WHAT DOES AN ELDER AT FAITH DO ANYWAY?

LOOKING AHEAD

FAITH’S PARTNERSHIPWITH CSU

The following is a play-by-play of a typical elders meeting at Faith through the lens of your average person. This exchange is based on fact, but it didn’t actually happen because, let’s be honest, who wants to be at a meeting at 6:00 AM? Read on for the answer to everyone’s pressing question: What does an elder at Faith do anyway?

5:57am: It’s pitch black outside and I pull into the parking lot to see six other cars already parked here. Do these guys really do this twice a month? It took all of my being to drink enough coffee to get myself here on time in half presentable form.

6:00am: I drag my feet up the stairs and into the conference room and, thank goodness, I smell more coffee. Half of the guys have brought their own travel mugs from home and I start to think they’re actually human. I pull up a chair and Jon, the chairman, says, “Good morning guys, time to get started.”

6:30am: The first 30 minutes flew by with a quick devotional led by one of the elders, then prayer time. Man, those guys can pray! Part way through I started to notice they weren’t praying for their families, work, or life circumstances. Instead, every request they spoke was for the ministry and people at our church. I think that’s pretty neat to see their hearts – they care deeply for their church and they earnestly seek God’s guidance.

6:47am: Pastor Brad, who is one of the elders, is sharing updates with the team and seeking input. He tells me later that for the majority of topics he brings to this team, he is seeking counsel. He’s asking the question, “What should we do?” or “What should I do?” The elders are the perfect people to lend insight because they are in tune with the core values of our church and they have demonstrated outstanding character.

7:01am: All of a sudden we have a visitor! Pastor Grant pulls up a chair and starts sharing his vision for Care Ministry. Different members of the team take turns asking him questions and even offering encouragement about his plans. This surprises me a bit. I thought elders were scary, but I’m starting to see they’re just normal people who love our church and love to

think really well about ministry.

7:15am: Here’s (finally) the stuff I expected in an elders meeting: financial updates, information about refinancing, discussion about our year-end giving project, and other business. I guess someone has to talk about this stuff, right?

7:30am: Just like that, we’ve wrapped up at 7:30 on the dot and everyone is on their way!

Here are my final reflections on the morning. First, these guys are all really different from one another and sometimes they disagreed, but it actually felt healthy. Their unique perspectives, personalities, and character seemed to add a flavor of variety to the discussion that was necessary. I thought maybe, just maybe, their varying views represent the kinds of diversity that exist in our whole church congregation. That was really encouraging.

Secondly, these guys love Jesus, they love Faith, and they seem to know their roles. No doubt, they have opinions on how ministries could run more effectively and, occasionally, they’d like to just make a decision for someone. But they don’t. Their role is to make sure Faith is abiding by its overall mission, vision, and values and they let the best-suited people closest to the action make the day-to-day decisions.

A team full of normal guys who love Jesus, love Faith, and are excellent at thinking big picture for ministry – now that is an elder team I can get behind!

Each fall, volunteers from Faith head out into the community and joyfully clean the yards of those who are unable to do it themselves. Few know that, alongside Faith, approximately 1,800 student volunteers from CSU are serving in the same way on the same day.

Since 2013, Faith has partnered with CSU for this annual project. Emily Allen, CSU’s Community Liaison says, “The partnership was desperately needed! We needed help getting the neighbors the assistance they were asking for.”

Fall Clean Up is aimed at assisting elderly and/or physically limited neighbors in the Fort Collins area with outdoor yard work they cannot

complete themselves and cannot afford to pay someone to do. Lindsay Mason, Program Coordinator for Off-Campus Life says, “This program helps facilitate positive relations between the long-term residents in Fort Collins and CSU students and staff.”

During the morning of November 5th, volunteers from Faith cleaned the yards of those in our church family and those in our community. In the afternoon, a separate crew picked up 509 bags of leaves from CSU volunteers. Lindsay says, “While the leaf bag disposal can be difficult to organize, it is a vital part of the program for those homes where we collect a significant amount

of leaves and the neighbors cannot physically and financially get rid of them. We literally could not do this part of the program with Faith!” She adds, “Without a doubt, Fall Clean Up could not be as successful as it is without the support of Faith. Your dedication to the success of this program, and to supporting our neighbors, has

been incredible. I feel honored to work with such an awesome group of people who care so much about our community.”

