Elder Minutes – Blog Edition
Highlights from the Annual Congregational Meeting and recent Elder Meetings
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
As we move forward toward new challenges for us as a church, we walk by faith. God has never disappointed those who trust him completely. We “are certain” that He has great things in store for us!
Highlights from the July 15 Annual Meeting
1. Robert Messore, Chair of the elders, reviewed some of the highlights of the previous ministry year, and matters of current discussion by the elders. These included:
• New staff appointments
• Four new leadership teams led by the elders: the Shepherding Team, the Ministry Team, the Worship Arts Team and the Management Team.
• Spiritual formation structure
• Leadership development structure
• The “Hub and Spoke” long-term vision of the church.
2. Pastor Lyle read from Hebrews 10:19–25 and encouraged the congregation from these verses. He then announced to the congregation that Pastor Marty had accepted a call to ministry elsewhere. Lyle led in prayer for Marty and Randa.
3. Elder Mike Denci, Chair of the Next Steps Task Force, shared the exciting news that the church has a signed Purchase and Sales agreement to purchase a 22-acre property situated at the intersection of Division Street and Howland Ave. He summarized the activity of the NSTF over the past year, and gave a PowerPoint presentation that included photographs of the property. Some highlights:
• The purchase price is $1.75MM.
• We have 180 days to conduct our “due diligence”: wetlands study, environmental study, site engineering, zoning and permits, etc. These matters will be pursued immediately and without delay, and a target timeline for completion is 90 days.
• The property is technically being purchased by Covenant Development Corporation (CDC, a service arm of our denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church), which is represented by Rob Hall, a lawyer who has advised us throughout the process of reviewing properties. The church will eventually purchase the property from CDC.
• The property may be larger than we need, and has the potential of yielding lots for development and sale. Whether that is the case remains to be determined. If the decision is made to sell off part of the land, the net cost of the property to the church will be correspondingly reduced.
• The congregation will be required to vote formally on the purchase of this property once due diligence is completed. The NSTF will be reporting frequently on progress to the congregation.
4. Robert announced that the elders are looking to increase the number of elders to serve on the Elder Council. The Nominating Task Force will be activated, and a process of elder selection will be conducted during the coming year.
5. By vote of the congregation, the currently serving Elders, Deacons and Treasurer were affirmed to serve another year.
6. The new financial structure put in place during the previous year requires the elimination of the office of Financial Secretary. To reflect this change and to make place for the new financial structure, Articles VII, X and XI of our bylaws require amendment. A motion was passed to adopt the proposed amendments to these articles.
7. Bill Coggan presented a series of slides showing the current financial condition of the church, and current giving trends. The report included:
• Account balances (comparison between June 30, 2005 and June 30 2006)
• Significant Impacts—both unusual expenditures and significant unspent budgeted items during the previous fiscal year
• Various trend lines of giving patterns to the general fund and BNG over the last year and the last two years.
Status of BNG campaign: during the first two years of the three-year BNG campaign, cash gifts of approximately $1MM against $1.6MM pledged have been received.
8. Pastor Marty presented two budgets for our consideration: a “conservative” budget of $1.031MM and a “visionary” budget of $1.109 MM. The latter includes expenditures for debt service and other hitherto unknown costs associated with the land purchase. The conservative budget represents a 12% increase and the visionary budget a 20% increase over the FY 2005–2006 budget. The budget to be voted on at this meeting is the conservative budget. Once costs associated with the land purchases are known, the visionary budget may be proposed for a vote. Members and attendees will be challenged to prayerfully consider adjusting their giving level (+ 20%) to meet the visionary budget. The following two motions were passed:
1. to authorize the NSTF, in concert with the elders, to incur expenditures of up to $125K from the building fund to determine the feasibility of the property.
2. to adopt the conservative budget.
Highlights from Recent Elder Meetings
Under Robert’s guidance, the elders have begun to practice what is called “Lectio Divina” (“Divine Readings”) in our regular weekly time of Bible study and prayer together. Robert has encouraged each of us to practice this on our own through the week as well. We share weekly how God is speaking to us through this meditation on his Word.
The prayer cards that are received at the Tuesday evening service form the center of our time of intercessory prayer for the church each week. We are grateful to be able to pray for each of you. Please continue to make your needs for prayer known to us; be assured that we will pray for you.
