Annual Report for Sunday, January 17, 2010 Meeting
Agenda
·
Devotions
·
2009 Annual Business Meeting Minutes
·
Roster
·
Reports
o
Pastor Sam Neno
o
Pastor Sharon Newman
o
Pastor Joe Wright
o
Secretary, Linda Van Berkom
o
Ministries (reverse alphabetical)
o
Treasurer, Marge Riese
·
Old Business
·
Elections & Ratifications
·
New Business
·
Adjournment
Last Year’s Minutes ABM
Sunday, January 18, 2009, Linda Van Berkom, Secretary
The meeting was opened
with brief worship by Pastor Joe, Marty Sears, and Emmett Neno at 2:00pm.
Devotional: Pastor Sam began the meeting with prayer and a
video entitled “Full Flame Part 1, Lost at Sea” a message from Reinhardt
Bonnke. It was about a vessel that was in trouble in the sea and the valley of
decision.
We need to keep our
focus on what’s most important and that we need to bring salvation to the lost
and disciple them. Even though we do well in this church; we need all hands on
deck. This year Pastor Sam is looking for new ways to disciple leaders and
others. The great commission does not change (Matt 28:19-20).
2008 Annual Business Meeting Minutes January 20, 2008: Linda Van Berkom read
the 2008 Annual Business Meeting Minutes. Larry Doubleday made a motion to
receive the minutes as read. Janice Jones seconded. CARRIED
2008 Special Business Meeting Minutes October 19, 2008: Linda Van Berkom read
the 2008 Special Business Meeting minutes for the Sexual Predator Policy. Lulu
Roster Report: The current Roster is 73 voting members, 4
adherences and one junior member. Gladys Sirvent made a motion to accept the
roster report. Justin Besler seconded. We have 130 members and 10 honorary. We
need 44 to meet the quorum. CARRIED. Because the Junior Member present is 17 he
cannot vote for Trustee but can participate in other votes.
Dave made a motion to
intersperse the reading of reports with voting. Bob Miller seconded. CARRIED
There are four
positions this year: one three-year Trustee position, two three-year Deacon(ess)
positions, and one one-year Deacon(ess) position (balance of position vacated
by Steve Lizzo). The first vote will be for the Trustee position being vacated
by Dave Dann.
Trustee: Current Trustees are Linda Van Berkom, Dave
Dann, and Bob Miller. The nominees are Donna Bernhardt, Malcolm Davis, Terri
Lattin, Connie Norman, Jean Scott, Mike Sears Sr., Clif Todd, and Joan Zhe. Bob
Miller is the Head Teller, assisted by Cliff Ostrander and Justin Besler. We
need at least 38 votes for an election.
An instruction was
given to, if abstaining, put a paper in the basket with abstain written on it.
We had an election on the first ballot 73 (over 18) ballots cast, 38 ballots for Mike Sears, Sr.
Deacon(ess): The 2008 Deacons were Justin Besler, Shirley
Greene, Stephen Lizzo, Cliff Ostrander, and Mike Sears, Sr., and Brian
Twitchell. There were 74 voting members present. Mike Sears, Sr. withdrew his
name from the nominees for the Deacon(ess) position. On the first ballot there
were 74 ballots collected, but there wasn’t an election because someone wrote
in a name that was not nominated. A request was made that only those nominated
be written on the ballots. All nominees were read for clarification.
On the second ballot,
74 ballots cast with 45 ballots for Jean Scott. She will serve as a three
year deaconess. Jean said she was humbled by the election and asked for prayer
for her and the rest of the Board. She also mentioned the Lord has shown her
wonderful things through this process.
Reports:
Pastor Sam, Pastor
Sharon and Pastor Joe read or summarized their reports. A correction to Pastor
Sam’s report regarding babies born was noted. Adelina Viglietta, and Michaela
Stone had been inadvertently left out.
These coordinators read
or shared about their ministries: Linda Van Berkom (Secretary’s Report with a
correction to the report that Chuck Hendrickson built the float for Old Home
Days);
The Treasurer’s Report
was presented by Marge Riese. She referred us to the 2009 Budget and the 2008
Financial Report in the back of the 2008 Year End report. She pointed out that
the financial statement for December shows the Operating Fund in the red
because of an insurance payment that came due.
She referred us to the
budget in the back of the 2008 Year End report. She reported that in preparing
the 2009 Budget we tried to be very conservative. She stated that the 2009
50/50 funds will be distributed to the Operating Fund and Benevolence. In past
years, we have distributed some of the 50/50 funds to the College Fund. We
don’t have anyone attending college who qualifies, and with a healthy balance,
the change was made. No votes are required for the Budget. It is presented for
questions/comments from the members.
Linda Competillo
questioned refinancing loans because of the low interest rates.
We corporately thanked
Marge with applause.
It was mentioned that
Marge needs to do cross training. Possible trainees are Terri Lattin, Pastor
Sharon, and Linda Van Berkom.
Deacon(ess): Jean Scott and Mike Sears removed their names
from the list of nominees for the third vote. 74 ballots were cast (including
one abstention) with 49 Ballots for Clif
Todd. Clif commented that he just wants to be in God’s will. that’s why he
didn’t take his name out from the nominations when Pastor Sam gave him a call.
His name has been a nomination for a couple years.
Deacon(ess): Jean Scott, Mike Sears, and Clif Todd removed
their names from the list of nominees for the fourth vote. There was no
election on the first ballot. On the seconded ballot there were 74 ballots cast
with 39 ballots for Donna Bernhardt. Donna
thanked everyone and said that between Clif Todd and her Jean will have a ride
to the meetings.
Justin Besler and Dave
Dann were thanked by Pastor Sam and members for their service on the Board. He
noted that Dave Dann had just served 12 consecutive years. Justin Besler
thanked us for giving him a chance to serve. Dave Dann thanked the Lord and
everyone for voting for him. He related that the Lord said it was the time for
him to step down for a short time. He said he may show up on a Thursday night
if he’s bored because the meetings are open. He gave recognition to Cliff
Ostrander for almost single handily installing the new nursery floor. He and
Bob are getting burned out doing the Fellowship Hall alone. Everyone should be
helping out. We’ve been here 12 years,
and the Fellowship Hall is still not done. It’s because we don’t have much
help. He will still be available to help even though he will no longer be on
the Board.
A question was asked
what needs to be done. Dave let them know that that middle section of the
ceiling needs to come down and put back up. A suggestion was to make a list of
things to be done, involve more than the experts, and give a couple weeks
notice.
