintenance.

Validity

• Is the line item still needed? – each line item of the BMFA budget is still needed to

support the core value of “EXCELLENCE IN WORSHIP” and the strategic initiatives as

they relate to our Department

• Was the line item a one-time need that has already been filled? – no

Effectiveness

• Is the item accomplishing its objective or adequately supporting the

accomplishment of an objective? We believe that all line items are accomplishing the

objectives of the individual groups in support of the church’s applicable core values and

strategic initiatives.

• Does the item relate to the achievement of the church’s vision/mission? Yes, we

believe that all we do supports the call to grow in love of God and neighbor, supports

our Core Value of “Excellence in Worship” and supports the strategic initiatives.

Efficiency

• Is there a way to accomplish the same thing with less financial resources and/or

fewer human resources? No, there is not.

• Have competitive bids been solicited from suppliers and service providers? NA

• Is there duplication of ministries going on within the church? No

Expansion

• How can more be accomplished if additional resources are available?

• Can more people become involved if additional resources are available?

• Can more people be reached/helped if additional resources are available?

• What needs have surfaced in the ministry that can be met if additional resources are

available?

You have completed the ministry planning phase, and you and your team members have developed a plan for effectively fulfilling your mission and addressing the issues identified through your team evaluation. Please list your budget requests in three funding levels – essential, expanded and advanced.

Essential: We are requesting additional funds of 1,000 beyond last year’s budget for yearly maintenance to our White Chapel handbells, but have asked for no additional funds to any other area. 2018 BMFA proposed budget: $

Expanded:

Advanced: We are asking for no advanced funds at this time.

Submitted