By Mary C. Frances, Executive Director and Consultant
It’s almost that time of year again. No, I don’t want to fast forward over Christmas just to get to New Year’s – although I did see a Valentine’s Day display at the store yesterday! I do want to think about what is coming next for us in 2025.
2024 has been quite a year for The FaithX Project. In January we all sat down together and worked on a strategic plan. You see, we do practice what we preach. We know that a road map is crucial in order to know where you are going and how to get there. We also know that oftentimes it is critical to be able to pivot because of roadblocks and detours. Well, we had a number of detours in the last several months. So many that where we are ending 2024 doesn’t really look anything like the plan we had set out early in the year. Things have been messy, stressful and challenging but you know what, even though we didn’t finish 2024 where we had planned, we couldn’t be more excited about how things have progressed and laid the groundwork for a great 2025.
Last week, Steve wrote about the holy work of waiting and watching. Two weeks ago, Ken wrote about the updates and upgrades coming to our Congregational Vitality Assessment 3.0 and other online assessment tools. You see, like the mother octopus sitting on her eggs, we have been hard at work hatching something new. For years we have used a demographic tool that we believed was both valuable and powerful for ministries. This year we took the step of creating our own demographic tool! Coming to you in early 2025, MissionMaps for Faith Communities will offer you and your ministries all the maps, reports and demographics you need to support the discernment and strategic planning you need to connect, serve and grow. The first version available will be MissionMaps Executive, a dashboard with eight data map layers and the Neighborhood Insights Report. Soon we will have a larger version with dozens of map layers and reporting functions. And shortly after that we will add analytics.
The creation of MissionMaps was not on the 2024 strategic plan, but it was a way that we pivoted so that we could serve you in the best way possible. You see, it doesn’t matter whether it’s June or January, we at FaithX resolve to provide you with the best tools and consulting possible so that you can continue to survive and thrive in challenging times. What are you resolving for 2025 and how can we help? Contact us at info@faithx.net.