Greenwood Christian Church
Updates from the Elders
August 12, 2010
OUR VISION: To carry on the work of Jesus by loving God and loving others.
OUR MISSION: Greenwood Christian Church exists to help people go DEEP. . .
DISCOVER new life in Jesus;
EXPERIENCE belonging in the family of Jesus;
ENGAGE our world with the love of Jesus;
PURSUE transformation into the likeness of Jesus.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Once again on behalf of the leadership team at Greenwood Christian Church, may I give a brief update? At the end of the third quarter of GCC’s fiscal year, the following updates are noteworthy.
In early May we completed our four Sunday observance of Greenwood Christian Church’s 150th year anniversary. After Mother’s day Shan and Matt taught for three weeks on communion and then began our current series on the book of James.
Average weekly attendance during the third quarter peaked in early May but had declined about 1.5% by the end of June to 1,666. Giving, though behind budget, was still a bit ahead of last year, and spending has not exceeded giving. Please continue to do your best to honor God in the area of financial stewardship and remember that church expenses continue to go on all summer long; please try to catch up your giving if you fall behind due to vacations.
Our “DEEP” classes are now fully operational and incorporated into our class schedules. These classes are described below. May we encourage you to participate to the best of your ability? You can sign up online anytime at www.greenwoodchristian.com/forms.
DISCOVER New Life Learn how to become a Christian. This class is about how to begin a relationship with Jesus.
EXPERIENCE Belonging Learn how to become a part of GCC. Formerly the Members Together class, this class is about who we are, what members can expect of GCC and what Jesus expects of members of GCC.
ENGAGE Our World Learn how to serve the Lord best with your life. This is a class about discovering your spiritual gifts and how to use them to serve Jesus and others.
PURSUE Transformation Learn how to begin the life-long pursuit of Christ-likeness. This class is about how to seek Jesus and live a victorious Christian life.
The Men’s Ministry offered a fishing retreat in April which was well attended and very successful. The ministry also hosted a Men’s Steak Night in May where the guys brought and grilled their own steaks and were blessed by a special speaker. Attendance was good and the fellowship and the steaks were great. The Men’s Ministry continues to sponsor the “Breakfast for Champions” on the first and third Thursday mornings in the youth center at church with good attendance and fellowship. The Legacy [women’s ministry] leadership team recently held their leadership retreat and have many great ideas for the coming year.
Joy Hassan, our Worship Ministry intern, completed her internship with us in early May and is currently exploring job opportunities. We have been excited to welcome Wes Bryant, who was hired as Director of Sports Ministries, to GCC’s staff. Wes is ramping up our sports programming and doing a great job.
Some of our senior adults took a five day trip to the Ozark Christian Conference in Branson, Missouri in June. CrossWalk Student Ministries [6th -12th grade] offered a mission trip for high schoolers in June to New York. 34 students, parents, and staff attended. Many from GCC’s student ministry participated in an ecumenical community outreach aimed at youth called “The 99” during May, and during the summer our student ministries worked to reach out to the Summerfield and Pines communities. A number of our children and youth participated in Camp Allendale’s summer programming. Several made confessions of their faith and were baptized. Some of our middle school students participated in a CIY [Christ in Youth] conference at Milligan College, Tennessee called “Know Sweat” this summer.
As summer winds down and we all get back into more of a routine with the start of school, we would like to encourage you to make a great effort to include Jesus in your lives! Be in church and participate in your small group meetings, share your lives as well as your studies from God’s Word, and do not forget that YOU may be the best picture of Jesus that some people ever see! Be a light for Christ, and like the apostle Andrew, introduce someone to Jesus [or to someone else here at church who can effectively do so]. We love you!
If you have questions regarding this third quarter update, or anything else with which we on the leadership team could help, please email us at elder@greenwoodchristian.com.
