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2015 Annual Report

Living Waters Lutheran Church 4451 40th Avenue South

Fargo, ND 58078 (701)282-0530

http://www.lwlc.net

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Living Waters Lutheran Church Annual Meeting - February 1, 2015

Annual Meeting Agenda 1. Call to Order – President 2. Opening Prayer – Pastor 3. Approval of Minutes a. Annual Meeting – January 26, 2014 4. Elections a. Introduce 2014 Leadership Team b. Report of the Nominating Committee c. Nominations from the Floor d. Voting & Collecting of Ballots 5. Reports a. President’s Report b. Pastor’s Report c. Treasurer’s Report 1. 2014 Report 2. Presentation of 2015 Budget 6. Old Business a. Constitutional Changes 7. New Business a. Approval of 2014 Budget 8. Election Results 9. Closing Prayer 10. Call for Adjournment

THANKS TO THOSE WHO SERVED ON THE 2014 LEADERSHIP TEAM President Tanya Oien

Vice-President Matt Baasch Secretary Tonya Sorenson Treasurer Jared Johnson

At-Large Members Terri Hanson, Amy Haugen and Darrin Muir Past President (ex-officio) Jordan Schumacher

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2014 Statistical Reporting

(Numbers presented as reported to the ELCA Churchwide Offices)

Pastoral Acts in 2014 Baptized: Mallory Pringle, Liv Schaffer, Wyatt Hasbargen, Charlotte Nelson, Chase Hagen, Avery Bitker, Cameron Lerfald, Charley Mae Peters, Luke Johanneson, Logan Johanneson, Kayla Jackson, Alexis Jackson, Greta Wolnik, Remi Faehn, Cole Smith, Jaxen Morris, Jace Nord, Hudson Gleave, Callie Bouffleur, Olive Sugihara, Blake Lubbers, Makenna Fetzer, Ripken Geller, Garrett Coon, Jerry Friesen, Paislee Laaveg, Frankie Gendron, Reese Watterson, Boston Nyland, Hudson Olson, Jena Lovaas, Lily Buckmeier, Dane Walters, Makayla Schroeder, Oliver Powell, Easton Hoffart, Logan Hoffart, Kaymbri Nordick, Lillian Murch, Emmalyn Frelot, Mya Herbold, Archibald Paul Kibler, Sawyer Anderson, Marcus Gaffney, Kansas McKinnon, Adeline Gustafson, Jayden Lovaas, Kieren Hann, Brody Coles Confirmed in 2013: Alexis Huseby, Cole Thompson, Logan Schauer, Ryan Roth, Alison Ault, Mason Gourde, Tristan Anderson, Brandon Huseby Marriages: Casey & Kayla Stremick, Wesley & Whitney Mischel, Michael & Megan Geisen, Nathan & KerrieHonrath, Joshua & Chelsey Arneson, Todd & Kinsey Lowell, Jacob & Marisa Johnson Funerals: None

1. Baptized Membership at end of 2013 1080

2. Baptized Members received during 2014

a. By Baptism: children (15 yrs. and younger) 48

B. By Baptism: adults (16 yrs. and older) 2

C. By affirmation of faith 1

D. By transfer 91

E. From other sources and statistical adjustment 0

F. Total members received this year 142

3. Baptized Members removed during 2013

A. By death 0

B. By transfer 53

C. For other reasons and statistical adjustment 48

D. Total members removed this year 101

4. Baptized Membership, end of 2013 1121

5. Total Confirmed Membership, end of 2013 (estimated) 660

6. Number of baptized youth who were confirmed in 2013 7

7. Average weekly worship attendance in 2013 282

8. Total number of people (including children) actively participating in the life of the

congregation in 2013 (estimated)

900

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Old Business Item A At the 2014 Annual Meeting, the membership of Living Waters approved the following change to it’s constitution. In order for a change to be made, it must be ratified by a subsequent annual meeting. The change is as follows:

Section C10.04. 15% of the congregation’s 40 voting members of the congregation shall constitute a quorum. In order for this change to be ratified, it will need to be passed by a 2/3 majority of the congregation. Due to the fact that this business is carried from our last annual meeting, it does not need to be moved or seconded.

