The Strategic Mission Planning team at “St. Luke” has met twice with the Congregation Support Specialist and has formulated a strategic plan for their church’s ongoing mission. They have nearly finalized their church’s Strategic Mission Plan. It includes the following:

• Mission Statement – What We’re Doing 
• Values Statement – Why We’re Doing This
• Strategies – How We’re Doing This (on a week-by-week and day-by-day basis); and
• Vision Statement – What We’re Becoming

They have identified milestones for the next five years and have a plan by which they will monitor their progress toward those annual milestones. They are clear about how this plan is dynamic, and as changes in their missional context or the resources available to them occur, they can revise the plan. They have invested more than 120 cumulative hours in arriving at these plans, but they need to share this with the congregation as a whole and especially with the leaders of the congregation who have not been part of the mission planning process.

So they hold a third meeting, a wet cement meeting. At this meeting, they present their work and invite comments, questions, and suggestions from the church members and leaders. This is called a wet cement meeting because their work is largely finished. But if need be, the cement is wet, and changes can be made. Most often, these meetings result in only minor suggested edits or changes to the plan. However, this is an important step in the process because the next step is to bring the plan to the congregation for formal adoption.