Church Profile. Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Part I: The Church. A. Basic information about the church

Transcription

1 1 Church Profile Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church Name of Church: Greenville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church Date: June 24, 2017 Address: 741 Cleveland Street City: Greenville State: South Carolina Presbytery: 2 nd Presbytery Phone: Church Contact Person: Reverend David Griffin Address: office@greenvillearp.com Position to be filled: Senior Pastor Part I: The Church A. Basic information about the church When was the church organized? 1914 Active Membership 575 Total Membership 585 Church Membership 5 Years Ago 558 Annual General Budget $1,053,000 Number of New Members Last Year by: Profession 5 Transfer 16 Reaffirmation 0 Number of members lost last year by: Death 6 Transfer 18 Removal from Roll 0 Is your church part of a yoked parish? No Number of members who are Adult Women 195 Adult Men 154 Youth/Children 110 Ethnic (Specify) Predominately Caucasian Former Pastors. Please list your last three pastors, their addresses (if known) and the years they were at your church. 1. Matthew S. Miller, 200 Highbourne Dr., Greenville, SC ( ) 2. Stephen M. Crotts, 3110 Carriage Tri., Hillsborough,NC ( ) 3. H. Neely Gaston, 107 Hillcrest Dr,, Chester, SC ( ) B. Narrative information about the church On a separate sheet of paper, describe your congregation. Here are some suggestions to help you think about your congregational life. 1. Describe the physical building where your church is meeting. 2. Describe a typical Sabbath morning worship service. 3. How do members describe your church? How do visitors describe your church? 4. What is the social background of your church membership? What are their occupations?

2 2 5. What is the unique mission of your congregation within your community? 6. What are the ministry goals of your church? 7. What are the greatest challenges confronting your church in the coming year? 8. What special joys, opportunities, or challenges await a pastor in your congregation? Please see the following: GARP Church Website Vision and Values Introduction Video on Vision and Values Part II: The Neighborhood Check any terms which might apply to your neighborhood: Inner City Downtown X Urban Residential Suburb Rural Small Town College Retirement Resort Agricultural X The total population of the town, community, or rural area within which the church is located is approximately 67,453 (MSA population 884,975) What would you say is the average distance your members drive to and from work each day? Varies Narrative about the Neighborhood (see below) 1. Describe the community in which your church ministers (occupations, recreational pastimes, social and ethnic makeup, etc.). 2. What changes is your community undergoing, and how is it affecting your church? 3. What does your church do to serve the local community? What does your church do to reach out to your neighbors? The Neighborhood Greenville ARP Church is located in the zip code area of the city, which includes very affluent as well as middle and lower income neighborhoods. We share our block with a large Baptist Church, a mainline Methodist church, a lower income apartment complex, a Scottish Rite Temple and a branch of the YMCA. We are also less than 2 miles away from the main campus of Greenville Technical College, which provides some apartments for student housing. The YMCA is next door and a portion of the Swamp Rabbit bicycle trail, literally, runs behind our facility. It is common to see the many young professionals in our neighborhood jogging or biking near the church. Downtown Greenville is less than 5 miles away and is a big attraction for the entire area with its scenic parks, restaurants and entertainment venues. The ethnic make-up of the city of Greenville according to the latest (2010) Census Bureau report is 61% White / 30% Black / 6% Hispanic / 3% Asian-Other. The Census Bureau also ranked Greenville as the 4th fastest growing city in America between 2015 and The population growth has a potentially large impact on our church. The current trend in Greenville seems to be a demand for housing in the downtown area. Developers have constructed numerous apartment complexes geared towards young professionals as well as townhouses and condos for the more affluent. So the population within a 5 mile area of our church is ever increasing.