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Annual Meeting Minutes Living Waters Lutheran Church

Sunday, January 26, 2014 The Annual Meeting of LWLC was called to order on Sunday, January 26th at 10 a.m. by

President, Jordan Schumacher. 75 members were present.

Opening Prayer: Pastor Bob

Approval of minutes of 2013 annual meeting:

-this was tabled as we will approve at the 2015 annual meeting

Elections:

a. Introduction of 2013 Leadership Team: Tanya Oien, Tonya Sorenson, Troy Mahler*, Jared

Johnson, Janine Schaffer*, Cindy Urlaub*, Jeff Harford*, Matt Baasch, Jordan Schumacher

*indicates last year on team

b. Nomination Committee: Janine Schaffer, Cindy Urlaub, Jeff Harford, Troy Mahler.

Members of the committee approached members of the congregation and a section was

added to the bulletin that could be filled out if a member felt called to be a member of the

leadership team.

c. Members nominated: Amy Haugen, Darrin Muir, Terry Hanson & Phil Thomas.

Nominations from the floor: none; Janine Schaffer motioned to close nominations/Ps. Bob

2nd

Jeff Jacobsen made a motion for a unanimous ballot/Beth Behrman 2nd.. Motion failed.

d. Elections for attendees to the synod assembly.

Tanya Oien, Wayne LeMier, Chelle Lemier elected.

Reports:

a. President’s report; a year in review of LWLC written by Jordan Schumacher was included in

the agenda for the congregation to review.

Jordan also thanked the following:

Ann Anderson for her work in the office & church life

Robin Binstock for her work in the nursery

Natalie Carlson for her work with the preschool program & CE

The Gourde family for their landscaping/lawn maintenance work

b. Pastor’s report: summarized the change we’ve experienced at LW & how we’ve seen

God’s work. It is included in the agenda for the congregation to review.

c. Treasurer’s Report:

2013 report was presented by treasurer, Jeff Harford

2014 budget was reviewed;

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Microsoft grant was moved to show it on the budget

Staff salary increase will be 1.5% at the anniversary date of the employee

The benevolence to the synod will be cut to allow for the salary increases. To

make up for that, we will donate 10% of the auction proceeds to the synod.

Discussed the snow removal budget.

New Business

a. Approval of the 2014 budget Amy Haugen motioned/Kathy Haugen 2nd. Motion carried.

b. Constitutional changes:

40 voting members shall constitute a quorum. Moved by Ann Anderson /2nd Janine

Schaffer Motion carried.

c. Persons who vacate their status as voting members as defined in the constitution are

deemed to be inactive and are eligible for termination.

d. The annual meeting will be held in the last 2 weeks of Jan. or the 1st week in Feb. as

scheduled by the leadership tem.

e. The Pastor(s) and past-president are members of the congregational leadership team with

voice but no vote.

C-E motioned by Bruce Johnson/2nd Jeff Jacobson. Motion Carried.

f. Mission Statement; “Experience God, Grow Together, and Reach Out with the love of

Christ” motioned by Pastor Bob/2nd Jeff Jacobson. Motion Carried

Election Results: Darrin Muir, Terry Hanson & Amy Haugen were elected to the 2014

leadership team to serve a 3 year term

Closing Prayer: Jordan Schumacher

Beth Behrman made a motion to adjourn the meeting/2nd Ann Anderson.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Janine Schaffer, secretary

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2014 Financial Reports and 2015 Budget

