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LAURELWOOD Annual Report 2022-23

Welcome to Laurelwood's Annual Report!

This report will be best viewed on a regular monitor, but if you are looking at it on your phone you will want to view it in landscape (wide) for the best experience.

State of the Church

The last 8 ½ months being your Lead Pastor can be described in several ways: JOY in being together, TRUSTING GOD by stepping into a role that I never have held before, and, best of all, AWE at the way in which God has strengthened myself, positioned His church and showed His continuing faithfulness. Thank you so much for your love, prayerful support, and care for me and my family.

In 2022, Laurelwood was the recipient of His grace in some humbling ways:

  • We transitioned well from 25 years of Pastor Mike Wilde to our interim Dennis Beatty, then to my coming on as the Lead Pastor.
  • We navigated the mutli-faceted challenges that COVID-19 brought and stayed unified.
  • Our attendance has leveled back to 80% of pre-pandemic numbers, while most churches have hovered around 60-75%.
  • We finished our 2022 Fiscal Year by once again being in a position of financial strength.

As we look to the summer and fall of 2023, we will be making decisions that will have great impact on our church. First, in June the Elders will be looking at how to strengthen the health of the church by uniting around three priorities of Loving Christ, Loving His Body, and Loving His Community. Second, we are currently undergoing the process to determine who Christ wants as the new Youth Director here at Laurelwood. Finally, this July through August we will be launching our Summer at Laurelwood—where we have some all-church events and activities that I hope will help us grow in our love for Christ, love for one another, and love for the community.

In light of all this, I want you to be in hopeful and prayerful expectation, so that together we might see what Christ has next for His church here at Laurelwood.

Worship

by Pastor Kevin Kruse

This year, our Worship Teams have focused more specifically on the idea of CONNECT. We have taken to task the concept of connecting with each other spiritually, connecting with one another during practice musically and creatively, and connecting ultimately with God spiritually. It has been a welcome shift during our Tuesday practices which has allowed more time on Sunday mornings to pray for each other as a Worship Team.

In September, Pastor Erik officially began as the Lead Pastor at Laurelwood. One of the shifts Pastor Erik helped with was making our worship services very Christ-centered. As a result, we have attempted to make all 75 minutes of our worship service very God-honoring and Christ-focused by introducing little changes: an opening call to worship, weekly scripture reading, a blessing at the end, and minimal announcements while maximizing our focus on Christ.

On a personal note, I (Kevin) have experienced a lot of changes this year. After being ordained in 2022, I began taking classes in September at Western Seminary to pursue getting my Masters in Biblical Leadership. Then in February, my role at Laurelwood was changed to Executive Pastor of Worship and Ministries. This has been an exciting year of growth and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Lord will use this growth to enhance the ministries at Laurelwood.

Men's Ministry

by Doug Lundahl

Men's Roundup

11 men attended Men's Roundup at Camp Tadmor in September. It was the first Men's Roundup in three years and over 1,000 men from the Northwest were challenged by the teaching of Pastor Chad Moore and enjoyed the music of well-known artist, Austin French.

Friendships were formed, fantastic food filled our bellies, and the connection to God in the forest filled our souls.

Men's Breakfasts and Bible Studies

The Wednesday morning Men's Bible study has continued throughout 2022-2023 with a focus on discipleship, faith, and prayer. We have a faithful group of men that support, encourage, and challenge each other every week.

An average of 25+ men attended the numerous Men's Breakfasts on Saturday mornings for fellowship and a short devotion. Over 40 men attended the breakfast during Pastor Erik's candidacy to support and encourage him and each other.

Women's Ministry

by Allison DeViney

First Fridays continued for a second year with an average attendance of 55 each month. Among those attending were not only our own women, but friends and neighbors as well. We were blessed to hear from many of our own Laurelwood women, some of whom spoke in front of a large audience for the first time!

Nineteen women regularly served in Women's Ministry this past year.

We celebrated new beginnings as we had a shower for bride Oryann Fitim and a couples shower welcoming a new baby to the Nosko family.

Our Fall retreat was attended by 30 women, and we had an enjoyable time hearing from the speaker, walking on the beach, and spending time with one another.

Our women met weekly to study God's Word and pray. On a typical week, we had around 25 women meeting together.

by Diane Skoubo

In September 2022, the Seniors' Ministry experienced some changes: a change in the leadership role; the inclusion of the bi-weekly Wednesday morning Bible study; and the addition of the Freedom House Ministries' Christmas Giving Tree.

