Mission Study

1 Centerville Presbyterian Church Fremont California Mission Study Approved at the December 3, 2018 Session Meeting Centerville Presbyterian Church 4360 Central Avenue Fremont CA 94536 2 Table of Contents Introduction Part One – Our Church 1. A Concise History of Our Congregation 2. Statement of Church Values [Mission, Vision, Theological Strengths] 3. Church Leadership 4. Congregational Description 5. Membership and Attendance 6. Church Finances 7. Church Facilities Part Two – Our Community 1. Population 2. Ethnicity 3. Age 4. Income 5. Housing Costs 6. Vision of our City 7. Other Church and Faith Communities 8. Church Engagement with Our Community Part Three – Our Call 1. Ministry Assessment – Celebrations and Concerns 2. Discoveries and Challenges 3. Ministry Overview – Challenges for the Future A. Share the Good News B. Make Disciples and Baptize C. Live Life Together 4. CPC Affiliated Programs 5. Other Programs on the CPC Campus Conclusion Appendixes a. Brief History of Our Congregation b. Facilities Diagrams c. Survey of Congregational diversity d. Profile of Pastoral Leadership We Are Seeking 3 Introduction Centerville Presbyterian Church is well named – we are in the center of Fremont, geographically as well as historically. Our history as a congregation mirrors the history of Alameda County and Fremont itself. This region has long been on the cutting edge of the world economy. We have grown from a Gold Rush economy to a farming economy, to the industrial world, and now we are part of the technology and biotech economy. Like the area around us, our local church has had to adapt to the dynamics of change through the years. This gives us much to celebrate and positions us strategically to bring the gospel to the hearts of those in our area. With the historic transitions have come related changes in our church congregation. Some years our membership soared. Some years our membership struggled. Some of our members have been baptized, married, and buried in the Centerville church family. Others called this church home for only a part of their journey. We have enrolled over 4,500 members in the life of our church; many of them were nurtured, made disciples, and sent out into the world. We have been blessed with gifted leadership as well. We have had 37 pastors over the years; 22 Senior pastors, others as assistants and associates. Over 600 elders and deacons have been ordained in the life of this congregation, as well as 25 ministers of Word and Sacrament. With this historic strength, we can be confident about God’s wonderful call upon our lives for the future. We have been leaders in the community. In addition to the leadership roles our members assume in the life of this community and this region, our church has long been known for its compassionate outreach to the poor. With our community partners, we have served over a million meals to the hungry and homeless. We continue to shower, clothe, counsel, and minister to people in need, welcoming them into the life of our congregation. We have given ourselves to the world. Over the generations we have consistently worked to give 10-20% of our budget and facilities to global outreach. We have sent 10-15 of our youth to short term mission trips both local and abroad almost every year for twenty years. We have supported nearly a hundred long term Missionaries overseas. We have endured the transitions of our world as well. We have thrived amidst some of our world’s major conflicts: The Civil War, the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, two Gulf wars, seven major economic collapses, and five major earthquakes. This mission study provides a picture of our past and helps us to pause and reframe our future. God has been so faithful to us over the years, and He has a glorious future in store for Centerville Presbyterian Church. 4 Part One – Our Church 1. A Concise History of Our Congregation Centerville Presbyterian Church was founded by Rev. William Wallace Brier on June 4, 1853. Originally known as Alameda Presbyterian Church, the name was changed in 1873 to its current one. A church was constructed on donated land in 1855 and was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1868. The church continues to own the land and cemetery at the original church site. As the church membership swelled following the urbanization of the region after World War II, the congregation decided to build a larger church on the present site on Central Ave. In the 1990’s, the new education and gymnasium buildings were added. Currently, Rev. Greg Roth and his wife Rev. Marsha Roth provide church leadership. They have served the congregation for over 24 years. The Roth’s followed Rev. Bruce Giles, who was the senior pastor for over 20 years. An expanded summary history is available in Appendix A. 5 2. Statement of Church Values Mission Statement comes from Matthew 28: 16-20 Mission Statement Centerville Presbyterian church is a church committed to: Authentic Community Experiencing Jesus Transforming Lives What does it mean to be committed to Authentic Community, Experiencing Jesus, and Transforming Lives? We want to be a body that daily seeks out and experiences the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We wish to create a community that loves and serves each other as the Lord first loved and served us. And we seek our lives, the lives of those around us, and across the globe, to be transformed by the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit. We believe the goals we have developed below bring truth and action to our mission. Goals We are a Bible based church that will: 1. Share the Good news in our daily lives, the community at large, and the world Preaching Missions - global, local & personal Worship-type: Vibrant, interactive, and welcoming 2. Make Disciples/Baptize Discipleship, training & mentorship 3. Live Life Together Praying together and for each other Small groups Investing in the lives of others Caring for internal needs of our congregation Training leaders 6 Theological Strengths of the Congregation Centerville has always been a conservative, evangelical congregation which joined the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 2013 with a 98% vote to leave the PC (USA). Our “exit fee” of $510,000.00 was paid off within two years. Our mortgage on the Center Gymnasium and the Family Education buildings were paid off in 2016. Our staff and elders have been active in the EPC Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest and are well respected for our contributions. We have hosted EPC Presbytery meetings twice, most recently in October 2018. The congregation expects high quality expository teaching and Scripture based preaching. Pastor Greg has used extensive power-point messages weekly, with a great deal of text. This enables non-native English speakers to follow both the Biblical text and the illustrations. They have also responded to guest preachers who do not use PowerPoint but reflect freedom in preaching outside a pulpit and connect with the congregation. We have worked on four twelve-week cycles, studying through Intervarsity booklets and other resources on each book of the Bible, rotating from Old Testament to New Testament. In summers we have done a “reading club” topical book. We have also entertained carefully planned Topical series, in which the congregation can study and reflect on the topic prior to the preaching. We have over 150 people attending Life Group Bible Studies who meet weekly to study the passage of scripture prior to the Sunday sermon. 7 3. Church Leadership We are a healthy and hopeful congregation, and our leadership reflects this. A twelve-member board of Elders/Trustees provides spiritual leadership for the church. Elders are elected by the congregation to three-year terms of service. A maximum of two terms may be served consecutively. The current session has three women elders, -- at one time we had seven. We reflect a variety of cultures. This is a church that takes women in ministry seriously. Over the past twenty-four years, the session has shown concerted teamwork and harmony. Session members further represent the vision and passion of the church as they attend monthly committee meetings for their specific areas of responsibility. Currently there are 31 Deacons providing care to the members of the church. The Deacons are also elected by the congregation to three-year terms and some serve as couples and share ministry as they fill one slot. Rev. Marsha Roth presently supervises monthly meetings of the Board of Deacons. They are organized into merciful work teams, including teams for those Unemployed/underemployed, Seniors who are shut-in, Hospitalized, those welcoming visitors, and those focused on Internationals. The Deacons provide many loving ministries to the family and friends of Centerville Presbyterian Church. They hand deliver weekly floral bouquets from our altar to those grieving, shut-in, or recovering from illness. Darryl Guzman has spent over twenty years on CPC’s staff. Darryl is an ordained minister, has served as our children’s ministry director, music director, and currently leads our choral ministries and traditional worship services. He also teaches music and drama at the nearby Fremont Christian School and is Director of the Centerville Community Chorale that rehearses in our sanctuary. Darryl will be retiring June 2019. Thomas Banuelos serves as our part time Director of Contemporary Worship as well as serving as band director at Fremont Christian School. The service includes musicians with a mix of instruments of varying type music styles in the praise band. We have a married couple working in Children’s and Youth. - both vibrant Korean American.

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