NPC Congregational Mission and Vision Study
Guided by the Holy Spirit, Northminster Presbyterian Church seeks to call a Co-Pastor to serve alongside its Pastor/Head of Staff, the Reverend Dr. Andrew (Andy) Ross, who will transition to emeritus status at a date to be determined. The Associate Pastor, the Reverend Kenneth (Ken) D. Skodiak, will retire at the end of 2024. After 29 years of wonderful ministry among us, we are sending Pastor Ken into retirement with great love. Now with joy and anticipation, we await to see what God has planned for Northminster Church. There is also joy as we reflect on the exciting story of Northminster’s witness in the Tucson community and as we study our opportunities for a fruitful future.
MISSION &
VISION STUDY
2024
Mission and Vision Study
Northminster Presbyterian Church
Tucson, Arizona
August 1, 2024
Holy Spirit from creation’s birth
Giving life to all that God has made
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise
Lead us on the road of sacrifice
That in unity the face of Christ
May be clear for all the world to see.
Lyrics from
“Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God”
Prepared by the Personnel Committee of Northminster Presbyterian Church, serving as the Mission Study Team
(Kathy Lee, Pierre Mpayimana, Paul Pronze, Andy Ross (ex officio), Susan Stockton, Curtis Thorne, Laura Ullrich, and
Marshall Worden), in consultation with the Reverend E. Stanley Ott, Ph.D. (Leading Moments®, LLC), and with creative,
communication and technical support and guidance from Sheila Yamanaka and Chris Yamanaka.
Introduction
Guided by the Holy Spirit, Northminster Presbyterian Church seeks to call a Co-Pastor to serve
alongside its Pastor/Head of Staff, the Reverend Dr. Andrew (Andy) Ross, who will transition to
emeritus status at a date to be determined. The Associate Pastor, the Reverend Kenneth (Ken)
D. Skodiak, will retire at the end of 2024. After 29 years of wonderful ministry among us, we are
sending Pastor Ken into retirement with great love. Now with joy and anticipation, we await to
see what God has planned for Northminster Church. There is also joy as we reflect on the
exciting story of Northminster’s witness in the Tucson community and as we study our
opportunities for a fruitful future.
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MISSION & VISION STUDY 2024
NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Figure 1: The gathered Northminster Church family on Pentecost in May 2024
Section ll
Mission 2024
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MISSION & VISION STUDY 2024
NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
The
gathered
Northminster
Church
family on Pentecost in May 2024 (Figure
1) gave testimony to our church’s vision:
“To equip every generation to know
Jesus and demonstrate his love to those
they know.” A photograph only partially
conveys the joy, the love of Christ, and
the unity in the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit experienced that day. There is no
soundtrack and so one cannot hear that
the Gospel of Jesus Christ was boldly
and clearly proclaimed, that God was
praised in English, Kirundi and Arabic,
and that a great variety of singers and
instrumentalists witnessed to our risen
Lord.
At Northminster Church personal spiritual growth and Kingdom expansion are the
object of the REACH ministry. REACH is a philosophy of being and doing church
where we pray and seek God’s inspiration and help so that every person in our church
is extending their reach to the individuals in their lives who need God’s love, who
need God’s hope and healing. REACH builds on the idea that our personal mission
fields consist of those friends, neighbors, and people with whom we work, go to
school, or just see regularly. This includes believers who are actively pursuing their
faith, believers who are not actively pursuing their faith, and those who have not yet
placed their faith in Jesus Christ. All adults, youth, and children are asked to be part of
a five step REACH mission:
Northminster’s stated purpose is to “Bring people to Jesus.”
How does that happen?
Identify the 8 to 15 people God has brought to your life’s front row and write their
names on your REACH prayer list.
Pray every day for the people on your REACH prayer list, asking God to help them
know Jesus, feel his presence, and walk in his love.
Invest in the people on your REACH prayer list, seeking ways to spend time with
them, creating opportunities for faith conversations and sharing good things God
has done in your life.
