ROAD CREW NOTES FROM NOVEMBER 13, 2011

1. Budget Proposal

· Mike Elenbaas presented proposed budget as had been published a week prior; congregational giving throughout 1st three quarters kept pace with expenses; expenses kept fairly static; no staff raises for couple years; health insurance premiums lowered; office & worship space rent increased normal modest amount; cash reserves in bank account kept level, but some big end-of-year bills remain due

· Q&A: discussion ensued around ways to spend 10% collective end-of-year offering outside Emmaus Road; also how to gauge keeping bank account stocked to cover three months' expenses as various financial obligations or opportunities arise

· Vote: Road Crew approved proposed budget; also approved scheduling follow-up finance-centered Road Crew mtg. in Spring

2. Children’s Ministry Update

· Deacon Teresa shared briefly how trial program, Big Kids' Bible Worship, has been going; so far so good, but time for additional volunteers has come; Angie should not sustain current level of leadership indefinitely

3. Roots and Branches Update

· Pastor Likkel refreshed Road Crew's memory around Nine Roots/Branches, with few examples of developments; pledged to keep these areas of ministry growth before the church; invited participation, again, around individual members' areas of passion, calling, interest, etc.

4. Welcome New Members

· Road Crew privileged to officially welcome Josh Gillanders, husband of Kara (Rozeboom), into Road Crew for first time! Severtsens and others to be welcomed at upcoming Road Crew.

NEW HORIZONS DINNERS - UPDATED SCHEDULE

Once a month, Emmaus Road partners with New Horizons to serve dinner on the first Wednesday. It is a privilege to address our city's "orphans" (as James would say), so regularly. What works best in leadig the effort, is to tackle hosting and serving dinner as a team; one person lines up people, the other lines up food. If switching dates is necessary, as much notice as possible really helps. Please make the most of these opportunities; invite friends; people seem to get a lot out of serving together, not to mention the hungry youths who come for dinner.

November 2, 2011 - Belltown Group (Eric/Ryan)
December 7, 2011 - South End Group (Rennie/Cynthia)
January 4, 2012 - Crown Hill Group (Christina/Beth)
February 1, 2012 - Guys Bible Study (Mark R./Brad)
March 7, 2012 - Belltown Group (Eric/Ryan)
April 4, 2012 - South End Group (Rennie/Cynthia)
May 2, 2012 - Crown Hill Group (Christina/Beth)
June 6, 2012 - Guys Bible Study (Mark R./Ed)
July 4, 2012 - Belltown Group (Eric/Ryan)
August 1, 2012 - South End Group (Rennie/Cynthia)

ROAD CREW AGENDA - NOVEMBER 13, 2011

1. Budget Proposal

· Presentation

· Q&A

· Vote

2. Children’s Ministry Update

3. Roots and Branches Update

4. Welcome New Members

BUDGET HANDOUT FOR ROAD CREW 11/13/11

Emmaus Road Church: Budget Handout Overview

The stewardship team has created this handout to brief Road Crew on our financial status ahead of next week’s Road Crew meeting on Sunday, November 13 after our regular service. Please review this handout and feel free to contact the Stewardship Team at the email addresses at the end of this handout with any questions you have on the information herein so we can be sure to either a) answer your question via email prior to the November 13 meeting, or b) address your questions in the Road Crew meeting on November 13.

Expenses This Year
The chart below shows how our monthly expenses have stacked up. As you can see, every year our expenses vary from month to month. The average expenses from January through September of this year were approximately $9,400 per month. This is because many of our expenses are quarterly or annual expenses that are not paid each and every month. This highlights the need for some cash reserves for our church, which is discussed further in the ‘Cash Reserves’ section below.

Giving Trends
Giving levels have been steady this year, thanks to the combination of regular monthly, bi-monthly, and annual or semi-annual tithes by Road Crew members. Thank you all for stepping up after our March Road Crew meeting where we highlighted our decreasing cash reserves. As the chart to the right and the following ‘Cash Reserves’ section show, our giving has been steady and at a level that is sustainable.

The upcoming holiday season typically results in an uptick in giving for our church, which is a good thing, since it balances out our typical lower level of giving in the summer months (vacation season ☺).

Cash Reserves
As the chart to the right shows, our net cash reserves have been holding fairly steady through the summer and into the fall months of this year. This is thanks to the strong level of giving through the spring and summer by you, the Road Crew. Keep it up!
It is important to note that the majority of our cash reserves are necessary to manage the month to month cash flow of our church. This is because giving does not always occur at the same time expenses need to be paid. Keep up the faithful giving – you answered the call at our March 2011 Road Crew meeting to continue to faithfully give to support the work of our church. Our current reserves are at a healthy level and as mentioned have held steady the last 6 months. Thank you again Road Crew!

Proposed Budget
The stewardship team will propose the following monthly budget at the upcoming November 13 Road Crew Meeting. This budget is consistent with the level of monthly expenditures Emmaus Road has had for the last year. Note that the monthly budget below includes monthly average calculations of several expenses that are paid quarterly or once a year.