Income 2015 Budget 2015 Pre-School 2015 Total 2014 Budget 2014 Actuals

General Offering $ 142,255.00 $ 138,390.96 $ 124,599.33

Online Offering $ 90,000.00 $ 73,000.00 $ 80,797.86

Stock Offering $ 10,000.00 $ 15,500.00 $ 9,854.85

Subtotal $ 242,255.00 $ 226,890.96 $ 215,252.04

Edgewood Support $ 7,120.00 $ 6,500.00 $ 5,880.00

Rentals $ 4,200.00 $ 4,500.00 $ 3,955.00

Rummage Sale $ 2,000.00 $ 3,000.00 $ 2,477.18

Interest and Dividends $ 3,600.00 $ 3,800.00 $ 3,644.05

Mission Partners $ 8,500.00 $ 8,500.00 $ 6,261.08

Registrations $ 4,979.28

KidsConnect $ 5,000.00

StudentConnect $ 1,000.00

Vacation Bible School $ 1,000.00

Wednesday Supper Offering $ 2,500.00

Miscellaneous Income $ 4,000.00 $ 11,000.00 $ 7,645.95

Preschool Income $ 68,000.00 $ 68,200.00 $ 64,357.63

Total Other Receipts $ 38,920.00 $ 68,000.00 $ 106,920.00 $ 105,500.00 $ 99,200.17

Total Receipts $ 281,175.00 $ 68,000.00 $ 349,175.00 $ 332,390.96 $ 314,452.21

Ministry Expenses

KidsConnect $ 3,300.00 $ 3,500.00 $ 3,393.45

Hospitality $ 2,700.00 $ 1,550.00 $ 1,029.13

Mission Support $ 5,000.00 $ 100.00 $ 3,247.31

Wednesday Suppers $ 1,500.00 $ - $ (1,088.49)

Worship $ 3,000.00 $ 1,400.00 $ 2,679.38

Music $ 1,500.00 $ 1,500.00 $ 955.09

YouthConnect $ 500.00 $ 800.00 $ 374.28

StudentConnect $ 600.00

Vacation Bible School $ 1,400.00 $ 400.00 $ 344.56

Synod/Conference Expense $ 600.00 $ 750.00 $ 432.90

Total Ministry Expenses $ 20,100.00 $ 20,100.00 $ 10,000.00 $ 11,367.61

Operating Expenses

Housing Allowance $ 27,600.00 $ 21,000.00 $ 27,600.00

Payroll Taxes $ 9,000.00 $ 9,207.02 $ 7,426.23

Pension and Benefit $ 23,000.00 $ 20,500.00 $ 20,741.64

Salaries $ 93,800.00 $ 105,303.94 $ 98,582.15

Travel Reimbursement $ 1,200.00 $ 1,380.00 $ 1,393.40

Accounting $ 6,600.00 $ 1,597.72

Consulting $ -

Legal Fees $ -

Advertising $ 1,500.00 $ 2,500.00 $ 1,409.10

Bank Service Charges $ 1,750.00 $ 1,500.00 $ 1,461.34

Continuing Education $ 1,200.00 $ 1,100.00 $ 1,259.10

Line of Credit Interest $ -

Mortgage Payable $ 41,325.00 $ 41,400.00 $ 41,326.92

Mortgage Interest

Office Supplies $ 7,000.00 $ 8,500.00 $ 6,379.40

PC Hardware/Software $ 1,200.00 $ 1,000.00 $ 569.68

Postage and Delivery $ 1,300.00 $ 2,000.00 $ 1,273.80

Printing and Reproduction $ -

Property Taxes $ 1,450.00 $ 1,250.00 $ 1,299.94

Total Operating Expenses $ 217,925.00 $ 217,925.00 $ 216,640.96 $ 212,320.42

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2014 Financial Reports and 2015 Budget

