MINISTRY PLAN 2006-2007 (as of June 2006)
Introduction
After this very busy ministry year with the significant focus of the Capital Campaign and its level of demand upon our leaders and congregation, the Elders recommended to Council that we not engage in as intense a planning process as we have done the past several years. Given that the major focus of erecting a building is before us, we felt that we needed to focus our energies on this and other related responsibilities.
Having said that, we did sense together that it would be helpful to spend a day together with focused attention on our small group ministry. Council, with a few other key leaders, met together on May 6th to consider where we are at and where we need to go in developing this critical area of ministry in our midst. You will read more about that below.
Also, we have encouraged other ministries to engage in evaluation and planning and some of those areas will be mentioned in this document where there are some key changes or proposals.
Thanks again to everyone who faithfully and sacrificially gives of themselves week by week, month by month and year by year.
- Building Expansion
Having achieved pledges of over 600,000 over 3 years, the congregation decided at a Special Business meeting on May 2nd, to proceed as quickly as possible with the expansion proposal. The architect firm of Dave Parker and Associates has been contracted and they are proceeding with site plan submissions, to be followed by working drawings to obtain building permits.
A Building Committee has been established and will oversee the project. The hope is to be able to break ground this fall and we anticipate a 6-8 month completion.
The Finance Committee is pursuing mortgage and bridge financing to facilitate the financing requirements.
Once the actual building begins to take place, there will be considerable inconvenience as our main entrance will be impacted by the expansion. We will need to work hard at being flexible and working through the many disruptions that are sure to come along the way. Also, our portable will be removed which will cause a significant reduction in space. We are making application for the use of a portable at Notre Dame high school for the youth class on Sunday mornings. We may be able to use space at Woodhall, on occasion, if necessary.
We have
experienced God leading us each step of the way. We need
to continue to look to Him and for all the lessons He has
for us in this journey.
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- Council
It is important to note that with the official move to Incorporation, there are some changes that the new operating By-Law will enact. Council will take on an expanded role with the elimination of trustees and with the changes to the Nominating committee. Also we have expanded the size of Council to enable the involvement and development of other leaders.
There will be a learning curve as we get used to some of these changes and the large by-law document, and work through the best ways to continue to enable God honouring, passionate ministry in our midst and in the Heart Lake community. Please keep Council in your prayers.
- Small Groups
After hitting a high point during the '40 Days of Purpose' Campaign in the Winter of 2005, we have experienced a considerable drop off in our small groups. While there are still a significant number of groups meeting and there is great ministry happening in these groups, we believe that we must be very intentional about developing this area of ministry as we look to reaching more and more people in the years to come.
Our Mission Statement is clear: “To connect people to Christ and His Church and engage one another on the journey to maturity.” As always, this is easier said than done. We believe fundamentally that God has created us for relationships, both a relationship with Himself and relationships with others and secondly that the journey to maturity involves relationships. We do not grow into mature followers of Christ in isolation. Sunday morning worship gatherings are important but they are not enough.
As we re-examined this area of ministry we considered again what we are trying to see take place. We want each person to be pursuing their walk with Christ, growing into Christ-likeness. The evidence of this will be that they have a deepening relationship with Christ, vital relationships with believers in community, and a growing influence with unbelievers. We reaffirmed that participation in a healthy small group is an essential tool in this process.
A task force will be working with our Deacon of Small Groups (Lois Hardy) to develop fresh approaches to:
- Discerning and developing responses to obstacles to healthy small groups
- Recruiting and developing leaders
- The ongoing support of leaders
- The integration of new Christians and new, as well as present attenders of Heart Lake into small groups, whether new or existing.
- Evaluation and strategizing the relationship between courses (such as Experiencing God, Networking, Boundaries, Good Sense and other such courses) into or around our small group ministry
- Considering the relationships between the different types of groups (e.g. some more social and others growth)
- The consideration of whole Church focuses/campaigns. (similar to 40 Days of Purpose)
- Young Adult Ministries
Heart Lake Baptist church has seen a great youth ministry take shape and build roots in the life of the church. The natural progression of any high school ministry is a graduating class of young adults. We need to ask the question, “Graduating into what?” Many of these students have spent the last 17+ years with a place of belonging in the church that was intentionally focused on them. Now many find themselves in a place where the church provides little or no guidance, while others are looking for a place to test or take ownership of their beliefs. This is something that is being experienced by many churches and in many respects is new territory for these churches. Another reality with this new group is the fluidity of young adults, where in the past young adults started families and got jobs in the area they grew up, today’s young adults are staying in school longer, getting married later and moving to new communities for work (or changing jobs several times). As a result of the church’s inability to reach this age group, many churches find ‘holes’ or gaps in the involvement or attendance of young adults in their congregations.
