We Are Not Done Yet!

 

By Troy Nelson, Church Treasurer

WE ARE NOT DONE YET!

Of course, I am talking about the Capital Campaign. It’s been a BIG job, and in some ways, a bigger job than we expected. We set a large goal, and by the grace of God, we have already received more pledges than in any previous campaigns at Shepherd of the Valley. More than 3.5 million dollars! We are thrilled and we thank everyone who has prayerfully considered and made gifts to our campaign.

This Campaign is not just about paying off our mortgage, or making improvements to the building. Over the past 30 years, members of our church looked into the future with faith to lay a foundation and build a church that would serve by spreading and living the Gospel. Each of us are beneficiaries of that prayerful foresight. It is now our turn to lay a similar foundation.

Yes, it is summer. You are busy and everyone else is busy. That is why a visit with you will only take 30-40 minutes.

The goals of this Capital Campaign, to eliminate our debt, improve our facility, and expand our outreach, may not seem as exciting as building a new sanctuary or narthex. Yet, they are just as crucial to the continued success of our ministry, and they build upon the solid foundation of those earlier campaigns.

Our community, our ministry, and our need to be stewards of what God has given us are changing. Today, we are paying close to a $1,000 a day in principal and interest on our mortgage. That is one-eighth of every dollar that you give now, or 12.5 cents. That one-eighth limits our ability to adapt to our changing world and community. 

Right now, we are midway through two weeks of Vacation Bible School. How many more children could enroll if it was free to them to attend? Same thing for Christian education during the school year, if it were free?

In Apple Valley there are 3,000 people or 6.4% of our neighbors living in poverty. How many more could utilize our Food Shelf and other outreach programs help if we had the space and the ability to do more?

There are so many ministries where we could do more, and that is why WE ARE NOT DONE YET. We still want to reach out to every SOTV household with accurate information on which to make a decision. Our original plan was to accomplish our goal by May of this year, and we still need to make contact with about  half of these households.

Yes, it is summer. You are busy and everyone else is busy. That is why a visit with you will only take 30-40 minutes. So I humbly ask you for your help. Please accept the phone call from a volunteer visitor, schedule your visit, get the pertinent information, then prayerfully consider laying a new foundation for the future. Thank you.

Together, We Can Do More!

Staff Announcements

Pastor Candee Moser will conclude her interim ministry at SOTV effective July 29, 2015. She will preach at all services July 25, 26 & 27, and you are invited to greet and thank her in between services. It is hard to believe Candee has been with us since March! We are grateful for the time we have had to work with Candee in worship, fellowship and the care ministries of SOTV. 

Following the Congregational Meeting held on June 7, 2015, we are moving forward to manage staff structures related to the budget, and the vision and mission of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church.

Effective August 1, 2015, our pastoral structure will reflect our mission of Worship, Learn, Care, and Connect. While all the pastors will have a shared emphasis on general pastoral duties such as preaching, teaching, and pastoral care, each pastor will now have a specific area of responsibility and accountability.

Pastor Randy Brandt

The role of Executive Pastor is eliminated, effective 8/1/2015, and Pastor Randy Brandt is transitioning to the role of Learn Pastor, effective immediately. This includes management and supervisory responsibilities of the Children, Youth & Family (CYF) ministry.

Mim Campbell

Therefore, the role of Director of CYF is also eliminated, effective 8/1/2015. Mim Campbell will conclude her employment on July 29, 2015.

We are grateful to Mim for her leadership in ministry! Mim has impacted the lives of many families over the years and we are blessed by her partnership. 

Please join us for Mim's last weekend at worship Sunday, July 26th where you will be able to greet her between services.

If you have questions regarding staff structure please contact Jennifer.maxwell@sotv.org.