Building Expenses

Electric $ 9,000.00 $ 7,000.00 $ 9,183.00

Gas $ 3,000.00 $ 2,700.00 $ 3,298.50

Telephone $ 1,800.00 $ 1,750.00 $ 1,797.96

Trash Collection $ 600.00 $ 700.00 $ 543.02

Water/Sewer $ 1,300.00 $ 1,300.00 $ 1,254.56

Furniture and Fixtures $ 250.00 $ 500.00 $ 824.58

Insurance $ 6,000.00 $ 6,000.00 $ 6,008.36

Repair/Maintenance $ 7,200.00 $ 3,000.00 $ 7,266.15

Snow Removal/Lawn Mowing $ 13,000.00 $ 13,750.00 $ 12,895.00

Janitorial Supplies $ 1,000.00 $ 850.00 $ 1,222.09

Total Building Expenses $ 43,150.00 $ 43,150.00 $ 37,550.00 $ 44,293.22

Preschool Expenses

Preschool Operating Expenses $ 8,000.00 $ 8,000.00 $ 9,397.77

Preschool Benefits $ 3,000.00 $ 3,460.90

Preschool Continuing Ed. $ 250.00 $ 250.00 $ 180.00

Simply Giving Fees $ 400.00 $ 191.62

Preschool Salaries and Taxes $ 50,500.00 $ 50,500.00 $ 45,607.31

Total Preschool Expenses $ - $ 61,750.00 $ 61,750.00 $ 59,150.00 $ 58,837.60

Total Receipts $ 281,175.00 $ 68,000.00 $ 349,175.00 $ 332,390.96 $ 314,452.21

Total Disbursements $ 281,175.00 $ 61,750.00 $ 342,925.00 $ 323,340.96 $ 326,818.85

Difference $ - $ 6,250.00 $ 6,250.00 $ 9,050.00 $ (12,366.64)

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Offering Breakdown Report of Living Waters

A breakdown of giving per household is as follows:

$8000 and above 2 $6000 - $7999 2 $5001 - $6999 4 $4500 - $4999 0 $4000 - $4499 2 $3500 - $3999 0 $3000 - $3499 5 $2500 - $2999 12 $2000 - $2499 10 $1500 - $1999 10 $1000 - $1499 21 $500 - $999 22 $100 - $499 60 $1 - $99 71

____________________________________________ 221 Contributing Households Of the 221 households that contributed, 164 were active members and 57 were not members on December 31, 2014. In addition, 146 active member households did not contribute a recorded gift in 2014.

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President’s Report

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You” Psalms 56:3

After a very eventful year in 2013 God provided us with the reprieve we needed to adjust to all

the changes & settle into our new ‘norm’. Change is never an easy thing but we put our trust

in God and in 2014 we showed that we are all the better for it.

In February, the Leadership Team took part in a day long leadership retreat which was

facilitated by Pastor Ernie Hinojosa who is a friend & mentor of Pastor Bob. The retreat

allowed the Team to create & focus on goals we felt were important to the success of Living

Waters. The three areas of focus were stewardship, communication & a welcoming

environment. The fruits of our labor can be seen by the creation of the weekly newsletter, the

information desk and numerous groups for volunteerism. It was time well spent.

March & April were spent recruiting volunteers for the church rummage & collecting

donations. The rummage was held on May 3rd and raised approximately $2,500.00 with the

first fruits given to the Synod as benevolence. It was another successful day for Living Waters.

Summer was full of activities such as the youth mission trip in June and our 2nd annual Grubby

Sunday in July just to name a couple.

As summer turned to fall kids returned to participate in Kids Connect, Student Connect &

Youth Connect. These programs have been wildly popular and the answer to a lot of our

prayers for our youth.

As a team we focused our attention to budget work for 2015. A Budget Committee consisting

of Pastor Bob, Jared Johnson, Matt Baasch, Michelle Schumacher and Craig Anderson

prepared an interim budget that was presented to the Leadership Team and was then finalized

and moved to be presented at the Annual Meeting.

2014 was a very successful year for Living Waters. We were able to let the waters settle after

the sometimes turbulent waves of the prior year. God will always lead us through & for that

we must always be thankful. Here’s to another great year!!

Blessings,

Tanya M. Oien

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Pastor’s Report

“Knowing God, Growing Together, Reaching Out”

Above my desk is a sign that has these three simple ideas on it. My hope is that this year has

led us more fully into these three ideas, and that we continue to grow as a congregation in

doing these three simple things.

At the beginning of 2014, our leadership team set three goals. First, we wanted to increase

the quality of communication between the leadership, staff, and congregation. We began by

asking how we could continue to better contact the members of Living Waters, and we found

that pairing an e-mail newsletter with our weekly bulletin helped to increase that

communication. I believe that we have worked to address this, while communication is always

important, this has been a major improvement.

Our leadership felt it was essential to work on a plan for welcoming people to Living Waters.

