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Report to Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed Church
Congregational Meeting: December 5, 2011
Introduction: We hope this report will provide the congregation with some additional details to help prepare for the meeting. Council is encouraged by all those who provide leadership and service to make this church happen. We thank God for all of you. This has been a difficult year. The loss of our Pastor has placed extra challenges on all of us. We give God the praise for his faithfulness during these challenging times. Yet, the work of the church goes on. Our 25th anniversary celebrations reminded us again that God has been in control. We believe he will be there for the next 25 years as well.
1. Preaching: We have been blessed to have our pulpit filled each Sunday. Hans Boersma has offered his services two Sundays a month. Classis provides us with a Pastor once a month and we have to find another. We also applied and received a Seminary student (Micah Schuurman) for three months.
2. Worship Committee: It has been a challenge for our WC to organize the worship services without the consistency of a Pastor. We are grateful for the committee’s leadership and David Alexander as Music and Worship Director. DA will introduce the vision statement that the WC has formulated.
3. Pastoral Care: Peter Boodt has taken on a huge responsibility in ensuring pressing pastoral concerns are being met. We count on about 15 hours per week of work. He is paid a stipend for this. This is a blessing for Council, the staff and the church as a whole. So at 80 plus years Peter Boodt is back at work. He is part of our staff. Call him if you have a Pastoral concern.
4. Evening Services: Council remains committed to the evening service. Attendance remains a concern. On average we have 35 to 50 attendees per evening. The most disappointing has been the lack of interest in Intergenerational Church Education (ICE) by the youth. Council will be testing the will of the congregation at the next meeting in March-April to see if we should end formal evening services. At this point Council is looking to ending evening services by starting the summer season on the last Sunday before the May long weekend. We are also interested in hearing what our new pastor would have in mind for the evening service.
5. Finances: Council is concerned that we are running an $80,000.00 deficit as of November 20, 2011. This amount is significantly higher than normal. We suspect that some members may be cutting back in giving because of our Pastor vacancy. Others may be contributing to the new expansion fundraiser. We trust this is not the case. The finance committee has informed us that without a Pastor, our budget shows a $20,000.00 credit. Council wants to see the church face the new year with a strong financial start as we hope to call a Pastor and begin planning for an expansion and renovation.
6. The 2012 Budget: It remains a challenge to set a budget. Thankfully we have a competent group of people who are able to make this happen. Peter Riezebos is an invaluable resource.
7. Church Ministries: Kevin Lobert’s leadership has been invaluable as have all the volunteer leaders.
a. Children’s Worship Time :
b. Youth Programs: (Cadets, Gems and Youth)
c. Young Adults: (Fusion)
d. Coffee Break: Participants ....
e. Care Groups: Continue to play an important part in building strong relationships.
8. Mexico Ministry: (For more see www.langleyimmanuelcrc.ca/mexmissions.cfm )
a. In October the Adult team of 16 went to Mexico. Another house was built. This one is for two families; three adults and four children. This is the 14th year of involvement.
b. Contact was made with Pastor Sandoval. He remains committed to the “Timothy internship-study” program. Paul Koole spent time with him.
c. The “Community Centre” continues to play an important role. It provides a safe place for women in the community to learn the skill of sewing, which in turn gives opportunity for the women to contribute to the needs of the family, helps self esteem, provides a sense of community and social network. The community center is also used for Bible studies during the week.
d. The food distribution program is provided about every three months with JW supervising its delivery. This project began in 2009 with the downturn in the US and Mexico economy. This project is funded through the deacons
e. Youth Mexico: In March ... youth and ... leaders. This year we expect .... and .....
f. It is clear from a financial perspective that Mexico shows our commitment to that project. It represents in real dollars about 20 % of the church’s un-official budget.
9. New Initiatives for 2012
a. Children at the Lord Supper: For the past five years Council has been considering what action to take on this subject. There has always been an open mind about changing how we bring the children and youth into the experience and practice of communion. Once Synod ( http://crcna.org/pages/ffc_lordsupper.cfm ) adopted its new position on children at the Lord’s Supper, Council reviewed its position and adopted the motion that is on the agenda. If you are interested in knowing more about this topic check the study done by Bert Moes, Peter Boodt and John DenHaan. Go to the church website and go to the congregational meeting website.
b. An Addition and Renovation to the Church: The motion says it all. To meet the facility needs of LICRC for the next 25 years requires a major upgrade to the facility as well as a substantial addition. The original idea of a $1,000,000.00 project falls well short of what is needed. The Building Committee is of the opinion that $1,700,000.00 is a more realistic number and that $2,000,000.00 could be the end result. Council prefers to take the view that we budget for a “worse case cost number” rather than “hope for the best.” In reality the church will need at least a major upgrade on the existing facility: The furnace needs replacing, the roof needs work, carpet will need a change and any expansion we do will require a total church Sprinkler System. The congregation needs to face the fact that a 1.7 million mortgage at four percent will add another $60,000.00 to the $45,000.00 mortgage item in the budget.
i. For more on building see: www.langleyimmanuelcrc.ca/bc.cfm
c. Calling a Pastor: The Committee has been busy. They have recently received the data from the congregational survey. The elders will take the feedback and work with the committee to prepare a Pastor’s Profile that will be used when advertizing begins in the new year. Check the website for more details. We trust you will be interested in Bert Moes’ report.
d. Creation of a “Safe Church” Team: An active committee that will use the resources of Classis BC South to ensure “Church safe practices” are implemented. Council has adopted a mandate and committee members are Jackie Van Huizen, Louise Vis and Brian Toxopeus.
10. Outstanding Matters that will need attention:
a. Opening the position of elder to female members. Currently on hold.
b. The decision to proceed or not to proceed with the building project, will create, each in their own way, their own unique challenges.
11. Our Staff:
a. Grace Vanderdeen: Her diligence in keeping the church facility clean and safe is much appreciated and her spirit of grace accompanies her.
b. Fran Schipper ensures we get the bulletin and pastors to preach. Plus many other details. Thank you Fran for your service.
c. Elsa Huberts: The administrative communication and memory centre of the church. Her role is indispensible at this point in our history. Elsa is the “go to” person and she does it all in (she says) 24 hours per week. Thank you Elsa for your heart of service.
d. Kevin Lobert, our man in motion, keeps the youth and young adult programs moving. He continues to be a blessing to our community. His ability to encourage leadership among the youth is exciting to see; especially for those of us who have children and for those who no longer have children or youth.
e. David Alexander has a passion for worship and music and we are blessed by having David as leader. Of course David will point to the worship committee and the worship team leaders as being invaluable in making it happen; but it is no accident that we have so many in our church who love music and are eager to lead: our church has a culture that embraces those who want to participate. David allows that to happen and shows them how.
12. Conclusion: Your elders and deacons are committed to seeing LICRC flourish and God glorified. We are called to serve in a unique way every three years. However, a really healthy church is one where the culture encourages and celebrates every member’s involvement, service and leadership. Why?
“to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12-13)
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