This year, the focus of the Seniors' Ministry was to:

  1. Encourage more seniors to personally participate at planned events – read scripture, contribute to the music (leading hymns or playing music), share why certain Bible verses or hymns were especially meaningful, or be a guest speaker.
  2. Include God's Word, prayer, worship and fellowship at each planned event.
  3. Help create a Christmas Giving Tree that would be a blessing to Freedom House Ministries as well as those who participated in the giving.

The Bible study and the planned events were well attended. Each bi-weekly study averaged 24-28 attendees, and the planned events each had 40-48 people who attended. Highlights of the planned events included guest speakers Jeff Dacus (The Christian Foundation of Our Country), Bob Skoubo (The Christmas Truce of WWI), Syd Jones (You're Never Too Old to Serve), special music by Dave and Laurie Hall, and a Hymn Sing.

Youth's Ministry

by Sam Halstead

The past year in our Youth’s Ministry has been a great year for students to learn about living in Christ’s community and kingdom. Our students have had many opportunities to engage with other students that are a part of our church, a part of the churches in our area, and for some a part of their own school.

During the summer of 2022, our students went to ETV camp and ETM camp to experience what it’s like to get away for a time to be with God and His people. Students learned about how to live as Christians in a constantly changing world. At both camps, students got to witness how good it is to live in community with other believers, and how great it is to represent our church. Laurelwood’s presence was felt especially at ETM, with over 50 people there either as students or serving as staff. Additionally, some of these staff were high school students, discovering their gifts and using them to serve the Lord.

During the school year, students learned about what it means to have their identity rooted in Christ and how to act out of this identity in both friendships and dating relationships. Students were shown through scripture that God does have something to say about many different aspects of life, and it is important that we recognize His Word as foundational for our relationships with Him, ourselves, and others. They also got to learn some practical ways of living these things out in their day to day lives.

Additionally, our students continued to see the church operate outside of just what Laurelwood is doing. We hosted a Prayer and Worship night in September for the national See You At The Pole day of prayer. At this event, students representing schools from all over Clark County spent time worshipping God and lifting up their local schools in prayer. At the beginning of the school year, some students took a further step in faith to start a Christian after-school club at Mt. View High School. Partnering with CRU, these students provide a space for the students of Mt. View to discover who Jesus is through asking questions, teaching lessons, and providing resources to reveal the good news about Jesus Christ.

Lastly, our students continued to see what Christ-centered community looks like during Laurelwood’s Spring Retreat. During the Spring Retreat, students spent a significant amount of time reading and discussing God’s word. We walked through John 12-17 in preparation for Holy Week, and students got to see the heart and focus of Jesus’ mission while here on earth. Additionally, it was awesome seeing students creatively spending time together while being unplugged from screens.

It has been amazing seeing God at work and demonstrating the power His body has when Christians are united to live out the gospel in community.

by John Rawson

In the Children’s Ministry this past year:

The B.E.S.T. of Days Soccer Camp was a hit last June, with 52 children attending…with half coming from outside our church family!

In September we held a Volunteer Training with 33 folks. It was a nice introduction of Pastor Erik to our Kids workers.

The Harvest Party was a huge hit again in late October, drawing in nearly 100 people.

We had an increase in visitors for Journey to the Cross (our alternative Easter Egg hunt) this past April.

Club 66 had another fantastic year, with over 45 kids coming on Thursday nights.

And, of course, the backbone of the program is 52 Sunday mornings each year. Again, 33 volunteers make and create an experience where children learn of the love of Jesus Christ.

Bible Class Ministries

by John Wecks

Praise the Lord for a year that included the following men on our Leader Team: Scott DeViney, Paul Lantz, and Josh Espasandin as our Elder Representative. We added Don Bilden and Lynn Ruark.

For 2022-2023, John Wecks taught Spiritual Gifts, Titus, Waiting Eagerly, and Ephesians. John and Carley taught SHAPE for the Discovery Series. Bible classes offered in Fall 2022 included 1 Thessalonians by Paul Lantz and Amos by Lynn Ruark. Financial Peace University was led by Brian Fraught and Brian Wolf.

Other classes for Spring 2023 included Ruth and Esther by Lynn Ruark, and Colossians by Tracy Halstead.

Discover Laurelwood! was taught by Scott & Allison DeViney three times. Scott followed one with a class on Evangelism, and another with a class on Bible Study, and another with Stewardship co-taught by Brian Wolf and Bob DeViney.

Thank you, Debbie Miller and Jake Rawson, for helping us in so many ways!

Outreach

by Scott DeViney

As a church, we provided significant support for 9 missionaries and organizations in fruitful service, locally and around the world. With Doug & Dee Valenzuela retiring from full-time ministry in Italy after over 40 fruitful years, we voted to begin supporting Claire Patty, who is leading Josiah Venture's program for missionary kids.