Ratifications:
Church Secretary: Linda Van Berkom was ratified as Church
Secretary. Linda mentioned that
Church Treasurer: Marge Riese was ratified as Church Treasurer
Cliff Ostrander made a
motion that we discontinue the reading of the reports. Kirsta Lynch seconded. There
was much discussion as to how we could present information during the year and
shorten the reports. Bob Miller called the question. Darlene Finn Seconded.
Old Business:
Mary Lu did a recap on
Women’s Community Center by reading her report. This was done as a special
request during the discussion about not continuing to read the reports.
New Business:
Membership revisions:
Moving to Inactive: The members presented because of lack of
attendance for at least three consecutive months are: Tracy Herman, Faye
Hacker, Don and Cheryl Moore, and Jamie Otis. Mike Sears Sr. made a motion to
move them to the inactive list. Lulu
Moving to Honorary: The names to be moved are Don and Dawn Frutchey;
Ernie and Sharon Newbury; and Chuck and Blanche Volbrecht. John Conner made the
motion to move them to Honorary. Linda Competillo seconded.
Lindsay Orr asked what
Honorary was for. Pastor Sam explained the distinction. These are people who
cannot make it to church most of the year (i.e. away at school, live elsewhere for
the winter, or physical illness) but are still part of the church. They are not
included in the count for quorum, but they still have the privilege of voting
if they can make it to the meeting. CARRIED.
Transfers: Adam Kress
transferred to Cortland Christian. No action is required by the membership.
The name was presented for informational purposes only.
Removals: Ed Vorhis asked to have his name removed in
writing. No action is required.
A note was made that we
need to look at a spending cap for the next annual meeting. It’s a cap of what
the Board can approve for spending without calling a special business meeting
of the members.
Final Roster: 64 members are still present.
Marge Riese made a
motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:48 pm. We stood and closed in prayer.
Senior Pastor, Sam Neno
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
2009 was a year of
training as well as of increasing intimacy with God and of loss. The training
began with financial training and counseling in January and expanded to
leadership training, Sunday School teacher training, teaching on the Baptism of
the Holy Spirit, training in mentoring, training in family relationships, and
teaching to help strengthen marriages. Along the way, the Lord has given us
opportunity to move in the gifts of the Spirit and to test them in corporate
worship.
As for intimacy, I
found my relationship with God deepening as I dealt with personal loss—of my
dad, my aunt, and a cousin. As a church we experienced the loss of sister
Elaine Clarke and brother Chuck Volbrecht. But we also saw God baptize in the
Holy Spirit more people than the year before, save many more, and transform
lives. He healed many of our infirmities and has restored hope to relationships.
I am joyful in reporting that I have seen God restore marriages that looked to
be finished, and the couples are doing very well. God’s hand is very evident in
those instances. Serving Him has been so very sweet this year, and I am
grateful for His body and the gifts He has given us. We enjoyed the power of
God as He manifested Himself through evangelistic services with Joe Chamberlin
and have enjoyed anointed preaching by many missionaries throughout the year.
Financially, the year
was mixed, as we paid off the church mortgage but also saw giving decline as
the nation’s recession finally took its toll on us in a personal way. But in
His goodness, God has been very faithful to our body, and we are stable
financially. And I wish to thank you for your continued faithful giving to
missions. Once again we were recognized as one of the top-giving churches in
the state (among the top 10%). Despite economic hardship, you have been
faithful in supporting our missionaries, and I thank you with deep joy and
appreciation.
As we progressed
through the year, the Lord closed the door on any large outreach such as the
Power Team, but we again brought in Enemy Opposition for Old Home Days, at the
strong encouragement of the Home Days committee. While we saw salvations, the
Lord seemed to be emphasizing body ministry this year. Near the end of the
year, He brought to light some matters that He’d deemed had been in darkness
long enough. He is currently purifying our body and leading us toward healing
in many areas. I believe we have been a healthy church, but like any group, we
have experienced pain over the years, and God has determined this past year was
the time to bring to reckoning some of those instances.
As we enter the new
year, we are being led by the Lord toward deeper healing and restoration. I’m
not certain where He is leading, but He is faithful. I keep hearing Him remind
me that He wants to heal. Please humble yourselves before Him and allow Him to
do what He wishes to—both in your life and in this body.
Also, please mark your
calendars now for the weekend of October 31, which is when we will be hosting
our next dramatic evangelistic outreach (i.e. Heaven’s Gates Hell’s Flames or Last
Chance, a presentation similar to HGHF but concluding with the Rapture).
The Lord has given us
wonderful people to whom to minister and with whom to minister. I wish to thank
Pastor Joe and the worship teams for doing a wonderful job in leading us in
worship this past year, and I wish to thank Pastor Sharon and her co-laborers
for ministering powerfully to children through Children’s Church, Royal Rangers
(Eric Peck, coordinator), and Girl’s Ministries (Pastor Sharon, coordinator).
Thank you to Penny Neno and our Sunday School teachers and helpers for
excellent classes, teaching, and training opportunities. Thank you to Annette
Twitchell and our VBS workers for another wonderful week. Thank you to Trish
Plummer for doing a marvelous job in coordinating the one-on-one mentoring.
Thank you to Terri Lattin for continuing so faithfully as our reducing the risk
coordinator and seeing that we have a safe environment for children in which to
learn. Thank you to our small group leaders for their faithful service—your
ministry is of utmost importance to the unity of our body and to the growth and
development of our members. Thank you to Elaine Seltzer and the puppet team,
and to Elaine for her work as kitchen coordinator. Thank you to Kerri
Moshkowski for her work as nursery coordinator, to the nursery workers, and to
Pastor Sharon for helping in that ministry. Thank you to
Lord, thank you for the
opportunity to serve. Bless Your Name. Please, glorify Your Name in the coming
days.
Children and Family Pastor, Sharon Newman
Children and Family:
Mark 10:13-16 People
were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the
disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them,
“Let the little children come to me, and do on hinder them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive
the
The above verse is
really what this ministry is all about…letting the families and children come
to Jesus. Yes, it talks mainly about the children, but the parents played a
huge role in this because they brought their children to Jesus to be touched by
Him. They knew Jesus would make a difference in the lives of their children. It
was something they desired their children to be part of, and today should be no
different.
In the study portion of
my Fire Bible for verse 15 it says, “Receiving God’s kingdom like a child means
accepting it in a simple, humble, trustful and wholehearted way so as to turn
from sin, receive Christ as Savior, rely on him as Lord (the Leader of your
life) and follow God as your Heavenly Father. Children trust and accept the truth
of who God is in such a genuine way. They have huge faith, and as adults, we
can learn a lot from them. We complicate our relationship with God way too
much. As stated above, we should receive God’s kingdom like a child in a
simple, humble, trustful and wholehearted way.
