October’s elders meeting began the same way as all of our meetings do: with forty-five minutes of prayer. This is a time for the elders of our church to get on our knees before our God, give Him praise, and intercede for the needs of our congregation. Congregation members are welcomed and encouraged to come at this time so that we can pray with and for them as well. Getting the opportunity to pray with those of you who come is probably one of my favourite parts of being an elder. I can also say that spending the first forty-five minutes on our knees really sets the tone before we tackle the agenda for the evening.
This September, in addition to our elders meeting, the elders had a brief retreat day, where we spent some time discussing prayer, sharing with each other, and praying for one another, followed by some unwinding together at the Cultus Lake driving range. A big part of our discussion was around how we pray, and how its easy to get bogged down in the requests and neglect to spend time in praise and adoration. In other words, we spend more time with the “give us this day our daily bread” part of the Lord’s Prayer, and less time with the “Hallowed be your name” part. We hope to all grow in this area of our prayer lives, as individuals and as a group of elders; beginning our prayers as Jesus taught us: adoring our Father in heaven, and asking that His will be done before we make a single request. Surrendering our will to His, before we ask Him for the things we want; because ultimately His kingdom will come by His will being done, not our own.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:9-10
One of the great privileges of being an elder, or involved closely in any ministry for that matter, is getting to see that kingdom growing. Another part of our regular meetings is a ministry update, and I am always blown away by the amount of ministry that happens beyond the Sunday morning and outside the church doors. Many of our campuses are coming alongside local schools to help families in need or provide food for lunch programs. Community engagement happens through things like our food banks, free firewood, and sports camps. Programs like Freedom Session as well as our regular life groups provide opportunities for real and raw discipleship. I am always in awe of just how many ways that God is working through so many of you every month.
One significant part of our elders meeting this month was setting a target date for our Promontory Campus to become an autonomous church. Pastor Jonathan Neufeld joined this portion of the meeting and we spent time discussing critical factors and considerations for why and when and continued to bring it to God in prayer. As we communicated at our last AGM, Central’s goal is not to have a number of campuses but to plant healthy churches across the eastern Fraser Valley – for which campuses has been a useful model in doing so. We recognize that the time will come when we will actually be holding a campus back from fulfilling their own mission and ability to multiply, and we believe that time is approaching for the Promontory Campus. They are meeting all of the key targets in our campuses metrics documents (shared at our AGM) and so we are pressing ahead with planning. More details to come.
We are thankful to see the kingdom coming, and excited to catch a glimpse of gospel transformation happening in the eastern Fraser Valley. But the work is not yet finished, and to that end we look ahead. We spent some time this past meeting thinking about what future growth looks like for Central. As more are added to our number and as our campuses mature, we can only imagine what God has in store as we move forward. As we plan for the future, we must look to our Father in heaven with open hands, saying, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Justin Vugteveen
- On behalf of the Elders at Central Community
Finance Update
The Elders received a finance update to the end of September. It was noted that people continue to graciously support the ministry and mission of Central with overall giving up 11% over the previous year. It was also noted that ministry expenses and overall operations costs leave us with a significant deficit of income to expense in the year to date amount of $310,000. It was noted that expenses are well within budget parameters with most ministry areas trending below budget. Giving trends through October suggest that we are tracking with previous giving patterns and the elders noted that November and December tend to be our largest giving months with some 30% of the budget coming in during these two months.
As is our practice, year to date giving statements will be sent to all donors within the next few weeks. These are not tax receipts but simply update donors of their giving status. It was reported that the new lights in the Chilliwack sanctuary are scheduled to be installed next week following a prolonged shipping delay. As we move toward the end of a calendar year, the elders encourage you to consider your part in assisting the church to meet its financial obligations. Please prayerfully consider your response to the financial needs of the church.
Thank you for your faithful investment into the Kingdom work of Central.
ELDER'S PRAYER
We believe in the power of prayer. We value prayer. And we believe that God answers prayer and uses it as a means of achieving His purposes in the church and world.
Central's Elders invite you to come and receive prayer in the Chilliwack Campus Sanctuary.
Tuesday, December 17 | 6.30PM - 7.00PM
Chilliwack Campus | 46100 Chilliwack Central Road
You can also submit prayer requests using the link below.
Got questions or words of encouragement? We'd love to hear from you!
Please contact The Elders - elders@centralcommunity.ca