Here is the prospective timeline shared with the Council of Elders during a teleconference Nov. 15, 2007:

Nov. 29: The Strategic Planning Steering Committee met with the facilitator in Cincinnati for a half-day session to draft survey and interview questions. During December there were interviews of Council members and surveys of employees, GCE members, Church members and subscribers. All results will be put in a briefing book, ready for the Council two weeks before their first retreat meeting.

December—Ongoing: Council members, operation managers and Strategic Planning Steering Committee members participate in "Springboard Online," an online certification program in strategic planning.

Jan. 16-17: The Council will attend a strategic planning retreat focusing on strategic direction—"Where are we now?" and "Where do we want to be?"

Feb. 26-27: The Council will meet for the second session to focus on implementation planning: "What do we have to do to get there?" and "How do we monitor our progress?" This meeting will be added to the front end of the scheduled February meeting.

Action Planning Meeting (date undetermined): The Strategic Planning Steering Committee will review and approve the action steps, deliverables, budgets and timeline.

May 19: There will be an on-site staff briefing of the home office employees to review the strategic plan.

May 20: An all-day "Masterful Meetings" class designed to assist in building facilitation skills.

Follow-up: Semiannual monitoring by the facilitator to assess how we are doing and to provide consultation will follow the completion of the Strategic Plan.