So adults, I encourage
you to be like the children with genuine hearts of faith and in wide eyed
wonder receive God’s kingdom like a child. He wants you to climb up on his lap
so He can put His arms around you and bless you. And children, you keep on
trusting God with all your heart for the rest of your lives. Never let go! Keep
it simple, remain humble of heart and accept Him wholeheartedly in all that He
has for you. Don’t forget you will never outgrow climbing up on the Father’s
lap, and He’ll never grow tired of you being there.
Children’s Church:
We want the children to
come and experience Jesus on their level, and each week that is our hope as
your children join us in Children’s Church.
We focused on two
themes in 2009. In the first part of the year we learned about who God is. We
started out with God Made the World, God Made Everybody, God Cares Why We Do
Things, etc, and for the rest of the year our theme was Castles and Kings ~
Lessons From Old Testament Kings. We learned about what happened when kings
were obedient to the Lord and how he blessed them and what happened if they
chose to walk in disobedience to God and the consequences that followed. In
this theme we spent time learning about the Jesus, the King of kings and the
importance of walking in obedience to Him. We learned some very valuable
lessons in Children’s Church this past year.
We had the opportunity
to learn how to serve in the kingdom and appreciate what others do for the
glory of the Lord. The children worked hard to prepare for and be part of a
special banquet for “unseen servants.” These are individuals that do things
around the church behind the scenes without being asked to bless the Lord and
the Body. We wanted to honor them and let them know how much they are loved and
appreciated for what they do. So many do not understand what it takes to keep a
building maintained and ministries going. We just come every week, and things
are taken care of. It takes a body of believers and servants on many levels to
keep things moving forward, and we never want to forget to tell people how much
we appreciate what they do. Their greatest reward will be in heaven, but we can
certainly say thank you while we are here. And we want the children to learn
how important it is to say thank you, to learn by example, and to have a servant’s
heart.
We have seen many new
families come in 2009, and that means new children in Children’s Church. It has
been fun getting to know the new children and getting them acquainted with new
friends and their new best friend Jesus!
We are looking forward
to our new theme of Faith Case, which is teaching the children the 16
Fundamentals of Truth. This launched Sunday, January 3, 2010. By the time you
receive this report we will be well underway.
I want to thank the
team I work with. I am so blessed to work along side of them. Deby McCormick,
Jennie Foster, Barb Foster, Sue Sears,
Wednesday Family Night:
Yep, we are still going
strong with lots and lots of kids and faithful leaders who are teaching the
Word and helping the children learn to apply the truths of the Word to their
lives. Fun and yes, building relationships is all part of what happens during Wednesday
Family Night.
We saw some new leaders
come on board, and I am so very grateful that they stepped up to the plate and
are willing to serve in the role of a Commander, Sponsor or helper. The Royal
Rangers added Chuck Hendrickson and Mike Competillo as Commanders of Ranger
Kids. Alex Shehu is helping in Adventure Rangers, and Steve Jones is helping
with Expedition Rangers. We have also been blessed with Joel Rivera who has
been floating around and helping wherever he has been needed. In Girls
Ministries,
We had the opportunity
to be part of the Elementary Open House in September. We weren’t sure we were
going to be allowed to go. They have made it more challenging to be able to set
up a table and requested information this year about the ministries of Royal
Rangers and Girls Ministries (they didn’t the year before). We complied
willingly, and I prayed like crazy. At the last minute they gave us the okay.
We were given very positive feedback from parents that stopped by and chatted.
We had lots of kids come to our two set ups, and they were very excited about
the prospects of coming on Wednesday nights. This really gives us an
opportunity to make families aware of who we are and what we have to offer. I
am hoping that we will have a growing presence each year at the elementary
school.
Girls Ministries:
I have a wonderful
ministry team of women who love Jesus and who demonstrate their love for Him
each week in front of many girls who come on Wednesday Family Night.
As I stated earlier in
the Wednesday Family Night section we added some new leaders, and I want to say
thank you to some who faithfully served but felt it was time to step down.
Annette Twitchell served in the Prims Club as a Sponsor for many, many years,
and Sue Sears served along side of Janice Jones and Tammie Charbono in the Stars
Club. Thank you both very much for serving in this capacity. You were such a
blessing to the girls over the years and to the team as a whole. I pray that the
Lord will bless you as you move on to other areas of ministry that God has
called you to.
Some of the girls and
Sponsors prepared cars for the Pine Wood Derby in January. I have to say they
did a great job and ran some pretty good races! It was a fun day, and we look
forward to the one coming up in January. Come on ladies. Lets show them how
good we are at designing and racing cars!
The girls had a
successful Bake-Sale that raised money to help girls and Sponsors get to Girls
Retreat in May and June. We tried doing just the Bake Sale this time, and it
proved to go quite well. We got permission from Wilson Farms to set up on the
upper part of the parking lot on the lawn. With the contribution of Charbono’s
gazebo for the event, we had a nice set-up which drew people to the bake goods.
They were flying off the table! The folks from Wilson Farms brought out a huge
carafe of coffee, cups and little flavored milks for folks to enjoy for free,
and they were sending their customers outside to buy goodies from us. Wow God,
You are amazing!
In September we had
another beautiful Girls Ministries Celebration as we recognized girls who were
being crowned as Honor Stars or moving up to the next club. We invited the
Rangers to be part of the recognition and celebration as well. We had a nice
reception following the service so that we could celebrate the accomplishments
of our students. Lisa Durant, Director of Girls Ministries for NY District, was
our guest speaker for the morning.
Thank you very much to
all of my Sponsors and helpers, for without you, your faithful service and
prayers this ministry would not be possible. I count it a privilege to work
with you and am blessed by your servant hearts. I love and appreciate each one
of you and what you add to this awesome team.
Christmas Production:
Oh yeah, there wasn’t
one in 2009. But I couldn’t resist mentioning two things. One, even though we
didn’t do a production I had a few willing children meet with me once a week in
November and December to learn some special songs to share each Sunday in
December. I picked three familiar songs from productions in the past, and then
for the final Sunday (12/27) I picked two songs from a production that we
didn’t do. I was very moved by both the words and music of these particular
songs. It had a great message, and I really felt that the Holy Spirit would use
these songs and the children to stir hearts. I asked Pastor Joe if he would
play “live” since I didn’t have any accompaniment music for it. He agreed, and
the children worked very hard at learning and presenting. I invited Jennie
Foster to come and help us out, so she lent us her voice and led the children
on one of the weeks. Thank you Jennie and Pastor Joe for all of your help. It
was a great time and wonderful to work with the kids again.
