2022 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Its hard to believe that we’re at the beginning of a new year already. I’m not sure whether to attribute it to the notion that time moves by quicker when you’re having fun, or if it’s because time seems more fleeting as you age. Regardless, I know that whatever the cause, God is faithful to orchestrate every step along the way. As I pause to consider the various steps God has orchestrated for Strasburg Community Church throughout 2022, I’m reminded of His sovereign providence to always meet our needs, to remain eternally faithful, and to continue to guide and direct us as we remain faithful. I’m thankful for the many ways throughout the year that He has called us out of our comfort to serve Him in ways that demonstrate his presence in our lives and I look forward to continuing to see Him show up in 2023.

As is our normal custom in January of each year, the elders present to the church a proposed budget for the upcoming year, allow a specified time to pass for questions and comments, and then we gather together as a church body to vote on that proposal. While that is still the plan, we wanted to do something a little bit different this year by presenting you with an annual report that will provide a deeper level of transparency, awareness, and accountability. In doing this, we believe it will offer everyone a better understanding not only of where our church has been over the past year but also where we see ourselves headed for 2023. While we still look forward to and welcome your questions and comments we hope that this snapshot of 2022 will be positive and encouraging as we prayerfully consider our next steps and the Lords preferred future for Strasburg Community Church.

We want to extend a special thank you to our deacon board of Brenda Mills, Cindi Doss, Jim Bloomfield, Noah Rhoades, and Scott Andrews, as well as Pastor Curtis McFarland and Michelle Owens for all their help and efforts in putting together this report.

As you have questions, feel free to connect with one of the elders.

In Christ, Steven Musser | Senior Pastor

As God calls elders and deacons to lead His church, we are constantly reminded of the weight of responsibility that this role comes with. There are times of immense celebration and victory as we see God’s hand orchestrate things beyond our thoughts and dreams and then there are times of frustration and disappointment when we fail to see God’s hand at work--especially knowing that it is so often due to our own lack of faith and investment.

Looking back, 2022 was certainly one of those years that vacillated between these emotions. As we process through the year and ask ourselves what we need to continue to do to ensure that we are constantly leading in a way that honors the Lord, one of the permeating thoughts is that we, as leaders, simply need to be more intentional in our efforts to lead. Whether this is done through the way that we interact with and serve others, is carried out in the way we effectively plan, or it’s accomplished by being more in tune, through prayer, wise discernment, and the counsel of others, as to how the Lord is leading our church, we want to be a group of leaders that embraces the role we’ve been called to, with all it’s ups and downs, and to continue to push forward in pursuing the Lord’s will for SCC.

One of the ways that we’ve done this is by identifying areas within our own leadership that need to be strengthened and perhaps there is none more evident than the way we on-board elders and deacons. For years, the process of becoming an elder or deacon has been haphazard, at best. While we always strive to do our best in discerning the Lords will,

we also realize that there are more effective ways of carrying that out.

Back on November 27th, Pastor Steve talked in his series, “Questions in Timothy,” about a newly developed process for becoming an elder or deacon at SCC. This process is the culmination of about 8 months worth of conversation, study, and work between both the elder and deacon boards in an effort to ensure that as we seek out leaders in the church, that the way we go about doing so best reflects those qualities and characteristics of leaders that are evident in scripture and will be best for the continued growth and culture of SCC.

As we continue to implement this process and then filter it down into further reaches of ministry, we do so because we care deeply about the church and the people God has placed under it’s care. We want to make sure that we remain faithful to His call in our lives and that we continue to demonstrate wise, responsible stewardship of the churches resources as we continue to lead into the future.

We invite you to take a look at this process by visiting the church website at, www.strasburgcommunitychurch. com/elders-and-deacons, and if you have any questions or are interested in possibly becoming an elder or deacon, to let us know, as we’d love the opportunity to journey alongside you in this.

Thank you very much for your continued support, encouragement, and accountability.

Below is the proposed budget for 2023. What is represented are the major line items that make up the overall budget. Please note that the formatting of the 2023 proposed budget has been updated to better reflect accounting “best-practices” and to reduce confusion due to outdated and/ or duplicate line items.