Some updates:
1. Staff Searches.
• Worship Arts. We are delighted to report that Mr. Davis Staedtler, a candidate for the Worship Arts Director position, has been invited to visit Christ Church for interviews early in September. Please pray that God would lead in the process, and that God’s direction will become evident to both Mr. Staedtler and to us.
• Executive Pastor. We have begun the process of articulating the qualifications we are looking for in our next Executive Pastor. Once that process is complete, we will construct a Job Description and begin a search. Please pray that God would give us wisdom and discernment as we proceed.
2. Alpha Marriage Course. In addition to producing the basic Alpha course that we offer on a regular basis, Alpha has also produced “The Marriage Course”http://themarriagecourse.org/. We reviewed a presentation of the course and approved it as an instrument for ministry to married couples in our church. More details will be forthcoming.
3. Elder Leadership Structure. Having completed the work of putting in place a structure for the leadership of Christ Church that includes both elders and non- (not yet?) elders, we are currently inviting individuals in the church who are gifted and may feel called, to join with the elders in giving leadership to our church. Please pray that God will raise up godly men and women to serve him and our body in this capacity.
4. Giving Policy. In order to simplify the ways in which monetary gifts may be made to the church as well as to comply with IRS regulations, we have developed a financial policy that limits designated giving to specific income accounts. The policy will be announced and explained at an appropriate time in the future.
5. Spiritual Direction. In October Ellen Kogstad, spiritual director and adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary will be visiting us in mid-October to lead discussions on spiritual direction. Watch for an announcement.
6. Spiritual Formation Plan. The Spiritual Formation Task Force has presented a specific plan with goals, objectives and time lines for the spiritual growth of all who call Christ Church their home church. Discussions about how to implement this plan are ongoing and will soon be concluded.
8. Next Steps Task Force. We are excited about our recent purchase and sales agreement on the land. We will soon find out how many buildable acres we will have, and make a decision about whether we should plan occupy both sides of the property (which is divided by a stream running through the middle) or just the east side. Details will be shared at the August 26 meeting. Please come prepared to ask questions, learn and pray!
9. Marty’s Debriefing. As Marty transitions out of his role at Christ Church we have asked him to share with us what he sees as needs that we as elders and as a church should address, as we go forward. Please join us in thanking God for the time Marty and Randa had with us, and pray for them as they prepare to assume a new ministry role in North Dakota.
Faithfully, in Christ,
Your elders.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
As we move forward toward new challenges for us as a church, we walk by faith. God has never disappointed those who trust him completely. We “are certain” that He has great things in store for us!
Highlights from the July 15 Annual Meeting
1. Robert Messore, Chair of the elders, reviewed some of the highlights of the previous ministry year, and matters of current discussion by the elders. These included:
• New staff appointments
• Four new leadership teams led by the elders: the Shepherding Team, the Ministry Team, the Worship Arts Team and the Management Team.
• Spiritual formation structure
• Leadership development structure
• The “Hub and Spoke” long-term vision of the church.
2. Pastor Lyle read from Hebrews 10:19–25 and encouraged the congregation from these verses. He then announced to the congregation that Pastor Marty had accepted a call to ministry elsewhere. Lyle led in prayer for Marty and Randa.
3. Elder Mike Denci, Chair of the Next Steps Task Force, shared the exciting news that the church has a signed Purchase and Sales agreement to purchase a 22-acre property situated at the intersection of Division Street and Howland Ave. He summarized the activity of the NSTF over the past year, and gave a PowerPoint presentation that included photographs of the property. Some highlights:
• The purchase price is $1.75MM.
• We have 180 days to conduct our “due diligence”: wetlands study, environmental study, site engineering, zoning and permits, etc. These matters will be pursued immediately and without delay, and a target timeline for completion is 90 days.
• The property is technically being purchased by Covenant Development Corporation (CDC, a service arm of our denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church), which is represented by Rob Hall, a lawyer who has advised us throughout the process of reviewing properties. The church will eventually purchase the property from CDC.
• The property may be larger than we need, and has the potential of yielding lots for development and sale. Whether that is the case remains to be determined. If the decision is made to sell off part of the land, the net cost of the property to the church will be correspondingly reduced.
• The congregation will be required to vote formally on the purchase of this property once due diligence is completed. The NSTF will be reporting frequently on progress to the congregation.
4. Robert announced that the elders are looking to increase the number of elders to serve on the Elder Council. The Nominating Task Force will be activated, and a process of elder selection will be conducted during the coming year.