The second part of this
is to invite you to get involved in the Easter Production. This is not just a children’s
production. This is a musical drama that requires many adults, youth and
children. Our rehearsals will be on Tuesday evenings from 6:30–8:00 pm starting
January 19. If you don’t think acting or singing is your thing I still need
help with set designs and costumes. I have lots of material and patterns. I
just need capable sewers! The musical drama is called “More Than Just a
I would like to close
by thanking the Lord for His love and faithfulness to this Body and ask for His
continued leading and wisdom as we enter into a brand new year of ministry. May
You be blessed Lord!
Worship Pastor, Joe Wright
In
2009, the benevolence ministry (meaning compassion, kindness or generosity) of
We
had many precious times of corporate worship, prayer, and teaching/preaching.
The dynamics in services from week to week are interesting to watch and learn
from as they ebb and flow. Let’s seek God with greater fervor and frequency in
personal and corporate worship in 2010. I would like to extend thanks to our two
other current worship leaders, Mike Competillo and Martin Sears and all the
team members. I would also like to thank
I would also like to
thank Peter Martin for his custodial service, Arthur Nordby for his commitment
to prepare communion monthly (thanks also to Cathy Wakeman and Bob Miller for
their past service), the newcomer dinner crew, Mary Briglio and company for
planning and leading the National Day of Prayer, and those who faithfully
served to fix facilities needs. Please also remember to take personal
responsibility for the following:
·
Turn off lights, turn down heat/turn off A/C, close and lock
windows tightly, and leave things better than the way you found it.
·
For better security, please use the main doors at the center of
the building.
·
Check your mail folder often.
·
Attend to your children at all times.
·
Personal copies for $.10 per copy (see Pastors Joe or Sharon –
don’t use ministry codes for personal copies).
·
The kitchen and café are closed during services, and food in the
refrigerators should be labeled and for ministry purposes only.
·
Please take trash directly to the dumpster (and put in a new bag).
·
Submit bulletin items and announcements for the Sunday morning
services to Pastor Joe by Wednesday.
·
Submit newsletter items to Pastor Sharon by the 12th of
the month.
·
Information
about activities and events can be found on the website, at the
·
We
do not have a lost and found, so items left at the church are kept for a few
weeks and then taken to the local Rescue Mission.
·
We
have nursery care for infants & toddlers less than five years old. Please
take advantage of this service so as not to distract those sitting around you.
·
Please
silence phones, pagers and other electronic devices for services.
·
Please
limit moving around during the service, and if you have to leave or come late,
please sit close to the door. The last two to three rows in section A are
available for those with children, special needs or who come late and/or have
to leave early.
·
Food and drinks are not
permitted in the sanctuary.
·
Our room and equipment use book has been updated.
And finally, the
leadership retreat and Jim Hall event was a real catalyst for me this year. I
had a renewed fervor for Sunday School and mentoring. It was a special spring
and summer season.
Erin and I thank you
for the pastor appreciation gifts and your kindness throughout the year. We
planned our vacation around General Council in
Secretary, Linda Van Berkom
As a general rule, the
Board meets once a month on the second Thursday. We open with a devotion and
prayer, review the financial reports, receive the pastors’ monthly reports, and
turn in Pastoral Care reports at each meeting. Pastor Sam requests feedback
from us on his preaching, to pray and seek the Lord regarding our church and
listen to what the Spirit is saying. We must also keep aware of current events
and how they may impact our church. We then attend to the business of operating
and nurturing our church. These are the things we discussed in 2009:
·
Redistribution of Pastoral Care lists because of the change in Board
Members
·
offering counting and board devotional schedules
·
Debriefings of the annual meeting, Easter message, and revival services
·
Lower foyer flooring (decided not to do the tile)
·
Sanctuary railings that will be installed soon on the stairs at
the altar area (railings were done but floor fittings had to be custom made)
·
Flooring for the Sunday School rooms
·
Delegates for Sectional Council, District Council, and General
Council
o
Sectional Council in
o
District Council in
o
General Council in
·
Discussed finances for General Council
o
The Board approved purchasing plane tickets for Pastor Sam and
Penny and gave them money for meals, taxi, hotel, etc. The total cost was
$1,152.54
o
As Pastor Joe was going to attend a few sessions as well, we approved
$225.00 for fuel for Pastor Joe
·
Many benevolence requests (Donna Bernhardt and Mike Sears helped
Pastor Joe with decision making as a board sub committee)
·
Projects:
o
Spring work day
o
Ongoing Fellowship Hall ceiling
o
Tile or carpet for foyers
o
Inner stairwell off Fellowship Hall
o
Another sump pump near Room 112
o
Finances to complete flooring
o
Leaders retreat held at the church
o
Electrical work in Sanctuary (replaced light switches)
o
Elevator (Cliff Ostrander and the Youth continue to work toward
raising the funds. Cliff also presented a couple different options and prices.
At least $17,000 will be needed for the project.)
o
Air conditioning unit repair (estimated $1,000 to repair when funds
are available)
·
Whether the Power Team be brought into the school?
o
This did not come to pass as the Superintendant, Dr. Myers, could
not justify the cost at this time. We had been setting aside funds for the
Power Team. These funds were transferred to bring back Enemy Opposition for the
Old Home Days in August. We were actually approached by the village to bring
them back, and they donated $500 to help cover the cost.
·
Financial audit
o
The audit was completed by Larry Chamberlin in October. He felt
there were adequate controls in place.
He gave some suggestions.
·
Van use by Cortland Christian for the Youth Convention in
·
Operating permits legislation (We were informed that some
municipalities could be looking for ways to gain funds by issuing an Operating
Permit for buildings containing one or more areas of public assembly with an
occupant load of 100 persons or more. Cities, towns, villages, and counties
could use their own forms and set their own rates, although there is a model
questionnaire available from the State. Some Pastors had been asked to complete
the questionnaire by building inspectors. We would do our best to find ways
that we would not have to pay the fee, but if we could not legally and
peaceably find a way, we would pay the fee. To date, we have not been asked to
complete a questionnaire, but we are inspected each year.)