2023 Proposed Budget

Christian Education Adult $600 Student Ministry $1,000 Awana $1,450 Kid Church $897 Fellowship / Hospitality $3,225 Payroll Expenses $11,638 Insurance $16,387

Staff Payroll

Senior Pastor

$70,000 Children and Youth Pastor $20,000 Office Manager $16,640 Custodian $10,192 Staff Development $1,300 Missions $6,360 Outreach $1,825 Benevolence $1,224

Building Maintenance and Repair

Internal Maintenance $6,450 External Maintenance $8,081 Office Supplies $2,694 Taxes & Fees $309 Advertising $300 Phone/Internet $4,380 Utilities $14,298 Worship $3,750 Safety & Security $749 Web $2,399

TOTAL $206,148

Balance Sheet

Operating Fund $173,571 Building Fund $16,406 Memorial Fund $17,355 School Fund $3,534

*as of 1/5/23

2022 Budget

Christian Education

Proposed Actual

$4,100 $3,253

Fellowship / Hospitality $2,750 $1,867

Senior Pastor $70,000 $70,814

Children and Youth Pastor $20,000 $11,444

Secretary $13,650 $12,656

Custodian $9,144 $7,585

E. Plains Women’s Resource Ctr $1,000 $1,440

Foodbank $2,500 $0**

Missions & Outreach $4,000 $0**

Building Maintenance & Repair $9,300 $8,876.78

Grounds Maintenance $5,400 $5,479

Utilities $13,00 $14,293

Employee SS $4,000 $5,465

Payroll Expenses $1,000 $769

Insurance / Property & Work Comp $11,600 $14,618

Office Supplies $350 $643.12

Printing $2,200 $2,375

Postage & Shipping $400 $342

Taxes and Fees $2,885 $323

Communications / Publicity $1,000 $0

Telephones $2,016 $4,093

Web Page $2,200 $2,581

Worship $5,175 $3,664

Community Outreach $2,500 $535

Employee Appreciation / Staff Development $800 $379

Pastor Discretionary Fund $500 $488

Safety / Security $1,000 $78

Van Maintenance $500 $103

TOTAL $192,970 $174,176

*This is the format in which the 2022 budget was presented to the congregation in January of 2022

**Actual expenses for “Foodbank” and “Missions” were covered by donations that came in above and beyond what was budgetted for 2023

2022 Total Income and Expenses

2022 Budget 2022 Total Income 2022 Total Expenses

$192,970 $175,393 $174,176

05 BUDGET

2023 has been an exciting year for our children and youth ministries with the hiring of our new children and youth pastor, Curtis McFarland. Curtis has been able to bring years of experience in a wide variety of ministries to help shape and grow these vital ministries. One exciting change we’ve seen this year comes to our student ministry program for students in grades 6th-12th. Due to the growth of our youth group-averaging at least 20 students/week- Pastor Curtis has been able to develop a leadership team that is able to focus on the specific needs of middle and high school students.

Each Thursday during youth group, these leadership teams; consisting of Thomas Phillips, Katie Musser, Sean and Virginia Hewitt, and Pastor Curtis and Barb McFarland, have been able to have small group “break out” sessions with the middle and high school students

that have led to deeper, more intentional and age-appropriate conversations with students. In just a very short time they’ve seen students interact with their relationship with the Lord more as they continue to engage with their peers.

Our average weekly attendance in kid church also continues to climb with between 20-30 children attending kid church and nursery each week. We continue to be in need of more adults to help teach and/or help out in the classroom and our nursery ministry is also very much in need of more adults to serve on Sundays. Additionally, our average weekly attendance at Awana is around 30 children.

If you are interested in helping out in our children and student ministries, please connect with Pastor Curtis to learn more.

CHILDREN AND STUDENT MINISTRIES

This was a great year for us to see the Lord work in the areas of missions and outreach and there are many things we can be celebrating.

We were able to increase our monthly giving to all of our missions partners, which has had a positive impact on them. The 2nd annual Hometown Days Car Show this year brought in around 600 people to the church and resulted in quite a few new visitors to the church on Sunday mornings.

In support of the Eastern Plains Women’s Resource Center (EPWRC), our participation in the Baby Bottle Boomerang fundraiser brought in over $1,500 of additional support for the center, helping them achieve their highest year of giving for that particular fundraiser. Additionally, we were able to serve the women’s center on numerous occasions with their open-house boutiques as well as a few “clean-up days.”

Our involvement with supporting the Kigoogwa Community Center, in Mityana, Uganda helped them to

almost triple the number of children they are able to serve on a daily basis by providing free education, food, and clothing to needy children in the area. We were also able, due to the generous support of the church, to provide the centers director, Nsubuga, with a much needed procedure to repair a torn knee cap so that he can get back to not only working a day job but also so that he can continue to keep up with the more than 50 kids that come to the center every day.

We look forward to seeing how the Lord will continue to use our efforts in the areas of outreach and missions to not only make an impact in our community and abroad but also how the Lord will change our own hearts and lives as we pursue His mission for the church.

The missions and outreach committee consists of: Michelle Owens, Lorrie Kloss, Shalana McCann, Stephanie Bloomfield, Steven Musser, and Kaitlin Phillips. If you are interested in learning more about missions and outreach or are interested in joining the committee, please reach out to one of those individuals.