Invite people on your REACH prayer list into faith experiences such as worship
services, church events, Life Groups and areas of service.
Prepare by continuing to become a more effective witness of God’s grace, making
God’s mission your mission.
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NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
MISSION & VISION STUDY 2024
Congregants and REACH guests will encounter and be invited to be part of many faith
experiences at Northminster, including for example:
Worship, Praise and Prayer.
Three distinctive worship services greet each Sunday morning: a contemporary service with
praise team and band; a traditional service with pipe organ and choir; and an ARISE service
in the heart language of Kirundi with praise team, band and dancing. These services are
livestreamed with real-time volunteer chat hosts, available on demand on Northminster’s
website and YouTube Channel, and rebroadcasted on Northminster’s radio program (True
North) on Sunday evening as well as Monday through Friday mornings. A prayer minister is
present in the Prayer Garden after services to offer support and prayer for those so desiring.
A Zoom prayer circle also is available each week. Three to five-minute online Daily
Devotions by the pastors are posted Monday through Friday and an ARISE Prayer and
Praise Service is held on Friday evenings. The Middle Eastern Presbyterian Fellowship
(MEPF) has been a blessed part of the worship fabric at Northminster Church since 2008.
The Reverend Eshak (Isaac) Estafanos pastors the fellowship, with services in Arabic every
Sunday morning.
Engagement in Mission.
Northminster Church fosters a mindset for participatory mission
by providing local, national and global mission trips and
engagement, conferences, classes and prayer teams. Global
mission partnerships are maintained in Estonia, Mexico, Panama
and Central America, Nigeria and Ghana, Malawi, and Ethiopia.
For over twenty-five years, intercultural and intergenerational
mission trips have annually constructed homes and churches and
held children’s outreach for Mayan Presbyterians in the Yucatan
as well as in the neighborhoods of Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point),
Sonora, Mexico. Mission trips, in association with Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance and Praying Pelican Missions, have provided
relief and reconstruction in Louisiana, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
Local mission bonds and volunteer commitment are especially
strong with the Gospel Rescue Mission (men’s and women’s
shelter), Cragin Elementary School, and Interfaith Community
Services.
Northminster Christian School.
Our preschool has since 1998 provided a Christ-centered environment where each child
learns and grows emotionally, physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Children are
nurtured in the love of Jesus Christ and provided positive learning experiences in a play-
based setting open to children of all races, nationalities and faiths. Alongside weekly chapel
services, God’s word is integrated into every area of the preschool ministry. The expanded
and completely reconstructed children’s courtyard, commissioned In June 2024, provides a
vibrant new play area for the preschool and Northminster’s children's ministry.
While MEPF is a mission ministry of the Presbytery de Cristo, Northminster Church provides a chapel and technology for
worship, a manse on the Northminster campus for the pastor and his family, office and fellowship space as well as financial
support.
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NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
MISSION & VISION STUDY 2024
Food and Meal Ministries.
Deacons and dozens of volunteers extend material
and
spiritual
care
to
Tucsonans
who
are
experiencing homelessness and poverty as well as
to our own members. On Tuesday mornings at
Northminster Church, regularly joined by a
violinist, essential groceries, clothing and prayer
are provided to 100+ individuals. On Monday
evenings since 2012, a volunteer-led grab & go or
sit-down meal is served in the Fellowship Hall to a
similar number. DINE-1-1 provides temporary
meal assistance to church members going through
the challenges of illness, surgery and rehab
recovery, loss of a loved one, or the arrival of a
new baby. Northminster youth annually share in
World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine as a vicarious
experience, during which they are part of a “Rise
Against Hunger” meal packaging event.
Refugee and Immigrant Ministries (RIM).
