Pastor’s Report: December 2024

As we concluded the year, the Leadership Board of North Scottsdale United Methodist Church met to reflect on our shared accomplishments and continue planning for a strong start to 2025. Below are the highlights and outcomes from our December meeting:

Leadership Board Minutes: 2024 December Leadership Board Minutes.docx

Key Updates and Decisions

• Facilities and Maintenance
  The Board affirmed the continuation of the A/C maintenance contract with Arizona Comfort Specialists, which ensures bi-annual servicing and priority attention for our 18 units.
• Stewardship Update
  We received 78 pledges totaling $304,246 for 2025. I asked for volunteers to make follow-up phone calls to previous pledgers who have not yet submitted their pledge. A script will be provided to ensure consistency, and reminder postcards will be sent in January.
• Adult Discipleship Goals
  The Board continued to outline expectations for the Adult Discipleship Task Force, focusing on:
  • Fostering accountability and comfort in discussing faith.
  • Answering key questions about adult spiritual needs and ministry trends, both within and outside our congregation.
  • Developing ideas for fall groups and activities, with progress to be reported by mid-year.
• Monitoring Progress Toward Church Goals
  To track engagement with our goals, Team Leaders will maintain participant journals and monthly reports, with self-reporting opportunities for congregants available via NSUMC.life.
• Leadership Board’s Spiritual Sentence
  Each Board member will submit a guiding spiritual sentence, which I will compile into a unified Leadership Board statement for 2025.
• Staff and Volunteer Care
  The Board approved allocating $5,000 into a Staff Discretionary account from savings in my compensation package. These funds will allow for recognition of exceptional staff efforts. Additionally, Team Leaders were encouraged to care for their volunteers during the holiday season with personal gestures of gratitude.

Team Leader Meeting Recap

At a meeting held just prior to our Leadership Board session, Team Leaders:

• Reviewed the 2025 church goals and committed to creating one guiding sentence per group by early January.
• Agreed to track participation and outward-facing service engagement in alignment with our third goal to involve 225 members in community activities.
• Raised concerns about communication gaps between the Board and ministry teams. To address this, Team reports will be included in Leadership Board minutes and made accessible to the congregation on NSUMC.life.
• Discussed the ongoing partnership with Ascension Lutheran Church (ALC), which will remain an area of focus in 2025.

Celebrating Successes

The Board celebrated several victories shared by our teams:

• Care Portal helped 100 children this year.
• Missions Team provided lunches to the Justa Center.
• Care Team welcomed four new members, distributed 102 Christmas baskets, and gave out 200 cards and ornaments.
• Sunday School added three teachers and four new Family Ministry team members.

Looking Ahead

As we move into 2025, I remain inspired by the faithfulness and commitment of our Leadership Board, Team Leaders, and congregation. Together, we are poised to continue growing spiritually, engaging meaningfully, and serving boldly in the new year.