s66 w14325 janesville road -422 0320 fax: (414)-422-1711...

Cool Million Planning and Improvements

Last summer was a busy time at St.

Paul’s as we saw $161,000 in

improvements from A Cool Million.

• New lighting in the chancel

was installed.

• The playground/parking lot

was repaved.

• More playground equipment

was installed.

• The windows in the Centennial

Gym were replaced.

• A new HVAC system was

installed in four classrooms.

This spring we are preparing for an

even busier summer! Four major

improvements costing an additional

$585,000 will occur:

• Installation of new HVAC

throughout the school. New

runs of ductwork in the

ceilings and in the hallways,

making nearly every classroom

a “construction zone.” The two

large boilers will also be

removed, providing us with

space for future use.

• The Centennial Gym will have

a new ceiling that will both

improve appearance and

provide additional insulation.

• The Centennial Gym and entire

church complex (sanctuary and the

two wings) will be re-shingled.

In the summer of 2020, we hope to

complete the Cool Million projects

with installation of lightning and

sound system in the Trinity Gym

with further improvements to the

Centennial Gym.

These Cool Million projects will

benefit every area of our ministry.

• Providing a safe, comfortable

environment for the 318

children in our 3k – 8th grade

school.

• Providing a comfortable, year-

round facility for our Sunday

morning youth ministry and

other possible youth ministry

programs.

• Improving lighting for all our

worship services.

Thank you for every gift to A Cool

Million! We are just over 50% of the

way with the goal of completing the

effort by the spring of 2020. Thank

you for continuing to keep A Cool

Million in your giving plans.

ST

.

PA

UL

’S

L

UT

HE

RA

N

CH

UR

CH

MESSENGER

S66 W14325 Janesville Road

Muskego, WI 53150

(414)-422-0320

Fax: (414)-422-1711

www.stpaulmuskego.org

Spring, 2019

Continued on page 2.

Celebrate the Cool Million Tithe

In addition to these on-campus improvements, we

have designated a tithe of A Cool Million to be

used for mission work. The first $30,000 was given

to Costa Maya Ministries for a new van to bring

youth and adults to their ministry center and for

seed money for a permanent church site. The next

$10,000 was given to support the work of our

mission partner, John Holtz, as he and others

explore a new mission field in Uganda. The fifth

$10,000 was given to Garden Homes Lutheran

School to support their outreach into the

Milwaukee community around them. The final

$50,000 will be given to Friends of China to help

send young people to East Asia to teach English as

a second language to our synod’s largest mission

field.

Membership Update

St. Paul’s gains a new congregation every year! Last

year 147 new members were added to our family.

That is the median size congregation in our

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. So as you

look around and see new faces, give thanks to our

gracious God that we are able to serve these new

friends.

Sadly, we also lose members. This year Pastor

Kuehl has devoted time each week to contact

members we have not seen recently. Some of those

contacts have resulted in members appreciating

pastoral care and prayer and we have seen them

come back to worship. For that we give thanks.

Through those contacts, Pastor Kuehl has also

found out that some joined other churches, some

moved away, and some asked to be removed from

membership. For still others, he found that our

contact information was out of date and we had no

way to reach out to them. As a result of his efforts,

the number of those released to another church or

removed from membership is higher than in

previous years.

In 2017, our average weekend worship attendance

was 1013. In 2018, average was 1010. In addition,

our online viewing is increasing. On a typical week,

about 40 people or devices are live streaming from

our website and our Facebook Live feed gets over

100 views. In addition, people log onto our website

and watch our messages online. During the recent

“Me? Friend of All” series, in one week there were

189 video plays with people watching over 38

hours of content!

Membership Statistics 2018

Members Communicants 01-01-18 total 2792 2223

Adult confirmations 11 11

Children baptisms/confirmations 28 25

Children via parent’s membership 13

WELS/ELS transfers in 78 55

New by profession of faith 17 17

Deaths -20 -19

WELS/ELS transfers out -75 -57

Released to other Christian church -24 -14

Removed from membership -172 -147

12-31-17 Totals 2648 2094

Your Ministerial Team at Work

• Recruit volunteers for our Homebound Visitation Ministry. We have 38 members categorized as

homebound, being visited by 8 primary and 7 supplementary visitors on a monthly basis.

P

Responsibilities:

• Oversee St. Paul’s entire ministry with the help of the Church Administrator

and School Administrator, reporting to the Ministry Board.

• Officer of Vision on the Ministry Board, primary communicator, stewardship

training, small groups coordination, leadership training.

Goals for 2019-2020

• Implement the 10 for 10 stewardship program, fall of 2019.

• Develop plans and funding for a second worship site with a goal of an Easter 2020 start date.

• Complete A Cool Million Funding by spring of 2020.

• Expand small group ministry to include 10 new small groups.

• Teach Congregational Assistant Program Bible studies as part of leadership training.

