Millersville BIC Church

Church Board Updates

The following are updates from the meetings of the Church Board which meets regularly throughout the year.

December 2010 Church Board Update

The Millersville BIC church board ended the year praising God for his goodness.  Our December praises surrounded God’s healthy provision for us during 2010.  It was a paradoxically challenging year; yet it was a good year.  Ministry continued to move forward with impact happening in every ministry.  The Trustees oversaw many tasks and repairs around the church and staff continue to flourish.

On the financial side, 2010 is projected to end with a slight surplus which will be helpful in offsetting several larger bills expected to arrive in early January.

Discussions will continue, through 2011 and at Annual Council, about the vision of the church and how to continue to use our resources to pursue our mission to help people say yes to Jesus, and how to impact the community, eliminate debt, and expand leadership.

Church Board Update May 2010

 We are in the midst of springtime here at Millersville BIC!  Along with the new life growing in our gardens and on our trees, we are entering a phase of new challenges and new triumphs!  During the next few months, we can anticipate the joys and maybe even stresses associated with change.  As we transition from leadership in both worship and youth, we are excited as we anticipate what new things God has in store for us.  This month we interviewed a candidate for the Director of Music and Worship position and are pleased to be offering the job with an anticipated start date of July 1. 

 The upcoming months are full of potential and excitement.  A number of individuals are looking forward to both baptism and membership.  Our yearly baptism at the pond is being planned along with several fun fellowship events. 

 We thank God for the wonderful blessing the new building has been to us.  Several exciting Saturday evening events have offered a great time of fellowship for us in the new building.  We are pleased about how various groups are using the facility and anticipate many new opportunities on the horizon.

 With change comes both sadness and celebration.  We are very thankful for the service provided by Dave and Todd and wish them great success in their future endeavors.  The congregation can look forward to a time of thanks and celebration on May 30^th after church as we enjoy lunch and fellowship together for Dave and his family.

Church Board Update – April 2010

After opening in prayer, the Board began a discussion of an excerpt from an article by Tim Keller on different “Models of Church.”  Historically, there are about five basic models of church where churches have emphasized different things as of primary importance.  We discussed these various biblical models and spent some time talking about our model here at Millersville.

We look forward with joy to our baptism celebration on July 11 – five individuals have already indicated their desire to be baptized.  Praise God!

As we look to the future, we are excited about increasing our diversity of people using their God-given gifts in the church.  One tangible way this will happen is with a number of people from the church preaching on some Sundays this summer.  We look forward to this.

Financially, we are encouraged by the offerings as we are meeting budget.  Following up from last month’s meeting discussion, we will continue the practice of carrying 3 months expenses in reserves.  Additionally, we will continue to look at the options for electronic giving and hope to be able to offer that service sometime this mid-year.

We are excited that Mick Steckbeck will begin serving as our Connecting Group Coach.  His experience and passion for God will resource our groups well. 

Knowing that staff transitions are happening soon in youth and worship, we spent time in prayer for God’s provision and direction.  Several parents and volunteers will be accompanying the youth on a service trip to Philadelphia in June.  We are grateful for Todd’s leadership and planning for what we hope is a couple of days of exposure and learning and service and spiritual growth for our youth.

Church Board Update – March 2010

As we move toward Spring of 2010, we find ourselves doing some things old and some things new.   We had our annual discussion and reminder of the role of the board for a healthy church.  A change this year is that at Michael’s request, Cynthia Cox will be the Board Chairperson for the coming year. 

In response to Pastor Michael’s letter to the church, several people gave feedback and ideas.  One idea was to consider providing a means for electronic giving to the church.  Bryan Moyer and Chris Rachor will research this suggestion.

With transition in Director of Worship and Youth positions coming in the near future, the Board engaged in a time of talking about what values and priorities and expectations we have for these ministries in the future.   Of key importance in both roles will be a focus on developing people and the gifts and talents that God has given them.   The search process for both positions is beginning. 

Bryan Moyer, our treasurer, brought a question to our attention to clarify how we are to best manage our finances to ensure a wise stewardship of emergency cash on hand, pledges for the new building, and mortgage liabilities.  Bryan will do some work to create scenarios and projections.

With gratitude for God’s leading, the Board is glad to commission Olga Baron for short-term voluntary mission service to El Camino Academy in Bogota, Columbia.  She will be leaving for 10 months in July.  An opportunity for her to share will be given on a Sunday soon.

Church Board Update – February 2010

The mammoth snow storm moved our meeting to a teleconference call.  Due to a short meeting, there are only a few items to note.  First, Doug Eby is working on helping us connect with Homes of Hope in our community – a transitional housing program that helps homeless families in Penn Manor. Thanks Doug!

With coming transitions in Worship and Youth leadership, the Board spent some time discussing the transitions and priorities in the positions moving forward.

 -- Copies of the actual Board Minutes are available upon request. --