2012

2013

2014

2015

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Ministry Teams for 2016 Ministry Board (Ratified by the Congregation April, 2015 – November, 2016) Diana Brower Chris Maggard Randy Bryant Rick McCollum Danny Reynolds Matt Roberts (The following leaders have been presented by the Nominating Committee and ratified by the Ministry Board for serving in 2016) Facilities Team Joey Williams Terry Falldorf BJ Price Jayna Koeller Dan Page George Suggs Donald Hays Education Team Sarah Hays Tammy Jordan Becky McCollum Bryan Scholl Roy Bowman Joel & Robyn Eck (S.S. Superintendents) Missions Team Rondey Holderman Robin Judd Patty Bailey Lynn Morey Jeff Howard Ros Morey Worship Team Mary Ella Agin Allie Little Amy Gevedon Murray Mann Benevolence Team Donna Craig Karl Wardlaw Liz King-Jones Kerma Wardlaw Bonnie Shafer Carol Althouse Ordinance Team Gerald & Carolyn Scholl Paul & Barb Beck Judy Smith Social Team Sharon Howard Ross Brown Christina Koeller Linda Brown Darla Weber Carol Wilson

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SENIOR PASTOR I want to begin by saying it is a joy and privilege to serve as your senior pastor. I am very thankful to serve alongside you in ministry to our community. We have a great Church family to be a part of! As I reflect on this year, and look ahead to the next, I am reminded of our need to remain open, flexible, and pliable to God’s will and direction. It is so easy to become rigid and fixed in our ways and thinking. It is easy to allow our preferences and desires to shape and mold our lives. May we instead reflect the words of Isaiah, “Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand.” (Isa. 64:8) May the words of this great hymn be seen in our actions and attitude:

“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the potter, I am the clay!

Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.”

(Have Thine Own Way, Lord, by Adelaide A. Pollard) Some Key Accomplishments in 2015 This year has seen us to begin to implement more clearly our mission and vision of “Being the Body of Christ by Reaching, Learning, Loving, and Serving”. These four key components give our congregation direction and purpose. In this year I have intentionally focused my teaching and preaching on our mission and vision of reaching (evangelism), learning (discipleship), loving (relationships), and serving (missions/ministry). We have begun exploring a new approach to Church governance (Trial One Board Governance Model, April 12, 2015 to the fall of 2016). This last spring we formulated a new “Ministry Board” to address these kinds of issues:

! Mission: Why our congregation exists ! Vision: What our community and congregation will look like in 3-5-7 years if we

accomplish our mission ! Values: Establish priorities that ensure and align the mission and vision with the

functions of the congregation ! Structure: Establish the arrangement of resources (people, facilities, finances,

etc.) for accomplishing the vision and mission We engaged in a capital fund campaign for the purpose of addressing long-term facility and space needs for the Church. Our campaign “Seeds for the Harvest” has helped us prepare and move forward to enhancing and expanding our Church facility for the purpose of greater mission and ministry.

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Some key goals for 2016 Increase the specific objectives of our mission and vision for each and every ministry of the Church. Every ministry and member of our congregation must answer the call to reach, learn, love, and serve in everything we do! Formulate and implement a clear process (ministry) of assimilation for new people. We must do a better job of reaching and integrating new people into the life of our congregation (Bringing them in the front door, and closing the back). Emphasize and engage members of our congregation into identifiable groups for greater learning, growth, and connection. It was in small gatherings that Jesus accomplished most of his discipleship (e.g. Matt., 4:18-22, Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:13). Small groups are where people grow together in intimacy and reliance. We must enhance our small group and class ministries of the Church. Together in Christ! Pastor Jonathan

