My dear friends in Christ,

You have probably seen the bulletin inserts and Epistle articles about a new program we are implementing at St. John called The Peter Plan. I want to provide a brief summary of how the plan works and what its goals are as a summary in this Epistle.

How The Peter Plan works

The Peter Plan is simply an expansion of what many WELS congregations currently do in tracking worship attendance. Although we have been tracking attendance a bit differently through the pandemic, we continue to use attendance as one way to gauge the spiritual health of our members. In addition to tracking in-person worship attendance, a number of dedicated elders and members have made phone calls to make sure people have access to our worship services and faith building materials at home. We have also made requests for members to let us know how they are tuning in so that we can more easily narrow down those who are disconnected in some way from St. John ministry and God’s Word.

In many ways, The Peter Plan isn’t anything new. Our elders, with the help of pastors and support of the congregation, have been reaching out to straying members on a regular basis. This plan will improve and formalize the way in which this is accomplished.

The Goals of the Peter Plan

The first goal of The Peter Plan is to make sure that people are fed with God’s Word regularly, even if the circumstances of their life prevent them from being able to attend worship. Saint Peter encourages us to “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care” (1 Peter 5:2). Shepherds find ways to feed the sheep under any circumstances.

With The Peter Plan, we will have an accurate record of someone who has missed worship. People can miss church for legitimate reasons. These individuals will not always contact the church to let us know they are going to be absent. They don’t want to be a burden. These are the people we want to reach, to assure them it is no burden to bring them a devotion and the Lord’s Supper. Maybe their work schedule has prevented them from attending worship. Maybe they’ve been recovering from knee surgery. Maybe they have COVID or other health concerns. We want to continue to serve them with the means of grace. But to do that, we need to have an accurate record of who was able to make it to worship (or participate at home) and who wasn’t.

The second goal of The Peter Plan is illustrated by an event in Peter’s life. Peter drifted away from his Savior, even denying him three times. After, he wondered if Jesus would want to have anything to do with him again. In John chapter 21, Jesus pulls Peter aside, assures Peter that he’s forgiven, and tells Peter he still wants him to serve in the Church. Instead of getting angry, Jesus restored Peter lovingly and gently.

Sometimes, when people drift away from the church, it’s not for legitimate reasons. They lose interest in hearing God’s Word. Or they have an issue with someone at church and don’t want to deal with them. So they stop coming to church. This isn’t healthy. “Faith comes from hearing the message,” (Romans 10:17). The Peter Plan also lets us follow up on members who have been absent from worship for longer periods of time. We want to gently encourage them to return to faithful use of Word and sacrament. And if they refuse, the loving thing to do is let them know they are sinning, and that God is calling them to repent. To not warn people that way would be unloving.

The Peter Plan lets us do this consistently. There is no guesswork. For example, “Has Jim missed for eight weeks or eighteen weeks?” Because we keep consistent records, we know how long Jim has been gone. And we can attempt to restore him gently, just like Jesus did for Peter.

The Peter Plan is a process by which the elders, pastors, and members will reach out to straying members multiple times over a period of nine months to a year. Because our elders have limited resources and because they 2 would also like to refine and improve the program as time goes on, we will begin this process with a smaller group of members with whom we have had no contact for over a year to encourage them to reconnect with God’s Word and with St. John church.

Letters to Move-a-ways

On a side note, our elders have sent letters to members who have moved away encouraging them to find a church home in their area. If you know someone who has moved away from Redwood Falls, please encourage them to find a church home and to contact us to request a transfer of membership. This will allow a local church to feed their souls with the gospel much better and more consistently than we can from a distance. This program pleases our Savior greatly and serves him well. Please pray for this area of ministry at St. John. If you have questions or would like to be involved in some way, please contact me or one of our elders.

To God be the glory!

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Peter Sulzle