The Fiery (and Outdated) Furnaces

George Ulrich

Our church building has greatly evolved over its 30 year lifetime, beginning with an eye to an unknown, yet hopeful and faith-filled, future. After five major construction projects, we currently have 15 furnace units that deliver heating and cooling, including equipment original to the building. Some units do not work properly, use older inefficient technology, consume more energy, and cost us extra expense in day to day operation, maintenance and repairs.

The #2 priority of our 2015 Capital Campaign is to improve our facility (after debt reduction). Meeting our campaign goal will make building changes possible and pay a dividend toward our future ministry. Reduced operating and energy costs will enable our resources to be used in other ministry areas as well. The possibilities are endless!

If you had a car with a noisy muffler, worn out springs, or was rusted out, you would need a sizable investment to afford replacing your old clunker. Your pledge to the Capital Campaign is a special investment that enables the church to use its resources efficiently, recover future funds, and continue to be a place of welcome and hospitality.

Please sign up to receive a visit and learn the full story of how your hopeful and faith-filled generosity can be magnified for the future in ways that we can’t fathom today.

Together, We Can Do More! 

Thanks to Bob Dennistoun and Greg Nonweiler for contributing the idea and content for this post.

2015 Annual Meeting Recap

On Sunday, June 7, 2015, the congregation gathered together with enthusiasm to learn about the current state of the church and its continued success in the future. Approximately 180 people packed rooms 20-22 following a lunch in the Great Hall. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Leaders presented updates on our vision, mission, and initiatives, three new council members were unanimously elected, and motions were passed on our 2015-16 budget, expenditure limit, and endowment charter.

A summary of the meeting in detail is below. Official minutes will be made available on our website, following the June Council meeting. Please direct any questions to Council@sotv.org.

Opening Prayer - Pastor Duane Paetznick 

 

Welcome - President Jenny Buckley 

• A word of gratitude to everyone in attendance for valuing this church and its governance 
• Thank you to our leaders on Council, Leadership Teams, and Staff for another year of service 
• Approval of minutes from 2014 meeting

 

Brief Summary of Our Vision - Pastor Chris Smith 

 

Introducing Our Mission and Initiatives - President Jenny Buckley 

• Presented to the congregation in early March 2015
• Approved by Council at its March 19, 2015 meeting

 

How We Live Out Our Vision 

 

Our Volunteers 

Volunteers make our ministry happen. Our staff structure must support their work.

Our Staff 

• Our eventual goal is to have five pastors on staff: Senior Pastor, and pastors in Worship, Learn, Connect, and Care.
• Update on Pastoral Call Process - Presentation by Chair Ellen De Vries
• We are in the process of aligning program staff with Worship, Learn, Connect, and Care initiatives. 
• All staff are being encouraged to focus their time and energy on programming that helps us live out Vision, Mission, and Initiatives 

Our Lay Leaders

• Leadership Teams 
• Highlights from first year
• Emphasis on Welcome Team, and Year of Welcome (2015-16) 

• Council 
• Steve Mueller, Angie Zielinski, and Ann Boekhoff have concluded their time on council, and were thanked for their years of service. 
• William (Bill) Bosch, Chad Dahlke, and Michael Kelly were presented as new candidates for council and were unanimously elected. 

Our Finances 

• Capital Campaign Update and strategy moving forward - Presentation by Scott Erickson, Campaign co-chair
• General and Building/Capital Budget - Presentation by Treasurer Troy Nelson
• Delegation of Expenditure Authority to Properties Team - Presentation by Ken Syverson
• Endowment Charter - Presentation by Chair David Kuhnau

Congregation votes on the budget, expenditure limit, and Endowment Charter all passed.

Treasurer Troy Nelson noted that although the 2015-16 budget is a deficit budget, the resolve of the Finance Committee is that next year’s budget (2016-17) will be balanced.


A motion was made to adjourn, and was seconded. 

