On Sunday March 3, one of our elders, Dave Kurt, announced that our restated constitution was enthusiastically adopted by congregational vote. As a result, our new constitution became effective on March 1. The first official action was to affirm Josh Reasoner as our lead teaching pastor, which we celebrated as well on March 3. As lead teaching pastor, Josh will lead our teaching team and provide overall spiritual direction for all church ministries. It’s so awesome to see how the Holy Spirit has prepared Josh for this transition and a joy to see our congregation grow under his teaching and authentic example.
Elder Nomination Committee
One of the major changes in our new constitution is the creation of elder term limits as well as a new process for nominating and choosing new elders. The elder term limits will mean that every year we will replace one or two of our lay elders. Under our new constitution, our elder board is comprised of eight lay elders and four pastor elders. Currently we only have seven lay elders, so we will be adding a new elder this year. In addition, one of the elders will be coming off the board at the end of 2019 so we will be adding an additional elder at that time.
A process for nominating elders from the congregation is part of our new constitution. While that provision is a key new feature of our conditions, the elders need to adopt a policy that gives more clarity to the process. The elders and staff have worked together to fashion a draft elder policy for this purpose. You can find the draft policy here. Please take a moment to review the policy and let us know if you have any questions or comments before the policy is officially adopted on April 1. Comments can be directed via email.
One of our elders, Brian Gensel, will be heading up this new effort. He will work with the elders to form the Nomination Committee as defined in the constitution and move the process along. The Nomination Committee will be comprised of two lay elders, one pastor elder, and two members of the congregation, at least one of which must be female. Jon Nitta will be serving as the pastor elder on the committee. The other members will be selected by the elder board and announced at church.
Looking Forward
The new chairs are awesome and provide even more room for our neighbors who need to hear more about Jesus. Last week our attendance was well over 1500 and there were still many open and inviting seats available. This was our goal from the beginning. And we’ve made more room not in just the worship center but for children and families also. There are many unchurched people and hurting families who need to hear the life-changing gospel story. Pray that the Lord would show you who to invite to church. Easter is only five weeks away and presents a wonderful opportunity to extend invitations to others in your sphere of influence.