We remain in your service, and His,
Eric Clouse, Chairman of the Elders Greenwood Christian Church
OUR VISION: To carry on the work of Jesus by loving God and loving others.
OUR MISSION: Greenwood Christian Church exists to help people go DEEP. . .
DISCOVER new life in Jesus;
EXPERIENCE belonging in the family of Jesus;
ENGAGE our world with the love of Jesus;
PURSUE transformation into the likeness of Jesus.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On behalf of the leadership team at Greenwood Christian Church, once again please allow me to give a brief update at the end of the second quarter of GCC’s fiscal year.
In early 2010, Shan and Matt preached a sermon series on vision and mission called “Go DEEP”. In wrap-up to this series, Matt invited the elders and staff to the stage to emphasize that the leadership team of Greenwood Christian Church are committed to loving God and loving others, and we want YOU to follow us in pursuing Jesus’ mission.
The entire leadership team has been exceptionally pleased with Shan and Matt’s sermons and sense that they are right on target for promoting our congregation’s growth both numerically and in the area of spiritual maturity. Indeed, attendance this quarter has reached its highest level since May of 2009!
We celebrated GCC's 150th anniversary with a four-week series on the Church's past, present, and future.
A more stylistically consistent communion table and the glass sculptured wall hangings of the cross and a dove [representing the Holy Spirit] were added to the worship center.
Our assimilation classes [Discovery Classes and Members Together] have transformed into DEEP classes.
In the last few months there has been a noticeable increase in the number of individuals interested in becoming trained counselors in our Biblical Counseling Program.
Our giving this year is about 2.5% ahead of our giving at the end of the second quarter of our last fiscal year. This is a significant improvement! Please continue to do your best to honor God in the area of financial stewardship.
We have given almost $15,000 to date to assist our friends in Haiti after their devastating earthquake.
A total of $21,000 has been collected for the Care Net Pregnancy Center through the Tim Hawkins Concert and the "baby bottle project".
The World Harvest Café has been a great success. Recall that future profits will be used to supplement GCC's World Evangelism budget.
Henry Denton has accepted the volunteer role of Church Historian. John Irons has accepted the volunteer role of chairperson of the School Management Team.
Mary Gerteisen has been promoted to the position of Director of Communications and is working to improve and expand our communication efforts.
Joy Hassan, our Worship Ministry intern, will conclude her internship with us this coming weekend (May 8/9). Joy will be in the World Harvest Café following each service. Please stop by to greet her, wish her words of blessing, and to thank her for her service and work among us.
Kathy Stahlhut is transitioning into the role of Director of Women's Ministries vacated by Debbie Asbury at the end of March. We are very close to hiring a Director of Sports Ministries to fill Kathy's vacated position. Interim steps are being taken to ensure that our programming does not suffer during these transitions.
The sixth cycle of Greenwood Christian's Men's Mentoring Program began March 21 with approximately 47 mentoring pairs.
Staff evaluations with input from your eldership occurred during the second quarter. Deacon assessments began in April and elder evaluations will occur later this year.
May we thank YOU, the members of our congregation for the roles you are playing in furthering the cause of Jesus in Greenwood and the surrounding communities?
Finally, our web site lists a number of statements describing what we believe here at GCC. Please review these statements. If you have questions about them, please do not hesitate to talk to any elder or staff person for assistance.
If you have questions regarding this second quarter update, or anything else with which we on the leadership team could help, please email us at elder@greenwoodchristian.com.
May God shower his richest blessings upon you and yours!
In your service, and His,
Eric Clouse, Chairman of the Elders
Greenwood Christian Church
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We want you to be aware of a few recent developments within our church staff:
Publications Coordinator Mary Gerteisen has assumed a new role as our Director of Communications. Some of Mary’s job functions will remain the same, but she now has oversight responsibility for:
Developing our overall communication strategy (focusing our energies on the avenues of communication that reach the greatest number of people and/or produce the greatest response).
