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Church Conference Report: Celebrate the Vision
June 14, 2004

Leaders and members of Skyline (35 in attendance) gathered Monday June 14, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. to celebrate Skyline’s ministry over the last six months and plan for ministry in the coming year, in an annual meeting called, Church Conference.  Pastor Vicki began the evening with a devotional from John 2, which describes Jesus’ turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana.  The master of ceremonies (who didn’t know the source of the new wine) complimented the host for saving the best wine for last.  When we come to the end of our resources, Jesus responds with the very best.  This year, we will discover together the infinite resources of Jesus which are far better than our own.

Our lay leaders and Co-Pastors followed the devotional with a “State of the Church” presentation.  Skyline’s Lay Leader, Phyllis Hite, described the changes taking place in the role of lay leader.  Instead of dividing the mentoring of Pathway ministers among the Lay Leader and Co-Pastors, the Council members each have a Pathway to mentor.  Because each mentor will only have one Pathway, they can give more one-on-one support to the Pathway ministers, and broaden the availability of the Council to the congregation.  The Council continues work on the strategic plan, and presented an in-progress report, with the intent to further refine it and solicit input from the congregation at future town meetings. 

Pastor Vicki described ways that God’s love and grace continue to surround our Skyline community.  Although we have grown significantly, from an average worship attendance of 300 in 2003 to an average of 414 so far in 2004, our community has not “lost that loving feeling.”  The Church Conference also received reports from the other Pathway ministers.

Tom Thompson, our Stewardship Pathway Minister, presented the results from the recent campaign.  We received 98 pledges for a total of $287,276.  (In the last campaign, we received 126 pledges, including pledges for the building fund, for a total of $298,504.)  Households who pledged both last year and this year increased their pledges by an average of 11% over last year.  Stewardship projected plate income to be $154,654 over the next year, interest income to be around $100, and rent and building use income to be $8200.  Skyline’s total projected income for the coming year is $435,866.

The Council proposed a budget of $438,775, which the Church Conference approved.  The Council defined this year’s focus as “Reach and Connect,” and prioritized spending around this theme.  Our Vision determines the priorities of our 2004-05 budget.  Because of the $96,000 per year mortgage payment and because we did not receive the income pledges we anticipated, we made cuts to Pathway budgets with the intent to add those ministries back in after a six month income assessment.  We expect to add a part-time Volunteer Ministries Coordinator as soon as the funds become available, around the first of January.  Pathway ministers understood the cuts and expressed that their greatest need is for volunteers more than dollars.

Of the cuts made, only the summer missions project evoked discussion regarding the Appalachian Service Project (ASP).  Skyline is sending at team of 35 youth and adults to ASP this year, supporting the team with $3500.  The total cost for the team to go this year exceeded $14,000.  The Council and Missions Pathway minister discussed the fact that we could send a summer missions team to a project through the United Methodist church for 25% of the ASP cost ($3800 for a team of 40).  The Council decided to fund our 2005 summer mission team with $1500 and encourage them to go to a project through the United Methodist Church (UMCOR—UM Committee on Relief).

The Church Conference voted to increase the part-time Children’s Ministry Coordinator’s salary from $17,344 to $19,219.  Brian Bolender, our Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) Chair, presented a 5-year plan to increase Skyline’s pastoral compensation to the Conference average.  Skyline budgeted $36,767 for base pastoral compensation in the first half of 2004.  This figure falls 25% below the average compensation ($49,705) for pastors of churches Skyline’s size (350-450 in worship). 

The Church Conference voted to increase pastoral compensation from a base of salary of $32,608 to a base salary of $35,685, bringing the base compensation up to $40,817, which is 84% of the regional average.  The SPRC and the Council stressed the need to plan for pastoral compensation that will both recognize the importance of our pastors in Skyline’s present growth cycle as well as attract pastors of the same level of experience or expertise in the future.

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Last modified: 02/11/08