Mr. Randy Fink, Church Administrator Responsibilities:

• Assist the Ministerial Team Leader in implementing the vision, mission, and

spiritual development of St. Paul’s.

• Provide oversight and coordination among the church ministry team.

• Directly responsible for human resources, budgeting, accounting oversight,

audit, financial controller role, and volunteer promotion.

• Provides input to technology, database, and facilities.

Goals for 2019-2020:

• Develop a long-range capital expenditure forecast and a two-year ministry financial plan.

• Complete revision of employee handbook.

• Promote use of volunteers and assist ministry managers to fill vacancies.

Pastor David M. Kuehl, Member Care Responsibilities:

• Oversee the Member Care area of ministry including hospital and homebound

visitation, new member orientation (48 new members to our church family since

September), and service and support groups.

• Teach 8th grade catechism class (30 in our school; 17 attending public schools)

and coordinate the annual youth confirmation process.

• Serve as circuit pastor, the “pastor’s pastor” to 34 pastors and staff ministers in

nine congregations of the Southern Circuit of the Western Lakes Conference.


• Continue to make weekly member contacts averaging 10 per week. As of August 2018, 257 contacts made.

• Recruit individuals to serve on the Worker Care Committee. After many years of faithful service,

Wendy Hendrix is retiring, passing the coordinator’s baton on to Ann Gray. Thank you, Wendy!

Pastor Peter Panitzke, Ministerial Team Leader

Pastor Nathan Strobel, Resident Missionary

Responsibilities:

• Oversee all outreach efforts of the congregation, working closely with Sally

Wallner, our Community Outreach Coordinator.

• Teach Following the Promise, the adult path to membership.

• Serve as host pastor for The Bridge.

Goals for 2019-2020

• Teach five sessions of Following the Promise and individual lessons. This

spring 32 people are enrolled—12 St. Paul’s members and 20 guests of St. Paul’s.

• Interact with non-member families of our child care and school. Follow up with visitors to weekly

worship. Invite those without a church home to know Jesus better through Bible study and membership.

• Engage our community by attending community and public school events.

• Serve on the Board of Directors of the Muskego Chamber of Commerce to live out St. Paul’s desire to

make a positive difference in our community.

Mrs. Sally Wallner, Community Outreach Coordinator Responsibilities:

• Design the guest experience on our campus and follow-up with visitors.

• Maintain positive, working relationships with community leaders and

organizations.

• Oversee outreach events.

• Serve as the staff liaison for social media and websites managed by volunteers.


• Improve signage for church and The Bridge.

• Launch a parking lot ministry.

• Update furnishings (ie. Mother's room).

• Partner with community organizations to host events.

• Explore improved social media and website opportunities.

Dr. Joel Nelson, Director of Youth and Adult Discipleship

Responsibilities:

• Coordinate the Christian education ministries for youth and adults with special

emphasis on youth not in our PreK- Grade 12 WELS school system.

• Oversee Kids Club and Boost Sunday morning youth ministries.

• Oversee our Confirmation instruction program for public school youth.

• Teach Confirmation instruction to special needs youth.


• Develop calendars and curriculum for Mommy & Me, Kids Club, Boost, Confirmation instruction, and

adult Bible classes.

• Facilitate smooth transition of high school ministry to Mr. Mike Westendorf’s oversight.

• Explore feasibility of online delivery of Christian education content for all ages.

• Become more active in area staff ministry networks.

Pastor Jeffrey Bonack, Worship Pastor and Counseling

Responsibilities:

• Oversee all aspects of worship across our three worship languages.

• Teach 7th grade public school Confirmation class.

• Provide pre-marital counseling to those desiring to be married at St. Paul’s.

• Serve as primary counselor on staff.


• Complete second year of a master’s program for mental health counseling

through Capella University. Serve as a part-time intern in 2020-2021 before graduation in the spring of

2021.

• Lead worship series planning, summer of 2020.

• Transition all aspects of contemporary worship and worship AV to Mike Westendorf.

Mr. Bob Mayer, Facilities Manager

Responsibilities:

• Maintain and monitor facilities and equipment.

• Serve as liaison with contractors on various projects.

• Oversee the team of maintenance technicians and the cleaning team.

• Ensure compliance with all safety protocol.


• Oversee multiple Cool Million projects.

• Improve processes for building maintenance.

• Increase the number of volunteers using their talents to serve their Savior at St. Paul’s.

Mr. Mike Westendorf, Resident Musical Artist / Director of Video Production

Responsibilities:

• Begin full-time ministry November of 2019 after transitioning out of my current

career at Innovative Weather at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

• Coordinate contemporary worship and train contemporary worship musicians.

• Supervise the worship tech teams.

• Produce and/or find videos for worship and Bible study needs.

• Supervise high school and college age ministries.

2019-2020 Goals:

• Develop a band leader mentor program to train more leaders.