We asked where people might be missed in the process of joining our congregation. In order

to ensure that everyone met friendly faces, we have stationed two groups strategically: one at

an information table, and another serving coffee and cookies. At each of these places, we

want to be sure that everyone who comes to Living Waters will meet a friendly face. This goal

isn’t yet met, as we still need to be intentional about following up with visitors. I hope that

2015 will focus us on that.

Finally, we felt it was important that people connect to the congregation in smaller groups.

With over 1100 members, we are a BIG church. We set out to ensure that there were small

groups for people to gather in and grow together. This goal will carry over into 2015, as we

look to connect people to each other in the congregation. I’m thankful for Gourmet

Gatherings, Starting Point, Men of Mission, Financial Peace University, and other groups that

have gathered people. In our next season we will challenge members to deepen their

commitment to this.

I’m thankful for this year. We’ve seen so many new faces, and the spirit continues to drive this

place forward. May you experience blessing in the partnership we share at Living Waters.

In Christ,

Pastor Bob Bekkerus

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Children, Youth, & Family Report

3 Year Olds to 5th Grade Students

This year has been a fantastic one for our kids at Living Waters! In the Spring, we continued our

rotation Christian Education programming and had many fun weeks of learning about the stories

of the Bible, the fruits of the Spirit, God’s love for us, and the story of Easter. We ended the

school year thankful for all of our families, teachers, shepherds, and students as we grew to know

God and each other better.

In June, we held our annual vacation bible school. Our theme, Wilderness Escape, was

celebrated by our students. Everyone had a great time singing, dancing, hearing Bible stories,

and making memories. Over ninety kids participated, and wonderful volunteers helped make this

ministry possible. In the afternoons, we schedule field trips for our 4th-12th grade students and

they had fun serving at the Great Plains Food Bank, Churches United for the Homeless, &

Edgewood Vista. We are looking forward to VBS in 2015.

In July, we sent a group to Red Willow Bible Camp where they had an awesome week learning

more about God while experiencing all that camp had to offer. We can’t wait to bring even more

students in the summer of 2015.

This fall we launched KidsConnect with over 175 students registered on Sunday mornings and

Wednesday Evenings. We learned about Abraham & Sarah, the Red Sea, and Solomon building

the temple. Our students continued to learn new songs, new ways to prayer, and hear God’s

Word every week. At the end of November, we began preparing for our 2014 Christmas Program,

which was quite a success. Students in 3rd, 4th, & 5th grades had fun playing the different parts in

the Christmas story while our littlest members sang songs and rang bells.

100% of our Christian Education offerings were shared with the Great Plains Food Bank for their

BackPack Program. This program offers families, who would otherwise not be able to provide

food for their children, a chance to eat on the weekends when they are away from school. Our

families gave generously and we were able to give over $1600 to the Food Bank which provided

357 kids with food for the weekend. Praise God!

Thank you to all of our Christian Education shepherds, rotation leaders, coordinators, helpers,

Christmas program volunteers, and other servant leaders – we could not teach our littlest lights

about Jesus without each one of you!

6th – 12 Grade Students

StudentConnect

StudentConnect (grades 6-8) kicked off this fall as a great success. 41 students enrolled in our

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initial StudentConnect class. There have been two StudentConnect units this year: The Basics

(the story of Christianity) and The Good Book (getting to know the bible).

Our youth also had the opportunity to participate in Homeless & Hungry in October. A group

of Living Waters students traveled to the Civic Center to learn about homelessness in our area

and had the opportunity to fast and serve. In the evening, they came back to Living Waters

where they slept in boxes outside and, in the morning, served as worship assistants. At noon

we returned to the Civic Center to break the fast with the homeless population. This really

impacted our students, and we are excited to do it again in 2015.

YouthConnect

We have had quite a fun year with our high school students. In March, we hosted our first

annual TEC Retreat at Living Waters. Our students spent the weekend at Living Waters

learning more about the Gospel and each other. They walked away with changed hearts and

renewed faith. After TEC, the youth spent many weeks with Hope on Sunday nights dreaming

and asking questions as they studied the Bible together.

