Stonehill SDA Church Ministry Report

Transcription

1 Stonehill SDA Church Ministry Report 2015

2 1 Table of Contents 2 Pastor s Letter Stonehill SDA Church 2015 Overview Board of Elders Finance Ministry Leadership Development Ministry Worship Ministry Evangelism Ministry Prayer Ministry Stonehill Christian Academy Ministry Media Ministry Communications Ministry Sabbath School Departments Ministry Youth Ministry Deacon Ministry Deaconess Ministry Hospitality and Member Support Ministry Greeter Ministry

3 2 Pastor s Letter Dear Church Family It is that time of the year that we reflect back on this past year, in order to better prepare for the year and years that still await us. We, as a congregation have been through quite a bit. With a pastoral transition, I believe it was a less than ideal environment for many of the dreams and plans that were fostered for this year. We do however look forward, as scripture tells us to lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Attached to this letter, you will find reports from all our ministry team leaders reflecting on this past year. It s good to take stock and see where we are. I also want to briefly share with you some of what our leaders recently discussed at our Elder s Retreat, as we are looking at 2016 and beyond. We are looking at making some adjustments to the way we staff our ministries to ensure better continuity throughout the years ahead. (Most of which will be discussed later in the Business Meeting, as we want your valuable input on this matters also.) Closer attention will be given to relationship building within our community, and again, with a focus on Mentor/Mentee relationships for developing stronger leaders in our church and its ministries. Short term small groups, catering to myriad of needs and interests, community related events, +1 evangelistic opportunities, and our Stonehill 101 program are but a sampling of what we are implementing with your blessings and approval to engage our congregation and our community. In our strategic thinking, we are also contemplating our Mission, Vision and Values. As we are thinking and talking about this, I hope and pray that you will come to see the need for us to engage in Developing loving relationships with Christ and our Community. I hope to see you at our Business Meeting, as we actively discuss this, and the other items on the attached Agenda. Let s build our church and our community, by actively connecting to Jesus, each other, and our community. Yours in HIS service 3

4 3 Stonehill SDA Church 2015 Overview In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what the Lord has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.--life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 196 (1902) started out on a high note. At the Elders retreat in November 2014, Pastor Albert and the Elders concluded that making evangelism the priority for 2015 was where they felt God was calling to focus the work of our Church. In previous years, much of the church leadership s energy was absorbed in matters relating to completing the church building. During those years, God blessed us through the spoken word in Pastor Albert s preaching, even as Nehemiah encouraged Israel as they focused on completing the wall around Jerusalem. Early in January of 2015, Pastor Albert announced that he accepted the call to another church. We later learned that this was to the Keene Church, where he would focus on student ministry. Naturally, losing our pastor at this stage was a significant concern to the leadership and our church at large. Pastor Albert left in early February to take up his new calling. Our church family is grateful for his ministry at Stonehill. To God be the glory. In early February the results of our Natural Church Development (NCD) survey were returned. This is a survey filled out by members of the church, to provide insights into the level of health in core areas of the church. The result of the survey was sobering. After discussion the Board concluded that a root cause of the poor score was a breakdown of functional structures in our church. We resolved to address this concern with the following steps: 1. Restore strong accountability to all ministries by requiring all ministry leaders to submit a monthly report to the church Board. These reports are collated by the church clerk and distributed to members of the Board for our monthly meeting. The reports include the following: a. The goals of the ministry for the year b. Measures by which the ministry leaders would assess health and progress c. Monthly updates on progress and/or challenges d. Monthly requests from the board i. Financial or help in finding people to lead e. Summary of amount budgeted for that ministry and how much has been spent 2. Restore the organizational structure of the church to that defined in the church manual. Under Pastor Ripley (the pastor before Pastor Albert), the church instituted a leadership structure that worked well while Pastor Ripley 4

