JOURNEY LUTHERAN CHURCH - VISION BOARD MEETING MINUTES The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm on August 18, 2016 with devotion by Meredith Hink Present: Meredith Hink, Wendy Evert, Jim Welander, Eric Davidson, Pastor Brad, Bob Tracey Julie Rudolph Absent: Jeremiah Boardman, Sara Sykora, Dave Pehl

Old Business June Minutes The June Minutes were reviewed. A question from the June Meeting Minutes about the plaque was clarified. Meeting Minutes were accepted. Motion to accept by Bob Tracey and seconded by Jim Welander.

Financial Report The June & July P&L report along with a January-June budget vs actual report was reviewed. Bob T wanted clarification on the Non-budgetary expenses, details of these expenses were provided. There were 3 large expenses paid out in the first half of 2016 (handbells, piano, furnace) with the majority of the income being from 2015 so therefore this was not reflected in the income lines for 2016. A breakdown of monthly giving and attendance was reviewed; it was noted that there has been a great downward trend over the last 2 years. It was discussed the affect this trending has on our monthly budget; Synod wide there has been a drop in giving and attendance. It is the hope of the Vision Board that with the Calling of a new Pastor and the ending of the Journey Forward Campaign, attendance and giving will increase. The Mission Support group will be meeting to talk about how to make the Congregation aware of Mission support and general budget support. Pastor Brad cautioned that we not focus only on the negative financial trend, but instead focus on the great things that we are able to do with proper support, such as VBS, additional staffing, events, etc. If we say that developing a Youth Coordinator position and Contemporary Worship Coordinator is a priority, our budget/income need to be able to support these expenses. What is the best way to communicate this to the Congregation? It was suggested that we break down the financial situation into pieces and bring this to the Teams. Wifi Upgrade Jim Welander received a quote from MCS Networks to increase the Wifi reception into the entire building. We could save money if we run the wiring ourselves. If we provide the wiring the cost will be $392.41 and could be funded by the Worship Fund savings fund. Wendy motioned to pay it from the Worship Fund and Eric seconded motion. Jim will schedule the work to be done this fall. Motion to accept Financial Reports by Bob Tracey and seconded by Jim Welander

New Business Pastor Brad gave a short presentation on living a life of discipleship and being a people of peace. There are 3 types of people: 1) who like you, 2) who are willing to serve/help you, 3) open to you spiritually. The people who “like you” may be your friends but not necessarily ready to listen to you spiritually. The people who like to serve/help may feel too busy or not be ready to receive the Good News. The third group is where we should invest the energy since they are the ones open to hearing. It is good to plant the “seeds” in the other 2 groups but until they are ready to receive they are not going hear. Jesus dealt with several different groups: Mass Crowds – willing to listen 70 – interested/curious 12 – close relationships (apostles) 3 – closest - Peter, James, John

Review of Membership Roles A review of Active members has been done and we have identified 15 families/individuals who have been inactive for 2+ years. According to our Constitution this considers them inactive. Letters are planned to be sent to the families to notify them of their membership status and see if they plan to become active again or if they would like their membership transferred to a different congregation. Also identified were 10 baptized children whose families have not been in attendance since the baptism. These too will be notified with a letter.

Upcoming Events 1 JOURNEY LUTHERAN CHURCH - VISION BOARD MEETING MINUTES KornFest – The Outreach Team is planning to participate in a joint entry in the parade with Holmen Lutheran and Halfway Creek. God’s Work Our Hands – Community Service Sunday, to be held Sept 11th together with Holmen Lutheran and Halfway Creek Lutheran in a joint Worship Service, Lunch, and work day. Synod 500 year Reformation Observation in 2017 The La Crosse Synod plans to focus the 2017 GPS workshops on Reformation and being ELCA Lutheran. Quarterly celebrations will be held in each of the Conferences, among them will be: GospelFest, German Market, Sugar Creek celebration, PetFest.

Call Update A Congregational Meeting is planned for August 28th to vote on the Call of Pastor Mamy Ranaivoson. The Call Committee is planning to develop a Powerpoint Presentation for this meeting to introduce Pastor Mamy. Wendy Evert proposed adding an additional $2000 to the compensation package to reflect his education and experience. Wendy moved to accept this motion and Jim W seconded motion. Meredith has done some research on moving expenses and found that to have a moving company provide the services it would be between $3500-$5500 depending on services provided. Bishop Arends indicated that we are not obligated to pay moving expenses. Bob Tracey proposed to reimburse up to $2000 in expenses and Wendy Evert seconded motion.

Welcoming the Pastor It was recommended that a Team be formed to organize a Welcome Celebration and that a member from the Vision Board act as a liaison to the Team. Eric Davidson volunteered to act as Liaison and will report to Vision Board on progress & plans. After the vote on the 28th, if the vote is passed, the Congregation will be invited to become involved in planning the Welcome Celebration. Bishop Arends will do the official Installation, which does not need to be done on the actual first Sunday of his Call.

Personnel Committee The Personnel Committee presented the updated Administrative Assistant job description and was reviewed by the Vision Board.

In Case of Emergency At the VBS that was held in August the fire alarm system was somehow activated and it became clear that no one in attendance knew how to cancel the alarm. A list of Emergency situations and actions needed has been developed and will be posted throughout the building.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00pm. Our next meeting will be Thursday, September 15th at 6:30 pm. Julie Rudolph to provide Bible devotion for September meeting. Respectfully submitted, Julie Rudolph

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