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501 YOUTH MINISTRY On Wednesday nights during the school year we host OPEN HOUSE from 6:00 to 7:30pm, which includes: hang time & game time, worship, and a lesson. We offer both Jr. and Sr. High Sunday School classes year-round, rotating our teachers every 3 months. Throughout the year on Sunday nights we host INTENSE, which is an in-depth Bible / book study that meets in a host home and includes a meal. During the summer months our Wednesday night program is re-named SUMMER NIGHTS and we meet at a host home with a pool for swimming, a cook out and an in-depth Bible study. 2015 Of all of the lessons, studies, worship, events, outings, trips, fund raisers and service projects we participate in during the year, the real highlights of youth ministry are the individual stories from and about our students. Lance took his passion for worship and formed the Awkward Turtles worship band; Marley led a lesson during the summer, and is now teaching in November; Shane calls and texts me all hours of the day and night with deep theological questions for his own spiritual growth, and in order to evangelize to his friends; there are numerous athletes who have Jesus stories from their fields of competition; several salvations & re-dedications happened at summer camp; students are engaging in deep theological discussions; several of our graduates choose to attend a Christian college, and we have many students who continue to participate in Sunday morning worship as ushers and worship leaders. Another continued highlight is what is happening on our local school campuses. Eaton high school hosts a Friday morning prayer group, Eaton middle school hosts a girls only small group on Wednesday mornings, and Campus Life is in both Eaton high and middle school, South middle school, North high school and Shawnee high school. Not only do I participate in some of these meetings, so do several of our students. 501 Youth ministries is based on Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children”; which we paraphrase to “Imitate God”. Our second mantra is to “Love God, Love Others”, which is the basics of Christianity. These two theological ideas can be seen in all that we do as we Reach out to the students of Eaton & Preble County; as we Learn our story and His story and how they intersect; as we Love God and Love others; and as we Serve those around us who are in need.

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Youth ministry is in a constant state of ebb & flow, with students graduating and entering the 7th grade every June, and every six years the entire youth group is different. Which creates the challenge of taking the older students deep and deeper, while growing and maturing the younger ones (thank you Sunday school teachers and Kid K-Motion workers for giving our students a solid foundation). 2016 This coming year we, along with all of the super cool youth stuff we have planned, will continue to Imitate God and Love God & Love Others; learning to sew these into the very fabric of who we are. We will also be more intentional about continuing to line up our youth ministry with the four aspects of the church: Reaching, Learning, Loving and Serving; and doing so in fun and creative ways. I also want to thank the other adults who work with me. These adults are THE reason 501 Youth Ministry R O C K S ! ! ! Betsy Anspaugh, Randy & Roxanne Bryant, Bobby & Nancy Clark, Rhonda Halstead, Chris & Julie Harness, Doug & Lulu Maggard, Tania Minton, Craig & Belinda Moormeier, Todd & MeLeah Perry, Danny & Brionne Reynolds, and Joey & Sue Williams. 2015 has been year of milestones in my ministry: in February my first book, “B.R.M. for Youth Workers” was published; in June I celebrated 20 years of full time youth ministry; and in November I resigned from the Ohio State Youth Board of the Church of God (after serving for 19 years). Aside from what you see me doing here at the church, I continue to meet with Eaton High School students on Friday mornings before school for devotions, prayer and Rhonda’s freshly-baked muffins. I volunteer with the Preble County Youth for Christ, working with their Campus Life program at the Eaton Middle School and chaperoning 5th Quarters at the YMCA. I serve on the Preble County Emergency Food & Shelter Board; which is a program of the United Way. In the spring I once again was the guest instructor during Coach Scott Burnett’s freshman gym class two-week session on roller skating (8th year). And this weekend I will be attending the National Youth Workers Convention in Louisville, KY.

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The Halstead family also had a big year; Jordan announced his engagement to Catie; Justin graduated and moved to Denver; and Rhonda and I are adjusting to being empty-nesters. Thank you, my church family, for allowing me to minister to the youth of our church, our community, our state and beyond; and for understanding that youth ministry doesn’t just happen on Sundays and Wednesdays at church. Pastor Jeremy

