The Board met on Tuesday, December 14th, 2021. At the meeting we discussed some potential replacements to fill the vacancy left by Ken Thiessen’s resignation. Several options were discussed and Pastor Kirk plans to meet with one of those options. Pastor Kirk also led the Board through a review of our Five-Year Strategic Goals as well as the Ministry Plan for 2021-22 and how it seeks to accomplish the Strategic Goals. Some of the goals set forth in these documents may have to be altered slightly due to some of the recent personnel changes.
Treasurer Shannon Vinter updated the Board regarding our finances. We finished November with a modest year to date surplus of giving over expenses. There has been a slight increase in giving in year over year donations; however, as of the end of November we are roughly $30,000 behind in reaching our giving goal. It is important for us to catch up to our giving goal in December as our plans for 2022 are contingent on the budget being fully funded.
There was much discussion regarding the direction we should take in staffing. It was strongly felt by all members that we need to move forward in finding a full-time pastor to oversee Children’s and Family Ministry. Although we have seen a drop in our in-person attendance, roughly 50% of what it was pre-COVID, and a steady increase in our online attendance, it is believed that our in-person attendance will increase as families return in greater proportion as children are vaccinated.
In January, the Board executive will meet with the Shepherding team to pray for the church. The two teams will also meet for our last training session in Cultural Fluency takes place on January29th. One of the leaders of our Cultural Fluency training, Dr. Charles Cook of Ambrose University, will preach on January 30 about what it means to be an intercultural church.
Your Board of Elders:
Kevin Gatschene (Chair)
Rick Orban (Vice-Chair)
Shannon Vinter (Treasurer)
Gwendolyn Schroeder (Secretary)
Kirk Cowman (Lead Pastor)
Deji Oyetuga
