Quarterly Congregational Meeting Sunday, October 7th 2018 General Fund Capital Improvements & Maintenance Fund: Mission Fund:

Transcription

1 Quarterly Congregational Meeting Sunday, October 7 th 2018 Meeting opened by Mary Hershoff (Vice-President). Reminded again that church calendar year has been changed to actual calendar year starting January 1 st will be St Olaf s 175 th anniversary. We have a committee formed and plans are underway to celebrate over the entire year. Roger Johnson (Treasurer) gave report on where we stand for Thrilled as to where we stand & mortgage to soon be paid off. Last 16 years have been tough but we probably would not be here if not for the major addition undertaken. We are headed for great things and have an outstanding motivational Pastor now. Since mortgage to soon be paid off we need to have dollars redirected. The General Fund is where it is really needed. Roger then explained the 3 basic funds we have: General Fund (Operating & administrative costs): Expenses of committees Salaries Benefits Youth education Youth ministry Benevolences Employee expenses Office Expenses Property operating costs e.g. elevator, fire monitoring system, gas & electric, Insurance, Lawn mowing, Janitorial supplies Capital Improvements & Maintenance Fund: Facility improvements & maintenance (Formerly Facilities Maintenance) (Other on envelopes) Projects receiving designated gifts (some examples) History Hallway Sign fund Parsonage update Additional stain glass windows History hallway Mission Fund: Missions & Ministries to be developed Memorial fund Scholarship fund Good Samaritan fund

2 Mary then explained SAS (Stewardship for All Seasons) program that we are starting effective January 1 st 2019 with kickoff October 14 th Roger stated this is an investment by the congregation but well worth it. This is a year long project of learning what is working and what is not working. Review of SAS by Roger: Series of seminars with Synod and other churches. Synod encouraging a change of culture in churches regarding discussion of things financial. Not a stewardship drive once a year. SAS teaches program of various stewardship efforts throughout the year. It teaches why people give & why don't participate financially. Started with a personal finance class earlier this year. Will have estate plan seminars and special gifting promotions to specific funds such as the education endowment which will be ongoing. A few things we are learning from SAS sessions with other churches Since everything comes from God, perhaps we shouldn't consider how much we should give, but instead consider how much we should keep. Objective is generating gifts for on-going programs and for long-term stability. Stewardship efforts must identify, inform, motivate, ask, and thank The largest single reason people do not give or give more is that they haven't been asked. Tell people what our needs are and how much we need. Offend more people by not asking than you do by asking. People give to success. So must keep you informed on the successes of the programs and missions you are supporting. We will be telling you what difference your is making for a project, ministry, or mission we will be asking you to support. It's not all about missions, benevolences, etc. We need to afford to have a place to worship as well. Review of Wish List., When you are considering St. Olaf's for a special gift, or would like to designate memorial money to a specific St. Olaf's project, or are organizing a fund raising project, consider projects on the following list. This list was approved by Council. If any gifts to St. Olaf's are designated to a project on this list, no further approval

3 by Council will be required, and the expenditure can proceed if the funds are adequate to complete the project within five years. New digital sign for front of church Audio visual system improvements laptop/tablet/thumb drive control & access Additional laptop and projector for sanctuary Scholarship fund Improve kitchen washing system Improve acoustics in fellowship hall Support Vacation Bible School New Lord's Supper picture in altar or altar artwork for different seasons Additional stain glass windows Outdoor worship & picnic pavilion/gazebo West side patio & pergola Hall Of History display improvements Frame, insulate, and drywall walls of basement youth room (Include electrical outlets Install heat / air cond. in basement) Install shower room in basement Replace/improve parsonage driveway Prayer labyrinth Sunday school classroom adjustable height tables Heavy duty shelving units for janitor closet & office hallway Review of Anniversary Celebration (by Mary) Kickoff with Mortgage burning. The following notes are from the Anniversary Committee meeting. Items where reviewed by Mary Hershoff: Minutes from 175 th Anniversary Committee( Celebrating Our Past, Preparing for Our Future ) October 4, 2018 Elaine Monis, Pr. Tom, Lisa Christenson, Jane Christenson, Jerry Bohen, Mary Hershoff Reviewed plans for events during 2019 as follows: Sunday, January 6 Guest Speaker: Pr. Larry Westfield (St. Olaf pastor ), Theme/Event: Burn the mortgage Need bio, send letters to Bldg. Committee members, Mark Mente, Randy Solveson Ask Gene Eggert to create a large Mortgage document to burn