·
Sealing and restriping of parking lots
·
Evangelism: Bringing in Heaven’s
Gates & Hell’s Flames or a new drama by the same group entitled Last Chance
·
Trailer for Royal Rangers (approved paying for insurance,
registration, and inspection of a RR trailer, but the RR would build or
purchase the trailer)
·
District Sabbatical Policy (on file and available upon request
from secretary)
·
College scholarship funds that were approved for Brittani Miller
and Michael Competillo
·
Approved $200 gift for Trish and Bob Plummer with appreciation for
lawn care
·
Custodian change
·
Board nominations (Board member, Cliff Ostrander and church
members, Karen Scott and Julie Tratt served on the nominating committee, and
final nominations were reviewed by the Board.)
·
Budget
·
Housing allowances for Pastor Sam and Pastor Sharon (approved)
·
Pastor in Training Program
·
Membership changes:
o
New Members: Bill and Barb Foster, R. Charlton Wright, Holly
Bernhardt, Sarah Jones, Patrick
Sullivan, Joel Lafian, Robin Cargian, Anne Peake, Deserae Harriger, Deb Coffin,
Edward Foster-Tuttle, Carol Goddard, Patty Nebe, Elizabeth Sears, and Julie
Tratt
o
Moved to Inactive: Edward Foster-Tuttle, Dave Holle, Helen
Lamphere, Deb Myers, and Phyllis Randall
o
Removed: Art Brown, Rebecca Brown, Deb Coffin, Ariel Myers, Connie
Sherwood, Steve Skinner
o
Deceased: Elaine Clark and Chuck Volbrecht
o
Recommend for removal because inactive: Tracy Herman, Faye Hacker,
Don and Cheryl Moore, and Jamie Otis
Youth (BOBSTAND), Cliff & Sara Ostrander
This has been an
exciting year for the BOBSTAND youth group, and for those of you who don't know
what BOBSTAND means, we are a Bunch of Believers, Standing Tall And Never
Defeated! We have gone from having a group of mainly seniors that I've been
working with for the past four years to an almost completely new group. This
youth group consists of eighth through twelfth graders. We refreshed the look
of the youth room by repainting it and personalizing it with hand prints of
everyone in the youth group. We helped the Women’s Ministry move a bunch of
clothes for their big clothing give away. Then we attended the Word of Life Superbowl
which has nothing to do with football. It’s an all night event starting with a
hockey game, then a rally, and onto three different events two hours long each.
We also started up the Java Bobba known as the “coffee stand” to most. The
youth group took on the challenge of raising the funds for an elevator to be
put in the church in honor of Jonny Newberry. We have raised 75 percent of the
money so far. We need a total of $16,500 for the elevator and installation.
This will be an exciting
year for BOBSTAND of growing and learning physically, mentally and spiritually.
I look forward to teaching a new group about our Lord and Savior through God's
Word, life experiences and of course crazy stories by Cliff. Thank you for
bringing your children to youth group and for entrusting me with the wonderful
opportunity to teach them how to live a life for Christ.
Women, Penny Neno
The Women’s Ministry
this year has continued to touch the lives of women of all ages by the power of
Jesus Christ through the Women’s
Conference, Teen Girls’ Retreat, and Mom’s group. WMs has also continued to support the NY
District outreach through new church plantings and becoming a chartered member.
In brief,
*Leadership Training & Retreat. WMs financially supported Trish
Plummer and Julie Tratt as they attended the Leadership Training Course in
*New Church Planting. WMs
donated $100.00 in May to support new churches in the New York District. This offering is also known as the “3-D
Offering: Dimes to Dollars to Deeds.”
*Teen Girls Ministries Retreat. WMs matched the donation from Teen
Girls Ministries to create scholarships for girls to attend the retreat in
June.
*Preschoolers and their Mom’s Group. As a newly forming
group, the planning meeting was January 28, and the group met twice a month in
February, March, and April. We were blessed to have the services of 12
grandmothers who volunteered to watch the preschoolers. Thank you very much,
ladies! In May, two of our moms were delivering babies, so on April 22, we
suspended meeting until fall.
As my role in WMs will
be changing this coming year, I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for our new
coordinator, Annette Twitchell, who will inspire us to go places with Jesus
that we would never go on our own.
I have been thinking
for quite awhile that I needed to readjust my direction, and now looking at the
changes that have taken place in my primary ministry—my family, I see that it
is true. Sometimes in my planning, I wonder if I will miss God’s direction
altogether, or if I will even recognize when He is trying to redirect me. Now I
see that the Lord gave me many unexpected opportunities to refocus my
priorities on my family. For example, during the first three months of the
year, my sister-in-law, Susan Neno McArthur, and I were busy planning for dad
and mom Neno’s 50th anniversary dinner on April 25. None of us knew
that only nine days later, dad Neno would unexpectedly pass away. On September
13, Sam participated in the funeral of aunt Alice Neno (the same day as the
Sunday School Kickoff). Then, late in November, my parents, Ray and Jeanne
Phelps (who celebrated their 56th anniversary this year) also made a
big move: we helped unpack their belongings at their new home in Jordan, NY,
after 20+ years living in
Addendum from Annette Twitchell
Late in the year, I
assumed the position of coordinator for WMs. My desire is to see women in our
church connect with one another and to provide opportunities for outreach in
the community. The Lord impressed upon me to assemble a team of women who will
plan events and activities for the upcoming year. We have met once and will
meet again in January to develop our plan for 2010. I am excited for what God
is doing and for what He will do in the upcoming months.
The heartbeat of VBS is
evangelism, not only to the children, but to whole families and to the world.
This year we saw God move in a new direction as our focus for ministry
developed into an outreach to benefit those who struggle with addictions by
supporting Teen Challenge in
With “Fiesta!” as our theme, we went south of
the border for our decoration ideas, and once again we were able to use the
materials given to us from Cortland Christian Assembly of God. Everyone really
seemed to enjoy the colorful scenery, and many people even walked off on the
final night with pieces of the Styrofoam houses that lined the platform to look
like a Mexican village.
We had many of our
faithful workers return this year, to whom I am truly grateful, and we welcomed
new workers as well. In particular, I feel it is noteworthy to mention the help
of the Rivera family who joined our fellowship this year at what seemed the
perfect time for this particular VBS season. Joel’s willingness to share his
background provided helpful insight into the preparation of the skits, the
choice of the songs, and the outreach to the parents on the final night. Only
God knew in advance to place these people in our midst to help us do what He
had planned all along.