• Produce introductory videos for our sanctuary worship, The Bridge, and school.

• Develop a strategy to produce content to share our ministry online.

• Focus on getting to know high school and college age members of the congregation and seek best

ministry models to serve them.

School Area of Ministry

The School Area of Ministry seeks to bring children

and families closer to Christ through our formal

school system: Child Care Center, 3K and 4K pre-

kindergarten, and our K-8th grade Lutheran school.

To assist me, the Ministry Board has appointed the

School Ministry Action Team: Mark Sievert, Cherie

Esmeier, Chris Haag, Luke Hudock, Mick Meitner,

and Kerri Dibb.

Highlights from 2018-2019

Volleyball Our volleyball team won 2nd place at

the Lutheran Sports Association of WI State

Tournament in October. Thanks to Coach Taryn

Volbrecht for all her time and energy!

Math Under Mr. Steffen’s leadership, we had

Team 1 of 7th and 8th grade take 1st place out of 25

teams. Individual high scorers were Jenna Goelz,

3rd place in 6th grade; Kierstin Schlevensky tied for

2nd place in 7th grade; Jack Goelz tied for 3rd place

in 8th grade; and Josh Kwiatkowski tied for 2nd

place in 8th grade. Excellent work!

Shrek Jr. the Musical Many thanks to Pastor

Bonack for all his work in coordinating an

exceptional theater experience for our 5th to 8th

graders.

Pre-K “Team Cooking” was started for our 3K

students working with the 3rd graders to make a

weekly treat for the alphabet letter of the week.

Both older and younger students enjoy this!

Faith Families 3K students partner with 8th

graders, and 4K students with 7th graders for weekly

“Faith Families.” Our Pre-K students really look

forward to being with the big kids. It is special for

the teachers and aides to witness the faith-sharing of

the older students with the younger ones as well.

Baptisms We recently celebrated the baptism of

one of our 4K students, her little sister, and their

mom. We see again the power of the Holy Spirit

working in the hearts of his young, precious lambs.

We are blessed to have the awesome privilege of

sharing Jesus’ saving love in Pre-K.

Looking Ahead to 2019-2020

In a school our size, annual staffing changes should

be expected. We thank teachers Sara Goelz, Theresa

Kirchoff, and Jessica Vanderhyde for their service

to our students. They will not be returning next

year in order to care for their families. We also

thank Kathie Horn for serving as our Extended

Learning Coordinator this school year.

Enrollment Pre-K enrollment for next year is at 74

(27 in K3 and 47 in K4), and we pray for 90 by this

fall. Our K-8 enrollment remains strong at 224 for

next year (avg class size of 25). We pray to have

over 310 K3-8th graders who are learning from a

Christian worldview every day. What a blessing!

Child Care Center If there’s a baby on the

way, call us today! We have openings in our

baby room. If you know of anyone expecting

and needing child care, call Kim Neubauer at

(414) 422-0320, ext. 200.

God Uses the Parental Choice Program (PCP)

In year 1 we had 12 students in the PCP (8 in

K-8 and 4 in K4). This year we had 26 (18 in K-

8 and 8 in K4), and next year we expect to

have 40 (32 in K-8 and 8 in K4). Nearly all

these families were already connected our

church or our Pre-K to 8th grade school. We are

so thankful that the PCP enables families to

consider enrollment in our Christian school.

Cool Million Thank you so much for gifts to the

Cool Million! We greatly look forward to having

AC installed this summer! If you haven’t

proportionately joined the giving team, please do

so! Let’s hit the $825,000 goal by summer’s end.

Technology As ed-tech is ever-changing, we are

excited to add more Promethean Boards to replace

our SmartBoards. We already have three

Prometheans and we look forward to installing

more this summer.

“A Leading School” This is one way I describe

our school – we are a “leading school.” First our 8th

grade graduates become active leaders in their high

schools. Second, we entered the choice programs

two years ago, and since then numerous area

WELS schools have asked for our advice. It’s been a

blessing to share what we’ve learned as more

suburban schools have now entered the choice

program too. Finally, we are leading a discussion of

tuition philosophy with our area suburban WELS

schools. I have had multiple conversations with

area principals and pastors about tuition,

stewardship, and positioning our schools for strong

ministry through a strong understanding of tuition

and biblical, proportionate giving. I pray the Lord

continues to lead and bless these conversations

with our area WELS schools.

A Closing Testimonial from a New Parent

From a first-year parent: “I can't even tell you how

much joy the school has brought to our life and our

children.”

Mr. Seth Fitzsimmons, St. Paul’s School Ministry Administrator

Responsibilities:

• Ensure the successful day-to-day operation of our Child Care Center through 8th

grade school ministry in coordination with Kim Neubauer (Child Care Director),

Michele Drska (Pre-Kindergarten Director), our teachers, and our staff.

