First-ever Strategic Plan Complete
It’s about church, community and children to engage, support and grow for Mt.
Calvary Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Macomb.
The nine-member strategic planning committee recently wrapped up the church’s inaugural strategic plan (2026-2029), designed to position the church for growth and outreach in the future, according to church and committee member Andrea Henderson. Henderson believes the strategic plan will serve as an important framework for helping the congregation move forward, strengthen its ministry efforts, and expand its impact within the community it serves.
When asked why now in regard to a strategic plan, Henderson noted a key factor in creating the plan, which began in late January and wrapped up last month, was the church’s receipt of a $5,000 Capacity Building Grant from the Tracy Family Foundation. Those funds allowed the church to engage a consultant to begin a more intentional strategic planning process than they would have otherwise been able to undertake.
“The grant provided the resources needed to help us step back, assess where we are and develop a roadmap for the future,” she added. “It was the right time for us to move forward with strategic planning.”
In addition to Henderson, the team includes Fu’a Daniels, Verneata Jones, Marie Coleman, Elder Allen Henderson, Valarie Johnson, Pam Cole, PareLee Brown and Belinda Carr. The members will continue to lead various aspects of the plan, along with other members of the congregation. The plan has three priorities, which include action items under each: Discipleship, led by Andrea Henderson; Community Impact, led by Brown; and Youth Development, led by Allen Henderson. While the church has always had these priorities in place, Henderson and Carr explained that they were more internal to the church and its membership.
“We’ve had programs that involve the community over the years; however, many of our programs and efforts have focused on those within these four walls,” Henderson explained. “There is so much more we can and should do in terms of outreach to better serve our community, while also still focusing on the spiritual and physical growth of our congregation.”
Carr added that growing the church is a central component to the strategic plan so the church can continue to survive and thrive well into the future. The current membership is 40, and the women would like to see it double in the next three to five years. The successful implementation of the plan will help, they stressed.
“We are undergoing a lot of growth potential and we want to have the guidelines and framework in place to support it,” Carr said.
Discipleship is, of course, the main priority, Henderson shared, as the church’s mission is rooted in service to Christ and others. The plan provides for the creation of a structured curriculum to help participants deepen their understanding of God’s word while also learning about the Church of God in Christ as an organization. It will also serve as the impetus to create small groups that are important to the congregation.
“As a Church of God in Christ, we have traditions and ordinances that may be unfamiliar to someone new to our church. Providing foundational knowledge in both Scripture and COGIC teachings helps people grow in their faith and become more connected to the ministry,” Henderson pointed out. “As we grow in faith and numbers, we increase our ability to serve.”
Community Impact builds on what the church has been doing for many years, and that’s taking part in programs within their local community; however, the plan takes this a few steps further.
“We want to strengthen those existing relationships we’ve established over the years in the community, reach out to those who want to partner with us again as they have in the past and form new partnerships,” they said. “We’re a small church, but we’d love to have a greater impact and working with other organizations and agencies in our region can help us achieve that goal.”
One such current partnership is with the Housing Authority of McDonough County, which allows the church to use its community center as a meal site for the Summer Lunch Program. Through this collaboration, the church provides daily meals to approximately 50 children Monday-Friday during the summer months from June - the first week of August.
Youth Development involves one of the biggest visions for the church, and that’s the creation of a Youth/Community Center on church grounds. That vision has been in place since 2006 the women noted.
“We’ve made specific strides to finally make this vision a reality, and by putting it in our strategic plan, we have actions in place,” Henderson stressed.
The initial part of the center included in the strategic plan is to secure sufficient funding to reach the foundation stage of the building, including plumbing and electrical rough-in, by July 2027. Carr, Henderson and Jones, who joined the interview after finishing up the Summer Lunch Program for that day, said they know through their relationships with local children that not many of them have the opportunity to engage in youth-centered activities without a fee and/ or completing a lengthy application for admission to a program or for a scholarship to participate.
“We want to offer a central location for programming to meet the needs of our community, particularly for those members of the northeast side of the community,” Henderson said.
After-school programming, positive role models on-site to guide and lead and various educational, social and recreational events and activities will fill that void, they noted. While youth and families have always been a mission of the church, through the center and other intentional programs as part of the strategic plan, the church will be able to make a greater impact.
“Because there isn’t a lot for the kids of this community, they hang out in parking lots and do things they shouldn’t be doing. This center will be a way to redirect our community’s children,” Jones said. “These children are our future, and if we don’t guide them then they may turn away. It all revolves around love and caring for our community.”
The three leaders also shared that Mt. Calvary COGIC is the most recognized African-American entity in the community, and the oldest Black church in the community, spanning 102 years, it’s essential for others within the city and surrounding areas to recognize the church’s contributions, its impact and its potential to serve and help others.
“There aren’t a lot of people who look like us in the school district or at area employers. There are no CEOs who look like us and very few board members who do,” Carr said. “We want children to see people who look like them making a difference and serving in leadership roles.”
They also agreed it’s important to “lead out” and “teach out” so that others join in to continue the mission, the vision and the plan.
“This center demonstrates that people care.” Henderson concluded. “And that people are willing to invest in real, lasting connections. We go back to the saying ‘It takes a village,’ because a child’s growth and development depend on the care, support and interaction of many. When a child knows people care, it has a ripple effect and the potential to create longterm positive influence.”
