Church Potluck Meeting

3/5/11

We are embarking on a whole new journey…..

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

1. All of us are at different places - spiritually, emotionally, and in our life stage. Recognize that and keep that in mind as we
make decisions.
2. At this time, nobody is signing a formal commitment contract to this venture -- we are not asking for one. We are entering
into a process together. At some time, we will ask for a formal commitment.
3. There are a variety of different preferences regarding church life. When someone shares a preference, they are not sharing a
law – just a preference. We need to remember that as we have conversations with each other.
4. Sunday mornings are for corporate worship – not for corporate business. As we move forward and worship on Sunday
mornings, we will focus on worship. No brainstorming or planning on Sunday mornings – only worship, praise, listening to
God’s Word, etc. Planning and brainstorming will be at potluck sessions.

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:

1. Not everyone will be able to attend all the meetings due to other commitments. That’s just fine.
2. Website – www.worshipsf.com Look here to keep up to date on things. Worshipsiouxfalls@gmail.com If you don’t receive
an e-mail from the group by Tuesday, then call.
3. Volunteers – need 2 people that would be willing to do some phone calling when there are important announcements –
especially for people who don’t have e-mails. Let Rich know if you are interested.
HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER?

1. An informal leadership team has been established. This team will guide us and help set direction for us. Each leader is a
point person for a specific area – they will do research and lead discussions in that area.
Scribe – Renee White
Worship – Monica Heuer and Paul Anderson
Education – Julie Burnside and Kyle Helder
Service – Randy and Karen Rehling
Congregational Care (pastoral care) how will we care for one another – Randy Helder and Jan Tollefson
Governance/Legal – John Bultsma and Arden Sustad
Communications and Technology – Derek Hackett
General Leadership – Rich Merkouris and Pastor Bjorn Lervik

2. Continued potluck meetings at 5:30 on the following dates

a. March 26
b. April 16
c. May 7

Going forward, after we eat, we will break into small groups organized around the point leaders for each area. You can go to
a different group each potluck. After 30-40 minutes, all will come back to one group and the leaders will report to the large
group. This is just to lay the foundation for our new community.

3. June 1st – we anticipate formally organizing a new church body. This is not written in stone.

4. Lenten services. Ash Wednesday (March 9th) Service will begin at 7:00 PM without any other activities. The proposed
schedule is to begin March 16th with worship for ½ hour at 6:30 and a lay-person giving the message followed by ½ hour of
focused discussion on a specific area at 7:00. (see sheet) Youth and children’s ministries 6:30 – 7:30. We will meet at Good
Sam which will be an additional $75. For our Lenten supper, it is suggested that 2 people line up something simple for
supper and then everyone donate a couple of dollars for the expenses.
 5. The first issue to be discussed is what denomination will we be? The leadership team will address this. We may move
forward as an NALC church but this will not be official at this point. There shouldn’t be any preconceived ideas RE: NALC
because we have the opportunity to define who we want to be.

ITEMS TO NOTE:

March 13th – change to 10:00 a.m.

No Sunday School on Sundays – only children’s church on Wednesday
Coffee before and after church

Directions to Good Sam – 57th St. and Louise, go west and turn north right before I-29 bridge. We will have greeters directing traffic.

AREAS TO HELP:

1. Ushers/direction givers – arrive 9:30 until 11:30.

2. 2-3 people bring cookies/treats every Sunday
3. Wednesday nights – people willing to lead children’s church
4. Lead study for students
5. Lay people to share a message during Lent
6. Supper during Lent

HOW CAN WE GIVE MONEY TO HELP WITH EXPENSES?

We will keep it extremely simple the next 3 months.

Continue to tithe or give and set it aside so on June 1 st you can give a one-time gift.
CURRENTLY NEED HELP WITH:

 Cost of using the Good Sam facility - $75 Sunday, $75 Wednesday, $25/month for coffee
o Lenny Kemnitz will contact you on how to pay.
 Projector for Sunday worship - will use Center of Hope’s for now (we have a screen)
 Laptop computer – will use Center of Hope’s for now
 $25 gift cards to Staples for bulletins, mailings, etc.
 Once/month love offering – leadership team will use the love offering and bless some of the people who have been in
transition

WHAT DOES OUR “DREAM CHURCH” LOOK LIKE? (Ideas brought forth will be sifted through the committees)
Suggestions…..

Jamie Risse Suggest having an outside worship service when it’s warmer to help save some money.
Gerry Heuer Service to the poor
Caron D. Emergency response team following a crisis
Pastor Bjorn Be a mission-driven community
Dan Meints Musical
Michael D. Mentoring the kids
Kyle Helder Work of the church is done by the congregation and not by the staff
Pat Schaefer Strong youth presence
Amy Johnson Personable with new people & follow-through – not lose track of them
John Bultsma Something for everyone of all ages
Linda Create a process for each one of our brainstorming ideas – reach out to new people and keep them as members
Williams
Lynn Meints Keep some of the traditional worship but get more creative with it – some important things to keep
Caron D. Congregation is in the Word and we are growing in our relationship to the Lord – Bible studies are huge.
Elle Tornberg Deeper study and deeper discussions
Jan Oltman I hear the Word of God preached every Sunday
Gerry Heuer Our congregation tithes
Dan Albers Congregation that is open and honest with one another. If someone asks how we are doing not be afraid to say how
things really are.
Caron D. A deep recognition and genuine love for people. Come as humans needing the Word and people to pick us up and
we can pick others up.
Jake Staples How God –centered our church is. Everyone looks to Christ for answers.
Gary Saxhaug Spirit led
Kyle Helder Unified in core beliefs and moving on those core beliefs.
Janine Albers Reaches out to the unchurched and welcoming them
Lindsay Brua Pray this is just the start and we can grow as a church. People will see that we are genuine.
Dan Meints What can we do to draw the young people in? We need youth for the church to grow.
Julie Empower the young people in this room to come up with ideas.
Burnside
Hailey Brua Lindsey wants a free coffee shop
Caron D. Continue with women’s mentors, i.e., Jan and Carrie. Multi-generational mentoring
Monica What I’m hearing is things that we have already been doing and can carry on into the new congregation
Heuer
Amy Johnson Compassion Sunday – instead of worshiping they had a board up for people to go out into the community to shovel
sidewalks, pump gas, etc. while wearing t-shirts to identify the church
Gary Helder Wants guys as actively involved as the women
Lynn Meints When members have issues and want to take to a leader in the church, want to make sure things are kept
confidential – mentoring, confidential.
John Bultsma Gun show with the bazaar.
Jodi What do we call ourselves for people we visit in the hospital?
Thornton
Pastor Bjorn Partner with other churches for resources, etc. Not go solo.
Julie Elderly – how do we identify them and if they no longer want visits from Hope. Will be addressed in congregational
Burnside care group.
Dick Bjerke Be friendly – not just the greeters
Monica Do nametags at the services
Heuer
Church Name – start thinking about church names. What would describe and tell the story of our community? We’ll put all the
names out there and then start sorting through them. There is a comments section on the bottom of the website so you can post
your ideas there.

In moving forward, everything has to be covered in prayer and be the foundation. We all need to get serious about praying about
our situation. Give us guidance and help us to discern.

If others approach you from Hope that they don’t know what to do, simply ask how you can help.

YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO:

1. Focus your prayer around Jesus’ opening, “Hallowed be thy name”. We want God to be honored and keep his name holy.
2. Go into the New Testament letters and take the prayers that Apostle Paul prayed and make those words your prayer. The
Psalms are good, too. Make scripture your prayer foundation.