• Lead the long-range planning and vision for our school ministry.

• Build bridges for enrollment from the Child Care Center to our 3K and from our

4K to our kindergarten.


• Support the growth and development of staff, especially our new teachers joining our team.

• Continue to position our school for in-reach to our congregation and out-reach to our community by

all possible means.

• Complete the capstone project of my Master’s degree in Educational Leadership through Martin

Luther College.

Mr. Kurt Steffen, 8th Grade homeroom

• Vice Principal

• 6th-8th grade math and phy-ed

teacher

• Graduate of Dr. Martin Luther

College

• Called to St. Paul’s in 1993

Mr. Josh Lepke, 7th Grade homeroom

• Athletic Director

• 6th-8th grade science teacher

• Graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran

College


Mrs. Julie Shevey, 6th Grade homeroom

• 6th grade homeroom teacher

• 6th-8th grade language arts,

art, and music teacher


College


Mr. Jeff Wetzel, 5th Grade

• 3rd-5th grade Instructional Team

Leader

• Graduate of Martin Luther

College

• Master’s degree from Cardinal

Stritch University


Ms. Nicole Glodowski , 4th Grade

• Graduate of Martin Luther

College

• Master’s Degree from Doane

University


Mrs. Christel Strutz, 3rd Grade

• New teacher for 2019/2020

• Graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran

College


• Enrolled in synod certification

classes

Mrs. Talia Steinhauer, 2nd Grade

• Graduate of UW-Madison


Mrs. Candy Noffsinger, 1st Grade

• New teacher for 2019/2020

• K-2 Instructional Team Leader

• Graduate of Moorhead State

University

• Called to St. Paul’s 2016 - 2018;

taught 1 year in Kentucky;

called back to St. Paul’s in 2019

• Enrolled in synod certification classes

Mrs. Sue Kuehl, Kindergarten


College

• Called to St. Paul’s Pre-K in

2001

• Called to St. Paul’s as

kindergarten teacher in 2005

Mrs. Sarah Tonn, Extended Learning Coordinator

• New role for 2019/2020 school

year

• Graduate of Alverno College

• Called to St. Paul’s in 2018 as

half-day 1st grade teacher

Mrs. Kristen Miller, Spanish

• Part-time K-8th grade Spanish


College


(in coordination with Christ

the Lord, Brookfield and

Trinity, Waukesha)

Mrs. Karen Lippert, Music

• Part-time K-5th grade music

teacher beginning 2018.

• Has served as a music

teacher in the Wisconsin

Lutheran High School band

program for our students for many years.

• Master’s degree from UW-Milwaukee

• 2016 recipient of the Certificate of Excellence

in Music Education from the Civic Music

Association of Milwaukee

Mrs. Anne Meyer, 3K

• Associates degree in Early

Childhood Education


• Pursuing synod certification

Mrs. Sharon Klopf, 3K

Mrs. Michele Drska, PreK Director; 4K

• Graduate of Wisconsin

Lutheran College


• Synod certified

Mrs. Annie Hintze, 4K

• Also serves as Summer Care

lead teacher


College


Mrs. Angela Schneider, 4K

• Graduate of Wisconsin

Lutheran College

• Served as Pre-K aide for

multiple years


• Pursuing Synod certification

Mrs. Kim Neubauer, Child Care Center Director

• Began serving as teacher at St.

Paul’s Child Care Center in

2006

• Child Care Center Director

since 2012

• Member of Wisconsin

Childcare Association

• Certificates from Wisconsin

Model Early Learning Standards; Pyramid model training

• Began serving as a PreK aide

in 2009 •

• Called to St. Paul’s in 2013 as

3K teacher

• Pursuing synod certification

Ministry Financial Plan Explanations

Significant decisions reflected in our ministry plan

include:

• Requesting a Gift Trust Fund grant to cover a

portion of Pastor Bonack’s compensation,

reflecting our desire to allow him time to study

for a master’s degree in mental health counseling.

• Calling Mike Westendorf to a new position of

Resident Musical Artist/Director of Video

Production. He will cover some of Pastor

Bonack’s duties and expand our ministry in the

area of video production.

• Adding a second kindergarten teacher to serve a

large incoming class.

• Bringing our resident missionary position

completely within the budget.

• Funding the facilities manager position which

became full-time this past year to help us catch

up on years of deferred maintenance.

Estimated receipts

We have conservatively estimated that our Mission

and Ministry Fund offerings will increase by 2.5%

over the current fiscal year, about a $45,000 increase.

God grant that our generous, proportionate response

to God’s grace exceeds that amount!