5 was here. Under Pastor Albert, the non-traditional structure became a challenge to manage and direct. The Board recognized this as a key factor contributing to the low NCD score and recommended the Church revert to the structure outlined in the SDA Church manual. The Church voted unanimously to accept this recommendation. With these two changes in place, we began the process of searching for a new pastor, while having a deliberate eye on working to bring health back to our leadership structure. We believe with your help and prayerful support, God has answered the prayers of His people to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers, Matt: 9:38. In 2015 we have seen new leaders come forward and engage passionately in ministry. We know we have a long way to go yet, to make it easier for those who desire to engage in ministry to discover and connect with ministry opportunities that exist in our church. We continue to press forward in improving in this area. We believe God lead clearly in the process of finding, selecting and ultimately bringing our new pastor, Pastor Eugene Kitney, to our church. Throughout this process, a spirit of prayerful grace and loving respect for each other was manifested. We ask that you continue to pray for Pastor Kitney and our church leaders; that we all will earnestly seek to understand the mind of God and to do his will. Our giving in 2015 reflected our members continued belief in supporting the Great Commission, taking the gospel throughout the world. Our giving in tithe rose over previous the year. Our local budget, funds that manages the care of our building and local ministry efforts have not done as well. Your continued and renewed support to fund our local ministry needs is earnestly sought as we move into the close of 2015 and the start of a new year. During 2015 we also saw significant changes in the makeup of our membership. We have seen old friends move away for work and other reason, and we have seen God bring new friends and fellow workers in ministry, to our church. For most of 2015 our average monthly attendance has remained on par with that of 2014, at around , and sometimes even exceeding the average attendance in Often during pastoral transitions, attendance decline. This is a testament to the leaders that God has used to keep His people engaged and connected to the cause at Stonehill, during this transition. To God be the glory. We did not meet our evangelism goals for Whereas this is probably understandable, owing to the absence of a pastor, we did try to follow the plan agreed to at the Elders retreat in November 2014, but did not have the capacity to carry it out effectively. We started out the year with baptisms lead by Pastor Albert on his final Sabbath here with us. We believe much opportunity exists to help bring new people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We must believe, otherwise we cease to be a church. At our annual elders retreat in November 2015, we again affirmed that we felt that the Lord was calling us again to make evangelism a priority in 2016 and beyond. We 5

6 believe all our church should rally to this call, with fervent prayer and devotion rooted in our love for our Lord Jesus Christ. Yours sincerely, Peter Walker, Head Elder 6

7 4 Board of Elders Ministry Leader: Peter Walker With the data from the NCD survey, the Board of Elders recognized that their leadership was essential to restoring organizational health to our church. To that end the elders agreed to the following key initiatives as their ministry goals for 2015: 1. To develop and institute a new members orientation class - Stonehill 101, with the following goals in mind: a. Provide a clear channel for new members to understand the goals and ministry outlets in our church b. Provide clear opportunity for new members to connect and engage in one or two ministries of our church. c. The class be held at a minimum once per month Status: With help from Pastor Dan Serns of the Richardson church, the curriculum for the class has been developed. Pastor Kitney is schedule to start the class in December Each elder would become mentor to a key ministry, lending their support to further build health and vitality to the assigned ministry. The elder working with that ministry generated many of the monthly reports. Below were the ministry assignments of the elders (see table below). 3. Use the potluck lunch as vital time to connect with our members. Our church community is largely what is referred to as commuting church, meaning that most of our members are not from the immediate church vicinity and therefore have to travel substantial distances to be at church. The Board recognized the importance of potluck as an opportunity for members to connect with members and leaders with members. The elders resolved to be deliberate in meaningfully visiting with as many members as possible during our weekly potlucks. 7

