Springdale UMC Leadership Board Meeting Minutes—-March 30, 2016
Steven Grace opened the meeting with the following present: Jo Leighty, Diane Heick, Jim Farmer, Dan McElderry, Rhoda Barnhart, Lynda Ambrose, Larry Ambrose, Pastor Kimberly Bowles. Also present was our District Superintendent, Kiboko Kiboko. Ruth Farmer was able to join us later in the evening.
- Opening devotion/Prayer
Steven’s devotion started with Philippians 4:6-13 (NIV) which begins with “Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” and the concluding verse 13 reads “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”
Steve then related the story of the last year of ups & downs of bringing a baby into this world—a sibling for Rylee & Laney. After the extreme sadness of a stillborn son last April they were excited later to be expecting again. However, there were complications, and Jaclyn arrived at 23 weeks and weighed just 1 lb.1 oz. Emotions for her family & the community were up & down. Often tearfully, prayers for Jaclyn have been many, and will continue. As of today Jaclyn is gaining—up now to 600 grams, or about 1 lb. 5 oz. In spite of his emotions, such as joy/fear/worry/anger Steve seemed rather calm. Why? “I have God” Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary & burdened…and you will find rest for your souls.” Steve felt the comfort of God. And reminded us “God is there for us, always. Just because we believe in Him doesn’t mean we won’t have tough times. But we need to remember to turn to Him to provide that comfort for us.” *
- SPRC—Rev. Kiboko met with the SPRC committee at 6:30 p.m. prior to the full board meeting.
The SUMC Board welcomed East Central District Superintendent Rev. Kiboko Kiboko for his first visit to Springdale UMC. After some introductions Rev Kiboko engaged the group in a discussion—starting with “Where is God? After several answers he followed with “Why are you Here?”…and also “What are your dreams?” Jim summarized our journey of trying to discern what we, as a congregation should do regarding our place of worship. We learned that if our well failed we could not drill a new one in Springdale. (per County regulations) Other regulations said we couldn’t exceed $10,000 in remodeling/renovation—without correcting over 20 deficiencies of the building– the cost of which made a case for considering a new building. There was a long period of drawing plans, visiting other church buildings, hitting roadblocks etc. On the positive side SUMC was gifted a 10 acre plot on which we could build. When our yearly expenses began to exceed our income the planning slowed. And with a leaking roof on the current building, we had to raise money for a new roof which will be put on this spring.
Rev. Kiboko shared some insights: When Jesus started his work it was all about Love- ”Seek ye first the Kingdom of God”. We are called to make disciples—and we must not let money dictate what we do. In regard to “church giving” he said that in the hard times of the 1930’s the average giving was 12% of their income—and they built hospitals and more; in the 1990’s people gave an average of less than 1 % of their income. He also shared a personal experience that led to a significant increase in his family’s giving—beyond 10%. As Christians we should remember we’re managing God’s money. –We need to train spiritual leaders. It is not optional– we have to evangelize. We also need to train new leaders so we have back up’s for various positions. As an example–when the treasurer of a church died suddenly—no one else knew the passwords or other vital information. (it took about 2 years to fully recover). Rev Kiboko also suggested as we get older & want to help the church in the future we could purchase life insurance for that purpose. Rev. Kiboko will return next April to continue our discussion.
- Trustees
- Roof’/Power washing: Dan reported that the church building has had a power washing. Work on the new roof will start in a week or so. The old, unused chimney will be removed. Robertson stressed that for safety they request that people don’t walk around in the areas where they are working. SUMC has made a down payment for the work.
- Stewardship
Info sharing—the finance committee would like to have personal witness stories regarding tithing that could be shared.
Pastor Kimberly is working on a website for the church
- Goals, Mission and Vision statements were printed in the agenda
- Next Meeting
- May 25, 2016—6:30 p.m. (SPRC); 7 p.m. (full board)
The closing prayer was led by Rev. Koboko.
*The full text of Steve’s devotion is posted on the church blog as the March 31st Thursday devotional.
Respectfully submitted,
Rhoda Barnhart, Secretary
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