LEADERSHIP UPDATE
Dear ,
We want to bring you an update on the organizational restructuring and budget reduction plans we discussed at the Special Congregational Meeting on May 22, 2022. At that meeting, we promised to reduce our operating budget for the next fiscal year (Sept. 2022 – Aug. 2023) to $5.9 million based on our giving patterns for this year. This new operating budget represents a significant difference of approximately $1 million from our current operational expenses.
Our pastoral leadership and Ministry Council have been meeting over the past several weeks and have agreed on a plan to reach this target. Given the nature of our facility maintenance costs, much of the savings will come from reorganizing staff positions. While some reductions will be achieved by not filling vacant positions, a strategy was brought in identifying staff roles that would end to maintain ministry continuity and consolidate operational capacity.
One of the positions being brought to a close towards the end of August is the Associate Pastor of Outreach Ministries, held by Scott White. The outreach division will be led directly by the Senior Pastor, which will further LAC’s ongoing involvement in the global and local mission fields. Another significant transition will be the role of Interim Executive Director of Church Operations held by Les Stocker. The church operations will be led by Tiffany Reynoso, who has been faithfully serving the church family for the last 12 years as the Executive Assistant and Director of Organizational Development, while also pursuing her EMBA at the Drucker Graduate School of Management.
Before leaving for a short-term missions trip to Lebanon, Pastor Scott shared with the church staff how God has been working in his life towards this change over the past year. We look forward to having him share more about his journey with the church family and celebrating the ministry he and his wife Nancy have given over his 50 years at LAC and 22 years on staff. We thank Pastor Scott and Les, who graciously stepped into evolving roles during a senior pastor transition and remained steadfast in working with the Ministry Council on organizational restructuring. Both will continue to play active roles in our community even as they pursue God’s calling in the next season of their ministry.
LAC staff are an integral part of our family, and we care about them deeply. As we walk through a restructuring in the coming weeks, we invite you to pray for our staff and leadership. Our approach has been to minimize the impact on ministry operations while caring for & transitioning impacted staff into evolving or reduced roles, where possible. The worship department seeks to rely more on volunteer leadership in its existing ministry areas. Changes to the outreach department will focus on continuity in the church’s priorities to the global and local community. Shifts in the family ministries department will maintain capacity and safety while continuing to disciple from birth to high school. Additional staffing changes will be shared at our Summer Congregational Meeting. Overall, there will be an increase in volunteer opportunities to support staff in a way that allows more of our church family to use their gifts in various ministry areas.
To end our fiscal year on target, $1 million is needed by August 31. We invite your partnership and generous giving as we steward our resources in obedience to God’s calling for the next season of ministry at LAC.
Blessings,
Dan Crichton Mathew John
Church Chair Senior Pastor
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NOMINATING COMMITTEE UPDATE
Dear Church Family,
At a May Special Congregational Meeting a temporary Bylaw amendment was approved to extend the service of the 2021 Nominating Committee members. Those willing to continue serving have been hard at work to bring a proposed elected leadership slate to the Summer Congregational Meeting. The Nominating Committee members temporarily continuing their service in this year of leadership transition are: Aaron Leung, Alan Tussy, Elaine Carovilla, Jane Rumph, Janet Wilson (Chair), Jeep Jensen, Jodi Moreno, and Jeff Leonard. Visit www.lakeave.org/nomcom to see who we are.
Thank you to those of you who submitted leadership nominations before the deadline last month. We received an overwhelming amount for a limited number of elected leadership seats and have entered a communal discernment process with nominees that can support needs for the next ministry year. The creation of an elected leadership slate can be simplified into two parts consisting of identify & qualify. The identifying part is not just receiving names from the congregation but also discovering the specific vacancies of our elected leadership. We check in with current leaders eligible to be re-elected to hear how God is leading them in their service and weigh gifts with new leadership nominations from the church family. It is the responsibility of the Nominating Committee to give close attention to the terms of our church leadership to ensure not all of them are ending at the same time. The Nominating Committee is currently in the middle of identifying & qualifying.
The qualifying part of the process for returning or new nominees involves checking active membership, committee alignment, and a balance of gifts in each of the ministry divisions and ministry council. While the committee is being mindful of the bylaw renewal efforts, leaders are being identified and qualified independently of whether or not the proposed congregational leadership covenant is brought forward for approval. (Visit www.lakeave.org/bylaws to read more about the church bylaws). A leadership profile is planned for each nominee so that the church family can get to know them better as part of the proposed slate that will be voted on by the Congregation at the Summer Congregational Meeting. We are targeting to be done in early August. Should the work of identifying & qualifying leaders be completed in time, you can save the date for our Summer Congregational Meeting on August 28 at 11 am.
We would cherish your prayers over the communal discernment of the Nominating Committee and the leaders God will raise up for the next season of ministry.
On behalf of the Nominating Committee,
Janet Wilson, Nominating Committee Chair
Tiffany Reynoso, Senior Pastor Designee
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