8 Ministry Elder Notes Worship Victor Obando Continually seek to understand and improve worship process and experience Evangelism Esteban Cortez Develop an evangelism team and coordinate the implementation and member awareness around the evangelism cycle Youth (teens and juniors) Esteban Cortez Work with leaders to understand and improve the modes of engaging with youth in relevant ways Prayer Brent Holm Seek to bring opportunity for prayer to the church s awareness (Week of Prayer, prayer in pastoral search, etc.) School Brent Holm School represent the needs of the school at the Church Board Media Chris Kolliniatis Work with media team to understand needs and align goals with the goals of church Communication Chris Walton Seek to improve the channels of communication used by the church 1. News letter 2. Web properties (Facebook, website, etc.) 3. Etc. Sabbath School Roberto Torres Work with Sabbath school leaders to understand needs and represent those concerns at elders meeting Deacons & Deaconess Member Support Roberto Torres Rhona Ballarta Work with head deacon/deaconess to help clarify and improve the effectiveness of role of deacons and deaconess. Bring to the attention of church members in need of physical, emotional or spiritual support. Work with existing support ministry leads - Robert Juler: Community Services - Feather Wright: New moms - Etc. Hospitality Rhona Ballarta Work with tea/potluck ministry to understand needs and goals; provide guidance toward implementing spiritual goals 8

9 New Members Orientation class Peter Walker & Ken Krivenshein Develop the content and schedule for implementing the new members class Leadership Peter Walker Work with leaders to create a more functional organizational model. NCD score as basis of discussion. I believe the elders have delivered well on meeting these objectives. Our church is stronger in many ways than when we began in To God be the glory. Our team of elders this year had many young leaders serving in this role for the first time. They helped to bring a genuine spirit of I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me to our team. Their exemplary leadership has been a source of rich blessing to our church family. As Paul counseled Timothy, Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12, I believe God has used these young leaders in a manner that puts the glory where it belongs. To God be the glory. It has been a blessing to serve our church during the past four years. As we move forward I ask that you continue to lift up each of the elders in prayer, by name. These are not perfect men and women, but they are willing to allow God to use them. Lift them up, prayerfully lift them up! Keep pressing forward Love, Peter 9

10 5 Finance Ministry Ministry Leader: Ellen Jensen Goals for ) Increase Member Awareness of Financial Position/Needs a. Thermostat for Mortgage b. Bulletin Updates c. Finance Committee Announcements d. Quarterly Pastoral Update 2) Need Oriented Evangelism a. Financial Peace University b. Other as needs are identified during year 3) Funding of Facility Needs (All Hands on Deck) 4) Streamline Administrative Processes Around Facility What we did well 1) We developed a poster to keep people visually informed to the status of the mortgage for the building. 2) Each week we furnished bulletin and newsletter updates of the financial status of the budget, tithe and mortgage status of the church. 3) The Finance committee took on the HR duties of the church. With the hire of new administrative assistants and new finance committee member, we have improved administrative processes. The hire of a Facility Technician has greatly improved the landscaping and will also help with inside maintenance projects. 4) The tithe and offering counting process is documented and handled in a manner to protect the funds of the church. 5) Tithe is up from Concerns and Plans to address in ) Receipt of Church budget funds is down this year. We are behind approximately 2 months which is keeping us from funding some needs. We need to be more consistent in mentioning the giving situation to the church. The offering call needs to encourage giving to meet the budget. We need to find more ways to increase awareness to congregations of church needs. 10

11 2) The change of pastors during the year lead to inconsistent pastoral finance updates to the church. 3) Funding the roofing and plumbing facility needs is a concern. Finance Committee made a bulletin insert and announcement in early summer with little response. Pastor Kitney is visiting the conference office to start conversations and determine how we move forward. 4) Financial Peace University was canceled this fall as the facilitator moved away. We need to find a new person to lead this ministry. 5) Plan to finish documenting the entire treasury process. 6) Plan to update rental policies. Annual Budget Status through October Local Funds Received 248,045 Local Funds Spent 272,906 Surplus (Deficit)* (24,861) Conference Funds Received 274,522 Beginning of Year Cash Balance 116,747 Month End Cash Balance 91,886 *YTD Deficit consists of the following: 1) Local Church Budget (14,537) 2) Facility Maintenance Fund (16,574) 3) All Other 6,250 11