4 Friday-Sunday, February 1-3 Marriage Retreat followed by Renewal of Vows at 9am Sunday service Led by Pr. Tom who will also do promotion Coordinators: Lisa Christenson & Elaine Monis meals, games, photos Saturday/Sunday, March 2-3 Guest Speaker: Rev. Mark Thompson, pastor of Felmers Chaney Breaking the Chains congregation. Theme: Prison Ministry, Adult Ed/Continental Breakfast Need bio, Prepare story/bio of Pr. Alfred Christenson and St. Dysmas Saturday/Sunday, April 6-7 Pr. Franklin Ishida, ELCA Global Mission Asia and the Pacific Need bio Adult Ed / Continental Breakfast Saturday/Sunday, May 4-5 Pr. Matt Lee (St. Olaf pastor ) Need bio Adult Ed / Continental Breakfast Event: WOG Mother/Daughter event? (tba) Saturday/Sunday, June1-2 (Pentecost) Pr. Gwen Downing - Lutheran Colleges presentation? Need bio Adult Ed / Continental Breakfast Coordinator Elaine Monis All Church photograph (arrange photographer) Sunday, July 7 (open) Sunday, July 28 - Ice Cream Social & Alumni & Confirmation Reunion - Polka band Saturday/Sunday, Aug. 3-4 Liz Westfield (St. Olaf pastor s wife ), Theme: VBS Need bio Continental Breakfast Coordinate w Justine Sunday, August 18: Bluegrass Festival Church Tours Coordinator: Roger Johnson Sunday-Monday, Sept. 1-2 Lutherdale Family Retreat at Watson Retreat Center activities and camping Coordinators: Lisa Christenson, Dave & Kathy Johnston?? NEED TO SEND IN DEPOSIT by 10/11/2018 Saturday/Sunday, Oct. 5-6 Mission Festival Pr. Oscar Kraft (unconfirmed) Need bio Special offering, Around the World potluck meal Coordinator: Mary Hershoff Saturday/Sunday, Nov. 2-3 St. Olaf All Saints Celebration stories, pictures, drawings compiled into Book or Advent Devotional Saints of St. Olaf. Congregational members testimonies Cemetery Tours Roger Johnson? Saturday, Dec 7 Lutefisk Dinner Saturday/Sunday - Dec 7-8 Milwaukee Synod Bishop Paul Erickson Adult Ed th Anniversary Dinner (lunch) Swedish Meatballs, etc. Need bio

5 Unconfirmed Event: Edvard Grieg Concert - Coordinator: Connie Kreuser George needs to contact former pastors Bill & Dennis Johnson for availability and interest Issues to consider: Funding for speakers, mailings, travel expenses?; hosting guests in homes; Theme Celebrating Our Past, Preparing for Our Future Historians: George Monis, Roger Johnson, Jerry Bohen, Lucy Braunschweig Publicity Jerry Bohen Respectfully submitted. Mary Hershoff Closed Quarterly Meeting with Lord s Prayer Some items touched on at meeting but for more information the following are Roger & Lyn Johnson's notes from Effective Communication seminar Three part formula for effective communication: 1. Understanding People 80% of churches have 80 or less in attendance. The most important ministry is communication ministry. Service always involves sacrifice. Pay attention to your audience. It may not be what you think it is or what you want it be. Print media has been dead but is coming back. Have to throw every dart at the dartboard, and print media is one dart. Refer to visitors as guests. Will never have a relationship without communication. Need to know about the people you are trying to communicate with. Can't change people. Have to change yourself to have a relationship with them. Have a church database and someone to manage it. Must have a website, Facebook, and use text. Expect people to show up when you communicate with them. Be ready for them when they show up. Greet, welcome, & follow up to start a relationship. Free oil change & car wash on Sat. morning with hospitality room. What Sat. is best for them; not what's best for you. Add them to the data base.

6 Must build a data base from every function you have to connect with your neighborhood. Bulletins distract people from the service. There are best days and best times to use s and Facebook. Have to know about and understand the people in your community. Have to learn faith history of people in your community. Have a cross generational meeting about the community. Avoid surveys in the congregation. They divide a church. After an event, know what worked and what didn't work. Have a communications small group to build data base etc. Should be able to read the church newsletter in 10 min. Avoid long written devotions in the newsletter. Keep simple. Cover who, why, and when. Printing on colored paper does not increase readership. Use computer communications to reach seniors. They are computer literate. Guests expect good and professional service when they visit. They ask themselves what church provides what my family wants and if the pastor is funny. They want entertainment. They are willing to change religions. They ask themselves how God is working in the church they are visiting. They are looking for God centered ministries. They are looking for peace when in your church. People are looking for friends in faith in a church. Get away from only looking for families with young children. Women are best targets for communication. Men are not the spiritual leaders in the family. Children must have fun when in church. If they were bored, the family will not come back. Facebook is king among all generations. Young people gave up on social media. They text. People attend one in six Sundays. Children go to sports rather than church on Sundays. So take your church to the ball field. Put up a tent at the field and give out Bibles, etc. Think about Sun. night service to get families with children who would be in sports on Sun. morning. The people who don't know the Bible should be the audience we are after. In summer, consider a service during the week because people are gone on the weekends. Add a meal to this service. 2. The Changing Winds of Communication Written communication had been coming a thing of the past.

