Church Profile Form s1

CHURCH PROFILE FORM

Church Information:

Name: Evergreen Community Christian Reformed Church

Location of church [City, State/Province]: Fort McMurray, Alberta

Classical Church Counselor: Rev. John Pasma

Search Committee Contact:

Name: Dennis Vroom

Address: 14 Moberly Crescent, Fort McMurray Alberta, T9H 1G9

Home: (780)715-9417 Cell: (780) 881-7116 Work: (780) 881-7116

Email address: [email protected]

Community Setting:

Location Function Growth

___X__ Rural ___X__ Industrial _____ Growing

_____ Small Town _____ College/University __X__ Static

_____ Metropolitan _____ Agricultural _____ Declining

_____ Suburban _____ Recreational

_____ Inner City _____ Military

___X__ Small City _____ Bedroom community

Approximate population of community: 80,000 (urban) 40,000 (rural)

2015 edition Pastor-Church Relations CRCNA Church Profile:

We are open to: Male and Female pastors X Female pastors only  Male pastors only 

List all staff positions: Pastor

Position Available: Pastor Date of vacancy: Aug 1/15

General position description: Pastor

Full-time or Part-time [F or P]: Full-time or Part-time

Bi-vocational position [Y or N]: Flexible

Number of years preferred of ministry experience of potential candidate: No preference

Required languages: English

Have you completed the Denominational Survey conducted by the Center for Social Research 

If yes, post link to it here: Denominational survey has not been completed

2 Church Demographics:

Profile of church members:

__20% 0-11 __10% 12-18 ___2% 19-24 ___25% 25-34__26% 35-49

__15% 50-64 __2% 65+

Occupation:

____5% Business _20% Professional _39% Trades _10% Stay-at-home parent

__0% Agriculture __7% Retired __22% Student ___N/A_% Other

Percentage of members belonging to the congregation:

Less than 5 years _35__%

5-10 years __35_%

10 or more years __30_%

Racial/Ethnic composition of congregation and surrounding community: Congregation - 90% Caucasian, 10% African/Asian Community – 50% Caucasian, 30% Asian, 15% African, 5% First Nations and Metis

Composition of congregation: Mono-Cultural X Multi-Cultural  Specific Ethnicity (specify: ______) 

List the last three persons in this position:

1. Rev. George Holthof 2. Rev. Harry Valstar 3. Rev. Kees Vink

2015 edition Pastor-Church Relations CRCNA Worship:

How are members involved in planning and participation in the liturgy/worship? - The worship leader is a volunteer and is supported by other volunteer members. She is typically involved in a large portion of liturgy/worship planning. - Members of the congregation are encouraged to be involved in planning and participation in the liturgy/worship.

Describe the worship services in your church: - Music - Exhortation - Preaching

Describe the discipleship practices in your church for all ages of members and attenders: - Sunday School (ages 3-18) - Adult Sunday School - Lady’s Bible Studies - Men’s Breakfast and Bible study - Occasional Prayer groups

Building/Financial:

Present annual budget: $151,351

Last year's annual budget: $ 101,439.25

Percentage of financial obligations met (last complete year reported):

Budget 100%

Denominational Ministry Shares 100%

Classical Ministry Shares 100%

Amount contributed above budget and ministry shares: $5,000

Specify (optional): Various local and global special collections (eg. Food Bank, King’s University College, global disaster assistance through World Renew)

Facilities:

4 Describe facilities: 4,000 sq ft building on a partially forested 4 acre lot. Main Floor and Basement. Recently renovated sanctuary.

Are your buildings adequate for your ministries?

Yes___X__ No_____

If no, please explain:

Is a building program projected?

Yes_____ No_X___

If yes, describe what and when:

Does the church own a parsonage?

Yes_____ No__X__

Location of office or study: On the main floor of the church located near the front (main) entrance

2015 edition Pastor-Church Relations CRCNA Compensation:

The salary range we are prepared to offer our new pastor is based on the CRC Minister Compensation Survey for our area: X

If other, please specify: ______

The average annual increase for this position over the past three years is:

Housing:

X Housing allowance

 Parsonage only

 Either of the above

Benefits and expenses:

X Pension

X Medical insurance

 Life insurance

X Social Security or Canada Pension

X Travel/mileage

X Continuing Education funds

X Continuing Education time allotted

 Sabbatical policy in place

______4______Annual vacation (# weeks)

______Other (please specify) ______

6 Church Characteristics: [Check which one(s) are closest to your church’s characteristics]

Presently, the FOCUS OF OUR CHURCH’S MINISTRY is The community The community The community and Current members Current exclusively primarily current members / / participants members participants equally primarily / participants exclusively

External ______(5)______X (14) ___(1)_ Internal ______

In our church, the WORSHIP SERVICE IS DESIGNED FOR Designed for Emphasis on Unchurched and Emphasis on Designed for unchurched unchurched believers believers believers

Unchurched ______(5)__ ___X (13)__ _(2)__ Churched ______

In our church, the STYLE OF MUSIC used in the worship service is Contemporary Mostly Blended Mostly Traditional contemporary traditional

Contemporary ______(2)______X (14)_ __(4)______Traditional ______

In our church, LEADERSHIP is generally provided by the Predominantly lay Frequently lay Lay leaders and Lay leaders function Predominantly leaders leaders pastoral staff share under the pastoral pastoral staff leadership staff Congregational Pastoral Members ___(3)______(4)______X (8)__ __(5)__ ___ staff ______