08 MISSIONS AND OUTREACH

DEACONS AND ELDERS

As we begin 2023, one of the areas we need to look to for growth is in our church leadership, specifically that of elders and deacons. We’ve been blessed to have individuals in those roles who are faithfully serving, but the number of people we have serving in those roles is rather low, which can make the distribution of responsibilities undertaken by elders and deacons rather challenging. As was shared earlier in this report (see “Elders and Deacon Report”) a new process for the on-boarding of elders and deacons has been developed and we are excited to now see who the Lord will lead into

this process. As of the writing of this report, we can say that we do already have a few individuals who have begun the process and hopefully as the year progresses, we will be able to present those candidates to you, the congregation, for your input.

That being said though, we are still very much in need of more leaders that feel the Lord has called them to take up the role of elder or deacon. If you are interested in learning more about what this looks like or are interested in beginning the process, please visit, www. strasburgcommunitychurch.com/elders-anddeacons to learn more

MEN’S MINISTRY

One of the biggest areas of need that we have in the church is for a men’s ministry. Having had conversations with numerous people in the church about what some of our need’s are, this has been one of the most frequently expressed, from both men and women alike. As the Bible calls men to lead in their homes and in the church, having a men’s ministry that is intentional about discipling men is absolutely vital to a church. It is from this type of ministry that we are able to better assess the overall health of our church by creating intentional opportunities for the discipleship of men and begin to embrace God’s ideal for healthy and sustainable church leadership.

As such, there is a deep burden to start a men’s ministry that will facilitate this.

While discussions have already begun about what that could look like moving into 2023, we are looking to create a leadership team that would take up the mantle of beginning a men’s ministry. If you are interested in learning more about this and would like to get involved, please contact Pastor Steve to learn more.

09 AREAS OF NEED

SERVICE

As followers of Jesus, we have a mandate to “go and make disciples of all nations.” While we are certainly committed to making disciples, we could be doing better in the area of going. While we are currently invested as a church in a handful of missions and outreach opportunities, we want to see ourselves continuing to increase our presence throughout the world and in our immediate community. In 2022 we saw how the Lord was able to use our involvement in profound ways to be a blessing to others (see “Missions and Outreach” report) but we want to see more of this.

As a church, we want to challenge ourselves to step outside our comfort zones and into areas that stretch our faith and our relationship with the Lord and others. In order to do this, we want to look to you, the church, for ideas and input as to how we can continue to do this.

We would invite you to bring your thoughts and ideas to the missions committee and/or to the elders and deacons to share ways that we can continue to reach out into the world and our community with the Gospel of Jesus.

DISCIPLESHIP

Discipleship and growth of followers of Jesus is the churches #1 mandate. Over the past few years we’ve continued to improve the way we engage in discipleship with the addition of community groups, discipleship classes, and various adult groups. As we continue to grow as a church we want to make sure that we continue to do so by being intentional with our efforts. This year, we will continue to focus on building up and adding more community groups for people to engage with, strengthening our already existing ministries with better training and more intentional

purpose, and by hopefully developing an intentional discipleship track for people looking to take their relationship with the Lord deeper.

10 AREAS OF FOCUS

As we step into 2023 there are three areas of focus that we want to become more intentional about: service, discipleship, and financial stewardship

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

An area of focus that unfortunately has been overlooked for too long, is with regards to financial stewardship of what the Lord has blessed us with. Over the years, various funds have been created, such as a building fund and a memorial fund, that have accumulated a significant amount of money in them but with no real plan as to what should be done with them. While there may have been a plan for them when they were originally created, that plan has not been carried out or communicated over the years. Additionally, our operating fund that offerings go towards has also accumulated a significant amount of money in it (see “Budget” report) that has largely gone unmanaged over the years. This fund, as well as the the building and memorial funds, have sat in a basic checking and/or savings accounts for the duration of their existence, earning little to no interest, which, given their large amounts, should be managed better.

While we are blessed as a church to have these finances available to us, especially considering so many churches that do not, we have not been wise and good stewards of this money as scripture calls us to be and if we’re being honest with ourselves, have relied on these monies as a safety net for far too long by not putting this money to work for us or for the Lord. We have only to read Matthew 25:14-30 to see Jesus’ own thoughts on this.

As such, effective January 1st, we will be discontinuing the use of the building and memorial funds and rolling them into the operating fund. Additionally, the elders and deacons will be working together to assemble a 2-pronged approach to use monies

from these funds for much needed capital upgrades to the building, as well as establishing a relationship with a financial advisor that can best advise how to better steward this money into a safe but interest baring account, while continuing to remain financially solvent.

While we want to honor and respect those who have given towards these accounts over the years, we want to honor God more for the way he has blessed us by assembling a more well-intentioned and wise plan of stewardship regarding these finances, rather than continuing to let them sit idle.

Over the course of 2023, we will continue to keep you abreast of these plans as it will undoubtedly require congregational input on decisions made. In the meantime, if you have questions please feel free to reach out to one of the elders, and more specifically to George Cronk who is serving as treasurer.