Dear Folks,
The newsletter for this week is my report for the annual Assembly reflecting on 2012. I trust
that you all have access to it, as each church received 3 copies of the Annual Report. I am also looking
forward to seeing many folk in Calgary at Assembly at the end of the month.
EXECUTIVE MINISTER
Jeremy Bell
Dear all,
I wish to share with you some of the most significant things that have been part of this
year.
- Keats Camp has had a re-birth this summer and had well over 1000 campers.
They have closed the gap on their deficit last year, and may be in a balanced
position for the camping season. I preached at Keats in July and was very
encouraged by the new life there, and especially by Dan Galpin, Cheyla Reader,
and Heather & Bob Thomson. - Our summer youth service ministry SERVE was in Peace River, AB in 2012.
Danice Carlson saw an increase in churches and individual participation from
about 180 folks in 2011 to 220 in 2012, and from 10 churches to 18 churches. - SERVE 2013 will be held in Winnipeg, MB.
- Our first Celebration Dinners in the Peace Region were on 28 – 29 September
2012, with four churches in attendance. - It has come to my attention that some dear folk think that we are charged for the
use of the Vancouver offices. We are not. They are free. They have always been
free. Rumours like this are unhelpful. They are based on bad communication
on my part, lack of questioning in some cases, or mischief. It is the latter that is
problematic. - We have worked in concert with Carol Mager & the Budget Committee, and Greg
Anderson & the Finance Committee, to respond appropriately to the flattening of
the economy, and the challenges of investing in this environment in the areas of
charitable giving and investments. - As you will see from our budget proposal, we are closing in on revenue
enhancement and cuts well in excess of half a million dollars. This is the second
major set of cuts in 2 years, but we are satisfied that they can be achieved,
although there are major modifications in ministry to do so.
As you will recall, our churches continue to be visionary and generous. The Chin
Church in Vancouver, BC increased their contributions from $2000 to $4500,
including a $500 contribution to benevolence (this is a church of 40% teens,
and many who have 2, sometimes 3, jobs). First Baptist Ponoka, AB church
increased its contribution by 2.9%, well in excess of inflation. Kitsilano Christian
Community, Vancouver, BC, raised their contribution from over $8000 a year to
over $17,000. Thanks be to God.
We are committed to:
- Creating an annual surplus (which reverses a trend that many of us,
including Greg Anderson, have noticed). We look on track to do so. - Creating a cash reserve. This year we have not borrowed from our line of
credit. It should be noted that the CBWC Board’s decision to make some
cuts in January 2012 contributed greatly to some of the financial stability
we have having right now. We continue to be encouraged by the financial
contributions and commitments to church planting, and the reduction of
our debt. - We have planned a fundraising event in Calgary, AB and Edmonton, AB.
- With the professional expertise and input of Ben Johnson (a consultant for Union
Gospel Mission, Open Door, and Mustard Seed Victoria, Island Savings, as
well as Royal Roads University) and a session & advice with Gord King (former
World Visions corporate donations, and CBM Sharing way), we embarked on an
inter-disciplinary staff consultation on money. This day included over a dozen
staff members involved in producing, writing, and graphics, in both ministry and
education. We spent a day together with representatives from the denomination,
Keats, and Carey, and we will continue to do so in the months ahead. - There have been considerable staff changes in the last few months.
- The Heartland office has seen the departure of Gayle Meyer, who ably
served us, and Cindy Emmons joining us on 15 October 2012. - Louanne Haugan has joined the Calgary office in the area of pensions &
benefits, and church contact services. - Jessica Lin has joined us to replace the work that Julia Hamilton did in
bookkeeping. - All three of these individuals come from our own churches or related
congregations, but were hired based on skills, not on affiliation. - Nataliya D’yachenko joined us earlier in 2012 from the CBWC-F with
expertise in finance and software. - Nadia VanderKuip, who works for Carey, but is also the CBWC STM
Coordinator, has taken a position with Urban Promise in Camden, NJ, as
head of their international work. (I note with some restraining of comment
that their international work includes Vancouver and Toronto…being born
in Britain, the Empire continues to exist, the names just change – just
kidding).
- The Heartland office has seen the departure of Gayle Meyer, who ably
- Victor Ku has successfully completed his first year, which was made possible by
the hard transition and work of Bob Webber. - David Holten continues to work with us in the area of church relations, and is of
valuable assistance in our relationships with churches. I draw your attention to
his excellent column “Treasurers Corner” which goes to over 155 people. - We experimented for the first time with CBWC Sunday. Because of scheduling
reasons, we were not able to do this in conjunction with CBM. Many of our
churches have missions Sundays. Very few of them include us in those
celebrations. The trend this next year will be to establish not only CBWC
Sundays, but a regular presence on congregational mission events. - I am very excited about Assembly “The Gathering” (30 May – 2 June 2013)
and particularly our commitment and role in this denomination to bring the full
gospel of Jesus Christ to our lives, our congregations, and our communities.
The presence of God, the depth and breadth of giftedness He has given us
as a family of churches, and the natural human resources that has created an
unprecedented prosperity in Western Canada grants us, and others who are
faithful, an opportunity that is truly exciting. - We have been working with other denominations around their church and
denominational and ministry audits. I want to present a ministry audit instrument
and metric that we can all agree with implementing. - Leadership forums have been reported earlier and we continue to see new
potential sites show possibilities. We are in (very tentative) discussions with
Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island.- The initial format is as follows and will be modified and customized by
each group.
- The initial format is as follows and will be modified and customized by
500 – 530: Welcome, gathering
530 – 600: Worship and teaching
600 – 645: Dinner (minimalistic, cost by donation)
645 – 730: Affinity groups (youth, church planting, etc)
730 – 820: Main teaching / sharing / training sessions (including
welcoming, knowing your neighbour, evangelism, money, cross
cultural care)
820 – 830: Prayer / close
I want to thank our outgoing Board members: Jan Paasuke, Glenn Rabuka, Carol
Mager, Mary Stuber Doerksen, Al Grochowski, Betty Smith, Donna Marie Orr, and Mary
Dyk.
Thank you to Shelby Gregg for all her work and assistance.
I want to especially mention the hard work, courage, and friendship of Jan Paasuke. On
behalf of the Board and myself – thank you.
We welcome as a leader in our midst our new President, Greg Anderson.
Grace and Peace be with you.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy