Church Council

The Church Council is the highest administrative body of the Church. The Council coordinates with all other committees. The staff liaisons are the Senior Pastor and the Associate Pastor. Members are selected by the Lay Leadership Committee and approved by the church membership. There are representatives from Finance, Staff Parish, Trustees, Missions, Saints Alive, and at-large members representing other ministry areas.

Chair:  Connie Childs

Finance
Ed Duggar (10)
Kelly Kitchens (10)

Staff Parish
Patty Williams (10)
Rick Burnette (11)

Trustees
Dan Long (11)
Buzz Korst (11)

Missions
Chris B. Smith

Saints Alive
Pat Douglass

At Large
Connie Childs (10)
Matt Groom (10)
Barbara Foster (11)

Lay Leader:  Jason Hickey
Lay Delegate:  Jeff Barbacci

Recording Secretary (ex-officio)  Jim Anderson

Church Council Meeting Notes

The Church Council met on March 19, 2009 with the following members in attendance: Connie Childs, Garry Johnson, Bill Stimmel, Pat Douglass, Carolyn Hall, Patti Williams, Matt Groom, Cecilia Homison, Kellie Kitchens, Chris Smith, Jim Anderson, Jason Hickey, Jim Divine, Buzz Korst, Myron Harden, Ken Jung, and Barbara Foster.

A brief devotion and prayer was presented by Bill Stimmel.

A brief report was given by Bill Stimmel from Trustees. He reported that the annex building has a new tenant which is the restaurant that has just opened. There is also a 1000 square foot unit available. Trustees has also begun a study of the two parsonages that KUMC owns. At this point there is no direction being considered. A motion was made and approved to appoint a task force composed of representatives from Trustees, Finance, and Staff Parish to collect information that can be used in proposals that might be considered.

Jason Hickey, on behalf of the Finance Committee, reported that receipts were up in February. Year to date we are $60,000 over budget target. Expenditures are in check. There will soon be the opportunity to give through the website.

The financial appeal policy was discussed to put language in that would permit certain types of fund raising for missions. It is an attempt to make the language more clear for certain events that raise funds every year.

Staff Parish reported that the personnel manual is complete and has been reviewed by the staff. Questions from the staff have been received and are in the process of being answered. Staff reviews and job descriptions are in progress. Evaluations will be done in April. New employees will have a June evaluation date.

Chris Smith made a presentation on behalf of the Missions Committee. The committee is looking forward to an exciting year. They will be seeking ways to engage more people. They will be working to keep the congregation informed of their activities.

The committee is excited that a revival is happening within our church with regards to missions. An example is EEL where 50 to 60 of our members participate each week. There will be three teams to Nicaragua this year.

The committee is implementing the following ways to supplement their budget. A variety of events will be scheduled throughout the year. They will also provide a time for fellowship. The events are intended to fund all mission ministries. Two Sundays a month will be used to highlight a mission activity. A mission donation box will be used to receive funds. Efforts will be made to move the congregation toward Faith Promise Giving.

A town hall meeting will be scheduled with a tentative date sometime in May.

Church Council Notes
April 16, 2009

Barbara Foster gave a presentation on Spiritual Growth based on a research study conducted by Willow Creek Community Church utilizing more than 200 churches and 80,000 respondents. Four influential catalysts were identified: Exploring Christ, Growing in Christ, Close to Christ, and Christ-Centered. The Church Council was challenged to explore ways to apply the results of this research to the ministries and administrative functions of Killearn United Methodist Church.

Staff Parish reported that a Gretna Taskforce had been formed. The intent is for Shadetree Ministries to continue and the task is to determine how to make it happen. Training has been held with supervisors to enable them to better conduct performance reviews.

Electronic Giving has been approved by the Finance Committee and has been added to the website.

The building use request form is being reworked to enable the creation of a web version.

August 28-30 has been scheduled for the Global Outreach Weekend. There is a need to form a leadership team and Chris Smith would like for representatives of the Church Council to be included.

The concert for missions was a huge success financially as well as spiritually. Mission boxes have been placed. Each month individual missions will be highlighted. The Missions Committee would like to have assistance from Council members in raising funds for the mission budget through their communication with members.

Connie announced that a town hall meeting has been scheduled for May 31 and June 1.