Throughout the week,
115 different children from age four through fifth grade attended at least one
night of our VBS week. Of them, 33 were recorded as first-time salvations, and
38 made recommitments to the Lord. Before the final night, the offering totaled
$531.20, which was a far cry from our goal of $1,500.00. One of the most
amazing moments of the entire week was when, on the final night, the offering
results were revealed. On that night alone more than $1,500.00 was given to
support VBS and to further the work of Tim and Debbie Anderson through Teen
Challenge in
It was a blessing in so
many ways to coordinate VBS this year. I feel that many of the workers have
truly found their niche and that the support of the church body and prayer team
is an integral part of the success of this ministry. I want to extend my thanks
and appreciation to all who were involved in any way. May God continue to speak
to our hearts and lead us by the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will for the
salvation of souls and the discipleship of believers.
Ushers, Linda Van Berkom
Donna, the 8am
coordinator, and I have continued to serve you at our services by meeting you
at the door and handing out bulletins and welcome packets. We keep counts of
the services and those who are in the nursery and Children’s Church. We do our
best to stop traffic when people are praying or reading the Word from the
pulpit. Parents, thank you for accompanying your children to the rest rooms
when they need to leave or better yet, checking with them before the service.
Just a note, if you forget before the service to ask if they need to use the
restroom and since we are standing during worship, that time would be a better
time to leave, as it would be less distracting than when we are all seated. We
ushers do our best to keep the movement to a minimum.
At the November 29
service we recognized our weekly service ushers with a gift of appreciation for
their service to the congregation. Donna and I certainly cannot do it on our own
and appreciate all the help. May the Lord bless. See you Sunday.
Sunday School, Penny Neno
A great big thank you
goes out to our returning staff—you keep us standing on a strong foundation.
Our secretary, Michele Skinner keeps the administrative side of Sunday School
running smoothly, and Michele is also one of our new teachers this year. Also
joining the staff this year are Amber Frost, Terri Lattin, and Connie Norman.
Welcome!
Thank you, students,
for your generous weekly giving. We were able to purchase Radiant Life,
an AG curriculum for children and youth, as well as adult curriculums by John
Bevere, Larry Burkett, Kerry Clarensau, Elizabeth George, John Ortberg, Wayde
Goodall; Liquid, and Fireproof. I am confident that lives will
continue to be transformed as a result of your giving.
To celebrate the
beginning of the summer session, all students and teachers were encouraged to
participate in the first-ever Airband Concert. It was wildly
successful! We had students and teachers participate from nearly every class.
We had hippies, rockers, and everything in-between. If you did not see it, I
hope you will not miss the next one!
On September 13, we had
our Sunday School Pep Rally, Tailgate
Party, and Football Game. The theme was “All You Need to Grow” from Psalm
1:3. During the Pep Rally,
*we distributed tree
seedlings to remind us to grow in Christ through Sunday School.
*Stephen Lizzo and
Pastor Sam performed a fun skit: God’s Word Never Fails.
*Amber Frost (H.S.
senior) read from Luke on the parable of the prodigal son.
*Elias Rivera (H.S.
sophomore) told the story of the conversion and commissioning of real-life
prodigal and eventual missionary to
*Alyssa Charbono,
Alexandra Parlett, and Hope Twitchell (grades 5-7) illustrated “Sheltering
Tree,” by Newsong with flags, costumes, and choreography by Camille Viglietta
*Many of us cried as we
viewed the video of the prodigal son from Integrity
Media.
*The offering collected
during the Pep Rally raised $162.62 to help train teachers and plant Sunday
Schools in a muslim nation through AG World Missions.
ASSET (Accelerated
Sunday School Enrichment Training) took place during the Sunday School hour
this July, followed by a half-day seminar Oct 31. We had nearly 100% attendance
from our staff! We are blessed to have such commitment! Special thanks to
Annette Twitchell for giving of her time and expertise.
My prayer for you is
that you seek Jesus through Sunday School in the coming year and let Him teach you how to live through
the teachers He has commissioned here at Groton AG.
Royal Rangers (Outpost 54), Senior Commander Eric Peck I
2009 has been a very
good year for Royal Rangers. We started off with the first annual pinewood
derby. This was attended very well between the MPact Girls Ministry as well as Rangers. We are hoping this year’s
will be well attended too.
Then we had our annual
winter camp at Christian Assembly. We played games and held a mini Camporama.
Both outposts had a great time.
In February, we awarded
our first ever GMA recipient to Emmett Neno. Emmett had to do a lot of work to
earn this award. District Commander, Steve Monez presented the award, and
Sectional Commander, Xhem Shehu was our emcee. We hope to have more boys in the
future.
In May, we had a spring
campout at
In July, we went to the
NY District POWWOW. The boys participated in many events including soap box
derby, BMX racing, swimming, nature projects, and many more. We even placed in
a couple of events (including a win by Joel Twitchell).
In October, we had a
Power competition at Christian Assembly. The boys competed in a number of
events including the Strong Patrol. They all had an absolute blast!
We are averaging over a
dozen boys at each event that is held – closer to eighteen at most of them. We
look forward to this next year as our numbers increase. We are also looking
forward to some of the boys earning the higher awards – a few of which will be
given out February 14.
If anyone is not
plugged in and doing something to further His ministry, then come on and plug
into Royal Rangers!
Puppets, Elaine Seltzer
There were some changes
in the puppet team this past year. After some discussion, we decided to pre
record the scripts. This makes it easier for us to work the puppets without
having to have a script in our hands. With the help of people who were willing
to come once a month and record when their puppet was needed, we added people.
The following people have been a great blessing to us: Shirley Green, Steve Lizzo,
Leona Hines and Robert Zhe.
With thanks for the hard
work and dedication, Chuck Henderson made the Noah’s
Mike Competillo is the
master of the recording. He also edits scripts, writes the Buddy Barrel scripts
and spends many hours getting the program together. A big thank you to Mike.
The team works together
getting the stage set up and getting the puppets ready for the performance. I
am very proud of all the members of the team.
Once again, I have to
give Chuck Henderson a big thank you. Recently he has stepped in and has helped
me write scripts. This has been a big blessing to me. There are times when I
seem to just draw a blank and he is there to help out. To all the team members
– thank you for being faithful each month and making this an enjoyable time for
me.
We meet every third
Saturday of the month for practice and performed each third Sunday for Children’s
Church.
Please continue to pray
for us. We are hoping to expand our performances outside of the church. Our
goal is to get the message of Christ to as many people as we can.
Nursery, Kerri Moshkowski
2009 was an awesome
year for the Nursery. God really worked in my life as the coordinator and in
the lives of the Nursery workers this past year. I wasn’t able to be on top of
things as much as I would’ve liked this year because of the birth of my son,
but it was amazing to me how the Lord provided such dependable and dedicated
Nursery workers who picked up the slack. Michele Skinner stepped up to take
care of the laundry, while Pastor Sharon helped me take care of the schedule.
