Strategic Plan 2020

Strategic Plan 2020

In January the Central Council of the Centre for Christian Studies concluded a visioning and planning conversations and adopted a new strategic plan. The Central Council was ably guided through visioning and strategic planning by Kirsten Earl-McCorrister of KEM Consulting – a name that might sound familiar, as she previously was staff here at CCS!

We are excited about our vision and plan! We believe that the world and the church need the gifts of diaconal ministry now more than ever – and that our education models aren’t just well-suited to formation for vocational diaconal ministers but also provide excellent learning opportunities for professional development of clergy and laypeople. We offer fantastic transformative education, through which people can learn how to live their theology – and we are excited to stretch and get the word out more widely about CCS!

The vision

The vision of this strategic plan is to broaden and diversify the CCS community by broadening the CCS community, resulting in:

• Increased student numbers
• Increased number of donors, supporters and advocates
• Stabilized income both through new supporters and through grants

The strategic priorities

Based on the suggestions and ideas explored during the visioning process, Council meetings and conversations over the past eight months, four strategic priorities have emerged:

1. Develop and enact a CCS recruitment and marketing strategy (including hiring a new staff position and/or contracts) to attract new and diverse students to existing and expanded programs.
2. Continue to adapt to meet the needs of a changing church and world, implementing the recommendations of the 2017 program review
3. Explore the market for and feasibility of offering consulting services
4. Integrate the changes in recruitment and programming into the financial, communication and development strategies of CCS

The Next Steps

We are moving into implementing our first priority: a more effective recruitment and marketing strategy for the Centre. We know God continues to call people towards ministries of care, justice and faith development – and those people are looking for a community in which to reflect theologically on their experiences and the world. We’re looking forward to the journeys together!