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KID K-MOTION 2015 Kid K-Motion children’s ministry is an exciting place to be working in our church. In 2015 we have continued to see growth in all of our programs. The number of children we serve has increased, as well as, the number of activities we have been able to offer. Most importantly our children have been making commitments to Christ by giving their hearts to Jesus and also following him through baptism. It is a pleasure and a true blessing to watch the children of our congregation grow in their faith and walk with Christ. This past year our main projects was to get the kids thinking about serving others and helping those in our county that are in need. We did two different food drives: one to benefit the Preble County food bank and we also did a pudding cup and juice box drive for Jacob’s Ladder. We particularly want to focus on Jacob’s Ladder because it benefits other school age kids in our county. This helps our kids to better understand why it is so important to participate. Each month our 5th and 6th grade class on Wednesday nights goes to help pack food into backpacks for Jacob’s Ladder which is then delivered to the 5 county school districts for children in need of food on the weekends. This past year we also worked on our classroom space. If you haven’t noticed, they have been spruced up with a nice paint job and some cleaning out. We are trying to make an effort to keep the rooms a cohesive space for use for any children’s ministry event whether it is Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, or events like Kids Night Out. We have updated some of the rooms with new technology and will continue to work on that in the upcoming year. 2016 In 2016 we will continue supporting groups like the Preble County Food Bank and Jacob’s Ladder. In the coming year my main focus is going to be looking over the curriculums we are currently using. If a child is here for children’s church, Sunday school, and Wednesday nights each week, they are getting 3 completely different bible stories/lessons. That is a lot of different information to throw at them and expect them to know it well.

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At this time I have no definite solutions but I am looking forward to getting together a “taskforce”, if you will, to start brainstorming some ideas of how we can put together a more effective and cohesive curriculum set. In doing so I think it will greatly benefit our children and help them to have a greater understanding of God’s word. When they have a deeper understanding of God’s word at an early age they will be better equipped to live out the Gospel as they grow. Thank you for the continued love, support, and prayers for myself and the entire Kid K-Motion program.

Tania Minton Children’s Director

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” – 3 John 1:4

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WORSHIP ARTS MINISTRY This year was an exciting year for the Worship Arts Ministry. We saw new growth in our worship choir, unified as a team overall, made some needed improvements to our tech equipment, and much more. I feel nothing but excitement now, as in 2016, I truly feel we can hit the ground running as a ministry. I’m thrilled at the possibilities of what God has in store for us. LOOKING BACK One highlight looking back on the year is that our worship choir has continued to flourish as a ministry. All of our worship ministries have seen some new faces, but our choir numbers are the highest they’ve been since I was hired just over two years ago. More than numbers, we have grown in unity in many ways, mostly due to the work we’ve done as a church regarding our vision. It was our goal to further live out within this group our vision of “Reaching, Learning, Loving, Serving”. Through existing activities like our Christmas Program as well as the implementation of new ones like “W.A.M. Fun Nights”, prayer partners, and participation as a group in the Nursing Home Ministry, I think we’ve gotten off to a good start. Another main highlight was our Christmas Program. Our children and worship choir did a wonderful job with our play, “The First Leon.” The kids worked incredibly hard to learn songs, lines, and blocking and put on a great show. It was so much fun to see the kids take the spotlight and work hand-in-hand with our adult choir, and hundreds of people got to hear the Good News through it. Finally, in coordination with Kid K-Motion worship leaders Allie Little and Darla Weber, we have revamped our children’s worship. After being inspired by the energy of Vacation Bible School worship, we decided to try to give kids a taste of that experience every week at Kid K-Motion. Through intentional planning of songs, videos, scripture readings, and teaching moments that all tie in with the week’s lesson, kids are now getting a more cohesive, fun, and worshipful experience during their worship time. LOOKING FORWARD As I look toward 2016, I am filled with excitement. I sense that as a team, we have struck a rhythm and achieved a level of comfort with each other that has been great. And now I sense that God is calling us forward, on to bigger things as a ministry. It is not my desire (nor do I think it is God’s) that we stay content in our rhythm and comfort, but I now hope we can use the level of trust and comfort we’ve achieved as a springboard for new heights in the next year – creatively, artistically, and spiritually.

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I am going to strive to lead our ministry into an even deeper understanding and embracing of our church’s vision. We have made some great initial steps in doing that, but I would like to see us go even further through greater development of new and existing activities and programs throughout each area of the Worship Arts Ministry. Another goal for us as a ministry is continued growth through more intentional recruitment. As I wrote earlier, we have seen some new faces in all of our worship teams, but the Worship Arts Committee is working to come up with more concrete plans and measures for recruitment. Finally, we are seeking out training and development of our tech team. In addition to the recruitment mentioned, we plan to get some further education and training for our sound team, and we are also working toward more uniform practices for our tech team as a whole. A WORD OF THANKS I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve and be a part of this church family. Jeremy and I feel truly blessed to have been called here. I am also immeasurably thankful for the wonderful volunteers who make up the Worship Arts Ministry. The level of talent, dedication, and passion each person possesses make my job a lot of fun. Thank you for the amount of time and energy spent working to glorify God and serve His Church. I’m looking forward to another great year for the Worship Arts Ministry and the church as a whole; I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in 2016!