Providing tools that will enable our ministry teams to more easily create communication pieces with a uniform, "branded" GCC look.
Guidelines and deadlines for our printed publications.
After fourteen years of faithful service, Director of Women's Ministries Debbie Asbury will retire March 31. At that time, Kathy Stahlhut (currently Director of Community and Congregational Activities) will shift into the role of Director of Women’s Ministries. In addition to leading our Legacy Women's Ministry, Kathy will continue to oversee the World Harvest Cafe and coordinate big events.
In light of (1) Kathy's shift, (2) the success we've had at connecting with many families through athletic programming, (3) continued community interest in sports activities, and (4) potential cutbacks in sports programs at local schools, we will hire a Director of Sports Ministries (DSM). The DSM will expand on the excellent foundation of sports and recreation programming Kathy has already laid and help us to maximize use of our sports facilities in engaging our community. The DSM will coordinate closely with Kent Patterson (Minister of Outreach) in helping us to connect with those who participate in our sports and fitness ministries. We’re currently accepting resumes for this position, and plan to conduct interviews in the near future.
Thank you for your continued prayer, financial support, and partnership in ministry.
Yours to go DEEP,
GCC Eldership
March 5, 2010
Brothers and Sisters,
At the last elders’ meeting, we celebrated several pieces of great news we wanted to draw to your attention. We also wanted to highlight how these items correlate with our mission.
1] We have given over $14,500 to date to assist our friends in Haiti! Through our giving we are trying to engage our world with the love of Jesus.
2] Through the Tim Hawkins Concert and the "baby bottle project," $17,000 (and counting) has been collected for the Care Net Pregnancy Center. Likewise, through our giving, we are trying to engage our world with the love of Jesus.
3] The World Harvest Cafe is now up and running. Profits will be used to supplement GCC’s World Evangelism Ministry budget. The World Harvest Cafe is clearly focused on helping people experience belonging in the family of Jesus locally, while globally helping others to discover new life in Jesus.
4] Staff evaluations continue to occur regularly with input from your eldership. Through these evaluations we are encouraging our staff to pursue transformation into the likeness of Jesus.
5] GCC recently had a stretch of at least ten weeks during which baptism[s] occurred every week. Those being baptized are clearly on the path of discovering new life in Jesus.
6] Giving, though a bit below budget, was nearly $38,000 ahead of the same time last year as of February 21. Funding our budget needs certainly helps us help others go DEEP.
7] Attendance during February was at its highest level since May of 2009. More of us are experiencing belonging in the family of Jesus and learning to pursue transformation into the likeness of Jesus.
8] Another round [the sixth] of mentoring for men is set to kick off on March 21st with approximately 47 mentoring pairs. Certainly the primary goals in our mentoring program deal with experiencing belonging in the family of Jesus and pursuing transformation into the likeness of Jesus.
In your service and His,
Your leadership at GCC
February 11, 2010
Greenwood Christian Church
Finance Ministry Letter to Congregation
Last year, we saw how rapidly the world’s economy can change for the worse and leave us feeling helpless to do anything about it. Many of us who had routinely enjoyed steady income, regular saving, and growing retirement accounts found ourselves with lower income or even loss of a job, greatly diminished investments, and a new found respect for financial adversity. Through it all, we may have been prone to worry about what the future holds in store for us, but God was still in control. While we were experiencing what was for most of us the worst economic conditions in our lifetime, God was reminding us of our dependence on him and calling us to a closer more intimate relationship.
For 20 consecutive years culminating with our fiscal year-end September 30, 2008 Greenwood Christian Church enjoyed growth in annual income. However, for the most recent fiscal year ending September 30, 2009 our offerings declined nearly $150,000 from the prior fiscal year and were also nearly $270,000 (or 10%) less than the $2,672,000 originally budgeted for the 2008-09 fiscal year. Fortunately, we recognized the downward trend developing early in the year and took appropriate steps to reduce our spending. The final result was we were able to keep our expenses approximately $288,000 lower than the amount budgeted and ended the year with an $18,000 surplus of income over expenses. We were able to accomplish that by asking each ministry within the church to re-prioritize their planned spending and to eliminate all but the most essential items. The chart accompanying this letter better illustrates the actual results.
