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On this page: Church Officers
Dear Lord... You are the Provider of ALL that we have. You have promised us, through scripture, that if we give our "First Fruits" to you, the gifts that you return to us will be more than we have given to you. Please move the minds and hearts of your children in Hope Lutheran Church to truly believe this fact, and shower them with gifts, so that they may return a portion to you, and allow us to carry on the missions that we have committed to so that we may glorify your Holy Name. Amen. Proverbs 3:9-10: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits off all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done!
Locking 4 drawer file cabinet for the office (to store church documents)
Report to Council OUR GOAL To develop a vision for Hope’s youth ministry and to bring a
plan to the council and congregation for hiring a youth leader. SUMMARY OF OUR WORK Performed research on the internet that provided a lot of
information and help on how to go about this process. Contacted a few churches fairly similar to ours to ask
them details about their youth ministry and demographics. Investigated Lutheran Theological Seminary Internship
opportunity. Interviewed Pastor Randy Ouimette of St. John’s Lutheran
Church and heard of their long, sometimes painful, yet faith-driven journey
from part-time (10 hours a week, $6,000 per year) youth director to
full-time Associate Pastor for Family & Youth. The team has discussed the significance of our findings
and talked about options for the short-term, mid-term and long-term futures. RECOMMENDATION FOR THE SHORT-TERM The Youth Visionary Team recommends to the council that we hire Bob and Nola
Hines to be Hope’s interim youth leaders. Bob and Nola have been actively
involved with Hope’s youth and leading youth events on a volunteer basis for
quite a few months. They bring a level of commitment and maturity to the job
that we are unlikely to find anywhere else, at least in the immediate future.
Hiring the Hines’ also gives our youth program consistency and continuity. The team has discussed this option with the Hines and they have expressed an
interest in accepting the position. We are working out details of the job
description. We recommend they receive the $1,000 per month stipend that is
currently budgeted for a youth director. The interim position would begin upon
council approval and last until August 2008. RECOMMENDATION FOR THE MID-TERM After researching and discussing several options for hiring a permanent youth
director, the team believes that hiring an intern from a Lutheran seminary is
the best opportunity for our youth ministry for the next few years. Here are a
few reasons why: We would be hiring a seminary student, a person of faith educated in
Lutheran theology and with appropriate training for working with youth. The intern would also work in areas other than youth ministry, such as
worship and evangelism. It is a unique opportunity for our church to nurture
a future pastor. The nature of the internship program means the congregation
is involved in the intern’s work and thus, the congregation’s commitment to
family and youth ministry remains strong. While clearinghouses or online job banks such as Youth Specialties might
lead us to good candidates, the "weeding out" work would be labor intensive
and the chances of a poor fit are high. The internship program would begin in September 2008, when the Hines’ interim
position would end, and would last for 12 months. See "Contextual Leadership
Initiative" handout for specifics on the internship. Ed Naretto will provide
details on the financial requirements. We envision a commitment to the
internship program of about three years, which leads us to our….. RECOMMENDATION FOR THE LONG-TERM The Youth Visionary Team feels that as our church grows, the need to nurture
our family and youth ministry will be greater than ever. Ultimately, an ordained
Associate Pastor for Family and Youth would be hired. PLEDGE-DRIVEN FUNDING Pastor Randy Ouimette of St. John’s Lutheran Church shared with the team
their strategy of pledge drives to fund their youth ministry. They have used
pledge drives several times with great success and the team believes that a
similar strategy could be used at Hope. A pledge drive gives members of Hope an
opportunity to support youth ministry in a concrete, direct way. Any monies
pledged would go toward the costs of hiring an intern or associate pastor, in
addition to monies budgeted by the council.
Mt. Carmel
Templeton
1st Presbyterian Church
Westlake Village Lutheran Church
St. John’s Position/areas of
responsibility
Youth Minister of
Sunday School, confirmation, VBS, youth choir & weekly youth sessions,
annual teen service project in Tijuana
Senior Pastor is in charge of Youth Ministry.
Director of Youth Ministries (hired last October). Church has separate
Director of Children’s Ministry.
Youth Director
The Long & Winding Road:
Recently hired an Associate Pastor for Youth & Family (ordained). Previously
had volunteers and several part-time youth directors. Regular Church
Attendance
215
250
130
165
230 Youth Attendance
Children’s Church: 5-15/wk
High School: 30-50
High School & Middle School: 30-35
unknown
High
School & Middle School: 32+ Salary/Stipend
$24-25,000/year contract
n/a
$2,000/month
$45,000/year
$76,000 package
salary & benefits Hours/week
20
n/a
25-30
Full-time
Full-time Housing/Benefits
none
n/a
Small house next to church is provided.
Medical benefits for him and his family are provided by church. none Benefits
represent approximately $26,000 of total $76,000 package. Notes/Miscellaneous
Advertised position for about a year before filling. Person is a former
teacher whose husband was relocating to area.
Might hire a youth pastor “when the right person comes along” but no current
plans.
Advertised locally and used websites with job banks. Candidate came from
Palmdale.
Church is trying to increase salary to $50,000 to keep Youth Director.
Unique “pledge-driven” financial support from congregation.
Pastor suggested looking at Lutheran Bible Institute or similar for best
candidates. |