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

for our God is a consuming fire.” – Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV)

In Christ,

Liisa Erskine Pastor of Worship Arts

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MINISRY BOARD The Bylaws of the Eaton First Church of God calls for the Ministry Board to prepare a written report for presentation to the congregation at the annual business meeting. This report has been prepared in the spirit of compliance with this requirement. This report is constructed to review in summary form the most significant activities of the Ministry Board over the last year and their goals for the upcoming year. It is not an exhaustive list of every matter considered by the Ministry Board. All members of the Ministry Board are available to respond to questions that the congregation may have regarding the purpose, activity, or goals of the Ministry Board. The Ministry Board governance structure was created as a response to the need for change in the coordination of all aspects of the Church’s life. This structure was approved for an eighteen month “trial period”. This “change” includes the need:

! to foster greater emphasis on the mission and vision of the Church ! to bring more clarity to roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities ! to empower leaders for more effective ministry and service ! to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of ministries and operations

The Ministry Board meets on average every other week. In addition to our normal meetings, we conduct “work sessions” as necessary. Our meetings begin with devotions, including a period of sharing and prayer. We are currently ending a study of the book “Sticky Teams” which promotes productive and proactive leadership teams, which in turn, creates disciples striving to fulfill the Church’s mission. Significant Activities:

! Consensus of building project priorities ! Review and construction of annual budget including compensation analysis ! Began review of policies and procedures ! Commenced evaluation of current ministry structure and programs, focused on

improving church-wide communication and ministry impact

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Goals for 2015-2016: ! Conduct assessment of the Church’s ministry in order to identify weaknesses and

strengths, including those of the Ministry Board ! Establish and maintain productive and healthy relationships with and within other

ministry teams ! Grow spiritually as individuals and as a team in order to fulfill our role in the Great

Commission It has been a pleasure and privilege to serve on a team seeking only what is best for the Church and His kingdom. Members:

Diana Brower Karen Bryant Randy Bryant Liisa Erskine

Jonathan Grubbs Jeremy Halstead Chris Maggard Rick McCollum

Tania Minton Danny Reynolds

Matt Roberts

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FACILITIES TEAM Facility Team Members: Donald Hays, Andrew Minton, Mindy Brower, Terry Falldorf, Joey Williams, BJ Price, and Danny Reynolds (Moved to ministry board in June), Dan Page (June-Present) On behalf of the facilities team we would like to say “Thank you” to those in the congregation who have assisted with general maintenance and upkeep of the church. 2015 Improvements include:

! Completion of DP&L Lighting Optimizers program throughout entire church ! New chairs purchased for Family Life Center ! Small carpet cleaner purchased for small cleaning jobs ! More efficient copier purchased for office ! 3 furnaces and 2 A/C units installed, contracting with Wallace Heating and Air ! Another successful spring work day along with flower bed and overall

landscaping design changes. ! Small kitchen painted and cabinet repair ! General repair and maintenance: Vans, lights, ceiling tiles, etc.

The anticipated purchases proposed by the board at last business meeting went over due to the need for additional furnaces and A/C units along with the purchase of the new copier and the lighting program. It was decided to bring to the congregation for use of those anticipated purchase monies for:

! Gym wall repair ! HVAC replacement ! Update carpet in Sunday school halls

It was also voted by the team to place on the budget potential van replacement due to the age of the vehicles and potential need for a newer one. Please remember it is all of our responsibility to maintain our building to make it attractive to visitors not just as a “building” but potential church home. We appreciate so much the help of you, the congregation, in upkeep and the ability to provide the use of our facility for community outreach. Please contact any facility team member if you have a request or notice any safety or maintenance issues that need attention. Respectfully submitted, Eaton First COG Board of Trustees

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EDCUATION TEAM Current members: Robyn Eck, Joel Eck, Roy Bowman, Becky McCollum, Sarah Hays Over the past year the Board of Christian Education has continued to work together to enhance the learning and spiritual growth of our congregation.