It’s evident the church has not been immune from the world’s financial woes either. We had to make do with less income this past year, but we were still blessed by being able to complete our Phase III building expansion which includes the new worship center. Unfortunately, we have also fallen behind on progress toward collecting the funds committed to the 3-year "Look Beyond" building campaign that began in June 2007. As of our fiscal year-end September 30, 2009 approximately $2.56 Million had been collected against a total goal of $4.25 Million or approximately 60.2% of goal. We would have expected at that date to have reached 78% of the goal and to have received about $3.3 Million or nearly $740,000 more than actual receipts. If this trend continues, we will be faced with obtaining a larger than planned mortgage loan in the Fall of 2010 which will result in higher than anticipated mortgage payments and necessitate a larger portion of our budget going to debt service. In the short run, that could mean less money being available for other ministries until further budget growth occurs. We have thus far covered the construction expenditures with the proceeds of a construction loan from the National Bank of Indianapolis and available cash reserves.
We are off to a better start for the fiscal year that began on October 1st with income thus far averaging 97.5% year-to-date compared to a budget that was reduced by $115,000 from the prior year. In the month of January, our income for the 5 Sundays averaged nearly 101% of budget, so the trend is improving and we are hopeful it will continue doing so over the balance of our fiscal year.
One might ask that in light of a $270,000 "miss" on our budget for the prior year, why we reduced this year’s budget by only $115,000? The reason is we believe the worst recession in 70 years is substantially behind us, and that improving economic conditions will allow for growth to begin again in accordance with God’s plan for us. Thus far, our optimism seems to have been confirmed, but we will continue to closely monitor both our income and expenditures to ensure that as in the past we maintain a balance between them.In closing, let us reiterate that we know things have been tough this past year. Many among us are still experiencing financial hardship resulting from job loss and/or other declines in their income. While in the midst of trial everyone may not yet sense it, but the potential that lies ahead for Greenwood Christian Church can be limited only by our unwillingness to trust in God’s provision. For 150 years now this congregation has persevered and taken the good news of Jesus Christ to our community and literally around the world. Let’s not forget our mission and who it is that commands us! By God’s grace, what we have recently experienced will quickly fade in our memories, particularly in comparison to what he has in store for us over the next 150 years as together we continue to seek his presence and join him in his work.
In Christ,
John Kinman, Finance Ministry Chairman
John Asbury, Treasurer
August 2009
Dear Member of
Good communication… the “what, why and when”… is always important, but particularly so during times of significant transition and change. At our August Elders’ Meeting, we discussed the inadequate job we have done in communicating key messages around the transition into the new
Please know that our move into the new facility is still a “work in progress.” We actually moved into our
Please be assured that everything we do in our
In the coming weeks, we will be taking a fresh look at our communication process, as well as the “whats, whys and hows” just to ensure we are on solid biblical footing. As we do so, we ask that you please join us in three (3) areas:
1) Prayer – pray that God would give us all continued sensitivity, wisdom, discernment and a focus on others as we distinguish between the essentials of our faith and those areas in which Scripture permits flexibility.
2) Patience – patience with the move and transition process, with a bias toward thinking the best of one another, and giving one another the benefit of the doubt.
3) Trust –your leadership has the humbling responsibility of leading this great Congregation as we follow Christ Jesus, the Head of His Church. We realize you have biblically placed yourselves in submission to our authority, and we know we will be held eternally accountable for the job we do. Know that we love you all and have your very best interests at heart for His sake.
Please watch for more updates, instruction and insights in the days ahead. We covet your prayers and are praying for you.
In His Service,
The Eldership