September 19, 2017

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Minutes September 19, 2017 Attendees: Pastor Mathew St. John, Pastor Paul Schoolmeesters, Dan Johnson, Mike Brown, Cort Cieminski, Derrick Grow, Jerry Hoffman, Tony Ringsmuth, Jot Turner, Saado Abboud, Jim Fultz, Zacharia O’Neel Absent: Jeff Westman, Armando Mazon I.

Leadership Development Studies – Pastor Matthew St. John Pastor Mathew continued his devotional series on key leadership values and principles, focusing on social media. He began by sharing several personal examples of the unintended consequences of seemingly innocent messages on social media. He explained the various aspects of social media postings, such as, speaking freely without responsibilities, self-designed glories, reinforce own personal narrative without real cost, feign community without real intimacy. Pastor Matthew pointed us toward James 3:1-10, highlighting the power of our words on social media to build or to destroy. 1. We are accountable to God for what we say, including on social media. 2. We are all prone to fail, so we need to be very careful of what we say. 3. The slightest error can create great damage. 4. The slightest edification can create great blessing. Several thoughts to keep in mind when posting: 1. Would Jesus say it? Would Jesus ‘like’ it? 2. Does it honor the Gospel? 3. Does it diminish your heavenly citizenship? 4. Would you say it face to face? 5. Does it wound? 6. Is it even true? Closing summary: 1. Rise above the fray and take the high road. 2. Learn to live with some tension. Not all things have to be settled. 3. A soft answer or even no answer is often best. 4. Be a heavenly citizen in how you respond. 5. When in doubt, don’t post it. 6. Let love reign supreme, both for God and for others.

II.

Senior Staff Report – Pastor Pablo Cachon (Latino Ministries Pastor) Latino Ministries builds on NHC’s purpose statement of moving toward Jesus and taking others with us. Spanish speaking Life Groups are the primary strategy used to grow believers, along with a newly introduced Spanish Gateway Bible Institute. Key outreach opportunities include Pablo’s chaplaincy with Millwood, a local company with a majority of Spanish speaking employees, as well as ministering to Spanish speaking adults at Legacy Adult Day Care in Golden Valley. For September’s National Hispanic Heritage month, each week will focus on different a country: Mexico, South and Central America, and then they will be ending the month with a festival. Overall, the ministry is growing, which is a tremendous blessing. Space in the HopeBridge worship center and parking lot are quickly becoming issues. The elders prayed for Pastor Pablo’s family and for his team to continue to steward people and empowering them in ministry. 1



III.

Call to Order and Approval of Minutes – Dan Johnson The meeting was called to order by Dan Johnson. Minutes from the July 10 and August 15, 2017 ELT meetings were reviewed and approved.

IV.

Senior Pastor’s Report – Pastor Matthew St. John A. Vision Dashboard Overview Pastor Matthew highlighted several items on the vision dashboard: 1. Church planting: We will be formally commissioning Pastor Jeremy on Sunday, September 24. A farewell recognition event for Jeremy is being put together. 2. Life Groups – God provided facilitators and Connection Night went very well. The Ruth series will start October 1st and go for eight weeks. 3. All people: Good things happening with the Latino ministry, citizenship information meetings, prayers for immigrants and their paperwork, and involvement with the music praise and worship ministry by many nationalities. 4. Leadership development: David is running hard with Life Groups initially and then will be adding focus to this in the coming months. 5. Living with purpose: Focus on calling, next week teaching on generosity, focusing on people as the mission. B. Evening “Deep Dive”: Strategic Partnerships 1. Pastor Matthew emphasized the difference between posture and gesture: a. Posture: Non-negotiable convictions Theological convictions Moral convictions Ministry-strategy convictions b. Gesture: Relational generosity (person of peace) Spirit of humility and gentleness (cp. 2Ti 2:25) Manifest presence of Christ Person of Peace (cp. Rom 12:18) “Perfect courtesy toward all people” (Tit 3:2-11) Good neighbor/love neighbor 2. Guiding Principles and/or Principals Are the facilitating ministries and leaders in general alignment with us/me? Do the circumstances find the majority participants in alignment with us/me? If not, what is the threshold for participating? Is it active engagement, limited voice, presence, etc.? Are there legitimate opportunities to proclaim gospel truth/declare God’s glory? Can we/I exploit the opportunity for strategic Kingdom-gain? 3. Pastor Matthew emphasized the difference between posture and gesture: Do I have reason to pass judgment upon myself for what I approve? (Rom 14:22) Am I truly obligating people to what violates their consciences? (cp. Rom 14:13, 20) Am I pursuing righteousness, peace, joy, and mutual upbuilding? (Rom 14:1718) Am I engaging the relationships in ways that are loving, even if there is not agreement? Is this all about us/me? Am I seeking the advantage “of many”? (1Co 10:33) 4. The End Goal: “Do all for the glory of God.” (1Cor 10:31) – How is God glorifying Himself and how can we be involved in that? C. Thanksgiving Offering Recommendation: The ELT made a motion to designate half of the 2017 Thanksgiving offering to Reach Global Crisis Response. MMSC. NHC will be sending a relief team to Texas through Reach Global sometime in the coming months.

V.

Senior Associate Pastor’s Report – Pastor Paul Schoolmeesters A. Membership Class: Classes on October 8, 15, 22, with ELT interviews on the 15th and 22nd. The ELT was encouraged to join class and meet new potential members. 2



B. Financial Update: Giving is trending very similar to last year. YTD giving is at 90.6% of budget, and YTD spending is at 90.0% of budget. C. Facilities/Property Council: Front parking lot construction is underway and will stretch a few weeks into October. The lobby refresh by the reception desk is also underway. D. Staffing & Ministries Norm Nystrom wrapped up his part time role in Care Ministries as he and his wife are a part of the Gospel Life Church plant. Jen Stahl completed her role as an admin, as she and her husband Daniel move to the Czech Republic in partnership with Kostel Jinak. Pray for complications with their visas. VI.

VII. VIII.

New Business A. Ben Johnson Credentialing: Pastor Matthew passed around a letter for the ELT to sign as an affirmation for Ben Johnson to proceed with the credentialing process through the Evangelical Free Church of America. B. ELT Retreat: A preliminary date is being worked on for early November. Upcoming Elder Meeting A. Tuesday, October 17, 2017 @ 7:00 pm Share and Closing Prayer The meeting closed with a time of sharing requests and praying for one another.

Respectfully Submitted, Saado Abboud, Recorder Elder Leadership Team

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