Elementary school enrollment is expected to remain

constant. We hope our Pre-K enrollment also remains

constant but have estimated conservatively at 82

children compared to 91 this year. The number of

families benefiting from Parental Choice continues to

increase. In keeping with the resolution passed by the

congregation approving participation in the Parental

Choice programs, we are setting aside the equivalent of

20% of money received from the Parental Choice

programs for tuition assistance. Half of that 20% will

be used to benefit those families who do not qualify for

Choice. The other half is placed into a holding account

to be used for additional tuition assistance if we ever

choose to exit the program.

Miscellaneous receipts will increase as a result of the

transfer of Gift Trust Fund and Legacy Fund dollars,

assuming congregational approval of the Gift Trust

Fund and Legacy Fund resolutions.

Estimated Expenses

To maintain the status quo and provide cost of living

increases, compensation and benefits increased by

$110,000. In addition to the positions mentioned

earlier, we also increased the “housing allowance”

portion of our called workers’ compensation to the

level recommended by our synod.

Our five-year commitment to Wisconsin Lutheran

High School’s Gifted for Praise building fund was

completed. Our commitment for on-going ministry

will remain unchanged from the previous year.

Our Congregational Mission Offering (CMO) will

remain constant at $237,000. St. Paul’s remains the

leading congregation in supporting our synod’s

worker training and mission efforts. In addition to our

CMO offerings, in 2018 St. Paul’s provided $41,892 in

special gifts to our synod. When we include our

support of para-synodical ministries like Costa Maya

Ministries in Mexico, our total mission support in 2018

was $309,000 or 10% of every offering dollar.

Buffer/Capital Expenditures Underfunded

In past years, we have not included a buffer or a

large Capital Expenditures allocation. By placing

these underfunded items on the Ministry Plan

document, we are acknowledging this is our goal to

gradually build these items into our budgeting

process. We pray that our planning for 2019-2020 is

conservative and that we will be able to fund a

large portion of these two items by the end of the

next fiscal year as part of our plan to ensure the

long-term sustainability of our ministry.

St. Paul’s Ministry Financial Plan

Nominations for St. Paul’s Ministry Board

Our bylaws call upon the Ministry Board to select

a nominating committee. The committee this year

consisted of: Pastor Kuehl (Chair), Creed Darling,

David Fritsch, Luke Hudock, Dennis Miller, and

Bill Schauwitzer. Ministry Board positions are all

two-year terms. An individual may serve three

consecutive terms. This year there will be elections

for the position of secretary and for two-at-large

members of the board. The following men have

accepted nomination. The slate of candidates has

been approved by the Ministry Board in

accordance with our congregation’s bylaws.

Nominees for two at-large positions

Joshua Fink (incumbent)

• Lives in Wauwatosa

• 28 years old

• Married to Jess

• Actuarial Science and Risk

Management at Humana

• Member 20 years

Creed Darling

• Lives in Muskego

• 37 years old

• Married to Kara, 5 children

• Director of Technical

Services at Bellman Melcor

▪ Member 12 years

Chris Haag

• Lives in Big Bend

• 45 years old

• Married to Jennifer, 2

children

• Purchasing Manager at

Schoeneck Containers

• Life-long member

Jon Pier


• 60 years old

• Married to Mary, 2 children

• Works at Ozinga

• Member 26 years

Nominees for secretary

Steve Wranovsky (incumbent)


• 48 years old

• Married to Amy, 4 children

• Software consultant

• Member 23 years

Vince Kirchoff

• Lives in Franklin

• 43 years old

• Married to Theresa, 1 child

• Business Manager at Pro

Electric

• Life-long member

Gift Trust Fund – Legacy Fund

Annual Report for Calendar Year 2018

Gift Trust Fund – Legacy Fund Distribution Resolutions

St. Paul’s developed the Gift Trust and the Legacy

Funds to allow people to give large gifts and

bequests that will support gospel ministry long

after the initial gift.

In 2018, the Gift Trust Fund received $266,005 in

gifts and bequests. The balance at the end of 2018

was $315,521. Each year 30% of the balance on

December 31st is available for distribution. The Gift

Trust Fund is designed to use a gift over about 7

years. Since its inception nearly 20 years ago, the St.

Paul’s Gift Trust has provided over $1 million

dollars for mission efforts, facility improvements

and new ministry opportunities.

The Legacy Fund was developed more recently as a

tool to provide a long-term endowment option for

our givers. The Legacy Fund is divided into four

subfunds. In 2018, the Undesignated subfund

received $255,000 in gifts and bequests. The total

balance in these subfunds at the end of 2018 was

$333,857 (Undesignated $303,644; Outreach

$20,537; Christian Education $9,676; Capital

Projects $0.00). Each year 5% of the balance on

December 31st is available for distribution.

The Ministry Board reviews the grant proposals to

determine if they reflect our mission and ministry

priorities. The Legacy Committee reviews the

proposals to determine if they are in keeping with

the purpose of the Gift Trust and Legacy Funds.

Both groups recommend the following resolutions

to the congregation for approval.