12 6 Leadership Development Ministry Ministry Leader: Peter Walker Goal for 2015 Areas of church health primarily address/supported by goal How will you measure progress How are things going Create a platform that lends for greater visibility into the workings of the church 1. Monthly ministry reports 2. Assign elders oversight of key ministry areas and use monthly ministry report to follow progress 3. All leaders to provide ministry updates 4. Research and recommend a church ministry management tool Empowering Leadership Gift-based ministry Passionate Spirituality Effective Structures Inspiring worship service Holistic small groups Need-oriented evangelism Loving relationships Monthly reports are being received from elders Church ministry software identified and vetted and installed. Setup ministry software user training and start usage - This software is installed but usage has not begun. Excellent good fair poor bad Details captured in elders report. Annual Budget Status How much is allocated: $0 How much has been spent: $1400 (for software) 12

13 7 Worship Ministry Elder: Victor Obando Goals for 2015 To lead People in a lifestyle of worship. - Continually seek to understand and improve worship process and experience in order to create an inspiring environment that encourages reverence, spiritual lifting and participation What we did well The first stage of this process was to understand the current worship process, the congregation s needs, areas that needed improvement and to organize participants in the worship service to align them with the ministry and church goals. Work with worship teams and participants to create a worship experience that is relevant, enthusiastic and engaging. Encourage worship group rehearsal Revised existing program workflow and make adjustments as needed. Requested involvement of Deacons and Deaconesses during worship service to help maintain reverence and provide member assistance before service start. Start organizing regular worship ministry meeting and encourage cross teams communication. Where we could grow next year Now that we have a good blueprint of where we are we need to concentrate on organizing ourselves better to achieve the above-mentioned goals. We need to do a better job managing time during worship service, and ensuring a program flow that is intentional and well organized. Need to work organizing worship groups in a much efficient way so music selection, time and group styles aligns with the program/occasion specially for special times like communions, baptisms etc. Continue making improvements on service workflow, some of the areas that need to be carefully monitored are announcement time and children story. Recommend children story be scheduled for children Sabbath school teachers. Utilize surveys to better understand how the congregation feels about program flows and collect ideas for improvement. 13

14 Budgeted vs. Used $0 14

15 8 Evangelism Ministry Elder: Esteban Saul Cortez Goals for 2015: Follow the Evangelism Cycle Prayer for God s guidance Understanding church Interest Outreach Activities What we did well: We started the year with prayer that focused on evangelism and the search for a pastor. We did this through the first half of the year and God answered our request by bringing Pastor Kitney. This I believe as well answered our prayer for a bigger focus on evangelism. Pastor Kitney has a passion for reaching the lost and together we will be able to establish a foundation for this ministry to work with our community. The church was polled to see interest in possible outreach events, this gave us an idea as to what kind of possible activities could be done to connect with the surrounding community. Jaime Jorge was invited to give a concert focused on Evangelism and seeds were planted that I know will eventually will bring fruit. Contact cards were passed out and follow-up was done via . Joshua Wright spearheaded an outreach activity in conjunction with the Round Rock SDA which the youth participated in and were able to show the love of Christ to the community. Feeding the homeless has generated a possible outlet for a monthly outreach event in ministering to the needs of the homeless in Austin and other areas. Over all, what was done well was seeking to find outreach engagement interest, and the initiative taken by church members to engage our community in evangelism. Where we could grow next year: Developing a core group of members that can focus on specific areas of evangelism. We would love to be more intentional in providing events for our members to engage in individual and corporate evangelism. I would love to place a strong emphasis on Christ s Method of Evangelism which is highly focused on developing friendships, ministering to the needs of those we encounter, gaining their confidence, and then letting Jesus work in the heart of men through our words, actions, and examples. Another focus is to make sure we are working closely with the city of Pflugerville and establishing programs, events, and interest groups for the community so that we have plenty of outlets for our members to meet others and present Christ to 15

16 them. Our growth is dependent on our ability to connect not only to each other, but with those in our surrounding areas. So, another thing I would love to see is the start of small groups for the spiritual growth of members and their family and friends. Over all, the focus is reaching up to God, so that we may reach in and foster loving relationships amongst ourselves so that the world outside will be ready for us to reach out to them. Let us seek to lift Christ on high so that all man will be drawn to Him. 16