For over ten years, RIM has sought to integrate refugees and immigrants into the fellowship of
Northminster Church. The ministry secures legal assistance and housing for refugees and assists
in the reunification of families separated by geography and political turmoil. By nurturing
mentoring relationships, RIM helps to overcome the obstacles related to having been displaced
from one’s homeland. Mentoring helps to establish relationships among Northminster Church
members as brothers and sisters who follow Jesus Christ together. RIM is a reciprocal partner
with Tucson Refugee Ministry and works with other Tucson agencies and ministries that serve
refugees and asylum seekers.
Outreach and Fellowship Ministries.
Vacation Bible School, sustained by volunteers, brings throngs of
kiddos from church and community along with explosive joy and
excitement. Other events throughout the year offer REACH
occasions, including Golden Swarm (seniors) luncheons, outings
and adventures; special worship services (Evensong, Maundy
Thursday/Tenebrae, and Blessing of the Animals); separate
summer camps for preschoolers, children, as well as junior and
senior high students at Forest Home; and summer movie nights.
Greet ‘N Treat on Halloween has attracted 1,000 children and
their families annually for the past 17 years. The Neighborfest
Pancake Breakfast is tailored to the church and our adjacent
community, while thousands of Tucson citizens and visitors will
find Northminster Church at the nationally acclaimed Tucson
Festival of Books as well as the Kirkin’ service as part of the
Tucson Celtic Festival. Finally, a Thanksgiving Day Dinner for the
church family affords a time of magnificent fellowship for those
who otherwise may be alone or isolated.
The Authority of Scripture — “Sola Scriptura”
All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God to be the final authority for faith and
life.
God — The Trinity
There is only one living and true God, whom alone we serve, worship, and trust. He is
the creator of all things and has sovereign dominion over them. God has eternally
existed in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Humanity — Creation and Fall
God created humanity, male and female, in his own image and likeness. God gave
humanity free will. Because of the disobedience of our first parents, they fell from the
state in which they were created, bringing all humanity into a state of sin and misery.
Without God’s intervening grace and salvation, all of humanity is lost and condemned.
Jesus Christ — Person and Atoning Work
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born
of the virgin Mary, and was without sin. Jesus willingly sacrificed himself, dying on the
cross as our substitute, and thereby making atonement for our sin. Jesus’ same
physical body was resurrected from the dead and Jesus ascended into heaven, from
where he will come again to earth to judge all of humanity. Salvation is through Jesus
Christ alone.
Salvation — By Grace Alone Through Faith Alone Because of Christ Alone
God promises eternal life to all who truly repent and believe in Christ. The Holy Spirit
regenerates people by his grace and, by so doing, convicts them of sin, moves them to
repentance, and persuades and enables them to embrace Jesus Christ by faith. The
Holy Spirit unites all believers to Christ.
The Church
By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, all believers, being united to Christ who is the
Head, are thus united to one another in the Church, which is his body. True churches
are distinguished by three marks: the true preaching of the Word of God, the right
administration of the sacraments of Christ, and church discipline rightly administered
according to God’s Word.
The Sacraments
The sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace instituted by God to
represent Christ and the promises of the gospel. There are two sacraments: Baptism
and the Lord’s Supper.
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NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
MISSION & VISION STUDY 2024
In all these ministries and endeavors, Northminster Church presents itself as a confessional
church guided by seven Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, adapted from the
Presbytery of San Diego and here abbreviated:
In addition to these Essential Tenets, Northminster is guided by four complementing
statements of faith:
That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, alone is Lord of all and “salvation is found in no
one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we
must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
That holy Scripture is God’s revealed Word, the Church’s only infallible rule of
faith and life. We celebrate that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
That God’s will and guidance for all people, as revealed in Scripture, is a call to
holiness and wholeness in all aspects of life. This includes honoring the sanctity
and fidelity of marriage between a man and a woman and chastity in singleness.
We uphold that “the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord for the body” (I Corinthians 6:13b).
That in response to the teaching of Scripture and knowing God as our Creator
(Psalm 139:13-16), we uphold the sanctity of human life from conception until
death.
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NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
MISSION & VISION STUDY 2024
Section III.