Resolution 1

Re: Preparing for a Christian Counseling Center – Gift Trust Fund Grant of $67,500

Whereas:

1. Last year St. Paul’s voters’ assembly approved granting tuition assistance to Pastor Jeffrey Bonack to begin

studying to obtain a master’s degree in mental health counseling as the first step in a long-term goal of

establishing a Christian Counseling Center on our campus; and whereas,

2. Pastor Bonack has already benefited from this course work and has shared insights with the rest of the

Ministerial Team; and whereas,

3. Pastor Bonack plans to complete the course work for the degree in 2019-2020; and whereas,

4. Pastor Bonack is committed to completing the necessary internships in 2020-2021; and whereas,

5. During the 2020-2021 year of internships, Pastor Bonack will lead the Ministerial Team in developing a ministry

plan for a Christian Counseling Center on our campus as a satellite site of an existing counseling ministry; and

whereas,

6. The Ministerial Team will use that ministry plan to seek grants from outside sources to help establish this

Christian Counseling Center on our campus; and whereas,

7. The combination of start-up grants and billable counseling hours will fund the majority of Pastor Bonack’s

compensation package beginning in the fall of 2021 and beyond; and whereas,

8. Until those plans come to fulfillment, the Ministry Board recommends that Gift Trust Fund grants be used to

cover a large part of Pastor Bonack’s compensation package so that the congregation has funds for additional

staff time to replace the time he is devoting to his studies; and whereas;

9. The Ministry Board recommends a Gift Trust Fund grant of $50,000 in 2019-2020 to help the congregation pay a

portion of Pastor Bonack’s compensation; and whereas,

10. Pastor Bonack’s tuition and related costs for the 2019-2020 school year is approximately $21,500; and whereas,

11. The Ministry Board has approved Pastor Bonack’s request to receive reimbursement for 80% of tuition and other

expenses (up to $17,500) as he prepares himself for greater service here at St. Paul’s; and whereas,

12. St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund was established, in part, to help fund new ministry starts like a Christian counseling

center of which Pastor Bonack’s training and partial compensation is the first step; and whereas,

13. St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund has $94,659 available for distribution in 2019-2020;

Therefore, be it resolved:

St. Paul’s voters’ assembly approve the distribution of $67,500 from the St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund to pay a

portion of Pastor Bonack’s compensation for the 2019-2020 fiscal year and for tuition reimbursement and

other costs associated with Pastor Bonack’s coursework.

Resolution 2

Re: Using Social Media to Bring People Closer to Christ – Gift Trust Grant of $10,000

Whereas:

1. St. Paul’s mission statement is: “By every possible means we bring every person within our area of influence

closer to Christ”; and whereas,

2. This mission calls upon St. Paul’s to experiment with new ways to bring more people to closer to Christ; and

whereas,

3. Social media has become a tool to extend our area of influence; and whereas,

4. For-profit firms and other churches and schools have found it beneficial to use professional firms to help tell

their story through various social media platforms; and whereas;

5. St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund was established, in part, to help fund new ministry initiatives like the expansion

of our social media advertising; and whereas,

6. St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund, if Resolution 1 is approved, will have $27,159 available for distribution in 2019-

2020;


St. Paul’s voters’ assembly approve the distribution of $10,000 from the St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund to enhance

our congregation’s and our school’s use of social media to fulfill our mission to bring more people closer to

Christ in 2019-2020.

Resolution 3

Re: Preparing St. Paul’s to Better Utilize Video – Gift Trust Grant of $17,000

Whereas:

1. St. Paul’s mission statement is: “By every possible means we bring every person within our area of influence

closer to Christ”; and whereas,

2. This mission calls upon St. Paul’s to experiment with new ways to bring more people to closer to Christ; and

whereas,

3. Video has become an important way to bring people closer to Christ, to be used for the teaching of

God’s Word, to tell the story of God’s work among us through testimonials, and to invite people to

attend events; and whereas,

4. St. Paul’s currently has no one charged with producing videos to accomplish these goals; and whereas,

5. The Ministry Board included the role of Director of Video Production to a new position to address this

need; and whereas,

6. St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund was established, in part, to help fund ministry starts like a Director of Video

Production; and whereas,

7. St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund, if Resolutions 1 and 2 are approved, will have $17,159 available for distribution in

2019-2020;


St. Paul’s voters’ assembly approve the distribution of $17,000 from the St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund to pay a

portion of the cost for the new position of Director of Video Production in 2019-2020.

Resolution 4

Re: Using Video to Bring People Closer to Christ – Legacy Fund Outreach Subfund Grant of $1,000

Whereas:

1. St. Paul’s intends to produce more videos to bring more people closer to Christ; and whereas,

2. The St. Paul’s Legacy Fund Outreach Subfund was established, in part, to fund improvements to our

outreach ministry like videos; and whereas,

3. The St. Paul’s Legacy Fund Outreach Subfund has available for distribution $1,027;


St. Paul’s voters’ assembly approve the distribution of $1,000 from the St. Paul’s Legacy Outreach

Subfund for the production of outreach videos for our church and school.