The Nursery workers were so faithful to work their scheduled days and sometimes
even non-scheduled days, so things ran very smoothly.
My prayer this year was
that God would sift through the workers, calling those who He really wanted as
workers to continue serving in the Nursery ministry and those who He had
another plan for to step down, and He did just that! Several Nursery workers stepped
down from the ministry realizing that they didn’t feel called to be a worker,
while others stepped up because they really have a heart for children. There
were several new youth workers that joined the Nursery team also.
My hope this year is
that the Nursery workers will be blessed for their service and fulfill the
purpose that God has for them in this ministry. I am hoping that we can do some
redecorating in the Nursery this year such as getting a rug for the infant side
and painting. Overall, I believe that God is strengthening this ministry and
creating a wonderfully strong and secure place for the children that He is
raising up! Hallelujah!
Missions, Sam Neno
To begin, we on the
mission committee want to thank our members and adherents for faithfully
supporting missions this year. We were again recognized among the top 10% of
churches in the state for missions giving. Despite the tough economy, we have
kept our commitments to our missionaries who have been suffering great
financial difficulties this past year. At last report, the national missions
shortfall was $10 million. But God has been faithful to us, and you have been
faithful to pass along His gifts to support His people and His work. May the
Lord bless you richly this year.
As we have in the past,
we continued to bring missionaries to
Mentoring,
Trish Plummer
John 4:14- But whoever drinks the water
I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a
spring of water welling up to eternal life.
As I sit and reflect on this past year
and what God has done in the hearts and lives of so many people, I am simply
amazed. I could give you numbers of how many people have participated in
Mentoring/Discipleship, but that would not give you the true picture of what
God has done and continues to do.
When I speak with someone who is working
through or has completed the Harvester's Handbook, and I ask them, "Has
the study benefited you?", they often answer something like, "Yes, I
am learning so much!" or "Even though we missed some meetings and are
moving slower than we planned, God is using what I am learning right now to
encourage me and teach me more about what I am presently experiencing. God's
timing is so perfect."
A portion of something someone wrote to
me in a short testimony says "To be honest, I was not taken with the
Harvester's Handbook and the concept of mentoring at first. I don't think I
understood. I was also afraid, but of what, I don't know: close relationship,
accountability, commitment, not having an answer to give to the person I was
mentoring, feeling stupid if I didn't know an answer when I was asked by the
person mentoring me, or maybe all of these things? But if you truly care about
making disciples (the forgotten goal of the Great Commission), then it becomes
something you embrace wholeheartedly. This experience has solidified my
relationship with the Lord. My prayer and devotional time has become more
consistent."
These responses just bless my heart. The
ways in which God has worked are as many and varied as those who have
participated. It is His Grace that allows any of us to grow in understanding of
Him, but also our persistence in pursuing God, and He is Faithful when we do.
Another part of our growth comes when we complete the studies and then go on to
mentor another. It challenges us in what we have learned, and when you teach
what you've learned, it becomes a part of who you are and gives you the opportunity
to bless someone else.
In the November 8 services, we
recognized 18 people who had completed the Harvester's Handbook in 2009. It was
a great time of acknowledging the hard work, dedication and growth of both
mentor and student. Since that date, several more people have signed up to be
mentored. God is providing mentors, but more are always needed. Students are
waiting. I hope to encourage and develop more mentors this year – those who are
quite capable but may have fears or feel inadequate. If you have that kind of
passion to see people grow deeper in their relationship with the Lord, please
talk to me.
2009 was a great blessing! As I look
forward to 2010, I hope to see more people involved, both as mentor and
student. I am also realizing that I have a great burden for teens and young
adults to be discipled. Each one of us must find our own faith in Christ (God
has no grandchildren). Our young people need a solid foundation before they 'go
off into the "real" world as adults. We are losing too many of our
young people to the world’s ways for such a variety of reasons. Anything we as
a Body can do to prevent that, we must do. God is so GOod.
Kitchen, Elaine Seltzer
First of all, I want to
thank Joan Newman and
We replaced one of the
refrigerators in the kitchen. This was a big blessing. Thank you Dave Dann. We
also got the dishwasher working. Thank you Nate Moshkowski.
There were four funeral
dinners, three church in the park events, one sectional luncheon and several
dinners.
Just a reminder to all
who provide food for the various events: please
be sure your name is on all dishes. It is easier to make sure you get them
back. Also, please be prompt in picking
them up.
If you need to borrow
anything from the kitchen please call me (898 2034) or leave a note in my
folder, and please sign out items in the room use book in the copier room. Also,
if you want to use the kitchen or fellowship hall, please check the room use book
in the copier room, fill out the form and put it in Pastor Sam’s mail folder.
Thank you to every one
who has helped out in any way in the kitchen. I appreciate you all.
Intercessory Prayer,
Psalm 85 You showed favor to your land, O LORD; you restored the fortunes
of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.
You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger. Restore us
again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us. Will you be
angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
We are crying out to
God for restoration, revival, and an awakening of God’s people. Christians are
doing wonderful things in the name of Jesus, acts of love, mercy and self-sacrifice.
It is amazing what is happening today and has been happening for years. Most of
the churches have all kinds of activities. They’ve tried all kinds of programs.
They’ve given and done everything they know how to do to get the Church going
and to impact society. We are doing all we know to do. But it isn’t working. It
is apparent that the church is going one way and our nation is moving the
opposite way as fast as it can. It is time to humble ourselves before God in
prayer and ask Him to make Himself known in the midst of His people so that our
nation can be saved and our world impacted for Christ. How does revival come?
There has never been a revival without a movement of prayer. God always calls
His people to prayer and to discover His presence among us.
Revival happens when
God shows up for church. God
is always present when we gather in His name, but all too often His
presence goes unnoticed. We need to pray for open eyes among the people of God.
When the people of God become aware of the presence of the Lord, everything
changes. Our worship services, our family lives, our evangelistic efforts, and
our individual devotional lives will all be different when God shows up for
church. When you come into the presence of the awesome holiness of God suddenly
there is weeping, crying out, and sometimes even falling down before God in
repentance. It is almost as though God reaches out and slaps us and we wake up
and we realize God is there. That is what revival is. It is God shaking us. It
is God waking us up. And we recognize that God really is here.
I thank the
Intercessory Prayer Warriors for standing in the gap for our church and the
public. Thank you Mary Briglio, Bob Miller, Jean Scott, Shirley Greene, Deborah
McCormick, Cathy Wakeman,
We have been shaken by
the many requests for prayer for the year 2009. We sought God’s will for
healing so that God may be glorified and so that families and friends might see
God’s power and come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. We thank our God for his
presence in touching many through prayer. What a mighty God we have!