SOTV Financials

Getting Ready for the Annual Meeting: Part 5 of 5

Balance

Paul Keller
Council Vice President

From a financial standpoint, SOTV isn’t that different from our own households. The Church relies on Giving to cover administrative expenses with the vision that the remaining dollars can be used to fund benevolence. Similarly, we have jobs that provide income to support our families and we have regular expenses like mortgage, car payments, gas, utilities, and just like SOTV gives back… we give to others in need. And at the end of the day, it’s all about balance – does the amount of income exceed the amount we spend? If it doesn’t, then we may be faced with tough choices. Can we afford the new phone or the new car? Should we cut the cord on cable or should we cancel the family vacation?

We don’t always think about it, but SOTV has tremendous financial obligations necessary to support a large, dynamic congregation. In fact, did you know that SOTV is one of the TOP 10 ECLA churches nationwide? This is why it is so critical for council to have a solid understanding of the giving we are blessed to receive to ensure we are being good financial stewards. Did you know that it costs about $2.5 million dollars in costs to support the worship and programs provided? These costs include our pastors, the support staff (finance, HR, facilities, communications), our adult and children’s education programs, administrative costs for mailings and so many others.

The past several years have been challenging for most congregations nationwide and SOTV has not been immune. As times have changed and family schedules have filled, the frequency of attendance… and therefore Giving… has fallen proportionately.

Unfortunately, the weekly bulletin doesn’t always tell the entire story of our financial picture. Although we are doing very well to our current budget (an approved deficit budget), we are still behind the prior year. Thankfully, our giving has been ahead of plan and so we have been fortunate to see only a small reduction in our general fund balance [see full year chart below]. We are preparing again for our annual congregational meeting this Sunday, June 7 at 12:30 p.m., where we will propose the new fiscal year budget. Please know that you are all invited, welcome and encouraged to attend this important event.

	Last Year	Budget	Actual+Forecast
Starting Balance	$953,788	$647,290	$647,290
Giving	$2,479,206	$2,340,899	$2,444,267
Fund Balance Transfer	$43,840	$30,000	$30,000
Expenses	($2,829,544)	($2,563,438)	($2,514,839)
Fund Balance Change	($306,498)	($192,539)	($40,572)
Ending Balance	$647,290	$454,751	$606,718

SOTV is a place that is always there for us. It is there for our major life celebrations like baptisms, communions, confirmations and weddings. It is there for the special holiday events like Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. It is there for the times when we need care and support for health issues, relationship issues and helping provide funeral services. No matter what, SOTV is there.

I will fully admit that our family doesn’t attend Church every week. We have crazy, busy lives with four active kids and we find ourselves sprinting from one thing to the next. But one thing we have done as a personal choice is to enroll in Simply Giving as a way to ensure that our Giving continues even when we are not there. SOTV has always been there for us… this is how we can be there for SOTV.
Blessings!

Paul Keller
Council Vice President

Endowment Fund at SOTV

Endowment Fund at SOTV

Did you know that SOTV has an Endowment Fund?  About 15 years ago the congregation established such a fund to support establishing new ministries at SOTV.  The idea was to create a fund that would provide interest income to support such activities, yet allowing the capital to increase for the future. Initially the effort experienced some success raising funds and making grants. Over the past 10 years there has been very little activity, but a balance of about $125,000 remains and is waiting to go to work!

Endowment Fund Now?
You might be thinking why are we talking about an endowment fund now, when we are in the middle of a capital campaign? An endowment fund is actually complementary to both our annual giving and a capital campaign. The idea for the endowment fund is to provide a tool for members to make bequests to the church in their wills, which can provide income to support SOTV far into the future. Current giving remains directed at the annual and capital campaigns, but when members are planning their legacy giving, the Endowment Fund is available to assist.

What Changes in the current Endowment Fund are needed?
A group of volunteers with an interest in legacy giving was appointed by the Church Council to review the current endowment fund and make recommendations to reestablish the fund. This new Endowment Committee has developed a number of recommendations which include making these changes to the charter of the Endowment Fund:

• Change the purpose of the fund to support current mission activities of SOTV

• The current charter provides that the fund only establish new missions.  By changing the mission of the fund to support current missions, the Fund can now support ongoing activities of SOTV.