17 9 Prayer Ministry Ministry Leader and Elder: Brent Holm Goals for 2015 Introduce monthly prayer emphasis topics. Weekly Prayer Focus sent out. Prayer requests or updates as they are needed. Links to the daily devotionals and prayers for the 100 Days of Prayer are posted daily on the church Facebook page. What we did well We sent out a weekly listing the recent and longer term prayer requests to a group of members known as the Prayer Warriors. Urgent prayer requests were sent as soon as they were received or known about. Along with this a monthly prayer emphasis topic was added. The entire list is now being printed on a bulletin insert so that all church attendees can participate in praying instead of limiting it just to the Prayer Warriors. Prayer devotionals were posted daily during the 100 Days of Prayer preceding the General Conference session on the church Facebook page. Weekly devotionals have been posted on Facebook since July. Where we could grow next year Divide the list of families that are members into 52 groups and list one group of names each week on the prayer list. In this way every family would have the entire church praying for them at least one week every year. Start or continue a prayer group every Sabbath either before or after the church service. Budgeted vs. Used $0 17

18 10 Stonehill Christian Academy Ministry School Board Chairman and Elder: Brent Holm Goals for 2015 Enroll total of 10 or more Pre-K students Maintain enrollment of 25 or more Grade K-8 students Complete a true Soccer field Finish fiscal year in the black Get High speed internet What we did well: We enrolled a total of 38 students, with 7 of them in Pre-K. Enrollment has dipped a little as two families withdrew their students but others were added. 12 of our students are from the community (non-sda). We have 3 teachers employed: Chinyere Ukegbu is our principal and teacher for grades 2-8; Adrianna Baca is our Kindergarten and first grade teacher; and Ariel Wesby is our Pre-K 3&4 teacher. Our teacher aide is Dennis Clifford III and our before and after care provider is Silvia Marisol Cruz. Lorna Camacho is our volunteer secretary two days a week and is doing an amazing job. We have expanded the field being used for soccer this year and purchased full size soccer goals. We completed the fiscal year in July with a positive balance sheet. We installed a 6 station swing set. We purchased 4 more laptops and had 4 refurbished tablets donated. We had another successful International Night fund raiser where we had our highest attendance and the most funds raised in the 3 years we have conducted it. We obtained funding at the 90% level for High Speed Internet service from Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which administers grant funding for schools and libraries. Installation of the new service was completed on October 21 by Stratus Networks and AT&T. Amber Lovett is our newsletter editor and she is producing a monthly edition which is being published and inserted into the bulletin as well as the church newsletter. Where we could grow next year: We didn t hit our goal of enrolling 10 Pre-K students, which is the key to sustaining enrollment. The Pre-K program is also the most appealing to our local community and can be an effective outreach. We are creating a Marketing plan for both the community as well as for our church members. We would like to grow enrollment to 45 students, with 10 of the being in Pre-K. 18

19 The two-year NAD Evaluation follow-up for our accreditation will be in February, Pray that it will be successful by our fulfilling all the recommendations from the previous evaluation in Budget vs. Used $4000 per month ($48,000 annually) subsidy from the church local budget Approximately $2500 per month in direct donations and donations for worthy students Total Annual budget: $225,

20 11 Media Ministry Ministry Leader and Elder: Chris Kolliniatis Goal for 2015 (or changes) Areas of church health primarily address/supported by goal How will you measure progress How are things going Media team to deliver with consistency and quality to enhance worship experience for attendees. Empowering Leadership Gift-based ministry Passionate Spirituality Effective Structures Inspiring worship service Holistic small groups Need-oriented evangelism Loving relationships Satisfaction of attendees. Excellent good fair poor bad Concerns and plans to address Concerns at the start of 2015: 1. Consistency in quality - Team needs to be trained properly so that we can deliver is in good quality with consistency while minimizing errors. Too much feedback and too many errors being made. 2. Dependability of Team - Need to refine the schedule to team members that are dependable and show up on time. 3. Set up by 9am - The team needs to be setup and ready to go by 9am every Sabbath so that praise team can practice. 4. Not enough staff per week (only 2 people per week). Actions Made to Address Concerns: 1. Purchased projectors and new sound board which enabled us to move upstairs. 20