5. By vote of the congregation, the currently serving Elders, Deacons and Treasurer were affirmed to serve another year.
6. The new financial structure put in place during the previous year requires the elimination of the office of Financial Secretary. To reflect this change and to make place for the new financial structure, Articles VII, X and XI of our bylaws require amendment. A motion was passed to adopt the proposed amendments to these articles.
7. Bill Coggan presented a series of slides showing the current financial condition of the church, and current giving trends. The report included:
• Account balances (comparison between June 30, 2005 and June 30 2006)
• Significant Impacts—both unusual expenditures and significant unspent budgeted items during the previous fiscal year
• Various trend lines of giving patterns to the general fund and BNG over the last year and the last two years.
Status of BNG campaign: during the first two years of the three-year BNG campaign, cash gifts of approximately $1MM against $1.6MM pledged have been received.
8. Pastor Marty presented two budgets for our consideration: a “conservative” budget of $1.031MM and a “visionary” budget of $1.109 MM. The latter includes expenditures for debt service and other hitherto unknown costs associated with the land purchase. The conservative budget represents a 12% increase and the visionary budget a 20% increase over the FY 2005–2006 budget. The budget to be voted on at this meeting is the conservative budget. Once costs associated with the land purchases are known, the visionary budget may be proposed for a vote. Members and attendees will be challenged to prayerfully consider adjusting their giving level (+ 20%) to meet the visionary budget. The following two motions were passed:
1. to authorize the NSTF, in concert with the elders, to incur expenditures of up to $125K from the building fund to determine the feasibility of the property.
2. to adopt the conservative budget.
Highlights from Recent Elder Meetings
Under Robert’s guidance, the elders have begun to practice what is called “Lectio Divina” (“Divine Readings”) in our regular weekly time of Bible study and prayer together. Robert has encouraged each of us to practice this on our own through the week as well. We share weekly how God is speaking to us through this meditation on his Word.
The prayer cards that are received at the Tuesday evening service form the center of our time of intercessory prayer for the church each week. We are grateful to be able to pray for each of you. Please continue to make your needs for prayer known to us; be assured that we will pray for you.
Some updates:
1. Staff Searches.
• Worship Arts. We are delighted to report that Mr. Davis Staedtler, a candidate for the Worship Arts Director position, has been invited to visit Christ Church for interviews early in September. Please pray that God would lead in the process, and that God’s direction will become evident to both Mr. Staedtler and to us.
• Executive Pastor. We have begun the process of articulating the qualifications we are looking for in our next Executive Pastor. Once that process is complete, we will construct a Job Description and begin a search. Please pray that God would give us wisdom and discernment as we proceed.
2. Alpha Marriage Course. In addition to producing the basic Alpha course that we offer on a regular basis, Alpha has also produced “The Marriage Course”http://themarriagecourse.org/. We reviewed a presentation of the course and approved it as an instrument for ministry to married couples in our church. More details will be forthcoming.
3. Elder Leadership Structure. Having completed the work of putting in place a structure for the leadership of Christ Church that includes both elders and non- (not yet?) elders, we are currently inviting individuals in the church who are gifted and may feel called, to join with the elders in giving leadership to our church. Please pray that God will raise up godly men and women to serve him and our body in this capacity.
4. Giving Policy. In order to simplify the ways in which monetary gifts may be made to the church as well as to comply with IRS regulations, we have developed a financial policy that limits designated giving to specific income accounts. The policy will be announced and explained at an appropriate time in the future.
5. Spiritual Direction. In October Ellen Kogstad, spiritual director and adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary will be visiting us in mid-October to lead discussions on spiritual direction. Watch for an announcement.
6. Spiritual Formation Plan. The Spiritual Formation Task Force has presented a specific plan with goals, objectives and time lines for the spiritual growth of all who call Christ Church their home church. Discussions about how to implement this plan are ongoing and will soon be concluded.
8. Next Steps Task Force. We are excited about our recent purchase and sales agreement on the land. We will soon find out how many buildable acres we will have, and make a decision about whether we should plan occupy both sides of the property (which is divided by a stream running through the middle) or just the east side. Details will be shared at the August 26 meeting. Please come prepared to ask questions, learn and pray!
9. Marty’s Debriefing. As Marty transitions out of his role at Christ Church we have asked him to share with us what he sees as needs that we as elders and as a church should address, as we go forward. Please join us in thanking God for the time Marty and Randa had with us, and pray for them as they prepare to assume a new ministry role in North Dakota.
Faithfully, in Christ,
Your elders.
posted by Pat | 4:07 PM
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