Long Range Plan

Vision Statement

We shall love the Lord our God with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our minds, and we shall love our neighbors as ourselves. Adapted from Matthew 22:36-39.

As Orthodox Christians serving the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church we are committed to the growth and development of the facilities and programs of St. Nicholas, as we seek to promote and expand the mission of Christ in and around the St. Louis area.

Mission Statement

The Mission of the St. Nicholas Long Range Planning Committee is to provide a reasoned, complete, and effective Long Range Plan for the St. Nicholas Community. This shall take into consideration all aspects of the Church’s operation, including, but not limited to:

  • The development and funding of the Highway 40 property (consistent with the wishes of the Metropolitan and the parish)
  • The use and enhancement of St. Nicholas Church
  • The advancement of the Church’s school, youth, and religious programs and ministries for both children and adults.

This Mission shall be consistent with the fundamentals of Orthodox Christian theology, fostering a loving and Christian environment so as to attract greater numbers of regularly attending worshipers. The Long Range Plan will also address all issues relating to Church membership, including those related to interfaith marriages, and the maintenance and growth of the Church’s finances, including but not limited to fund raisers for special events, church offerings, bequests, and stewardship programs.

Core Values of the Long Range Planning Committee (Condensed from the approved version)

As members of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Long Range Planning Committee, we will respect and consider the positions and sensitivities of others, and we will strive to provide a forum for interested parishioners to participate in the debate and decision making process.

We believe that everyone must be treated fairly and without bias, and that we can achieve more by working together than on our own. We pledge to engage in the highest level of mutual cooperation with other members of the committee and the community.

We will create a bold and dynamic Long Range Plan for the community by leveraging the diversity of our talents deriving expertise from all levels of the Community and managing through deliberate consensus.

We honor and impart principles of honesty, freedom, truth, and integrity. As committed stewards, we have a responsibility to contribute to our community’s religious, social, cultural, aesthetic, ethical, and economic well-being. We will follow through on promises and lead by example and we will guard and conserve the community’s resources with the same vigilance that we would use to guard and conserve our own personal resources.

We will promote open and honest sharing of information and experience. We will stress transparency and disclosure in all our endeavors. We will gather and learn the latest information for use in developing and implementing our Long Range Plan, using sound data in the decision-making process.