NewSong Board of Elders

Minutes of September 10, 2005 Meeting

The NewSong Board of Elders met Sat. September 10 from 9:15 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. at the Church office. Elders present were Dave Allen, Michael Smith, Brian Brown, Tom Frederick, and Steve Jackson. Brent Orr and Curt Sloyer were not present.

Dave Allen delivered a short devotional on spiritual gifts from 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 which reads in part "[4] There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. [5] There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. [6] There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. [7] Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. [8] To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, [10] to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. [11] All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."

The meeting included the following discussions:

Pastor’s report:

We continue to do our best to keep in step with the Spirit here at NewSong. People seem to be adjusting to the tweaks we’ve made in worship (more extemporaneous preaching, no outlines or sermon slides during worship, bulletin changes, freer worship, testimonies, etc…). Midweek has started back and is going well. We are averaging about 20-25 per Wednesday night in our Bible study in Acts. The church responded well to Hurricane Katrina, we are sending $1000 from the church and many donated directly through the Red Cross or Samaritan’s Purse. The Fri/Sat Prayer and Praise which normally meets at the Allen home continues to grow. Our Sunday morning Prayer and Praise time is also going well. This group remains small, but they are dedicated and I definitely can feel the difference the prayers have made by the time we get to our Sunday morning worship service. I will be holding a CLASS 101 later this month (25^th) and we have already have families signed up to take it.

Average attendance for the year through last the end of August stands at 147. The actual average attendance for the August was higher, at 155 which I see as a positive sign.

Our current membership statistics are 52 member families, 91 full (adult) members, 79 preparatory members and 39 constituent members for a total of 209 on our rolls.

Our offerings continue to be below our budgeted goal. Our YTD income through the end of August is $150,383 and expenses are $176,920 for a YTD “loss” of $26,537. Our Fidelity Investment Account (Capital Reserve) stands at $21,068. We have had to dip into that account a total of $9000 this summer to cover current expenses. We have continued to tithe 10% of our offerings to The Place.

Old Business

The Church Location and Facilities team was discussed briefly. Brain Brown and Curt Sloyer are the leaders in this area. They have been asked to form a team to begin looking at future facility options.

The Children’s Ministry Coordinator interviews were held after the Elder’s meeting. It was decided to keep the starting salary as it was before.

Two Elders have decided to step down at this time. However, both have agreed to serve until the end of the calendar year.

The meeting ended as several Elders had previous commitments.

The Elder of the month for September is Brian Brown.