COUNCIL MEETING IN TORONTO
NOVEMBER 17-19, 2009
The National Council had its third meeting of the fiscal year in Toronto starting Tuesday evening, November 17. Some council members had already been involved in a Media Team Meeting and/or a Ministerial Services Team meeting earlier in the week. By putting the meetings back-to-back, the church is able to save a significant amount in air fare costs.
Some members of the office staff had attended a law seminar for charities the previous week. An overview of that seminar was given to the National Council so that council members can stay abreast of the most recent legal concerns and updates for charities.
Edwin van Pelt provided statistics about growth in the church. Overall statistics are positive in spite of the economy. We have had a small decrease in members this year which is due to a number of deaths and the fact that a number of people have not yet filled out a membership form.
An update on the current Media strategy was given by David Palmer. We are planning to continue airing the Beyond Today program, but the two networks we are on have recently been sold. Time will tell what type of programming the new owners will wish to have. Prayers for guidance and intervention in this will be much appreciated.
Following the lead of the US, Canada has embarked on giving a unified appearance to local websites. Currently four local congregation websites have been moved over to the new “template”. This will make us look more professional, make it possible for more congregations to have their own sites, enable local information to be posted while still ensuring that all the booklets and other links are updated and create a more unified look so that whenever someone goes from one site to another, it will be obvious that we are all connected. These sites have a member section that will be password protected and allow the posting of more sensitive issues such as prayer requests. Another plus is that the local webmaster won’t need a special program to do updates.
Anthony Wasilkoff gave a report on behalf of the Ministerial Services Team (MST). Among other things the MST discussed Canadian Feast sites for next year, a Pastor’s Manual that is being “Canadianized” and how ministers can “pace” themselves as they grow older.
A report from the Office Move Task Force was given by Dennis Horlick. Council was given an update as to what is happening in the current facility and given a few sample listings of what is available for lease in the area. The Council discussed priorities and options. The health concerns in the current office space were put at the top of the priority list. There was a discussion on whether to lease or purchase office facilities. Having a sufficient down payment to purchase would be a major challenge but would give other advantages. Prior to the meetings a tour of some buildings had been arranged.
Both the 2010-2011 Operations Plan and the 2010-2011 Budget were approved to be sent to the National Conference for ratification next March.
The question of whether or not the church can be involved in raising funds for Life Nets was again discussed. The Council determined, after looking at Canada Revenue requirements for charities, that to be involved in fundraising for Life Nets would put our charity status at risk. Church members are free to make donations to whichever charity they wish, but the church cannot, for several reasons, sponsor or promote any charity – especially a charity that is not registered in Canada.
Committee meetings were held on Wednesday afternoon. As much as possible the committees do preparatory work prior to meetings and put finishing touches on their projects in person and then present their findings to Council for consideration and approval.
On Thursday morning the Strategic Planning Committee presented their financial analysis regarding a potential purchase or lease of office space. They also presented and the Council gave approval for meeting dates for the next year. The rest of the morning was spent touring potential office space.
In the afternoon, the Governance Committee presented several documents for Council approval. A Job Description for Church Pastors was approved along with two policies - one for non-salaried elders’ expense and another regarding church assistance.
Linda Wasilkoff
Secretary