Our church seeks to ENCOURAGE SPIRITUAL GROWTH through No specific Ministries for a Ministries for Ministries for Ministries for all ministries few groups selected groups most groups groups

Informal ______X (8)______X (6) ____(4)______(1)___ Formal ______

In our church, EVANGELISM STRATEGIES AND METHODS are Predominantly Generally Equal Generally Predominantly unplanned unplanned emphasis planned planned

Unplanned ____(1)__ ___X(7)_ __(4)______(1)__ __(3)____ Planned ______

2015 edition Pastor-Church Relations CRCNA Our church is representative of the ECONOMIC DIVERSITY of our community Strongly Mostly Moderately Mildly Weakly representative representative representative representative representative

High ___(3)__ ___(3)__ __X(8)__ ___(5)______Low representation representation ______

Our church is representative of the ETHNIC DIVERSITY of our community Strongly Mostly Moderately Mildly Weakly representative representative representative representative representative

High ______(2)___ __(2)___ _X(10)___ __(6)_ Low representation representation ______

Our church’s RESPONSE TO COMPASSION, MERCY, AND JUSTICE NEEDS is Commitment to Encouragement of Church-based and Encouragement of Commitment to church-based action church-based action personal action personal action personal action

Church-based__(1)______X(8)_ ___(4)______Personal ______

Our church’s MISSIONAL FOCUS is All local Mostly local Equally local and Mostly All global global global

Local ______(10)_X___ _X_(8)______(1)______Global ______

8 Narrative:

Do you have a recently articulated mission/vision for ministry? [Y or N] No. Was contemplated but decided that it would be valuable to go through such an exercise with the in-coming pastor.

In what ways does your church participate in ecumenical activities?  Through the local Ministerial Association – joint services are planned with other denominations.  Evergreen shares its building with 3 other Christian churches and worship with them from time to time o Chinese Church o Korean Church

Reflect on your strengths/gifts as a church: Evergreen is a very welcoming, family oriented, friendly congregation with a strong desire to serve our Saviour and the community that He has placed us in. It is a congregation that, while small, has been blessed with hard-working volunteers who generously give of their time and talents. Evergreen feels like family, shows compassion, support, comfort and love, and nurtures close, deep relationships. Evergreen is a congregation that has a strong Biblical focus that is reflected in its various ministries.

Reflect on your passions as a church: Evergreen members have a passion to live Christ-filled lives in unity with each other and the greater Fort McMurray community. We are focused on growing in faith together and developing faithful followers of Christ. We have a desire to be with people, no matter their background, education, occupation…serving the One, same, God.

List specific problems with which your congregation struggles: Evergreen is not a large congregation and the fluid nature of Fort McMurray can cause membership to fluctuate significantly. It can struggle to offer mid-week ministries to both its membership and the community. The small, diverse nature of the congregation makes it hard to offer services for all of its demographic make-up. Evergreen struggles with developing and delivering “programs” for men and boys. We have also been challenged to find the right blend of leadership from a Sunday preaching strength and leadership in programming outside of Sunday services. We feel that a strong preaching presence will allow membership participation to grow and programming could then be strengthened.

What has been the most interesting and challenging event in the life of your church in the last three years? - The retirement of our most recent Pastor - The renovation of our building

2015 edition Pastor-Church Relations CRCNA - The cyclical, transient, nature of our congregation - Baptisms and professions of faith - Fall Family Festival

List major goals that this congregation has set for itself or opportunities the congregation anticipates: - Living in city that, long-term, expects growth. Therefore; there is a great opportunity to promote Christ, his church, and keep Christianity relevant - Update the building and finish the renovation to create more usable space - Community out-reach through existing GEMS and, possibly, Cadets programs - Continuing to grow within the Neighbourhood Life Program - Stronger ties with the other Christian churches worshipping in our building

Describe what being Christians of Reformed accent means to you: Having a strong theological basis that focusses on salvation and grace through faith and obedience to the One God, Jesus, his son, and the Holy Spirit. Being Christian Reformed means being part of a larger faith community across the globe and within our community. For example, during the 2016 Wildfire Evacuation we felt an outpouring of support from our CRC family. From this experience we know that being Christian Reformed means being part of a larger faith community. We are created to worship God and serve our neighbor.

Describe your understanding of the relationship between the local church and the Christian Reformed denomination: Evergreen is part of the larger global denomination of the Christian Reformed Church. This means that we support and are supported by various churches across the world in a variety of different ways. Through prayer, financial resources (ministry shares, etc.) and administrative structures, we are all linked to our sister and brother churches within the denomination.

The Christian Reformed denomination provides direction and advice to Evergreen on a variety of issues that the church may face. It is a resource to help Evergreen in faith and administrative challenges and opportunities that it may come across from time to time.

Identify some of the cultural challenges facing Christians and Christian churches today: - “In your face” anti-Christian, agnostic, atheistic and secular viewpoints. - Narcissistic society demanding watered-down religion and instant gratification. - Lack of male leadership/willingness to commit time and become involved. - New world culture is pushing aside Christian values - Global persecution - A sense of being comfortable and a lost passion for God and others - Travelling and overall busyness taking priority over regular Sunday attendance

10 - Dump and ditch mentality – if the church isn’t “right” for me then I will just leave.

What have been the three most important events in the history of your church? Hiring our previous pastor Every single profession of faith and baptism Becoming a self-supporting church

2015 edition Pastor-Church Relations CRCNA Leadership:

How many council members does your church have? 4

What is the length of term for council members? 3 years

How often does the full council meet? Once a month or as required.

What subgroups of council exist, how do they function and how often do they meet?