Vision 2030
In 2 Timothy, Paul exhorts his co-worker and disciple, as he does
Northminster Church today and into the future,
to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the
laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a
spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to
testify about our Lord.
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NORTHMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
MISSION & VISION STUDY 2024
How might Northminster Church do so?
Jesus Joy.
Northminster Church will continue to celebrate, with no slowing, its call and mission to
give glory to God, to enjoy the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to bring people to Jesus.
We eschew singular passions, justice causes or political opinions because it is key that our
congregation stay joyfully centered in Jesus as the only hope of salvation for the world
through the work and ministries of his church.
Eager Evangelism.
Northminster Church will continue, with passion, to equip its members to practice a
REACH mentality and ecclesiology. We will continue to teach and promote personal
discipleship that prays for individuals in our lives. We will continue to explore ways to
encourage and offer worship services and gospel events that are REACH-assisting,
REACH-effective.
Biblically Inspired.
Northminster Church will maintain a passion for empowered Reformed worship and to be
guided by God’s scripture, studying God’s Word, and doing worship and mission in a spirit
of encouragement and joy that derives from our baptisms in Christ.
Unity Community.
Northminster Church will continue to focus on our unity and life in Jesus Christ, beyond
partisan affiliations, cultural and ethnic differences, and competing opinions.
Growing Young.
Northminster Church yearns to grow young and youthful in our makeup, leadership, and
staffing and to be a church that ministers to and with children and youth. We expect to
integrate young people into roles of service and leadership. It is a priority to develop a
vibrant college fellowship, with mentoring, fellowship events and outreach to students,
faculty and staff at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College campuses.
Interculturally Rich.
Immigrants will continue to enrich Northminster Church as it follows God’s call to not
simply be multicultural (allowing for and honoring cultural distinctions in life and worship)
but intercultural in how we celebrate, minister together and integrate disciples of various
nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, and languages. Northminster Church hopes, in
partnership with Presbytery de Cristo, to soon fully include the Middle Eastern
Presbyterian Fellowship in the church’s membership. Within one mile of Northminster,
one-quarter of the population is Hispanic and 13 percent use Spanish as their primary
language. Northminster Church will prayerfully seek to discern if God is calling a Spanish-
speaking fellowship into our midst.
Tech Fluent.
Northminster Church will continue to be wise and strategic about the use of audiovisual
production and aesthetically pleasing technologies that connect Gospel outreach with
people in our community.
Encouraging Health.
Northminster Church will improve its ministries by promoting good stewardship of our
physical and mental health in a spirit of fellowship and encouragement. Opportunities
abound: hiking and walking, basketball and other team sports, golf, cycling, tennis,
swimming, tap dancing, aerobics and stretching, and weightlifting.
Mission City.
Northminster Church will continue to play an active role in caring for the Tucson
community. We will seek to grow our historic presence and partnership with Cragin
Elementary School and to build new supportive connections with other nearby schools.
We aspire to become more involved in Tucson community ministries that serve the
citywide church by deepening our relations with J17 Ministries, the Gospel Rescue
Mission, Tucson Refugee Ministry and other Arizona churches and Christian ministries.
Globally Linked.
Northminster Church will grow wider, deeper and stronger in its commitment to the
mission of God by maintaining direct engagement and participation with individual
missionaries and Gospel-centered ministries across the globe, all the while being strategic
in these relationships.
Facility Witness.
Northminster Church’s buildings and campus offer a testimony of beauty and grace to our
neighborhoods and visitors. While maintaining an aesthetic of inspiration, we will
enhance, improve and modernize our aging facilities. A volunteer gardening and
landscaping team is needed to maintain an oasis appeal to the campus. Significantly larger
fellowship space and additional parking are needed. To be a citywide church and a greater
witness of Christ, satellite campuses should be considered.
Prayer Passionate.
Northminster Church will become more passionate about our life of prayer, individually
and together. An expanded prayer ministry will explicitly and intentionally connect and
involve all ministries, ministers, teachers, staff and congregants.
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