After a wide, multi-year process of listening, discernment, and reform, the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is about to reach a major milestone. When the Executive Committee meets in Hannover, Germany, the first week of May, they will review and be asked to adopt a new strategic plan – a vision to guide the entire communion for the next seven years.

Rev. Dr. Hanns Lessing, WCRC’s executive secretary for Communion and Theology, has helped shepherd the strategic planning process. He shared how WCRC has moved intentionally through the planning process, what the Executive Committee’s next task is, and what this means for the WCRC member churches.

“This is not a plan for the Hannover office alone,” Lessing emphasises. “It is a wide invitation for everyone to participate in the work set before us.”

The Journey from Chiang Mai: Key Steps in the Process

The road to a finished strategic plan has been deliberate and deeply participatory. Two years before the General Council in Chiang Mai, Thailand, working groups formed to draft programmatic documents. These working papers were shared with member churches for feedback. Following a communion-wide process of reflection, the draft went to the General Council, where discernment groups helped shape programmatic actions.

After the general council, the “harvest” of those discussions was used to develop a prospective vision. Large meetings, carefully balanced for geography, gender, program partners, and member churches, transformed that input into a shared vision and clear language: Where do we want to be after seven years?

That language was tested with regional leaders, yielding very rich feedback. “We are always reforming,” Lessing notes, stressing the importance of inviting those not normally at the policy decision making tables to be a leading voice in the strategic planning process. Widening the Circle was the name of the critical integration meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in March. This gathering ensured that voices from the communion, member churches, and partner organisations were heard and discerned in the language of the strategic plan.

A specially convened general council commission met in Cleveland, Ohio, in early April to review all the material and finalise the strategic plan. This finalised version of the strategic plan will be received and read by the executive committee in May when they gather in Hannover, Germany. 

What the Executive Committee Will Do in Hannover

The Executive Committee’s role is not a simple “yes or no” vote. Rather, as Lessing explains, “It is about the Executive Committee owning the document and living into it.”

The Executive Committee’s work in Hannover will be to review the strategic plan in its current draft form. They will also engage qualitatively with the plan to provide metrics of success for the years to come. Their work will move the plan from concept to the WCRC’s mission and vision as they take ownership and seek to implement the work. The Executive Committee will receive input from the Strategic Programme Planning Group (SPPG), which the officers appointed to make firm governance decisions. 

After the meeting in Hannover, the work continues. The SPPG will finalise the strategic plan with all remaining details from the Executive Committee, and the communion edition will be prepared for circulation by August.

The Distribution Plan: Three Editions to Share

The WCRC Strategy Edition – is the most important document. It answers the questions “Where do we want to be?” and “What are we here for?”, and sets out the vision and language for the communion. 

The Complete Strategic Plan Edition – is more detailed, with suggested activities and a framework for monitoring, evaluating, and adapting.

The Communion Edition – is a much shorter document with concise language, offering practical suggestions for member churches to live into the plan and participate in the work with the WCRC.

What Changes Should the Communion Expect?

“We have adopted the communion statement to describe who we are,” Lessing says. “A covenant communion – God’s and us committed to living into the covenant.”

The communion should expect to see an increase in committed relationships among member churches, regions, and partners. More intentional work within this covenant framework, it is ours to share. Accountability is extended through the SPPG, ensuring that staff and regions carry out the activities outlined in the plan. Through it all, the WCRC remains called to communion and committed to justice. 

The Take Away for All: An Invitation to Communion Work

Lessing sums up the milestone simply, “The Executive Committee is bringing a qualitative eye to the draft. The SPPG will provide governance input. But ultimately, this is about the whole communion – not just the General Secretariat – owning the strategic plan. It is an invitation to participate, to live into our covenant commitment, and to walk together as a communion always being reformed.”

The Executive Committee will gather in Hannover, May 4-8, with the meeting theme “Persevere in your witness: Perplexed but not in despair.”