In June, Pastor Bob, Hope, & five of our students traveled to Montana for Living Waters first

High School Mission Trip. YouthWorks gave our students the opportunity to serve on an Indian

Reservation. They learned about being Jesus’ hands and feet by helping with Kids Club, a

program much like VBS for children on the reservation, as well as providing light housework

for the people of the reservation. In 2015, we will take at least 16 students on Mission:Chicago

to partner again with YouthWorks.

In the fall, we launched YouthConnect, a place where our 9th-12th graders could come together

to share in Bible Studies, games, and grow together. The YouthConnect students went on a

retreat in November and learned how to share their faith with others. It’s been a fun year with

our high school students and we are expectant for what God will do in 2015.

Families

This year our families has served monthly at the Great Plains Food Bank packing backpacks for

students in need. It is awesome to see our Living Waters’ parents teaching their children to be

Jesus’ hands and feet and to partner with the food bank in this way.

We have also had the opportunity to host family KidsConnect classes so that our parents can

see all that our children are learning in class. As families, we have been learning about the

Faith5 and how to relate what our students are learning at church to what families do at home

every day. Each Family Connection has been well attended, we are inspired by our families and

all they are doing to grow together in Christ.

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Thank you!

I am so blessed and grateful to find a home here at Living Waters where the passion for

children and youth learning about Jesus is palpable! I cannot wait to see what God has in store

for us in 2015, but I know that He will do immeasurably more than we can think or imagine.

Thank you for your support this year!

Hope Brown Johnson

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Living Waters Christian Preschool 2014 Annual Report

2014 was an exciting year for Living Waters Christian Preschool. All 54 spots were filled, and

we had a long list of hopeful families on the waiting list. Living Waters Christian Preschool

serves children ages 3 through 6 years of age, and uses age-appropriate practices to help

children grown in their social-emotional, cognitive, physical, and language development. LWCP

also uses daily devotions, prayer, scripture and faith-based activities to help children grow in

their Christian faith, and to know the love of our Lord.

We were very grateful to have the help of Keri Jangula to fill in as needed in the fall. She and

her husband were blessed with a baby boy, Jonah, on February 14th, 2014. Keri still serves as a

preschool substitute teacher for us. Brooke Vickerman was also blessed with a baby boy,

named James, on August 10th, 2014. She also serves as a preschool substitute teacher when

needed.

We are thrilled to have Elizabeth Hollingsworth join our team. She and Ashley teach all three

preschool classes together. Elizabeth brings several years of experience with her, including a

teaching and family support position at Lakes and Prairies Community Action Head Start. We

are so thrilled to have her new outlook and fresh ideas!

Living Waters Christian Preschool continues to have a partnership with the West Fargo Public

School District. Three Special Education students are transported to and from LWCP,

participate in the regular preschool activities, and receive services from West Fargo’s Speech-

Language Pathologists at LWCP. This is a great opportunity; not only for the children to learn

what it is like to be in a General Education classroom, but also for our teachers to make

necessary adaptations to their curriculum and learn about new technologies in the Special

Education field.

Highlights of 2014:

We continue to find educationally fun field trips. This year we went to The Children’s Museum

at Yunker Farm, the Osgood Fire Station, the Dairy Queen on 40th Ave, and the Planetarium at

MSU-Moorhead. We had several special visitors in our classroom, as well. Dr. Olson’s dental

office came to teach us on the importance of good dental hygiene. One of our students’ dads

is a firefighter, and he came to show us what a firefighter might look like if they came to our

home to rescue us, and other fire safety tips. Sue Anderson from Gate City Bank came to

teach us the importance of saving money. With these amazing gifts, we continue to learn in all

areas – math, science and language!

We continue to do twice-yearly fire and annual tornado drills, weekly chapel with Pastor Bob,

our yearly Christmas and Easter programs, as well as the Family Picnic to celebrate the last day

of school.

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Our children are also learning about the importance of giving to those in need. Last spring, the

Living Waters Christian Preschool students joined with the KidsConnect children and raised

money for Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit organization committed to feeding God’s

children in body and spirit. This fall, money was raised for Feeding America’s BackPack

Program, which provides children with nutritious food to take home over the weekend during

the school year.

We are so blessed to have a wonderful group of children and families here at our preschool!

Ashley Anderson

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