Church Council Notes
May 21, 2009

The Church Council met on May 21, 2009. Reports were received from the Staff Parish Relations Committee, Finance, and Trustees. Staff Parish did not meet in May, but it was reported that staff evaluations had been completed and that job descriptions were being updated where necessary. Finance reported that receipts are slightly above the budget target and that expenditures are slightly below budget. Caution was expressed that historically giving has tapered off some during the summer months and that everyone needed to remain diligent in their giving.  Finance also approved the final policy concerning fund raising events and this is being circulated to staff and committee chairs. Trustees have spent slightly under budget year to date and they continue to seek ways to control costs.

There was no new business submitted to the Council.

The remainder of the meeting was devoted to a continuing discussion on Spiritual Formation. Connie asked that everyone pray for direction for the church as well as for each one individually. Barbara Foster continued her presentation on Spiritual Formation with a brief review of the four steps developed by Willow Creek. Attention was then focused on the three questions that were presented at the last Council meeting concerning Council’s role in spiritual formation, what questions should be asked in deciding whether to start or eliminate ministries, and what information should be available when making administrative decisions related to finances, staffing, and physical plant.

Comments that were raised included: Should spiritual formation be viewed as a process or a ministry?;  There is a need for a process that could be used to evaluate new or proposed ministries; KUMC needs to determine what mission(s) God wants us to do first; The need exists to evaluate how we are doing.

There was unanimous consensus that we needed to pray diligently about these issues and continue to discuss and define ways to implement these steps in all of our ministries.

Church Council Notes
June 18, 2009

The Church Council met on June 18, 2009. Brief reports were received from the Staff Parrish Relations Committee and Finance. Trustees did not meet. Staff Parish reported on the progress of the Shadetree Ministries taskforce. They plan to make recommendations to the Council at the July meeting. Finance reported that receipts are still above the budget target and that expenditures are slightly below budget.

Melanie Callaway gave a report on the first ever KidStuf performance. It was a big success and everyone was excited about the ministry. There were 550 adults and children that attended with over 60 volunteers who provided support or performed.

There was no new business submitted to the Council.

Church Council Notes
July 16 , 2009

The Church Council met on July 19, 2009. Brief reports were received from the Finance Committee and Trustees. Staff Parish did not meet. A summary of their meetings can be found under their committee listing.

Council discussed the report from the Shadetree Ministry Taskforce which presented an option for creating a separate non-profit entity for Shadetree Ministries. This would allow for expansion of the ministry to other areas and, hopefully, make it easier to secure grant funding. The discussion focused on KUMC future involvement, were there any downsides, would our congregation feel that we were decreasing our committment, and that Killearn's mission statement be incorporated into the bylaws. All of these concerns were answered to the satisfaction of Council members.

The following motion was presented and passed unanimously:

"That the Council authorize KUMC to proceed with the process of creating a separate non-profit entity for Shadetree Ministries with Killearn leadership support. This process will follow the outline presented by the Shadetree Ministry Taskforce."

New business included a proposal to resume the Shamrock Scurry under KUMC sponsorship. Proceeds from the road race and breakfast would be used to support our mission activities. Council encouraged the planning group to proceed.

Council will be focusing future efforts on developing a vision for KUMC and maintaining continuity in implementing the adopted recommendations from last year's consultant report.


Church Council Notes
August 20, 2009

The Church Council met on August 20, 2009. Brief reports were received from the Finance Committee and Trustees. Staff Parish had no items to report. The Finance Committee has been discussing a reorganization that would reduce the size of the committee since the primary functions that the committee is required to fulfill are cash flow forecasting, monthly review of financial health, and a Conference mandated financial review which is usually performed by a specially selected group with the necessary expertise. The committee will make a final recommendation to the Council. Bob Tindale raised the possibility of reducing the size of the Church Council to make it more manageable. Discussion involved the continued representation of all of the key groups within the Church. A motion was made to reduce the size of the Council by five members and it was passed unanimously. The reductions will be accomplished by reducing the number of representatives from the standing committees while maintaining the at-large members who represent the various groups within the church such as children, youth, adults, seniors, and missions. The Nominations Committee will be asked to implement this change for 2010.

Chris Smith made an announcement concerning the upcoming Global Outreach Weekend and encouraged Council members to attend. Jim Anderson informed the Council of the new E-News newsletter that will be sent out every Friday.


