In the following update, I’ve copied the information sheet that we provided for the Connect Groups on Wednesday, May 23rd.
Introducing A New Direction For The Collegiate/Young Adult Ministry:
From Brent Roycroft: Worship Pastor and Collegiate Coordinator: For sometime now our college ministry has needed some additional leadership. Simultaneously God has seen fit to provide some funds through donations during the past 3 years, specifically for college ministry. Enough has been accumulated for us at this point to secure a college/young adult leader on a part-time basis. Through much prayer and conversation with the pastor and leadership team, we are excited to bring on board Jason McCormick and we are thankful to provide a small stipend for him as he commits to leadership in this area. Jason, his wife, Lori, and two sons, will be joining us in ministry beginning this next week. Please join us in welcoming Jason and his family.
From the Leadership Team: We have sensed a strong stirring in the vision for the collegiate and young adult ministry. Knowing the spiritual needs of those who are at that point in their lives, we felt it was time to pursue this vision and take a step of faith. We are thrilled that the Lord brought Jason to our attention and we are confident that he will provide excellent leadership in this area. We will provide more detailed personal information soon, but wanted to give you the basic information as soon as possible. We will more formally introduce Jason on June 3rd at the conclusion of the worship service. He will start immediately in order to be in sync with the high school graduating seniors who are transitioning into the collegiate ministry. Regarding his salary, there is no impact on the budget since the funds are being allocated from a designated account. At this point, there are sufficient funds for a stipend for one year, and we hope that the ministry will grow and allow us to push the position forward.
Other News:
In other news, the Calvary Preschool that has been in development for a launch in August, now has over 120 students and has been staffed with over twenty teachers. With the excellent response and strong programming, it is self-supporting as anticipated. We expect the impact on Sunday School classes and Wednesday evening programming to be minimal. The teachers will begin setting up their classrooms later this summer, and some rooms may be painted as we roll out the program and make the rooms ready for preschool instruction. A few of our adult class rooms are being used, and while the classes will remain in place, we appreciate their willingness to share space!
The Leadership Team has been working steadily to consider the possibility of refinancing our church loan. We’ve received bids and are pleased to announce that we have secured a new loan agreement with Pinnacle Bank. When the loan is closed, we’ll see a rate reduction of 1.23% less than our current rate, which will save us close to $30,000 in interest just for this next year alone. We are currently a little more than a year away from our note becoming due, and it made great sense to capture the rates at a lower percentage and benefit from it.