21 2. Defined and staffed all 5 positions for each week moving forward (Director, Soundboard Operator, Computer Operator, Broadcasting Manger, and Stage Manager). Please see attached job descriptions for more information. 3. For each for each of the 5 positions, there is a team lead. The team leads that are responsible for scheduling and training their team. Any scheduling changes will need to be reported back to the Director. 4. Sermons are now being posted to the website and we are getting reliable streaming. Moving Forward: 1. Need to permanently mount the projectors and spotlights (about 2.5k) 2. Need to reposition the large speakers on the ceiling. (about 2.8k) 3. Continue training for new staff and continue to improve the sound quality Annual Budget Status How much is allocated How much has been spent 21

22 12 Communications Ministry Ministry Leader and Elder: Christopher Walton Goal for 2015 Areas of church health primarily address/supported by goal How did you measure progress To effectively use the communication channels available to Stonehill SDA Church to provide information and inspiration for both members and the general public. Empowering Leadership Gift-based ministry Passionate Spirituality Effective Structures Inspiring worship service Holistic small groups Need-oriented evangelism Loving relationships Through completion of the following steps: 1) Media inventory 2) Meet with Administrative Assistant and solve immediate problems 3) Establish a communications team with a first meeting no later than second full week of April 4) Goals set by the Communications Team once established, including, but not limited to: How are things going At least 500 Facebook likes by the end of the year An updated website Church sign (identified by Finance Committee as $30,000 (Special project Unfunded)) Excellent good fair poor bad 22

23 Concerns and plans to address At the beginning of the year, communications at Stonehill were effectively a blank slate. Many channels of communication were used, but very few were used effectively. A plan was created for an effective communications strategy for Stonehill, primarily by creating a Communications Team to assemble guidelines for Stonehill s communication platforms. 1. Communications Team o Currently includes 8 members and 2 assistants, focused on areas of church administration, worship, social media, surveys, and graphics/photography. The team also receives additional support from the Pastor and the A/V team. 2. Plans and projects for 2016 o Increased consistency and frequency of communications Policies. Seven policies currently under development: Announcements, Church directory, Social media, Bulletin, Newsletter, and Church calendars. Other policies will also be developed to help ensure regularity and consistency of church communications. o Increased information communicated Stonehill Special Events Form. We expect the increased, timely use of tools such as the Stonehill Special Events form to help us collect information from various ministries and better promote upcoming events. Ministry Highlights. We hope to work with ministry leaders to include a ministry highlight as part of each church service, showcasing what each of our ministries do and including an appeal for offerings to the local church budget, in order to help our various ministries. Ministry Directory. To assist with Stonehill 101, we are creating a ministry directory, based on information collected from all Stonehill 23

24 ministries. The Directory will be available online; hard copies distributed in class. Surveys. We expect to see an increased use of surveys to obtain feedback for both general church and ministry-specific purposes. o An expanded communications team Key roles to be filled include a ministry lead (Communications Secretary) and webmaster. Other positions needing to be filled include expanding teams such as graphics/photography and social media, as well as making sure all key positions have an assistant in place. o Working more closely with the Finance Team We expect to see increased alignment with the Finance Team next year in order to help church members better understand how their tithes and offerings help make a difference in ministry. o Specific financial goal: Church sign While Communications does not receive a specific amount from the budget, the team has decided its top financial priority is a church sign. Ideally, any money donated to communications will be used for this purpose. Annual Budget Status How much is allocated: No money is allocated to Communications specifically; however, we have access to funds in various other accounts (i.e. Advertising, etc.) How much has been spent: None, to my knowledge 24