Resolution 5

Re: Providing Support for our Teachers to Bring Our Children Closer to Christ – Legacy Fund

Undesignated and Christian Education Subfunds Grant of $15,666

Whereas:

1. St. Paul’s has established our Lutheran Elementary School to help us bring our children and their families

closer to Christ; and whereas,

2. God has blessed our Lutheran Elementary School with increasing enrollment and larger classes of children

who are learning from gifted teachers; and whereas,

3. In the coming year we will increase teacher’s aide time by ½ full-time-equivalent to provide additional

support to our teachers who teach large classes; and whereas,

4. In the past year we added a part-time music instructor both to benefit our children’s musical education and

to provide our teachers with additional plan time; and whereas,

5. St. Paul’s Legacy Fund was established to help our congregation expand and strengthen our ministry

through new ministry endeavors like the music instructor and additional teacher’s aide time; and whereas,

6. St. Paul’s Legacy Undesignated Subfund and Christian Education Subfund have a combined $15,666

available for distribution.


St. Paul’s voters’ assembly approve the distribution of $15,666 from the St. Paul’s Legacy Undesignated

and Christian Education Subfunds to partially fund additional teacher’s aide time in our school and the

position of music instructor.

Treasurer’s Report – Mission and Ministry Fund Statement of Activities

Financial Highlights

Receipts

Offerings for the current fiscal year are behind our

giving for 2017-2018. This is because of the

generous response to the Door of Hope offering

(early fall 2017) of over $100,000 to help us deal

with an unanticipated shortfall. Apart from the

Door of Hope offering, our offering support is well

above the previous year. While we are slightly

behind plan, the late date of Easter will likely help

us catch up to plan. The April Financial report,

available at the Voters Meeting, will give us a

better comparison to plan.

A Positive Cash Flow Expected

The shortfall in offerings is more than made up by

tuition and fees receipts being higher than

expected. God willing, we will end the fiscal year

with a positive cash flow, the sixth year out of

seven. Seven years ago our internal borrowing

against dedicated accounts was $265,000. That has

been reduced to $82,246. We anticipate eliminating

that internal borrowing in about two years.

Mortgage Fund

Each month generous gifts designated “Mortgage

Fund” enables us to make the $19,135 monthly

mortgage. Our mortgage is now $1.666 million at

4.125%. If we make no pre-payments of principal,

the mortgage will be paid off in November, 2027.

Minutes of Annual Voters’ Meeting – May 17, 2018 – 7:00 p.m.

A. Call to order and announcements (President Neal Wallner)

The Messenger / voter packet contained financial background and detail on the Ministry Plan.

A number of Open Forums were held to present the Ministry Plan. Also provided were ministry reports,

Resolutions, information on the Ministry Board elections and other ministry activities. President Neal

Wallner also thanked the congregation for the honor and privilege of serving as congregational president the

past 8 years.

B. Opening Devotion (Pastor Panitzke)

Jeremiah 8 – Jeremiah lived in a time when it wasn’t fun to be a believer. Jeremiah was known as the weeping

prophet, he was weeping for the pain that was going to come to the nation of Israel and it filled him with

sorrow. We live in a time not unlike Jeremiah’s, our culture is becoming more and more un-Christian. Issues

confronting the world affect us also. We are thankful for our core value of authentic care, there is healing for

us and for the world through our Lord, Jesus.

C. Approval of Minutes (Secretary Steve Wranovsky)

Motion and second to approve the minutes from the May 18, 2017 annual voters meeting, the June 4, 2017 call

meeting and the October 11, 2017 call meeting. Motion carried.

D. Election of Ministry Board Members (Neal Wallner on behalf of the Nominating Committee)

The election is for four of the seven elected positions on the Ministry Board. A brief biography was provided

on the seven nominees.

President: Mike Grimes and David Weise

Treasurer: Nick Bauman and Kevin Krueger

At-Large: Creed Darling, Mike Grimes, Ron Guhr, Steve Meyer and Brian Ralston

A paper ballot vote was taken. The results:

President – Mike Grimes

Treasurer – Kevin Krueger

At-large – Steve Meyer

At-large – Ron Guhr

Mike Grimes, Kevin Krueger, and Ron Guhr were elected to their first 2 year term. Steve Meyer was elected

to his second two year term.

We thank all nominees for their willingness to serve the Lord and the congregation.

We also thank Neal Wallner for his many years of dedicated service to the Lord and St. Paul’s.

The Nomination Committee was dismissed, with thanks, by the Ministry Board. It was comprised this year of

the following individuals: Pastor Kuehl (chairman), David Fritsch, Christopher Haag, David Mueller, Brian

Ralston and Bill Schauwitzer.