Church Council Notes
September 17,2009

The Church Council met on September 17, 2009. Brief reports were received from Finance Committee, Staff Parish, and Trustees. Church receipts remain slightly above the target and expenditures are slightly below. A motion was made to sunset the Finance Committee based on a recommendation from the current committee. In its place there will be a Finance Chairman who will meet with Kathy Hodge monthly to review financial statements. The chairman will be assisted by selected members of the Council. When necessary a special ad hoc committee will be appointed to deal with any special financial issue. The motion passed unanimously. Staff Parish reported that Byron and Bobbie Smith had resigned and that Matthew Williams would be taking over all services on an interim basis. Jennie Thompson was hired on a part-time interim basis to provide staff support. A reception will be held to honor Byron and Bobbie. Trustees reported no major issues.

A motion was made to authorize an appraisal and inspection of the two parsonages. It was passed unanimously. This information will be used to consider a pastoral housing policy.

Barbara Foster, on behalf of the Spiritual Formation Council presented a draft Spiritual Formation tool for evaluating ministries of our church.

Chris Smith, on behalf of the Missions Committee, sought Council approval to begin a mentoring program offered by the Mission Society with the goal of having a Celebration Weekend in 2011. It would require travel funds for the mentor. A motion was made and adopted to contract with the Mission Society to develop a Global Outreach Strategy and to fund travel expenses.

Town Hall Meeting Notes

Town Hall Meeting
May 31, June 1, 2009

The meeting was opened with prayer by Connie Childs. Connie explained that the agenda included four presentations: Communications by Jim Anderson, Finance by Jason Hickey, Missions by Chris Smith, and Children and Family by Melanie Callaway. At the end of the presentations questions and comments would be taken on these topics as well as any others that the audience had.

Communications – Jim Anderson (Volunteer Communications Coordinator)

Jim started by stating that Communications had been consistently identified as the #1 concern in focus groups and surveys that have been taken over the past two years. Several methods are used to communicate including the bulletin, the Source, pulpit announcements, message board in front of the church, flyers posted in the buildings, tables in the courtyard, email, the website, and brochures in the Narthex. Still people say “I didn’t know”. We will continue to utilize these methods and the staff is open to any suggestions for improvement. The Source will continue to be produced monthly, but it will no longer be printed and mailed out. It will be available on the website and in the Narthex. For those who do not have Internet access and would like to have a copy mailed to them, please contact the church office. By doing this, the Church saves $1200 per month in printing and mailing costs.

Jim spent the majority of his presentation sharing the new website. The impetus behind the new design was the shortcomings of the old website. They included factual errors, out of date information, lack of content that would encourage people to use the website on a regular basis, and difficulty in making updates.

The new site uses a simple design that has six main sections: NEW TO KUMC, UPCOMING, MINISTRIES, RESOURCES, CONNECT, and MEMBERS AREA. Navigation is extremely easy and the site is supported by a content management system that makes it easy for staff and trained volunteers to update or add content to their ministry areas. It is also designed to display pictures, video, and podcasts of the sermons. A new feature that should prove very useful to members is an online graphic calendar that provides information on upcoming events months in advance.

Future enhancements will include additional content, more pictures, more forms including a building reservation form, and a new e-newsletter that should be in place within the next month. It will go out via email and contain active links back to the website.

Finance – Jason Hickey (Chairman of Finance Committee)

The finance committee established a budget target based on the stewardship campaign and other data. This year’s budget was adopted by Church Council and is approximately $400,000 less than the previous year. Through April our receipts are slightly above budget and expenses are slightly below budget. Jason reported that the debt on the annex has been reduced to under $200,000 from the original $1.8 million. This smaller amount has been refinanced to reduce our monthly payment, but the intention is to pay it off as soon as possible.

The Finance Committee has approved a financial appeals policy which provides guidelines for groups who wish to hold fundraisers. The policy has been circulated to all ministry coordinators and committee chairpersons. If you wish to have a copy of the policy, please contact one of these people.

E-Giving has been started and is available through the website. Members were encouraged to consider this option. Available choices are one-time giving, regularly scheduled offering, or designated to a particular mission activity.

Jason concluded by highlighting the success of the recently completed course by Financial Peace University. This was a study by Dave Ramsey on “Biblical Principles for Handling Personal Finances”. Sixty-two families participated in the 13 week study and the average debt reduction per family was $6800.00.

Missions – Chris Smith (Chairman of Missions Committee)

Chris reported that mission activities in our church are alive, well, and growing. He mentioned as examples Shadetree ministry in Gretna and the large number of our members participating in the English classes, our food bank ministry, the PHI Center, Hope Community, Brian’s Brigade, and Nicaragua. We continue to support a host of other mission activities. For a more complete list please visit the website. He reported that the construction team had just returned from Nicaragua.