Please note our recommendation of tithing 10% of our Church’s giving every year. This giving goes to several worthy organizations and people on a regular and annual basis. For example, we give regularly to support Asabe in Nigeria and HCI (Wycliffe). We also have supported AmeriCorps through Communities First. Part of our tithe goes to pay our classical shares – this pays for our Christian Reformed Church denomination activities such as world missions. Finally at the end of each calendar year, during Christmas time, Emmaus Road Church tithes to various partner organizations that we pray for on a regular basis. These can include Union Gospel Mission, New Horizons Mission, Acres of Diamonds, Roots Church, and Storytellers Church. The stewardship team proposes to make the level of giving from our church equal to 10% of the giving to our church each year.

What You Should Do Road Crew
Celebrate that we are, together, able to sustain ourselves financially. Continue to pray for the financial sustainability of our church. Continue to give faithfully – this is a natural part of our life together in Christ. Please read this handout prior to next week’s Road Crew meeting on November 13, following the service. Be prepared to discuss this at the Road Crew meeting. Send any questions you have to the stewardship team at the email addresses below.

Stewardship team email addresses:
• Ryan Engel at: rengel@gmail.com
• Mike Elenbaas at: mchllnbs@yahoo.com
• David Anema at: heyitsdavida@comcast.net

VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE - TIME TO UPDATE!

From Deacon Kristen Vander Linden

Hello ER friends,

It's that time of year again - time to put together the Emmaus Road volunteer schedule for the next 6 months. I'm trying to get a bit of an early start with a goal to have it together within the next few weeks. This schedule will be for January 1st - June 30, 2012. I was really happy about the response and participation on the last round, and hope to keep that same momentum, so I invite you all again to think about where you'd like to share your gifts and service.

I'd like to focus this time on Children's Ministry, as we would love more volunteers in this area. If you haven't already heard, there are a couple of new opportunities on Sunday morning in which to participate in Children's ministry. Our "Big Kids' Bible Workshop", which meets every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month during the worship service, has two positions to fill; a "Big Kids Leader" and a "Big Kids Helper". Please see the descriptions below, along with the one for "Godly Play Doorperson". Since these positions involve people missing out on the majority of the worship service, we'd love a larger pool of volunteers, so that each person is only committed to a few Sundays at most within the six month period. If you'd like to observe Godly play or Big Kids Workshop before committing, thats definitely a possibility as well! Angie has been an integral leader in the start up of this program :) Thank you Angie!

Big Kids: Leader
Lead group of kids (2nd grade on up) with a bible story, followed by a response time of art or journaling. Stories and materials are provided. Suggested prep involves previewing the provided story and follow-up questions before the group meets.

Big Kids: Helper
Model listening to story , assist leader as needed, interact with kids in group during response time. Role does not require prep, though the helper could preview the story and follow-up questions

Godly Play Doorperson:
Greet children as they enter, model listening to story, assist Godly Play teacher, help put away Godly Play materials after church

As always, we also have the following areas of service:
Nursery, hosting (coffee and snack set up), greeting, reading, slides, take down and prayer.

I'd love a response from everyone by Sunday, November 13. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like any more information about these areas of service.

Thanks everyone! It's good to serve! :)

ROAD CREW: MORE FOOD, MORE FELLOWSHIP

Our next Road Crew lunch is Sunday, November 13. Why meet over lunch after worship? At the October Council meeting, the Elders and Deacons agreed that Sunday lunch meetings seem better attended than our previous Thursday night meetings. The quality of our Sunday meetings seems better than week nights, also, because we've been worshiping together ahead of time; we are ready to hear and discuss ministry with a better spirit. This coming Road Crew meeting will include voting on a proposed budget, officially welcoming new members, and hearing an update regarding Children's Ministry. Beyond the "business" of ministry, though, we will be enjoying fellowship. Bonding over food is as important as voting over decisions together; the Council decided we should do this more often. As we move forward as a church, look forward to more food and fellowship on Sunday afternoons!

MEET JOSH

Have you met Josh and Kara Gillanders? They married in 2009. Kara is one of Emmaus Road's earliest members from the late 90's; Josh recently decided to join the Road Crew, too. After talking through the Milestones to Membership, and what it means to be a committed, participating member of Emmaus Road, I invited Josh to answer a few questions that would help others become a little better acquainted with him.

1. Life Beyond Sunday: What sorts of ways do you spend your time, in work, family, and other pursuits?
My life consists of spending as much time with my wonderful wife, Kara, exercising, going to school two nights a week, working a full time job that includes every other weekend being on call, skiing in the winters as time permits, and spending as much time as possible with my family. When Kara and I are able to, we also try to travel.

2. Emmaus Road: when did you begin coming to worship? What led you to join the Road Crew?
I started coming to worship at Emmaus Road shortly after meeting Kara in 2006. More likely early 2007. Faith and God are an important part of who Kara is and as I got to know her better, their importance in my life also increased, as did my understanding. What led me to join the Road Crew was in part my upbringing in the church and Emmaus Road's overall atmosphere: one where people are welcome regardless of their background, non-judgmental, and acceptance of you no matter what. This stands in stark contrast to a lot of churches out there and why I did not attend church for a long time.

3. Faith: is there anything you could share about what you have been learning about God, yourself, or faith?
I have learned and re-learned just how powerful and loving God is. How He accepts you and loves you unconditionally without judgment. He holds you accountable to be sure, but always forgives. As a result of this, I have learned and am continuing to learn the value of patience, love, and what it means to be a Christian and how it influences my daily life as well as my interactions with family, friends, and co-workers/colleagues. I have learned and am continuing to experience just how tough "having faith" can be, but with God, it's much easier to remember what it takes and that He will never give me more than I can't handle.