Charting the Future: Priorities for the Episcopal Church in Idaho

On Friday, February 7th, diocesan leaders from the Episcopal Church in Idaho gathered in Twin Falls for a transformative discussion on the church’s future. The Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, clergy, and diocesan staff came together to prayerfully discern the spiritual, missional, and budget priorities that will shape our path forward.
After two days of working in small groups, twelve priorities emerged in each category. To better understand the common themes, we grouped them by topic and measured how many groups aligned on each issue. The results paint an inspiring picture of where we feel called to serve:

Faith & Theology 

• Love God & our neighbor as ourselves
• Embed the Bible in everything we do
• Churches & Sacraments
• Spiritual roadmaps

Everyday Christian Life 

• Every day spirituality, not just Sunday
• Promote loving kindness

Evangelism & Outreach 

• Share tolerant Jesus with people
• Learn how to talk about our church

Clergy & Congregational Relationships 

• Clergy developing relationships with congregants

Education & Formation 

• Education for lay people

Difficult Conversations

• Engaging in difficult discussions

Evangelism & Outreach 

• Resources for evangelism, advertising, marketing & growth
• Sharing God’s news inside and outside the church
• To make Christ known
• Person-to-person evangelism outside of the church focused on people aged 1-30

Church Cooperation & Growth

• Inter-church cooperation
• Conversations towards common goals

Clergy & Parish Consistency

• Consistent clergy in the parishes

Welcoming & Inclusion 

• Welcoming

Diocesan Identity & Communication 

• Diocese level inter-communication & resourcing
• Idaho Diocese mission statement

Education

• Education

Meaningful Message

• Meaningful message for all people

Evangelism & Growth Support 

• Diocesan support for evangelism
• Evangelism, especially in youth ministry – A Diocesan youth leader

Education & Formation 

• Focus on education & formation, possibly create a Canon for Education position
• Programs for spiritual formation and small group communications

Church & Clergy Support

• Consistent clergy presence in every church
• Communications & treasury staff to support smaller congregations

Financial & Resource Management 

• Better use of designated funds
• Fundraiser/grant writer for smaller churches

Diocesan Programming & Community Engagement 

• Programs & community activities
• Camp leadership in/for the parishes (camp activities in church beyond camp times)

Camp & Retreats 

• Camp breaks even/requires 0 support from the diocese

Diocesan Identity & Promotion

• Diocesan Swag

While these priorities set an exciting vision for our diocese, we are already taking meaningful steps to address them:

• Resourcing communications and digital outreach – We’ve welcomed Sarah Polk as our new Outreach Coordinator! Sarah will be helping parishes strengthen their digital presence. You can reach her at outreach@episcopalidaho.org.
• Providing free educational resources for laity – Access new formation materials at episcopalidaho.org/education.
• Supporting digital evangelism – The diocese is offering Facebook advertising grants and management support to parishes. Five congregations have been selected for early access, and we will expand this initiative in the coming months.

We are filled with hope and excitement as we move forward together, guided by the Holy Spirit and our shared mission. Thank you for your dedication to the Episcopal Church in Idaho - your faith is shaping a vibrant future for our church!