3 3 Greenville ARP operates a very successful Christian pre-school, which serves our members as well as families in the neighborhood. We also have a ministry to the special needs individuals and families in our city through our Just Joy services. These monthly services provide a time of fellowship, Bible lessons and music. Efforts have been made to reach out to our Greenville Technical College neighbors by offering an on-campus weekly Bible Study, use of the church gymnasium and a recent presentation of Christianity Explored. The church supports many other benevolent ministries in the city. Part III: Activities A. Session. How many members are on your Session? 12 Are they rotating or permanent? rotating B. Diaconate. How many members are on your diaconate? 15 Are they rotating or permanent? rotating Do you have women on the diaconate? yes C. Youth. How many youth do you have in your Junior High? 24 Senior High? 20 Combined? No College? 12 Do you have any special programs other than Sabbath School and youth groups for your youth? (For example, youth choir, drama group, sports programs, etc.) D-groups Basketball teams Appalachia Quest/Horizon Spring/Fall Retreats Other social events D. Children. How many elementary school children do you have? 38 members, 6 regular visitors Pre-School children? 35 members, 15 regular visitors Do you have a children's church? yes What ages? nursery - Kindergarten What other special youth events/activities do you have? Little Lights 123 Time 45 Time CARE Group Parents Night Out Summer Camps and events Wednesday Night Basketball teams E Women's Societies. Do you have an active ARPWM group? Yes How many regular participators? 50 How many circles do you have? 5 What special events does your ARPWM sponsor annually? Annual luncheon at Bonclarken Jubilee Birthday Celebration

4 4 Condolence Committee/events Annual weekend retreat Church clean-up day F. Outreach Ministries. List any special service or outreach ministries you have, describe them, and list how many people participate. Just Joy: A ministry for people with special needs. About 40 participants (includes helpers and special friends). Samaritans Purse Shoeboxes. Most of congregation participates. Day School: A preschool for members and nonmembers children. G. Missions. Describe how your church promotes World Missions and Local Missions. LOCAL MISSIONS Miracle Hill Ministries Piedmont Women s Center Christianity Explored United Ministries Samaritan s Purse Just Joy Verdae Presbyterian Church WORLD MISSIONS World Witness Camp Joy Appalachia H. Social Events. What other on-going fellowship activities does your church have? Our church has a fellowship time every Sunday between Sunday school and the 10:55 service. We also have dinner in the Fellowship Hall prior to Wednesday night bible study. What special events occur annually in the life of your church that brings all your people together? Fellowship Retreat at Bonclarken More-to-life Events (various social events throughout the year) Supper Clubs Promotion Sunday Plymouth Rock Breakfast I. Worship. When are your worship services? Sunday mornings at 8:30 and 10:55. What special worship events happen annually throughout the year? Maundy Thursday services, Christmas Eve Service, Lessons and Carols service J. Stewardship. Describe how your church encourages stewardship every year. Does your church have a pledge system as part of your budget process? yes If so, how does it work? The deacons who serve on the stewardship committee, along with the events committee plan a covered dish luncheon on Stewardship Sunday. Members are encouraged to bring in their pledge cards (cards are mailed

5 5 out prior to the luncheon with a letter about the stewardship process). The pledge cards give an opportunity for members to pledge financial, time, and special gifts or talents to the church. K. Staff. Please list the full or part-time staff of your church. Rev. David Griffin Associate Pastor of Congregational Care and Membership Rev. Derek Wells Associate Pastor of Discipleship and Family Ministries Rebekah Harkins Director of Children s Ministries Andrew Di Iulio Director of Youth Ministries Erica Wingate Day School Coordinator T. J. Ellis Director of Music and Administrative Assistant Cheri Owensby Director of Children s Choirs Felicia Dykes Organist Beth McCary Financial Secretary Steve Ford - Sexton L. Christian Education. What is the average attendance in your Sabbath School? 237 are enrolled but we do not take weekly attendance. What other educational/discipleship programs do you have? Wednesday night teaching for children, youth and adults Weekly women s bible study Monthly women s circles Annual VBS Youth D-groups Weekly family devotion series Monthly groups for 1 st 5 th grades Does your church have a regular new members' class? yes Officer training? Yes M. Music. What on-going music ministries do you have in your church? The music ministry at Greenville ARP Church strives to glorify God in all of our music as we sing His beautiful and powerful truths found in Scripture. The Chancel Choir, led by our Director of Music, leads in worship each Sunday in the 10:55am service by preparing choral anthems that enhance our worship services and helping to lead congregational singing. Our organist plays organ and piano for worship services as well as accompanies the Chancel Choir. Our Children's Choir Director leads two different children's choirs: the Cherub Choir (grades K4-1st grade) and the Joy Singers (grades 2-6). We occasionally use handbells, guitar, trumpet, flute, and other instruments to enhance our worship services. Our Chancel Choir rehearses each Wednesday night during the school year for an hour and several times throughout the summer in addition to weekly rehearsals on Sunday mornings prior to our worship service. Our youth (grades 6-12) participate in worship by singing in our Lessons & Carols service as well as some singing regularly in the Chancel Choir. We invite local college choirs to sing in worship from time to time and bring in Christian artists to perform concerts.