25 13 Sabbath School Departments Ministry Ministry Leader: Beth Sinha Goals for 2015: 1) To support each Sabbath School class leader/teacher with age appropriate curriculum, materials and space in order to help the leaders/teachers to teach/relay Gods love and Biblical principles to the students and their families. Ultimately to help introduce each student and/or family to Jesus and thus helping people to establish a personal relationship with Him. 2) Observe that each children s class is adequately staffed with leaders/teachers. 3) Be able to fill in as a teacher or leader as is needed with all classes. 4) Provide or offer a class for all ages of children - young adult students. 5) Support the leader/teachers to provide a space for creativity, learning and self-expression for the students while studying the Bible. Accomplishments that were made: 1) Established a Sabbath School Coordinator position for the Children s division classes extending up to late teen and early twenty-year olds classes. 2) Established an Earliteen and Young Adult class. 3) Added class creativity by establishing an Outdoor Sabbath school for Junior Youth students. 4) Maintained at least 2 leaders/teachers in each class/division. 5) Laid out plans to present/showcase each class in the church service at least twice a month beginning in November (This would be in lieu of a 13th Sabbath program featuring all divisions at once.) Concerns and Plans to address in 2016: 1) Build a leadership team in the Sabbath School division - Add on two assistant Sabbath School coordinators enhancing the overall potential for continued growth and longevity in current Sabbath School programs and activities. 2) Investigate and encourage Youth-aged church members to attend the Youth Sabbath school class. a. Begin a Youth choir with members from the Junior class spanning to Youth. 25

26 b. Look to beginning community outreach within the church and in our surrounding community for members of the Earliteens and older Sabbath School classes. 3) Investigate potential community outreach projects within our church and the surrounding community for the older Sabbath School class members. 4) Plan social opportunities for class members outside of Sabbath School time. Total Budget spent $ per quarter for each class as allotted by the church budget $ 0.00 spent (that I am aware of) 26

27 14 Youth Ministry Elder: Esteban Saul Cortez Goals for 2015: Youth Sabbath Understand concerns of Youth Meet with Youth and Parents Establish basic foundation and structure What we did well: We started the year with a Youth Sabbath program that was well executed. From this I was able to pick up the great desire that the youth have in participating in the church and engaging in ministry. Youth Sabbath gave way to open dialogue with both the parents and the youth in focusing in on their necessities and how to meet those needs. This led to the workings of a basic structure for this ministry and the need of an AYS leader which is the position that would oversee this ministry along with the elder s guidance. We as well were able to establish three main areas of focus for the coming year: AY, Outreach, and Social Events. AY focuses on building a foundation in Christ and establishing a place where the Youth can worship on Sabbath evening to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus. Outreach focuses on putting into action what the youth have been learning and as well it gives them an opportunity to show the love of Christ to others. Lastly, Social Events focus on relationship building amongst the youth of the church and those who are invited to these events. All in all, this was a year of building from the ground up and setting up for next year. Where we could grow next year: I believe we should make sure that the ministry is established and active by the middle of next year and have set events for each of the ministries departments. I personally would like to be more involved in making sure that there is an AYS leader placed and that the ministry is up and running by the second half of the year. As far as other areas of growth, I would like to bring awareness to any activity that is youth oriented and highlight any activity that has been executed. The more we can recognize the efforts of the youth the more I believe that they would be motivated to continue working and bringing the good news to others. 27

28 15 Deacon Ministry Ministry Leader: Carlton Hackett Overview The office of Church Deacon is held by individuals who are willing to serve and minister to the church s physical needs, thereby freeing up the Pastor and Elders to more efficiently minister to the church s spiritual needs. Ideally, this translates to being involved in the church s administrative and organizational tasks, collection and accountability of funds, ushering and building maintenance. Goal for 2015 Assist the Pastor in implementing his vision and programs. Measure: Satisfactory/on-going Assist in carrying on the business of the church. Measure: Satisfactory/on-going Areas of church health primarily address/supported by goal How will you measure progress Assist in the worship, baptismal and communion services. Measure: Satisfactory/on-going Empowering Leadership Gift-based ministry Passionate Spirituality Effective Structures Inspiring worship service Holistic small groups Need-oriented evangelism Loving relationships Performance Surveys Periodic review of goals Unsolicited feedback from congregation 28

