A Note from Pastor Tutwiler

I want to invite you to

consider making Our

Savior Lutheran a more

caring and connected

church. We are launching

a new initiative – Adults

Connecting Together –

designed to enhance how

we care, communicate,

and connect with one

another. Take a few

minutes to review this

material and then I’ll let you

know how you can help.

Pastor Tutwiler

Adults Connecting Together

In 2007 Our Savior conducted a church-wide

survey. Two desires showed up again and

again:

1) Better Connections - Many people felt like they didn’t know

others and were having a hard time getting connected.

2) Better communication – Many people felt like they didn’t

know what was going on and were unsure of who to talk to

when they had questions or concerns.

The Background

In response to these desires the leadership of Our Savior

implemented a number of solutions with mixed results.

Small groups were emphasized, which have proven to be a

meaningful place of connection. But at this point small groups

have only touched about 10% of OSL members.

In order to connect a larger portion of the congregation, every

member was assigned to an elder, but again, the

participation in those gatherings fell short of what was hoped for.

Response to the Survey

Biblical Foundation

… … Love your Love your

neighbor as neighbor as

yourself …yourself …

Matthew 22:39

It’s in light of this background that the leadership of OSL is

launching a new initiative in order to connect every member,

both in relationships and in communication. We’re calling the

effort:

Adults Connecting Together

or ACTs for short.

The Way Forward

Enhance communication

Build new relationships

Strengthen current relationships

Expand care within the OSL family

Objectives

ACTs is designed to:

Picture of the PresentOur Savior Lutheran Church

334 families 987 members At present OSL is made

up of 334 member

families. Of this

number, some are well

connected in a small

group or Sunday

School class, or they’ve

just been around long

enough to know a fair

number of people and

to be in the know.

Picture of the PresentOur Savior Lutheran Church

334 families 987 members When life hits – like a

job loss, the connected

people have people to

turn to, people who

can pray for them and

encourage them and

serve them, like

bringing a meal when

needed. These people

are connected to

people who are

connected to other

people who can help.

Loss of job

Prayer Chain, Stephen Ministry, Meals, etc.

Picture of the PresentOur Savior Lutheran Church

334 families 987 members But consider what

happens when life hits

one of the many

members who are not

well connected. A

member suffers a job

loss. Where does this

person turn for support

and help in time of

need?

Loss of job

Prayer Chain, Stephen Ministry, Meals, etc.

Loss of job

???

???

A Recent ExampleLet me give you an example from earlier

this year. One of our members suffered

the loss of their house in a fire. While a

few people knew of the event and

responded, most people remained

unaware.

Our response to the need was less than what we would have desired. Since that time as people hear of this story, the response is the same: “I wish I had known, I would have liked to help.”

ACTs is designed to help on both fronts: we know when people are in need and we mobilize the resources of OSL to meet those needs. As a result, people are connected and cared for.

How ACTs Will WorkHere’s how ACT will work: Everyone is connected to someone. No

one is responsible for more than four people.

So we have four people we will call Tier 1. Each of the four on Tier 1

is connected to four more people. Now we have Tier 1 with 4 people

and Tier 2 with 16. Each of the 16 are connected to four people

forming a Tier 3 made up of 64 people.

Each of Tier 3 are connected to four people,

giving us 256 families on Tier 4 and a total of

340 families all connected to one another.

Remember how many families are at Our Savior

– 334. So we have everyone connected.

Here is a picture of ACT …

The Basic ACT Structure

4

16

64

256

340

ACTAdminOur Savior Lutheran Church

334 families 987 members

ACTs in ActionNow when someone has a need or a question, they know at least

one person to call – the person overseeing their four. That person

may not have an answer, but they can pass on the issue to the

person overseeing them. When a major need arises, like a house

burning down, we can spread the word throughout the entire ACT

structure.

ACTs in ActionImagine the difference ACT would make in responding to a house fire.

Within hours we have meals organized for the next two weeks.

Stephen Ministry is alerted and has someone onsite providing support.

Others provide a change of clothes and toothbrushes for the entire

family. Within two days realtors in the church have identified several

rental properties for the family to look at for temporary housing. You

get the picture: both the one receiving and the one giving are blessed

as they experience the joy of being a part of God’s church family.

Here’s a picture of

ACTs in action …

ACTs in ActionACT

Admin

Loss of jobor house

“Everyone connected to someone, no one walks alone.”

Coordinates the mobilization of OSL to connect people with the people and resources to meet the need.

ACTs Benefits Better connected

Better informed

A place to ask questions and get answers

A better OSL

ACTs Communication

ACTs is designed to communicate: Church wide programs

Benevolence/people issues

Emergencies

Vision/goal updates

Questions regarding programs or goals

ACTs CommunicationACTs is NOT designed to communicate:

Personal projects and businesses

Gossip

Misdirected complaints and criticisms

Violations of the 8th commandment

ACTs CommunicationOn all ACTs communications you will find on the subject line: Our Savior/ACTs: (Our Savior/ACTs: (subject of e-mailsubject of e-mail))

ACTs: Next Steps

At present the four Tier 1 slots are filled and the twenty Tier 2 slots are filled. We now look to fill the sixty four Tier 3 slots.

ACTs is launching in a beta phase where each Tier 2 leader will oversee a group of 20 families. Over the next two months, Tier 3 leaders will be identified in each group of 20.

We need you to step up and fill a Tier 3 slot.

This means overseeing four families who will each be overseeing four families. Please contact Art Hinrichs to let him know of your interest in helping out. You can reach Art at hinrichs@hughes.net.

A look at the present matrix with actual names …

ACTs Implementation

Hinrichs

Burg

ess

Gorm

an

Korte

Taylor

Kind

ler

Knig

ht

You

ng

Ch

ristian

sen

Birm

ing

ha

m

Klovstad

Nim

tz

Scrabe

ck

Whalen

You

ng

Zappe

Kram

er

Janco

Stevens

Carpenter

Cargill Tier 2

Tier 1

ACTs Administrator

ACTs FAQHow do I communicate with the four I oversee?

Communication primarily takes place over e-mail.

What if I don’t know the answer to a question or am not in a position to do anything about the problem?

You will be provided with training and resources to help you know where to send people for most of the questions you will encounter. When you don’t know an answer, simply pass the question up to the person overseeing you and they will assist. Your primary role is not meeting every need, but in connecting people with the people who can meet their need.

Will this require a lot of meetings?

There will be one or two training sessions early on, but once the program is up and running we don’t anticipate the need for many meetings.

ACTs FAQWhat if someone has a lot of complaints or criticisms?

One goal of ACTs is to help people not fall into the sin of gossip and violate the 8th Commandment. We do this by making clear we won’t participate in gossip. At the same time we want people to talk to the right people about their concerns. We’ll show you how you can re-direct a person to voice their concerns to the person.

Is ACTs going to fill my inbox with a lot of e-mail?

We will limit the kinds of communication that can be sent on the ACTs structure. It will not be used for personal announcements.

Will this require a lot of time?

Once we are up and running, the primary time will be checking in with your four every couple of weeks through e-mail. If a major event takes place, we’ll need to scramble and help out, but for the most part we don’t anticipate this take a lot of time to maintain.

A Final Word from Pastor Tutwiler

I believe ACT will be used

by God to bless our

congregation. The question

for you: will you help make

it happen?

I’ll be praying for you as

you consider what role God

would have you play in

making us a caring and

connected church.

Pastor Tutwiler