December 15 & 16: Annual Christmas Concert

December 24 & 25: Christmas Eve and Christmas

morning service

Family Hope Project (ends December 31)

January 8:Small Group Sunday

“Uncommon Love” sermon series kick-off

Men’s Super Bowl Breakfast

Young Parents Date Night

“The Art of Marriage” conference at Faith

(L-R): Tim Green, Ron Gonzales, Chuck Seest, Mark Oberg, Jon Rentfrow, Bart Probasco, Brad Jensen. Not pictured: James Brooks, Hayden Camp

Here’s a look at what’s coming up at Faith.

Their role is to make sure Faith is abiding by its overall mission, vision, and values and they let the best-suited people closest to the action make the day-to-day decisions.

I feel honored to work with such an awesome group of people who care so much about our community.-Emily Allen, CSU’s Community Liaison

QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT

DECEMBER 2016 JANUARY 2017 FEBRUARY 2017

CONTRIBUTIONS $ 547,569 $ 545,000 $2,525,000

EXPENSES

CONTRIBUTIONS MINUS EXPENSES

$ 603,531

($ 55,962)

$ 620,256

$ (105,256)

$ 2 ,525,000

Year to Date - Actual Year to Date - Budget Annual Budget

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FAITH KIDS & STUDENT MINISTRIES COLLABORATED ON SOMETHING AWESOME THIS YEAR On the outside, it may be looking like just a normal year for Faith Kids and Student Ministries. On the inside, however, over the last six months, Taylor Mugge (Director of Faith Kids) and Steve Baumgaertner (Pastor of Student Ministries) have been collaborating on something special for kids and families at Faith. The process not only prompted the launch of Faith Kids mid-week programming for first through fifth graders, but also left a mark that distinguishes our programming from anything else kids and students might experience in town.

What is this distinguishing mark? It’s simple: consistency.

Taylor says the collaboration started on a random Monday when he asked Steve a question: “In order for sixth graders to be ready for middle school ministry, what do I need to do in Faith Kids to prepare them?” Steve remembers immediately thinking, “Our programming would be so much stronger were it the case that we’re not working independently of one another, but they’re tied together.”

This was the beginning of building an impressive scope and sequence that designs a church experience for children at Faith from birth through twelfth grade. Steve and Taylor say the scope and sequence contains three important elements:

1) Theological development, moving from basic understanding to more robust.2) Consistency in programming. For example, Faith Kids and Middle School Fren-Z ministry both meet on Wednesday nights, creating a seamless transition for kids when they move up to sixth grade.3) Relationships. With the addition of Faith Kids Mid-Week, kids and students are learning about Jesus in the context of relationships for the entire duration of their experience at Faith. Talk about a healthy understanding of community!

Here is the graph Taylor and Steve mapped out that shows the experience of a child when attending Faith from birth through twelfth grade.

Last June through October, we took our Sunday mornings outside with Summers on the Plaza. All summer long, we enjoyed beautiful Colorado mornings while sipping on coffee and catching up on the plaza. It was an inviting site to pull up to church and see dozens of people already connecting with one another.

How did all of it come together? Here was our Hospitality Team’s recipe for Summers on the Plaza success.

What about next year? Plans are already in the works for our second Summer on the Plaza! Have an idea of how to make it better? We’d love to hear what you would add to make year two of Summers on the Plaza a success. Email faith@faithefc.org with your ideas.

A few of our small group leaders asked their groups a simple question: what is your favorite thing about your small group? Their responses covered all the bases – from food to feeling like family. Check it out!

SUMMERS ON THE PLAZA

A FEW OF OUR SMALL GROUP FAVORITE THINGS

“What is this distinguisishing mark? It’s simple: consistency.”

(Marcy small group)(Torre small group)

(Highfield small group)

(Childs small group)

(Oberg small group)

From the newest small group on the block (the Fish group is only 3 months old!)

A group of folks that I have prayed with and for, and laughed with and cried, and felt comfortable enough to share some of my deepest struggles, and who come to celebrate special moments in my life...I feel blessed. Definitely worth prioritizing!

My favorite thing is seeing the smiling faces come through the door and getting hugs. Everyone in our group participates!

I like the diversity of personalities and yet the group fits together. Oh, and dessert!

My favorite thing about small group is that it is somewhere I can openly discuss God’s word with other believers. This challenges me to better understand the Bible and to more rigorously apply it to my life.

It’s great because we are new to the

community and it’s nice to see familiar

faces at church.

It’s so nice to have a community of believers to fellowship with.

I like the mixed ages and stages of life.

It’s about getting to know more about the people who we might just see in church and probably might only say hi to. What an awesome time to get to know them better but not only that, it’s getting to know God better with them so we all get to grow together in our Heavenly Father.

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