 One year has passed since I took over this office from Rich Schweissing and it has been a very educational year as well as enjoyable. Thank you to Rich and Jan McCormack for their excellent on the job training they provided the two years previous to this.
Thank you also to the staff and what they have been doing to keep things running smoothly and efficiently. Mike, Mary and Bill have been extremely valuable as they reach out to the leadership of our Region churches in their coaching positions. Alyce and Jessica keep the office running smoothly and the information flowing to all of us. Karen keeps on top of our finances and deals effectively with the many property issues that seem to always be a part of the Region ministry.
Steve has been a very huge asset to our Region since he came on board a year and a half ago. When he presented himself to the board as a candidate, he spoke of family and how we are all a part of a larger family. I was excited to hear this because this is how I have felt in my many years of coming together with all of the rest of you from the far reaches of the Region. Steve is emphasizing “being the Hands and Feet of God” or being the Incarnational Church. What an important concept this is that we as the Region strive to serve each other and reach out to those across the nation and world. I fully support this and hope to guide the board to better understand and develop our program.
Many events have taken place this year to tie in with the concept of being the “hands and feet of God”. Dr. Sam Chetti taught a workshop with a Biblical background on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Droppin’ the “L” was a big youth weekend held in July. Even though the numbers were not great for pre-registration, many youth from the Denver area attended and the reports of the weekend were very encouraging. Mission dinners have been conducted in many areas to introduce the new way missionaries must raise funds to return to the mission field. As of the writing of this report there are two workshops being planned on the theme “Being the Hands and Feet of God”. They will be held in Denver and Cheyenne and have many participants signed up for the day. There is always room from more to attend these events and I would like to encourage you to be in prayer about which might help your church and then attend when the opportunities arise.
My agenda for the year has been to get our board members out into the congregations. Our coaches are always in contact with the churches throughout the year but I feel it is important to see someone other than staff in the worship service. I asked each board member to commit to visiting five congregations during the year. I would like them to take five minutes to thank the congregations for their involvement and support of the Region and to ask what the Region can do for them. We would like to know if there is a program you would like to see offered, missionary contacts, interim minister support, camping questions, or any other questions you have. If we have not been to your church yet we will be there soon.
On the downside of this year, our investments have taken a big hit as the market dipped. We are seeing a trend toward recovery but it will be several months or years before the balance of our investments are back to the level they were when we started. This will affect our spending over the coming years so we must take a careful look at budgets and where we can put the money we have to the best use. For more information on the investments, go to: http://www.abcrm.org/communication/Regional_financial.htm. I encourage you to contact the Investment Committee if you have any questions.
We do want to welcome two new congregations to our Region. In October, Ebenezer Baptist of Denver, a Karen fellowship, and Faith Community Baptist of Denver were voted on by the Region board to become covenanting congregations. We welcome them and look forward to working with these congregations for years to come. If you visit with any of the members from these churches please encourage them in their new church fellowships.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you for the last year. Please let me know if there is anything we can do for you. I welcome your questions, comments and suggestions to better the work for our Lord Jesus Christ here in the ABCRM.
Cynthia Rigsby
Region Board President
PDF Copy of this President Report
2008 Region Board President Report |
