2019 Leadership Team

Stacy MacDonald - Chairperson - leadership@kearneyfumc.org

Jeana Bagnell

Norma Mooney

Ken Greiner

Carolyn Gillespie 

Ron Teague 

Danny Dale

Maggie Pope

Mike Gonzales 

Spencer Smith - Pastor

January 28 Leadership Team meeting 7pm

Attendance: Spencer Smith, Stacy MacDonald, Danny Dale, Carolyn Gillespie, Ken Greiner, Sherry Oxandale, Maggie Pope, Mike Gonzales, Ron Teague, Lisa Boggess and Mary Thomas 

1.    Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development – Spencer

Spencer asked two questions – 1) How would you describe a well leader? And 2) How would you describe an unwell leader? Members shared their thoughts.

Spencer than gave everyone a book titled – “A Failure of Nerve” by Edwin H Friedman. The Leadership Team will read this book and share each month during Spiritual Development and Leadership Development.

2.    Vision and Goal Related Business –

Reorientation - The district is offering some training for the Simplified Structure on Sunday, February 10 that the Leadership Team can attend. 

LT Covenant - Stacy read the covenant and all leadership team members present signed.

Roberts Rules - Reminder to the leadership team to try and adhere to these rules for each meeting.

Policy Ownership – A handout was shared listing the different policies and who has ownership of that policy. Policies need to be reviewed each year and amended as needed. Policies are hard to execute but are here to help. 

Request to Use Facilities – No conflict of interest with this request.

Childcare policy snack wording – The wording is hard to interpret. Stacy will work on amending the policy to be more in line with Joyful Noise Preschool ‘s outside food policy. She will send it to the leadership team to review and approve.   

3.    Budget, Church Calendar of Events and Attendance Review

Contract Labor/Child Care - We've increased our need for childcare and our scheduled to spend most of our budget on childcare in Q1. We are considering other options in the future on what the church's obligations will be with offering childcare to groups and ministries. No decision has been made, the discussion has been tabled until next month. 

Friendship Circle – The church no longer charters a United Methodist Women’s group. Friendship Circle is one of their small groups and we currently have their finances in our financial books. Danny Dale motioned to remove Friendship Circle as a church managed fund. Ken Greiner seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Bank Signature Cards – Two of the church check signers have moved off of the team. Selected two other team members to be added to the bank signature cards.

Paper Folder – The church paper folder is old and not working. Ron Teague motioned to spend up to $3,500.00 out of Capital Expenditures to replace the current paper folder. Maggie Pope seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

4.    Westside and Discipleship Pathway

Discipleship Pathway – Sherry shared that the online sign up for small groups went well. Had 95 people sign up on the website. Mitch Buhman has talked to an additional 26 people. Need to continually promote Right Now Media. Some of the small groups are using Right Now Media. The group will start coordinating with outreach to continue the Discipleship Pathway goals. Sherry has applied for a grant to help purchase additional TVs for the classrooms and also to help with training. 

Westside – Westside averaged over 80% capacity in January, so we are considering the  impact of a second service. Part of our considerations are the revenue vs expense impact on our budget. No decision has been made.

5.    SPRC as Needed 

6.    Other Items for Leadership Team Attention as Needed

7.    Upcoming: Next meeting is on February 18^th, 7pm. Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development – Stacy. Expect email assignment of policy and be prepared to review/revise and steward the policies assigned.

Approved through email: Ron Teague, Carolyn Gillespie, Stacy MacDonald, Ken Greiner, Norma Mooney & Danny Dale

The Church Leadership Team conducts a quarterly Town Hall meeting to inform the congregation about the church's goals for the future, and where we are on that path. 

Kearney FUMC Town Hall Meeting

Town Hall Minutes October 21, 5:00pm

There were 42 people who attended.

Opening and Prayer- Carolyn Gillespie, Leadership Team Member

Building Committee– Kevin Pratt & Gary Marchbank

Kevin recapped how we got to where we are:

·      Attendance for the Children’s Ministry at 9:30 is at or over capacity in the Children’s wing.

Don’t know what affect Westside will have on this.

·      Kevin shared a handout that showed the preliminary plans for additional space and also showed building fund/capital campaign information.

The current plan shows we have $450K for this additional space which covers FEMA flood plain raising.