! Children’s Ministry Kid’s K-Motion is steady with 60-70 kids each week. Vacation Bible School’s theme this year was Everest. VBS was well attended.

! The Youth Group participated in State Convention this year. Youth’s Sunday School numbers are up. The Youth participated in a few “Be the Church” activities.

! The congregation participated in Not A Fan small groups. ! A Spring Refresh was done in the Sunday School/Wednesday night rooms. The

rooms were cleaned out, organized and painted. ! Celebration Sunday was well attended. ! All college scholarships were full funded for the upcoming school year.

Respectfully submitted, Sarah Hays, Chair

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Faith Promise This past year, there were many opportunities to share and participate in different ministries. For our Faith Promise emphasis in February, we had three speakers at our church. The first week was Dr. Randy Spence from the Ohio Church of God state office. He gave a report about what the Church of God was doing statewide. The second Sunday was Dr. Adam Reed from Caring Partners in Franklin. Dr. Reed spoke about various opportunities volunteers could participate in missions both at the Caring Partners home facilities as well as upcoming mission trips overseas. Our third speaker was Randy Bargerstock, Developer of Ministry, President of Heart to Honduras. Mr. Bargerstock shared with us his vision for Heart to Honduras. We also had a couple missionaries that we support who came to our church this past year. In May, Jonathan and Michelle Voge visited our church and gave us an update on their ministry in the Middle East. In July, Kate McCollum shared with the congregation what she is doing with FCA. Pastor Wilfredo Baraybar joined us in September to tell our congregation what was happening in Peru with his ministry. He was very grateful for the continued financial support our church has shown over the years. In August, we had several people go on a missions trip to Colorado. Our church with joined with other churches in repairing and rebuilding damaged homes in the area. Many families were helped during this trip, as many homes had remained in poor shape for many months. The following is a list of ministries and missionaries your Faith Promise helps support: Locally:

! WFCJ ! Preble County Food Bank ! Abandon with Cardboard

Nationally:

! Ohio Retreat Center – John and Melyssa Trussel ! Caring Partners – Medical Missions ! Crossroads/Shepherds Way

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Internationally:

! Kelley and Rhonda Phillips (Germany) ! Dave and Kathy Simpson (Bulgaria) ! Don and Caroline Armstrong (Asia) ! Dwayne and Kara Goldman (Australia) ! Jon and Michelle Voge (Cyprus) ! Wilfredo Baraybar (Peru) ! Fellowship of Christian Athletes – Kate McCollum

The Faith Promise Committee would again like to thank everyone that has supported this ministry. Whether you have participated financially and/or prayerfully, each individual effort is greatly needed and appreciated.

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CAMP MARENGO Junior High Camp | 22 campers / 2 counselors

Senior High Camp | 22 campers / 2 counselors 4th - 6th Grade Camp | 0 campers 3rd - 5th Grade Camp | 10 campers Family Camp | 5 campers

! Pastor Jeremy served Jr. high and Sr. high camps as a cabin counselor and

morning teacher ! Danielle N. served Jr. high camp as a cabin counselor ! Nancy C. served Sr. high camp as a cabin counselor ! Jordan H. and Kasey T. served as summer staff members ! Skylar and Maggie R. served as year round staff members

Recently, Ohio Ministries made the decision to end the Year Round Camping Program at Camp Marengo. In doing so, John & Melyssa were let go as the Camp Directors. John served as a staff member for 19 years (8 as a staff member / 11 as the camp director). Ohio Ministries is planning to offer summer camp in June & July of 2016. It is the intent of 501 Youth Ministries and Kid K-Motion Ministries to continue to be a part of this state ministry. However, we also have a Plan B in motion in case Ohio Ministries does not offer summer camp, or if we feel the program offered is not a quality program. Currently, Camp Marengo is in need of the following repairs and upgrades: Main Water Line $30,000-40,000 Main Road $70,000 Septic System $300,000 Chapel Condemned Dining Hall Heating / Air $50,000