E. New Business (President Neal Wallner)

The Ministry Board recommends approval of five Resolutions. The full Resolutions were included in the

Messenger/ Voter packet. Only the concluding statement (s) of each Resolution was read to those assembled.

A question was asked about the approval of the Cool Million Campaign after it started. It was reported that it

was an oversight on the part of leadership and the resolution is being brought to rectify the situation. A

summary of the concluding statement (s) of each Resolution is included in the following motions.

1) Resolution 1 – Funding for Tuition Assistance in Preparation for a Christian Counseling Center – Gift

Trust Fund Grant of $15,000

Motion and second to approve the distribution of $15,000 from the St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund for tuition

reimbursement for three-quarters of the tuition for the first year and for other costs associated with Pastor

Bonack’s coursework. Motion carried.

2) Resolution 2 – MLC Congregational Partner Grant Program – Gift Trust Fund Grant of $3,000

Motion and second to approve the resolution for a St. Paul’s Gift Trust Fund distribution of $3,000 for the

Congregational Partner Grant Program at Martin Luther College. Motion carried.

3) Resolution 3 – Purchase of an Enclosed Riding Snow Blower – Gift Trust Fund Grant of $7,800

Motion and second to approve the resolution for a Gift Trust Fund distribution of $7,800 for an enclosed

riding snow blower. Motion carried.

4) Resolution 4 – Production of Welcome Video – Legacy Fund Grant of $4,868

Motion and second to approve the resolution for a Legacy Fund Grant of $4,868 for the production of a

professional welcome video to be used on our web site. Motion carried.

5) Resolution 5 – Approval of Cool Million Capital Campaign

Motion and second to approve the resolution for a capital campaign called “A Cool Million” with a goal of

$1 million. Ten percent of receipts will be used to fund mission projects and the remainder will be used

for campus improvements. Motion carried.

F. Financial Reports (Treasurer Kevin Krueger)

Kevin pointed to the financial reports contained in addendum to the Messenger. For the first 9 months of the

fiscal year, through 3/31/18, the following is a summary of some of that detail:

General Operating Fund Summary is favorable at $106,191, and the year-end outlook is positive. The Current

Loan Balance on the Mortgage Fund is $1,822,807. Internal debt is down to $127,357. Gift Trust Fund balance

is $86,030. Legacy Fund balance is $97,361. St. Paul’s continues to be the leader in our support of the mission

of the WELS and of Wisconsin Lutheran High School.

Motion and second to approve the financial report as of 3/31/2018 as presented. Motion carried.

G. Approval of the Congregation’s Ministry Plan (Treasurer Kevin Krueger)

The Ministry Plan overview and explanation was in the Messenger and also presented at the Open Forums.

The plan is based on a 2.5% increase in offerings. This Plan is a balanced budget in the amount of $3,444,400.

Motion and second to approve the $3,444,400 Financial Ministry Plan for 07/01/18 – 06/30/19 as presented.

Motion carried.

H. Adjournment with Prayer (Pastor Strobel)

Meeting was adjourned at 7:48 p.m.; and closed with a prayer.

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Wranovsky, Secretary

Voters’ Meeting Agenda

Thursday, May 16, at 7:00 pm in the Grace Room

A. Call to order and announcements (President Mike Grimes)

B. Opening devotion (Pastor Strobel)

C. Approval of minutes of May 17, 2018 Annual Meeting (Secretary Steve Wranovsky) (pages 18-19)

D. Elections of Ministry Board members (Pastor Kuehl) (page 12)

E. New business (President Grimes) (pages 14-16)

1. Approval of Resolution 1 – Preparing for a Christian Counseling Center – Gift Trust Fund Grant of

$67,500

2. Approval of Resolution 2 – Using Social Media to Bring People Closer to Christ – Gift Trust Grant

of $10,000

3. Approval of Resolution 3 – Preparing St. Paul’s to Better Utilize Video – Gift Trust Grant of $17,000

4. Approval of Resolution 4 – Using Video to Bring People Closer to Christ – Legacy Fund Outreach

Subfund Grant of $1,000

5. Approval of Resolution 5 – Providing Support for our Teachers to Bring Our Children Closer to

Christ – Legacy Fund Undesignated and Christian Education Subfunds Grant of $15,666

F. Financial report (Treasurer Kevin Krueger) (page 17)

G. Approval of the congregation’s ministry plan (Treasurer Kevin Krueger) (page 11)

H. Adjournment with prayer (Pastor Bonack)

The Ministry Board

President Mike Grimes, Secretary Steve Wranovsky, Treasurer Kevin Krueger,

Josh Fink, Ron Guhr, Steve Meyer, Brian Tonn

Ex Officio:

Ministerial Team Leader Pastor Peter Panitzke

School Administrator Seth Fitzsimmons,

Church Administrator Randy Fink

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