While there is no magic bullet that will solve this, we need to take steps toward an intentional approach to both reach out to these young adults and provide a place of belonging that is focused on fostering a growing environment for a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ.
Currently we have a young adult group who meet weekly on Sunday evenings. This group has a wide selection of ages with the oldest being 28. Over time this group has grown some strong relational ties and support for each other that are vital and important. John Carson and John Pepper are currently providing the leadership in this group.
In June 2006 we will see 9 students graduate from the high school ministry. While some will leave for school out of town, we have a responsibility to provide some direction for those remaining. A new small young adult group will be formed with the 2006 grads and other young adults who have not been previously involved. This second small group will set their own meeting schedule that will include weekly or bi-weekly meeting times. Having two groups will also open doors for new young adults visiting our church by providing more options for nights to meet.
In addition to their regular meeting times, there will be monthly opportunities for the two groups to interact in group events (i.e. bowling, pool, concerts, etc.). A third component to the young adult ministry will be two annual retreats, one hosted by HLBC and the second by BCOQ. Our young adult retreat will alternate each year between a fun focused, high energy event and a growing or teaching retreat.
As this ministry takes on new direction and intentionality of focus, keep it and its leaders in your prayers.
- Missions
- Cultural Connections - Kathy Bell has given us excellent leadership over this past year as we have partnered with her through S.I.M. (Serving In Mission) Her contract with us will come to an end at the end of July. We need to see this important focus on bridging to other cultures continue and hope those involved will give leadership in this area and involve more. Kathy will continue to be involved but in a different capacity.
- Under the leadership of Pastor Rod and in partnership with the BCOQ (Baptist Convention of Ontario & Quebec) we anticipate seeing several of our young people going to the Dominican Republic in March 2007 for a short term missions trip.
- With the great contact made in Guatemala, we want to continue to financially support the ministry that we partnered with in Guatemala (Mano con mano) and hope to have another adult team go down in 2008.
- Trudi Carroll, as the Missions Coordinator, has assisted us in linking with several other missional opportunities. She is stepping down from this role and we trust God will lead someone else or a team, to take on this important responsibility.
- Boys Club
The Boys Club is in the midst of an evaluation and planning process. Mike Tagliabracci has given faithful leadership the past 2 years but is transitioning out of this responsibility. We are anticipating some new leadership to join some of the present leaders to develop this important ministry.
- Pastoral Care
A proposal is under development to train and enable a team to respond, in partnership with the Pastoral staff and Elders, to pastoral needs such as hospital stays or extended illnesses, and other pastoral needs.
- Volunteer Staff
God has led
one of our key leaders, Sam Macri, into a time of transition
vocationally. Some months ago he approached Pastor Ed and
then the Elders with a proposal to volunteer a significant
amount of time (up to 20 hours/week) to the Church as he
transitions to half time as a public school teacher, and
pursues studies at Tyndale Seminary. Sam presented this as
a learning opportunity for himself and a heart felt desire
to serve this congregation. Sam’s only request is that we
assist him with his course costs at Tyndale. While we are
continuing to develop and explore areas of service for Sam,
he will be giving leadership to Council and to the small
group development process and to the link between ministries
and Council that was envisioned in the new By-Law. Sam
will be serving somewhat like an apprentice, under the
coaching of Pastor Ed. We are planning, with the
congregations’ affirmation, to begin this arrangement in
September.
- Conclusion
As always, this is not meant to be an all inclusive or exhaustive list. As God prompts and as people respond, there will be other changes and developments as the year unfolds. Most certainly the building program will, in all its aspects, have a considerable impact on the year ahead. May our continued prayer be that we will not just build a building but in the process God will be building us. These are exciting times in the life of our Church. To God be the glory!!
Psalm 127:1 "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in
vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the
watchmen stand guard in vain.”
Let us continue to walk in humility before Him.
With God…..a passion to grow, a faith to build, a vision to reach others. Amen!!