Dear Faith Church Family,
This past Sunday evening over 300 people gathered in the FLC Worship Center for our annual congregational gathering to celebrate what God is doing in the life of our church. This short note is intended to provide an update for those unable to attend.
Elder Report
Harry Morgan gave a short report reviewing the past year and highlighting a few important areas that the elders will address in the days ahead. These areas include: our purpose as a church, the future direction of our missions efforts, probable revisions to our constitution, and the role and responsibility of elders and deacons.
John Carpenter reviewed the status of this past year’s facility improvements and discussed a few additional improvements to take place this coming year including: new heating and air-conditioning in the FLC, and some needed upgrades to technology in both the FLC and the Sanctuary.
Many thanks to John Carpenter, Joe Iudicello, and Tom Mutchler, elders who have finished their terms. These three men have served with distinction and now take a well-deserved break from the board. Bill Stanley and Brian Strobel were reelected for an additional term and Pat Tannous was elected for his first elder term.
Senior Pastor Report
I shared my perspective on the state of Faith Church and explained the reasons behind changing the Middle School Pastor position into two part-time roles. We will be looking to hire one director to oversee 5th-6th grade students and one to oversee 7th-8th grade students. Parents of students in these grades are invited to a meeting at 12:15 pm Sunday, April 22 in Mod C to hear more about this new direction in Student Ministries.
I also shared briefly about the new Sunday evening worship venue planned to begin on June 3. While this venue will be open to everyone, the programming is targeted to reach the young adult community in the Lehigh Valley. I will preach the same message as I do Sunday morning, yet on occasion, my sermon will be delivered via video. There will be more information coming on this exciting new venture.
Financial Report and 2013 Budget
Pastor Jack briefly reviewed how God has blessed Faith Church this past year through the generous giving of His people resulting in a very positive financial position. He then presented the new budget for the fifteen month fiscal year, April 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013. The new budget calls for an approximate 11% increase in giving over current giving levels.
As a result, I ask you to be intentional in considering how you can participate in giving to the ministries of Faith Church. Maybe you are newer to the body and God is calling you to invest financially in your home church. Or maybe you have been at Faith for a while and God is prompting you to increase your giving. Whatever your situation, would you ask God to show you how you can partner with us financially to ensure ministry continues?
Building Project
On behalf of the Steering Team, Thomas Brown shared an update regarding the new building. Currently, contractors and architects are working closely to develop preliminary project cost estimates. Once these costs are prepared the Steering Team will host a number of Q&A times to present the costs and answer questions about the project. At this point, we are considering an early June 2012 meeting for membership approval of the project.
New Members
In the final report of the evening Pastor Greg highlighted the new members recently approved by the elders. Pictures and short bios of these 27 people are included in a Membership Profile brochure available at the Welcome Centers.
We closed the evening together by kneeling before God in humility and gratitude for all He has done and continues to do for the people and ministries of Faith Church.
On behalf of the entire staff and the elders I thank you for the privilege of serving you. May God continue to pour out His grace and mercy on Faith Church in the days to come.
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