29 How are things going Excellent good fair poor bad Strategies intended to accomplish Goals have been established and their corresponding outcomes are satisfactorily in progress: Strategies Involve Academy students as substitute Deacons (accomplished/on-going) Periodically assign special duties to the Young-Adult, Early Teen and Pathfinder groups (targeted for 2016) Provide a schedule of Deacons availability to church leadership (accomplished) Arrange quarterly interim Deacon meetings after church (on-going) Regular Inter-team correspondence (on-going) Occasional social interaction (on-going) Empower Deacons to take charge on assigned Sabbaths (accomplished/on-going) Annual Budget Status How much is allocated: $0 How much has been requested: $0 NOTE: No funds have been requested to-date. 29

30 16 Deaconess Ministry Ministry Leader: Sarah Wolverton Goals for 2015 This ministry works together with the deacons to assist with the baptisms and communions and the needs of the congregation. What we did well I keep communication open with my other deaconesses by and text messages. We meet before the service for communion to decide who will be able to participate. We had two successful communion services. One in January and the other in October. Due to not having a pastor we were unable to do more. Next Year s Goals I plan to get more people involved by putting a notice in the bulletin and asking for a new leader. How can we get more people involved in the ministry? Budgeted vs. Used $25 per month; $35 used. 30

31 17 Hospitality and Member Support Ministry Ministry Leader and Elder: Rhona Ballarta Goal for 2015 (or changes) Areas of church health primarily address/supported by goal How are things going Concerns and plans to address 1) Continue to support potluck /TEA coordinators and their teams with their ministries. Steps to support each group who leads weekly church potlucks in progress. 2) Create a means for church members to communicate when they need support or assistance. 3) Motivate and inspire active participation from every member to be involve with one church ministry. Empowering Leadership Gift-based ministry Passionate Spirituality Effective Structures Inspiring worship service Holistic small groups Need-oriented evangelism Loving relationships Excellent good fair poor bad Potluck continues to be challenge to realize full member participation. New leaders (Desiree and Lucy) were elected. Continued help is sought from the church to grow and sustain this ministry. Annual Budget Status How much is allocated How much has been spent 31

32 18 Greeter Ministry Ministry Leader: Noemi Garcia Mission To provide a warm welcome to all churchgoers, help guest feel at home and provide an atmosphere where everyone can worship in comfort. Vision- A welcoming smile for every churchgoer. Goals for 2015 To provide the church with a group of first line members who are striving to embody Christ s character and lead others to follow Christ. Area supported by Goal Developing a close knit and supportive church family. Progress Report: For the most part, the Greeter Ministry accomplished its goals for this year. A total of $325 was allocated to the Ministry for Of the total budget, $125 was spent for the purchase of a table for the bulletin and guest book. We measured our progress in the following manner: 1. Number of visitors returning to church. Measure: There has been a steady increase of visitors returning to Stonehill. A good number of guests were from SDA churches in the Capital area and came to Stonehill for a particular event. In addition, a good number of guests this year were visiting from out of town. 2. Everyone coming to church will be greeted with a smile. Measure: 100% of church members and visitors were greeted with a smile. 3. Everyone coming to church will receive a bulletin. Measure: 100% of church members and visitors received a bulletin as they came into the church. 4. Visitors will be identified and recognized during the announcements. Measure: During the early part of the year, the greeter team provided names of visitors to the presiding elder. However, we do not recall if any individuals were ever mentioned during the welcome portion of the service. The unofficial explanation is that visitors did not want to be individually recognized and only a general welcome for guests was offered. 5. Contact information of visitors will be written down for follow-up (guest book). Measure: Guest contact information for the most part was captured in the guest book for use by an assigned ministry designated to follow-up guests. 32