We started the New Year
2010 with an “All Night Of Prayer” January 1 calling on God’s presence in our
ministries, our pastors/leaders, our missionaries, our youth/children, our
church, our media/entertainment, educators/professors/teachers, military, our
government, and our nation. We looked into the mirror examining our self and
asked to reflect Christ in 2010, and we prayed for the salvation of others. We
thanked God for the past and what the future holds. We asked God to go before
us and guard our backs. We need his presence in 2010. Without Him we are
nothing and with Him we have Victory!
Groton
Women’s Community Center,
Jesus said in John
8:31, 32 “If you hold to my teaching,
you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free.”
Hope & Healing For
Women: I am the artist of my own life. I paint with the colors of each moment.
I choose the colors of yesterday to blend with tomorrow's hues. Will my
tomorrows be brighter because of my yesterdays? Today is the question. Shall I
paint them with glorious yellows greens or blues...or deep browns, grays and
blacks? Perhaps I will simply sit with my moment paint brush and watch the page
in its beautiful blankness. I am the artist of my life. Without change you will never become who you want to be by remaining
who you are. Many women have unresolved things in their lives. Sadly, they
carry pain, bondages, addictions and curses for many years, still needing to be
set free. They need to find complete freedom and total transformation of their
lives through the power of the cross and the filling of the Holy Spirit. They
need an encounter with Jesus face to face in order to be freed from the pain
they carry. This is where the Groton Women’s Community Center becomes that
light in their darkness.
The Groton Women’s
Community Center has ministered to 115 women this year. We reached out to
expectant mothers, abused women, family alcoholic addictions, and marriage
problems. We made several home visits. We are women with a
passion to be hands and feet reaching out to our community giving women hope.
The
Groton Women's Community Center (GWCC) was blessed with $2,000 for 2010 from the United
Fund to help us continue to bless women who want to change their life. Our
Women’s Center is becoming known to the public. We are listed in the
We had a free give away
of clothing on the Saturday before The Groton Home Days in August. We handed
out brochures to each person letting them know what the Groton Women’s
Community Center provides. We had over 40 women, men and children come who were
blessed by the clothing. We adopted our missionaries, Michael and Denise Bartel
for another year to reach out to women in sex slavery. We reached out to a
family at Christmas providing them with Christmas gifts, and clothing. We
provided diapers, shoes and baby wipes for their 12 month old baby in order to
help them get back on their feet and to let them know Jesus cares.
We raised over $1,000 for the Women’s
Center through the annual Spaghetti Dinner during the Groton Home Days weekend.
Thank you, Dave Dann for making the sauce. Thank you to our church for reaching
out to our community with donations and working during the dinner. Our
community was blessed once again as well as the Groton Women’s Community
Center.
We reached out to abused women by
advertising the starting of a recovery group, Women of Courage. We had five
women respond to our center. We had several women who needed a safe place to
go, but they didn’t require our facility because they either found an apartment
or decided to stay in their marriage.
In 2010, Reyna Hilker
and Janice Jones plan to have a children’s Bible Club on Tuesdays to reach out
to our community. Parents must stay with their children during this time. We are praying this will change families and bring them to an encounter
with Jesus Christ.
I
thank our volunteers Reyna Hilker, Janice Jones, Pat Nebe, Carol Goddard,
Barbara Park, Donna Crouch, Gladys Sirvent, Paula Shuster, Ruth Carlisle and
our new volunteers Melody Scheffler, Tracy Sault and Joan Newman. I thank you
for your dedication and commitment to the needs of women and children that come
in contact with our Women’s Center. Each volunteer works under the direction of
God’s Spirit, and they wish none to perish reflecting our Lords desire.
Food Pantry/Groton Food Providers, Chuck Carlisle
This past year has been
an exceptional year for the food pantry. We've seen an increase of about 20% in
the number of people served. By the end of the year we were serving more than
three hundred families per month. We are fortunate in that all of our needs
have been met and we reside in a very generous community. The churches,
schools, businesses, organizations, and individuals have all been very
supportive.
I would like to
highlight some of the great things that have happened for our food pantry this
past year:
·
With the help of the Groton Community Chest in conjunction with
the
·
At the annual Food Bank Conference in Owego we received an award
and money ($100) for the largest attendance out of about 100 food pantries and
soup kitchens in six counties. Someone joked by saying “Is there anyone still
left in
·
Each of the pantries in
·
We applied with the Compassion Coalition in
·
The
·
We were able to get connected with the Mobile Food Truck service
from the Elmira Food Bank. They provided us with free food on four occasions
this past year and will be coming the first Tuesday of every month this year.
·
With the help of the Robert Dempsey Insurance Company and the
First National Bank of
·
Donna Bernhardt put on a fantastic Christmas dinner for all of the
volunteer workers. She also provided special door prizes for everyone. We are
truly blessed to have such wonderful helpers.
Boys & Girls Missionary Challenge,
BGMC is the Assemblies
of God children=s missions program.
Elly Neno and Joel Twitchell have helped this year, but Elly had to step down
because of a job conflict. It has been a pleasure working with both of them.
Two additional workers will begin helping soon: Elias Rivera and Alan Kress.
We studied several
countries and were blessed with an abundance of missionary speakers!
·
In January, we studied
·
In May, we held a Children=s Missions Convention with Deanna Richardson,
missionary to
·
In June, we studied
·
In August, we studied
BGMC Newsletters were
periodically sent to the children. Several of them made a BGMC Faith Promise
and were faithful to complete the monthly “Commissionary Challenge”.
In March, we held a
month-long fund-raiser (Lost Change for Lost Souls) and collected almost $800.
Thanks again to all who participated in the skit! We ended the month with a
celebration for Buddy Barrel=s 60th birthday to which everyone
was invited!
In November, we
challenged the congregation to “Pop Out for Missions” – to give up soda for the
month and give the money they would have spent on soda to BGMC. Both children
and adults participated and turned in offerings.
I want to thank the
Church Board for their support of BGMC with an approved monthly budget. Many
adults and children gave to BGMC this year, and some of the children turned in
a BGMC Faith Promise. We reached our goal of $3,000. I did not get
together with the Treasurer in December, but I phoned
Thanks again for
allowing me the opportunity to pass along my passion for missions to the
children of
Please see the coordinators of the following ministries for
information regarding 2009: Media, Men’s Ministry, TLC Preschool, and Youth