7 Don't worry about over communicating with the congregation. Must communicate constantly. If you don't communicate, members will slide to the inactive portion of the congregation. is saturated. Mailboxes are full. 23% of s are opened. Group s to gmail people automatically go to spam. Facebook has become pay to play. Therefore direct mail is coming back. Should mail out newsletters. Should mail out postcards to save postage. Use full color front promoting something in few words. Back of card is black and white calendar of events. Tell recipients to give it to a friend or neighbor after transferring the info. onto your calendar. Must have a church logo and use it on everything. Little things make a difference. Be professional. Make it an iconic piece of artwork. Always use same font when printing name of church. Have a website that you are proud of. The website is not for your members except for calendar and a couple other things. Put a sermon by minister on the website so people can take a look at you before they visit. Change the sermon often. Rotate about six sermons. Use sermons that speak to the community about things they care about. Be careful about using words that need a definition like "family life center". People have to understand what you're talking about. Use minimal navigation. Think about your audience when developing the website. What do they want to know. The questions that Shannon gets should be answered on the website. Design the website for a smart phone; not a desktop so people can easily read it. Don't tell them everything on the website. Give them just enough so that they call the church or visit for more information. O.K. to have a second website for the youth. Have big artwork and minimize the type. Control you have complete control of the website. Avoid website developers who offer free service. They will charge to make future changes. Have a mission page. Have a webpage for ministries. Have a staff page with photo of the staff. Photos must be real, fun, & friendly; not set up to try to impress. Have a prayer page. How can we pray for you. Use a prayer form for prayer request. Use more pictures and fewer words so they can see what they can expect when they visit. Must use video on the website. Twitter is flat lining.

8 Have an strategy. Only 25% are opened. Can reach 98% with . Limit to 4-6 s per month unless sending different s to specific ministry groups. If it's a choir , send only to the choir. Same with the other groups and ministries. Target your s. Talk to the congregation about what might be wrong with your s. Can use Facebook live to stream the sermons, but audio must be good. Connect audio to the sound system. Print: Packets are out. Tri-folds are out. Post cards are in. Type heavy brochures are not good. If using, keep them simple. Don't trash up the walls with flyers. Want people to walk up to a bulletin board; not past it. Items in bulletins should be less than 20 words. Change reliance to other forms of communication. Have announcements before the service or after the benediction. Pastor should never make the announcements. Limit announcements to 2-3. For event announcements: Say, "You will enjoy". Give start & end time. Refer to website with downloadable info. Always provide for inclement weather (backup plan) for events. Monday & Friday are not good for s. Afternoons and midweek are best for Facebook posts. People forget what they read after they receive a communication. Can't over promote. So promote more than once. One week from an event, promote it once or more per day. Better to do less and do it first class. Need head usher and representative from property committee on the communication team. 3. Hospitality Ministry Every church thinks it's the friendliest church in the area. They are not as friendly as they think. The hardest thing for an unchurched person is to come to a strange church. Hospitality is not an option. It comes from the Scripture. Every member is a greeter.

9 The more hospitality you show, the more hospitable you will want to be. Should have guest parking even though guests won't use it. They tell people you are expecting guests and know what to do with them. Have guest parking signs with the logo and website address on them. Greeters should work outside the doors. He's a door opener. Go to a church to find out what it's like being a guest. Don't make it a Lutheran church. Greeters should have nametags with first name only. Guests will self-identify by saying certain things that tip you off. Forget the pew pad for guest signing. Forget the guest book. Give guests a connection card. Can put address and stamp on it. Do not send them to the reception center. If they have questions, don't direct them to someone else. Give them an answer or tell them you will get the answer. Have inside greeters also with connection card. Train your greeters not to feel they are invasive. The greeter represents all Christian churches. If you have a problem getting people to serve as greeter, you have a discipleship problem. One function of the reception center is to promote small groups. Need greeters in all the small groups to make new people welcome. Must have exit greeters to thank guests and to answer questions. Guest want to see volunteers who have a sense of purpose - who want to serve. Let them sit where they want to sit. Guests want to hear laughter. Don't give a hard sell. Make sure the sound system works properly. Need seamless teamwork among the volunteers. Greeter should introduce guest to someone else. Greeters should do nothing but greet. Have occasional training of ushers and greeters at which you solve problems and have fun. Don't force people to come to these meetings. Ushers must know where the first aid kit is and how to handle an emergency. Get law enforcement to provide active shooting training. Have pastor announce that guests are welcome to see greeters if questions. If you have a welcome center, call it the reception center. People manning a reception center should stand in front of table; not behind it. Don't provide waste baskets for people to put their bulletins. You want them to take them home.

10 Consider having block parties at the church. No music. Just visiting. Don't get pushy about home visits. Signage outside: Build a relationship with a professional sign co. Ask about finding signage that directs guests to all places they may need to find. Type of sign at road is about traffic pattern first and aesthetics second. Make sure glare from the sun does not allow sign to be read. Consider expense of future computer repair and replacements. The church is not a public place so permission must be obtained to use pictures or videos of anyone. Go to a public school to get a good photo release form to use pictures of people. Respectfully submitted: Dave Johnston (Secretary)