6 6 Part IV: Expectations of a Pastor Describe the characteristics and qualifications needed in a person who would fill this position. A viable candidate for the Senior Pastor position would need to meet all of the pastor qualifications outlined in the ARP Form of Government. In addition, they would need to embrace an expository style of preaching, be humble in spirit, and be committed to our written church Vision and Values (see GARP website - If this is an associate position, describe how this person would work with the rest of the staff. This is not an associate position What sort of ongoing evaluation will be offered by the church? Who will do the evaluation? The GARP Church Session conducts a formal, written evaluation of the Senior Pastor annually. The Staff Relations Committee compiles the responses and reviews with the Senior Pastor. What style of leadership will the church expect of its new pastor? We would expect the Senior Pastor to exhibit servant leadership as exemplified by Christ Jesus. Preferred experience: Not necessary 1-2 years 2-5 years 5-10 years X 10 years or above X What other expectations do you have for a pastor? (Such as doctrinal beliefs, values, lifestyle, etc.)? The Senior Pastor would need to excel in preaching, leading worship, education and teaching. He would also need to have strong administrative leadership skills and have a heart for congregational care. Pastoral Activities Listed below are 20 activities of a pastor in a church. Please determine a priority rating of these activities for the minister. Please limit your #1 categories to 6, and same for #2s. Category High Low 1. Corporate worship and sacraments (Pastor works with congregation to develop a rich, meaningful worship experience) 2. Proclamation of the Word. (The Word of God is preached with urgency and conviction. High priority on sermon preparation) 3. Spiritual development of members (Pastor facilitates spiritual growth through individual training, counseling, and small groups) 4. Evangelism of the lost outside the church (Pastor facilitates programs that train laypersons in sharing Jesus Christ with others) 5. Church growth and church planting (Pastor places strong emphasis on increasing church size and/or starting a new church) 6. Support and encouragement of missions (Pastor facilitates support and awareness of home and foreign missions)

7 7 7. Home Visitation of the members (Pastor places high priority on visiting people in their homes regularly) 8. Hospital or emergency visitation (Pastor willing to take time anytime to visit during sickness or emergencies) 9. Support of Christian education program (Pastor encourages education for all ages consistent with mission of church) 10. Counseling and referral (Pastor places high priority on developing counseling and referral programs) 11. Congregational fellowship (Pastor places strong emphasis on developing congregational community of mutual love and support) 12. Administrative leadership in the church (Pastor is comfortable with accepting administrative responsibility, delegation, and training of leadership) 13. Stewardship and commitment programs (Pastor works with church to develop a stewardship program of time and talent.) 14. Encouraging the ministry of the laity (Pastor encourages spiritual gifts of members, sharing opportunities for planning and participation) 15. Responsibility for teaching within the church (Pastor places emphasis on his own personal role of teacher) 16. Denomination and Presbytery service (Pastor is involved in and encourages participation on Presbytery and Synod level) 17. Social and political witness within and without the church (Pastor emphasizes Biblical witness in politics and society) 18. Social service (Pastor places emphasis on the ministry of social assistance in the community) 19. Development of congregation prayer (Pastor places strong emphasis on the ministry of prayers, offers prayer opportunities) 20. The development of youth and/or children's ministries (Pastor encourages programs to reach youth and children) Part V: Compensation Please state the compensation your church provided for your last pastor: Salary Available upon request Manse Allowance (if any)available upon request Other Allowances Available upon request What other forms of compensation does your church provide? The church currently has a formal sabbatical policy. What is the annual vacation period? 4 Weeks What time is allotted for study leave? As approved by Session Did your church pay insurance? Yes X No

8 8 Social Security? Yes X No Does your church provide a manse? Yes No X If you do, please describe it. Has your church provided utilities for the manse? Yes No N/A If you have a manse, have you provided an equity allowance? Yes No N/A Are you willing to make changes in the compensation package for the next pastor? Yes X No Part VI: References Please list at least three people outside the church including at least one former pastor, who the candidate could contact to find out more about your church. Reverend Matt Miller former GARP pastor Reverend Alan Avera Executive Director Christianity Explored non-member but long-term attendee Reverend Jay Crout Former member now church planter - Verdae Presbyterian Church