With a Little Help from My Friends

I thought about this great Beatles song recently while attending a gathering on the occasion of my good friend John Nunes’ graduation ceremony. John is now officially “Dr.” Nunes, having completed his PhD from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Way to go, John!! During a reception in his honor held after the graduation service, John thanked the group assembled and shared that earning this degree wasn’t his accomplishment, but the result of a joint effort that involved many friends, colleagues and family members who took the journey with him and supported him in many significant ways.

The staff and board of Wheat Ridge was blessed by a little help from our friends a few weeks ago as we began a very important strategic thinking and planning process with a “Future Summit.” In fact, what our friends provided was much more than a little help. Twenty four very talented, perceptive and wise people from our various stakeholder groups – donors, grant recipients, supporting congregations, church bodies and partner organizations – gave of their time, talent and treasure to join us for two days of deep thinking and discernment. The focus of our conversation was the future of our mission – how Wheat Ridge will impact the world through our seeding mission and what “business” model we need in order to sustain and grow our impact.

Our journey through the summit began with a look at our past. Then we explored the present, considering our internal and external environments, including trends that impact the pursuit of our mission. Participants shared “proud ofs” and “sorries” about Wheat Ridge from their perspective. Teams developed several scenarios and descriptions about the work of Wheat Ridge in the future. From all of this work emerged a series of “common ground” statements that captured the collective wisdom of the participants. The statements address concepts and strategies such as long-term equity investment in new ministries, crowd funding and other means of digital engagement, strategic partnerships, high impact grant making and creative outcomes-based funding models. These statements will provide direction as our planning efforts continue. The Summit participants have agreed to continue to pray for our efforts, encourage and help us along the way, and hold the staff and board accountable for action moving forward.

The Summit would not have happened without a little help from many other friends. Generous donors who understand the importance of our strategic efforts are providing significant funding for our planning process. Great friends Chuck Dull, Kurt Bickel and Les Stroh, who are such talented consultants and facilitators, provided outstanding leadership, guidance and structure for the Summit. Another great friend, Gary Hubbell, is using his skills as a planning consultant to help us move from the Summit through the formulation of our strategic plan. Of course, what friends Wheat Ridge has in its office staff, who make meetings like the Summit successful by their careful arrangements and caring attention to the needs of participants, and who keep our ministry moving forward today, even as we plan for the future.

Getting this help from our friends during the Summit is a great blessing and reminds me that helping people get by with a little help from their friends is the work of Wheat Ridge Ministries. We help those with generous hearts and resources become friends with people who have inspired ideas for changing lives so that together they can help others experience the healing touch of Christ and wellness of body, mind and spirit. What a blessing it is to be a friend maker!

Aren’t you glad that God determined early on in the creation story that “it is not good for man to be alone?” Thanks, God, for giving us friends who help us get by, and for creating us to be friends to others. A world filled with friends is a world filled with health and hope!