HOME

NewSong Board of Elders

Minutes of August 19, 2007 Meeting

The NewSong Board of Elders met on Sunday evening, August 19, 2007 from 6:00 to 7:30pmat the Church. Elders present included: Brian Brown, Ed Densmore, Vicki Eitel, and Steve Jackson. Linda Blanchard, Jerry Cauley, and Brent Orr were unable to attend the meeting.

Even though this was our regularly scheduled meeting for the month of August, the Elders continued the visioning process for the entire meeting. The meeting began with an extended time of prayer for the church, for one another, for the visioning process, and for specific needs that came to mind as we prayed.

After this time of prayer the Board discussed the visioning process, and in particular some of the conclusions we have already prayerfully come to.

Our Mission Statement:

“Our mission is to love God, grow to be like Jesus, and share with the world.”

Definition of Disciple:

A disciple at NewSong is someone who is loving, growing in their faith, and passionate about it which results in their continued and deepening loving, growing and sharing.

Our Simple Process: (The “How”)

Love God – First someone commits to love God; they do this by attending and engaging in our corporate worship.

Grow to be like Jesus – the person then gets connected in a web of close relationships with others to study God’s word and to mature in the faith.

Share with the world the person then reaches out to share their talent, time, testimony, and treasure by serving on ministry and mission teams, and sharing in word and deed what God has given/done for them.

Our Visual Model:

I have Tiffany Fisher working on this. It’s basically three arrows making a circle (like the recycling symbol) with the words Love, Grow, and Share above the three arrows, and the word GOD in the center.

Our Measurement:

We will measure in three areas:

Love as our worship attendance.

Grow as the number of people in Study/Small Groups

Share as the number of people serving on ministry and mission teams.

Small Group Definition:

A small group is less than 12 people who meet regularly for Bible study, prayer, and accountability.

Our primary programs in the process:

Love – Worship

Grow – Small Groups/Study Groups

Share – Ministry Teams/Mission Teams (Time, Talent, Testimony, and Treasure).

Tentative Definitions:

Love: Corporate Worship - Member is a regular and active participant in the corporate worship services of the church.

Grow: Small Groups - Member is a regular participant in a study group or small group where Bible Study, accountability, and prayer are consistent practices.

Share: Ministry / Mission Teams - Member is a regular participant on a ministry team of the church with weekly and/or monthly duty and has or intends to participate on a mission (outreach) team on a local, regional, or international mission project.

Other Business

As for the regular, ongoing business of the church for the month of July, Pastor Steve had already sent this information to the Board for their review. What follows below is a summary of that information.

It has been a good summer at NewSong Community Church. Although we had a drop off in attendance early on, giving has remained strong and attendance is approving. Other areas of ministry are also doing well: men’s ministry, women’s ministry, and that intangible known as “momentum.” We kicked off the month of July with the El Salvador Mission Team giving an encouraging report of their recent mission to Las Delicias. On the 15^th we held an infant dedication during worship of Lily Knowles, Pastor Steve’s great niece. On the 21^st we had our men’s breakfast where a friend of John Krauss shared and emotional message of how his faith was strengthened through the death of his child. On the 24^th we served a meal for the Senior Citizens of Forsyth County at The Place and led them in some exciting games of Bingo. On the 23^rd to the 26^th we held Vacation Bible School with over 20 leaders and helpers and approximately 30 children (half of whom were invited guests of our children). Avalanche Ranch was a big success!

Other Items

Average YTD worship attendance at the end of July rose by one person to 137. Attendance for the five Sundays was 133, 144, 156, 122 and 139. Our average attendance for the month itself was 139 so we do appear to be growing in average attendance.

Current membership statistics as of the end of July are the same as June with 60 member families, 118 full members, 66 preparatory members and 32 constituent members for a total of 216.

Financially speaking, revenues for the month were $25,138 and expenses were $18,053 with income exceeding expenses by $17,085 for the month. Our YTD numbers through the end of June are revenues of $153,737 and expenses of $137,439 with revenues exceeding expenses by $16,298. The monthly income number is a bit high because we had a five-Sunday month. The balance in our Fidelity reserve account at the end of June stands at $37,254.

Coming Up:

As for my preaching I am in the middle of a series of messages called “Practical Christianity,” based on the lectionary, speaking about such practical Christian issues as setting priorities, prayer, possessions, perseverance, the promises of God, and God’s provision. Jerry Cauley will be speaking for me on September 2^nd as I will be in Los Angeles, taking Amy out to YWAM.

Sunday School will tentatively resume on Sunday, Sept. 9^th for all ages.

Sunday Night Fellowship will tentatively resume on the 9^th.

Our youth will continue meeting on Sunday nights at 6pm. Attendance at youth has leveled off at about 8-10 per Sunday night. We need to encourage our parents to bring the ones that can’t drive.

Our Katrina Relief mission team had a great trip. They will report on their trip during worship on the 19^th of August. We had ten on the trip and it was great.

Our Fellowship Ministry had a trip to Lake Lanier Islands on August 4^th and is planning an outing to go to a Casting Crowns concert at the Arena at Gwinnett on November 23^rd. They are also planning a Fall Festival on Saturday, October 27^th.

The Women will be starting their new Beth Moore study called Believing God on August 21^st. The women meet on Tuesday nights at 7pm and are led by Michele Green.

The Men have just started a new study called Being God’s Man in the Search for Success.” The men are led by John Krauss and meet on Thursday nights at 7pm.

A Lectionary Bible Study group has been meeting on Wednesday nights at 7pm to study the upcoming week’s passages. The Browns, Fishers, Thomas Porter, Amy and Leigh Jackson, and the Eitels have been participating in this.

2007-08 Church Year – I am holding off on any major decisions or announcement concerning the upcoming ministry year until we get a little further along on our visioning process. I can’t really ask folks to continue or to start a ministry until we’re confident that ministry fits our I’d still like to kick-off the Sunday after Labor Day (Sept. 9^th). After we decide on our focus I will be meeting with all our ministry leaders to attain alignment, and we will do some scheduling of dates and activities.

Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Board of Elders will be on Weds., Sept. 5^th at 6pm.

Elder of the Month for September – Vicki Eitel