Due to a reduction in this year’s mission budget, the Mission Committee has developed a fund raising strategy to support the mission activities of our church. These include the mission boxes placed in the Narthex, the praise team concert, a silent auction, and meal events. The committee feels that this approach will lead to a greater participation of our membership in missions both through a financial commitment, but just as important through service.

Chris announced that there will be a Global Outreach Weekend at our church on August 28-30. There will be sessions on Friday night, Saturday morning, and conclude with the worship services on Sunday. He also invited anyone who is interested to attend the Mission Committee meetings on the first Thursday of every month.

Children and Families – Melanie Callaway (Children’s Ministry Coordinator)

Melanie started by presenting the sobering statistic that 85% of children who attend church leave the church when they grow up. We have 40 hours a year to minister to our children. The average attendance per family is 1.7 times per month. Since we have started UpStreet the average attendance has been up 30%.

The Children’s ministry has three main objectives: to minister to children, to involve youth in the children’s ministry so that they will grow spiritually as well as provide a positive role model for the children, and to equip parents. UpStreet accomplishes all of these goals through innovative programming for the children, through youth volunteers on Sunday mornings, and providing resource materials to parents.

A new program that will debut on June 13 is KidStuf. The purpose of this outreach ministry is to attract unchurched families as well as to support our own families. It is something that our members can invite their friends and neighbors to and will be value driven and feature videos, music, drama, and story telling. The program will be proceeded by a meal in fellowship hall. It is volunteer driven and will be held on Saturday evenings in order to provide a non-threatening environment where families will feel comfortable.

Questions and comments from May 31:

An inquiry was made as to who comprised the worship committee and were there any lay members on it. The answer was that it is made up of Matthew, Byron, and the three pastors. There are currently no lay members partly due to the fact that the worship committee meets during the day.

What would it take to get back Wednesday night dinners? Due to reductions in this year’s budget, the kitchen staff position was eliminated. The kitchen and fellowship hall are available to schedule food events for fundraisers or catered events such as the recent men’s fellowship dinner where tickets were sold to recoup the food costs.

A request was made to pray for our military weekly in the services. It was noted that the prayer list on the website lists members of the military from our church that we are aware of. Members are encouraged to submit information to the church office to keep this list as current as possible. The list is also provided in the prayer room.

Questions and comments from June 1:

What was the final tally on Capital Campaign? Jason did not know the exact number but he will find out and it will be made available. It was less than the goal and donations are still being accepted.

There was a request to include minutes or notes from as many committees as possible on the website. Jim Anderson will contact committee chairmen.

The question was asked about membership on the Missions Committee. Chris responded that even though there is a formal list of members that have rotating terms, the committee would welcome anyone who wishes to join. This is especially important due to the new methods for fund raising and the goal of involving more members in mission service.

It was noted that KUMC will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in October. The question was asked if anything was being planned to commemorate the event. Ideas will be encouraged.

Town Hall Meeting
November 16, 2009

The meeting was opened with a brief devotional and prayer by Jason Hickey.

Bob Tindale opened the meeting with some brief remarks. He stated that no decisions would be made tonight. The  Church Council would discuss the proposal at its next meeting on November 19. The purpose of this meeting is not to fight over the recommendations but to listen and to seek to find out what is right and to discern God’s will.

The proposal is as follows:
There would be three worship services instead of four. The format of each service would be as follows:

8:30 – 9:30
Traditional with choir, organ, and some blending

10:00 – 11:00
Contemporary with some blending

11:30 – 12:30
Contemporary with communion

If a decision is made to change to these service formats and it doesn’t work than there will be no hesitation to make changes.

The proposal would free up fellowship hall for other uses including the possibility of a weekly brunch to increase fellowship between members and with guests. It would allow for one person to direct music, one person to do sound, and place less burden on the pastors having to preach four services.

Comments:

Why 8:30 instead of 8:00? Times can be adjusted.

What about Sunday School? Plan is to do 10:00 and 11:30, but could be done at 8:30  if there is demand.

What prompted this proposal? Better use of space and personnel. Possible to have one person do all three services. There is better sound equipment in the sanctuary.

Is the same pastor going to do all services? Has not been discussed although if one did all three only time for one preparation would be required each week.

Would there be no traditional service without blending? 8:30 would be mostly traditional.

Will four services instead of 3 accommodate everyone? Yes, Fellowship Hall is the only venue that has had a space issue.

Is there a worship committee in place to study these issues? There is not and there has never been one during Bob’s tenure for this purpose.