These are preliminary plans, we still need to vote church wide at a later date.

·      School district is growing, so more children will likely be coming.

Questions and Feedback:

·      How is the size of this room in comparison to the Fellowship Center?

Room is 600 feet larger. Will need to use temporary partitions to divide the room. Children’s activities will happen here in secured area.

·      Clarified the building fund/capital campaign information

·      Are we building to alleviate crowding now or to also accommodate for growth? 

We are trying to accommodate for growth and also provide flexibility which seems to be necessary.

·      What are the next phases?

Continue to build to the East (perhaps build the additional space on the plan.)

Concern was shared if we wait to build it is likely to cost more.

·      Where will all the new growth happen in Kearney? 

Most likely on the West side of I35.

·      What is the maximum number of children to fit in a classroom?

Eight to seventeen, depending on the age of the children. 

Younger children need more space than older children.

·      How much time is remaining in the capital campaign?

Sixteen months

We will try to finance through cash flow from the current pledges. 

The bank note has been kept open.

·      Detail design is still needed, the current plan is just preliminary. Bidding still needs to be done.

These plans do not include furniture, technology, landscaping, or curtains. Technology means the actual apparatus, not the infrastructure.

·      Will we eventually be building a new church on the West side?

We don’t know.

·      Good choice to revisit for a more short term solution to not incur long term debt, especially since we are in transition.

·      Where is the storage?

Minimal storage at this point.

 Building Committee understands that people/ministries are fighting over storage.

·      Will this benefit the preschool?

Preschool can use when not in use by the church.

·      Will this increase the preschool enrollment?

Answered by Amy Irsik, Preschool Director – Possibly, but licensing considerations need to be made.

·      Is all day preschool a possibility?

Answered by Amy Irsik, Preschool Director – Possibly, but lots of changes would need to be made in order for that to happen.

·      Are sprinklers needed in the new area?

No, because there will be a substantial firewall, eliminating the need for sprinklers.

·      Can we not have stairs and only have a ramp?

Not practical with the grade requirements for ADA.

·      What is the square footage cost?

$129 per square foot.

·      Is that a competitive price?

This number is from the architect, but actual bids will determine price. We want to make sure we don’t overspend compared to others.

·      Is additional parking included?

Not at this point. The last time we added additional spaces in was $2,000.00 per space.

·      What affect will construction have on the current building space?

Minimal disruption is anticipated. 

The plan would be to break through the door, etc. during the summer so it won’t impact the preschool.

·      Where will the dirt come from to raise the building?

Somewhere on the property.

·      November 1 will be church vote. No discussion, only voting. 

·      What is the capacity of the new space?

Depends on configuration used.

Answered by Spencer Smith, Pastor - Lifeway recommendations are for 2^ndGrade and older, 1 child per every 25 feet, and for 1^stGrade and younger, 1 child per every 35 feet.

·      Will there be absentee ballots for church conference?

Answered by Spencer Smith, Pastor – No, whoever is present will be the quorum. 

The vote will be on moving from the preliminary plans to detailed plans so that we can have a plan that is biddable and buildable.

·      Clarification on the preliminary building plans.

The purple section is all that is being proposed to build along with the secure connection to the existing building.

·      What would it cost to build the green part on the preliminary plans?

Not completely sure but could cost roughly around $300K.

·      Will children come in through both entries?

Yes, both will be secure entries.

·      Prices would be cheaper to build the whole thing now, going into debt. 

Can we have a comparison on how much more it would cost if we delayed the additional area?

·      The Building Committee has worked closely with the Leadership Team

·      Does there seem to be a general consensus in the congregation that this change is needed/wanted?

People aren’t here to find out.

Calls have been made.

 People don’t want to go into debt. 

People want the changes to be backed by numbers.

·      What are we voting on November 1?

Agreeing to pay the cost to go ahead to detailed design. 

When final plan is done there will be another church conference vote.

·      The Building Committee Leadership Team and all the people involved with this process were thanked. 

Carolyn Gillespie closed the meeting with prayer.

Approved through email: Stacy MacDonald, Carolyn Gillespie, Rocky Brock, Ron Teague, Nicci Nauman, Bob Coffey & Danny Dale

You can email the Leadership Team at leadership@kearneyfumc.org