Marriage Team now has 150 active coach couples in 25 states - they have also trained 36 more coach couples in Josiah Venture who are serving missionaries and local churches in eastern Europe!

Freedom House paid off the mortgage on their ministry campus, which Laurelwood had made several gifts toward as God had blessed us in being able to pay down our own church mortgage!

Josiah Venture was able to restart summer evangelistic camps and put on 90 camps across eastern Europe!

We packed 900 shoeboxes as a church to send God's love and message of salvation around the world with Operation Christmas Child - which was the most we have ever done!

Treasurer's Report

by Gibran Braithwaite

Even though congregational giving to the General Fund was less than budgeted expectations, the ministry leaders were responsible with spending. Giving to the Benevolent Fund has remained generous and Laurelwood has continued to aggressively repay its Building Project Loan. Cash reserves remain strong and despite the global economic challenges, Laurelwood has been unhindered in its ability to pursue gospel centered ministry and has graciously welcomed a new Senior Pastor! Through God's blessing, the attendees and members of Laurelwood gifted over $700,000 toward the General Fund, our Building Project, and Benevolent Fund. Let us continue to pray for God's guidance and wisdom on how to make more disciples in our community and around the world.

Caring Team

by Paul Lantz

Caring Team touched every aspect of Body Life by ministering through celebrations of:

Body Life — wedding, receptions, memorial services

Worship Service — communions & baptisms

Fellowship — social events, special meals, hospital visits

Mercy — Marital & financial aid and coaching

We continue to be blessed by a Church that continually seeks to look after its own. We welcomed Pastor Erik on board and look forward to his vision of how to improve our ministry. The Laurelwood Benevolent Fund was able to disburse $5,400 toward emergency needs of the Church body. Now that the COVID impact is largely behind us, we anticipate being able to conduct our ministries in a more personal and relational way moving forward. All of our ministries continued to serve well despite limitations placed upon them. The Social Committee faithfully supported numerous memorial services, receptions, and special meals. Our Meals Committee provided dozens of meals to families in need and is a ministry that is not on everyone's radar screen but blesses those who benefit the most. Barb Larsen's gift basket ministry brightened the lives of many who were going through difficult times. Thanks to all who served faithfully on the Caring Team this past year.

Facilities Team

by Mike Lewis

The Laurelwood Campus encompasses 5 acres. We have over 50 trees and 90 shrubs, 80,000 square feet of lawn with a 30-zone sprinkler system and 4 buildings.

Much of the front lawn along 172nd street is maintained by a Landscaping Service. The rest of the area is taken care of by group of volunteers. A facility this size requires constant maintenance, which is done by some contractors, but mainly by our volunteers. They meet each Wednesday of the week and try to plow through the list of items that are required to keep the facility looking nice, safe, and operational for our church members and guests.

They do not stop there, the team also assists our widows, and seniors with light maintenance projects. It has been a joy serving these members of our church as the need arises.

This year has been busy. The team upgraded the sprinkler system with new controllers that we can remotely turn on and off via the Wi-Fi. The system also uses the local weather and will not water if rain is in the forecast or if it is actively raining.

The volunteers have built a shed in the garbage area. The shed will store a lawn mower used for the large field areas, along with other lawn and garden equipment.

Last winter we had a severe windstorm that knocked down several fences at our Seniors’ homes. The volunteers went out and repaired them when we heard about them.

The Volunteer force replaced a water heater, did some sink and faucet repair, and provided some minor auto assistance. They also helped with wheelchair ramp repair.

You will see a transition in the Fellowship Hall this summer. We have new lights ordered and expect to get them installed this summer. We will remove the pendent lights and work with an electrical contractor to get the new lights installed. The new lights are LEDs and will be dimmable for when the projector is required in the room. I guess you could say we are brightening up the place!

As you can see it has been a very busy year for the many who have donated time and energy to our church. Our first workday in 2 years was a huge success. We had 38 members join the team and trim hedges, power wash sidewalks, paint the new shed, and clean all the windows.

I want to thank our Wednesday volunteers throughout this year. Sue and Bob DeViney, Thao Cooper, Trent O'Neal, Bill Doel, Jeanette Zeller, Syd Jones, Mike Lewis, John Crawford, Dan Sandor and Paul Lantz. This group has been a huge amount of help this year and saved the church a great deal of money.

Clerk Report

by Rebecca Lundahl

Total active membership as of June 1, 2022: 177

Total active membership as of May 31, 2023: 185

Gains

  • By statement of faith: 22

Losses

  • by moving/attending elsewhere: 14

Baptisms  4

Child Dedications  12