Bob commented that if the Council were to adopt this proposal or a different proposal the changes would not take effect until mid January.

Why traditional at 8:30 instead of 11:00 since there are more traditional attendees at 11:00?

The attractiveness of Spirit and Truth is the setting that is created in Fellowship Hall. Bob acknowledged this to be true.

If there is a brunch, temptation might be to go to brunch instead of Sunday School or Church.

Will it free up fellowship hall for wedding receptions? Yes, but Killearn only averages about two a year. Bob thought the idea of the church hosting the wedding for our members would be wonderful but that it probably was not going to happen.

Spirit & Truth come to that service because of atmosphere. Reaches more unchurched people. Lot of CR attendees.

Would the 10:30 service would similar to the recent 40th anniversary service? Probably not because of the manpower and planning required but it has not been discussed.

11:30 to 12:30 is too late for families with small children. Possibly move back 30 minutes. Don’t do anything that would negatively affect adult Sunday School.

Would there be a live feed to Fellowship Hall? Probably not because it would distract from the purpose of the brunch.

Is there a possibility of doing a Saturday night service? Is being done other places but probably would not work here because of so many competing demands on people’s time.

How would it affect CR? It would not.

Why are people not attending traditional service? Focus should be on why attendance is decreasing instead of focusing on changing worship times and format. How would change affect attendance? Unknown.

Concern about Sunday School. Move traditional back to 11:00. Put Spirit & Truth and Praise at 9:30.

Maybe people don’t feel part of the process. Maybe proposal and decision should be made by a worship committee.

By moving Spirit & Truth to sanctuary atmosphere would be lost. Would become the same as 9:30 service.

By moving resource tables inside opportunities would be lost to connect with people.

By having one traditional service at 8:30, many choir members would have difficulty getting there.

Having a Fellowship Hall setup would not necessarily impact Sunday School.

How would it affect children’s Sunday School? Has not been decided although there is talk within the Children’s Ministry of making changes to balance out the numbers of the existing SS. SS will adapt.

Problem with children not getting out until 12:30.

Concern that we are fragmented. Thought that the 40th anniversary service was great because everyone came together. Felt that the proposal would only increase fragmentation and not make inroads into solving problems.

Bob commented that one type of service was not good and that multiple worship formats were not good either.

Choir at 8:30 for traditional not good.

How would it affect Korean church? 12:30 end time would affect but it has not been discussed.

Intentions are good but the church represents people. Two elderly people who could not attend sent their comments that they cannot get to church until 11:00.

Older people are traditional and want 11:00 and want music with choir.

Why not just two services? Possible 9:30 and 11:00.

Pastor Jung has no problem with service time change. Bob thanked Korean members for their flexibility.

Bigger area for Welcome Center would be a nice addition.

What are we doing to attract people under 30? What are our existing attendance numbers?
8:00    113
9:30    311
11:00    215 (Traditional)
            158 (Spirit & Truth)
Sanctuary seats 600 including choir loft

9:30 is an easy time for families with elementary age children.

By moving 11:00 to 8:00 will be lose people? Let’s not lose members by moving too quickly. Maybe should seek more input. Anything that is done will affect people.

CR considered moving to sanctuary at one time but rejected the idea because of the atmosphere.

Sympathetic to 2 or 3 services but the effect on Sunday School needs to be evaluated.

New suggestion:
9:30    Praise and Worship
11:00    Traditional
11:00    Spirit & Truth in Fellowship Hall

Think about focus. Everyone will not agree.

Technology support needs to be considered. Use facility for what it is designed for.

Benefit of having 3 services in sanctuary would make for more community service. Could make sanctuary more appealing to Spirit & Truth.

It is an honor to be part of a congregation that can discuss and still see the same Savior.

Are teachings at services the same or will they change? Preaching style would not change.

Congratulations for comments and feedback. We are a very comfortable church and are blessed. Need to get out of our comfort zone. Be prayerful about this.

Upstreet needs a lot of volunteers. Lot of volunteers are in Spirit & Truth. How will change affect this?

Stress on church staff is large and anything that can be done to alleviate would be welcome.

If way could be found to duplicate 40th anniversary on a regular basis that would be wonderful. Making small changes will not impact church attendance problem.

Council should allow time for people to pray. If changes is made it needs to be evaluated.

Everyone should support their passion whether it be traditional or Spirit & Truth.

End of comments.

Bob thanked everyone for their comments and their respect for listening.

Connie Childs closed the meeting in prayer.