• Change the charter of the fund to simplify management

• These changes include having Church Council appoint the Endowment Committee and make any future changes to the charter; reduce the number of members needed on the committee, and also changes to simplify managing assets and making grants.

•  Provide specific mission areas for donors to designate gifts

• Proposed changes provide for donors to designate gifts to three mission areas: general mission (worship, music, facilities); education (youth, adult, bible camp); and; outreach (local, domestic and foreign)

You can also read the proposed amended and restated resolutions by clicking here.
 
What needs to happen? A Congregational Vote
The original charter adopted by the SOTV Congregation requires that the Congregation make any changes to the Endowment Fund at its annual meeting. The new Endowment Committee has proposed new amended and restated resolutions re-establishing the Endowment Fund with a new charter, which will make all the changes listed above. Church Council has reviewed the changes and recommends that the Congregation vote in favor of the changes at the Congregational Meeting on June 7.
 
Questions about the Endowment Fund
Please feel free to contact me about the Endowment Fund and the work of the Endowment Committee.

Dave Kuhnau
dbkuhnau@gmail.com
952-891-1825 (home)

50

Jenny Buckley
Council President

Getting Ready for the Annual Meeting: Part 4 of 5

Capital Campaign 

 50. That’s how many people have volunteered to be trained and visit all the members of our congregation during our capital campaign. And the capital campaign is going strong. As of May 19, we are just a little over one-third of the way to reaching our goal for the campaign. That is, over 3.3 million dollars have already been pledged--more than any other previous capital campaign in our history. And the impact of those pledges on the future of SOTV will extend beyond our walls to our local community as well as places as far away as Haiti and Tanzania. Wow--together, we ARE doing more!

One of the reasons church leadership chose to work with J.D. Klote, the firm that helped conduct the capital campaign, was their personalized approach. Unlike other organizations, Klote values personal visits to every member of the congregation, not just a select few. Our consultant, Carl Graber, repeatedly emphasized the awesome opportunity these visits provided us to grow and strengthen relationships at Shepherd of the Valley. Our goal for this campaign is not just to raise money, but to unite as a congregation to support the ministry and priorities of our church.

There are three components to the campaign: debt reduction, facility needs, and benevolence. These three areas align directly with the results of the CAT survey, which over 900 of you took in 2013. Every time I make a visit, and start talking about what it would mean for SOTV if we eliminated debt, took care of our building, and were able to give even more money away, I find myself getting excited. Every time. And the reason is simple: I truly believe that God is at the heart of what we are currently doing and what we want to do at SOTV. I believe He has a plan for the future of our congregation and that the capital campaign is part of that. And mostly, I really believe that “Together, we can do more.”

This campaign is about ALL of us: it is about making SOTV a place that feels welcoming to those that have been here for 30+ years, those who joined us last month, and those who will be joining us in the future. It is about growing deeper in our faith and developing meaningful relationships with one another. It is about the Great Commission--sharing the love of Christ with our neighbors and inviting others to share in community with us. And it will take all of us working together for the next 5 years to achieve these goals.

And so, the campaign continues. Those 50 visitors are making dozens of phone calls and meetings each month to help draw us together as one church. And they will keep calling, and keep visiting, until we have reached everyone. This will take a few more months, but it will be worth it--for our children, for our neighbors, and for ourselves.

If you haven’t already, please consider scheduling a visit and prayfully consider in what ways you might participate in the campaign (being informed, visiting, making a pledge, etc).

To hear more about the Capital Campaign, and the state of our church, join us at the Annual Congregational meeting on June 7 at 12:30 p.m. In the meantime, please direct questions and comments to the council at council@sotv.org

Blessings,
Jenny Buckley--Church Council President