CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING, September 20, 2015 - 6:00 PM
Chairman Stephen Choate called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM with 34 of 54 members present. Jimmy Hudspeth opened with
prayer. Minutes of the July 19, 2015 meeting were reviewed. Cliff Childers moved to approve the minutes as submitted; Marcia Clayton
seconded; motion carried.
Finance Committee - Cliff Childers reported the committee met Monday, September 14, 2015. Contribution giving toward budget is
behind at this point. We have spent funds for some special expenses this year as well, like the new entrance to the Family Life Center for
example. The committee is starting to look at the 2016 budget and has asked that if any committee anticipates certain expenses for
next year that they notify the Finance Committee as soon as possible. The Charge Conference will take place October 20, and the
Finance Committee would like to have an idea of what the 2016 budget will look like. EGP (Accountant Auditing Firm) has conducted
the annual audit of the church financial records and we received a clean report. Discussions took place on how we educate our
members on the spiritual importance of tithes and offerings.
Trustees- Jimmy Hudspeth reported the Trustees have met and they are discussing purchasing a new bus and trade in one of our
current buses. We currently have around $47,000 in the vehicle fund. They anticipate being $15.000 to $20,000short on the bus
purchase. The trustees are still gathering more information. The committee also talked about funding depreciable assets as we go
forward so we have funds to replace such items as they wear out. They are still discussing repair needs for the parking lot. They have
contacted 6 companies to request quotes and only one was submitted and it was very expensive.
Staff /Parish Relations Committee-no report
United Methodist Men-John Pickell reported they are still meeting and have a full slate of speakers for the rest of the year. They would
really like to see more members. They meet the fourth Thursday of each month. The next meeting is Thursday, September 24, at the
Red Apple Inn.
United Methodist Women-no report
IN HIS STEPS REPORTS:
Beth Rork reported the appreciation dinner for IHS leaders is coming up on October 3, 2015. Greg will be cooking and Jonathan will be
doing the program. Devotional books will go out this week and November 8, 2015 will be Commitment Sunday.
Children’s Ministry- Donna Redding reported that Wednesday night classes are back in session. Sunday morning classes have just
started with the D6 Fall curriculum. First Connect has also started back and this is a transition from worship service to Sunday School
that takes place in the Fellowship Hall. We have 12 kids signed up for the Connect Team to meet and greet, lead worship and register
attendance and visitors. Michelle Godush is the new team leader for Lighthouse and will be assisted by Kasey Goddard and Alyce
Chapin. We are very thankful for our volunteers; however, we could use some more volunteers and mentors for this program.
Upcoming events are Trunk or Treat and the Christmas program.
Some of the staff were able to attend the D6 Conference in
Louisville, KY, this year so please be in prayer with us as we seek the Holy Spirit to lead us in family ministry and discipling the next
generation.
Youth Ministry-Alesha Presley reported she currently sends 48 text messages for Sunday School reminders, she sends 43 text reminders
for Wednesday night classes. They are currently doing a 5-week series “For the Win”. There are 5 girl groups and 3 boy groups. Impact
Groups, which are our Sunday night small groups, are using three different study books. There are currently 23 Youth Ambassadors on
the leadership team. There are 11 youth (11th-12th graders) participating in the Youth Disciple Class taught by Bruce Shearer. Alesha
sends out Youth Parent Newsletters each month via email jam packed with dates to remember, permission slips, resources, articles for
parents, etc. She currently has a 37.6% open rate for this communication. Upcoming events will be November 20-22 will be Camp 434
Purity Retreat, December 4 will be the Toby Mac concert, and December 27-29 will be Branson Xtreme. January 15-18 will be Chrysalis,
January 28 will be the Tim Hawkins concert for our Youth Ambassadors and February 18-21, 2016 will be Planet Wisdom for our Youth
Ambassadors in Tulsa.
Church Administrator/Music Ministry-Carolyn Burrall wanted to thank the church for allowing her to serve as the new Church
Administrator and covets our prayers. She is thrilled to have Jacque Smith on staff as the new Office Manager. She also shared the D6
Conference was fabulous and wanted to thank the church for supporting the staff in this way. Bill Davis has done several repairs around
the church and we are very appreciative of him and want to thank him for helping in that way. She also wanted to thank Traci Jernigan,
who stepped in for the choir in Carolyn’s absence. Joe Lybrand hosted an ice cream party for the choir, which was a lot of fun.
Sunday School Superintendent-Lee Childers encouraged everyone to get involved in a Sunday School class and if they were already
involved, bring a friend.
Pastor’s Report- Associate Pastor Jonathan Griesse shared that he feels his responsibilities are multi-faceted. One thing, as the
Associate Pastor, is for him to see that Pastor Tommy is able to take time off, spend time with his family and have time to study the
Word. He continues to meet appointment obligations through attending conferences, taking continuing education, etc. He continues
to meet more people in our community and shared that we do not need to forget those outside of the church walls. God continues to
bless the IHS ministries and he continues to participate in visitations. He wants to lead efforts to strengthen our discipleship, grow our
Sunday School, help staff effectively communicate inside and outside the church. He also wants to evaluate our current process to get
new visitors to the point of being active servants to promote spiritual growth.
Pastor Tommy reported the District Conference in Newport went well. Thanks to the efforts of The United Methodist Church, malaria
in Africa is just about eradicated. He also shared a very disturbing issue in our own state. There are over 200,000 children in the state
of Arkansas that go hungry every day. It’s our responsibility as Christians to get involved in feeding the children. Truman Methodist
Church hosts a community garden and has given away over 32,000 pounds of food this year to those in need. There will be a Lay
Speaker training October 3, 2015 in Brooklyn. On December 13th and December 20th, there will be an opportunity to give to Methodist
Family Health. They are very instrumental in touching the lives of many youth and their families. Charge Conference for our church will
take place in October. The Lay Leadership Committee is meeting to nominate persons for any leadership positions that need to be
filled. The assignments are for a 3-year term. The Bishop has asked Brother Tommy to talk to other churches about how to get church
members involved in service. Tommy also expressed how blessed he and this church are to have Jonathan and Valerie.
The meeting was adjourned and closed in prayer by Stephen Choate.
Respectfully submitted by Teresa Phillips, Recording Secretary