ANNUAL

REPORTS

September, 2010 - August, 2011

IMMANUEL

Church 2300 Dilleys Road

Gurnee, IL 60031-1002 847/336-4800

Fax: 847/336-0295 E-mail: aplace4you@immanuelhome.org

www.immanuelhome.org

These Annual Reports

are available on our web-

site: w

ww.immanuelhome.org.

Read them there and save a tree!

ANNUAL REPORTS

2010-2011 ministry season Table of Contents

Senior Pastor/Teacher Page 2

Worship Arts Pastor Page 4

Director of Children’s Ministry Page 5

Ministry Facilitator Page 6

Pastor of Visitation/Senior Adult Ministry Page 7

ICYouth Pastor Page 8

Connections Page 10

World Outreach Page 11

OCC Page13

MOPS Page 14

Facilities Page 16

Guest Relations Page 17

Elder Team Page 19

Treasurer’s Report Page 20

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SENIOR PASTOR/TEACHER

In 40 years of pastoral ministry, there has never been a year when I have seen the work of

God’s grace in the life of a church as powerfully as this past year. I love what God has been up to in the lives of our children, youth and adults. The stories of people coming to faith in Christ and the stories of people growing deeper in their walk with Christ have been many and often. I hope you will read some of these stories in the words my colleagues have written in their reports. God has been up to something. The movement of God in the like-minded pastors and churches of our county is phenomenal as well. God is doing a new thing among churches who love God and His word. Together, it is our vision to reach into every home in Gurnee with the love of Jesus Christ in the next few years. I am standing up, leaned into the year ahead, with high anticipation of what God is going to do next in our church and community. We are living in the best of times. God is up to something. Out of a deep sense of need in our congregation, I have worked with a small team of others in developing a ministry focus for the years ahead called Legacy Milestones. Our first Parent

Summit will be held on Saturday, October 1. Once in place, this discipleship strategy is going to make a huge difference in the lives of children and their parents. My hope is to have a new staff person join us this coming year to oversee this expansive ministry as Pastor of Family

and Adult Ministry. Mike Lonchar, who feels called and impassioned by God to help new couples prepare for their married life together, has a phenomenal ministry at Immanuel doing pre-marriage counseling for couples both inside and outside our church. He is loving it, and they are loving him. Mike’s ministry has allowed us to be much more personal with each married couple than ever before.

I was privileged to lead a VantagePoint3 group of ten people this past year. This was my fourth group of individuals with whom I have been honored to take a “long walk” for spiritual purpos-es. This year we held a VantagePoint3 informational luncheon which was open for anyone at Immanuel wanting to explore the possibility of joining a group for the coming fall. We had a great turnout and 26 new participants will be joining their leaders/facilitators for a year of going deeper with God and each other. Sermon series this year have included Vine Life (John 15), EPIC, If I Were the Devil, Speed

Bumps: Focused Living in the Fast-Paced World of Technology, and Legacy Milestones. It has been very profitable to now be planning and working on sermon series along with the input of Kelly Davis, Marion Medina and Josh Petersen. They have helped me to keep a better pulse on the needs and interests of our Immanuel people. This year I was able to have ministry opportunities outside the walls of our building. These in-cluded a visit with our missionaries, Chris and Kathy Gouzoules in Mexico, working alongside a team of our men in West Virginia, and speaking for a week of family camp at Crescent Lake Bible Camp.

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The paid staff members whom I have had the joy of overseeing this year included: • Kelly Davis, Worship Arts • Christy Davis, World Outreach • Dick Giesler, Business Administrator • Marion Medina, Spiritual Formation • Diane Verratti, Ministry Facilitator Over 1500 adults call Immanuel their home church. When factoring in all the crises and needs represented in each person’s life, the challenge of leading them well is overwhelming. I’m glad that I have not been called to do it alone. Indeed, I could not even come close to doing it alone. I am surrounded by a huge group of men and women who serve as paid and volunteer staff who love people and serve God with excellence. I especially appreciate our staff members, who gives their whole attention to serving God at Immanuel; the elders, who hold me accountable

and help me to see the future into which we are moving; and the team of people who are on my

prayer team, having promised to pray for me consistently. Within any of them, I could not BE. Leaned in with Anticipation, Pastor Joe

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WORSHIP ARTS PASTOR

This ministry season was one of most fruitful of my eight years as Worship Pastor at Immanuel. God provided abundantly in this past year, allowing us to finally upgrade significant areas of technology and staging. The primary components of this upgrade were the installation of a new two-projector projection system for the auditorium, and the installation of a new LED lighting system for our platform. Not only does the new projection system increase visibility with two sharper, brighter screen images, but it also allows us to use the full extent of our platform for staging, which gives us much more versatility in programming on-stage elements and transi-tions during services. The five new LED light fixtures and a new lighting console have given us the ability to light staging and décor, with brilliant color, at the flip of a switch. We are now able to match color to mood, and tap more into the creativity of our light operators. Both of these technology upgrades have greatly enhanced our worship environment. Praise God! This year’s worship services were marked by three dynamic sermon series that God used in powerful ways to engage our people in worship in probably a deeper way than in recent memory. In the fall we experienced “Vine Life.” During the holidays we were encouraged by “Hope Unexpected.” In the winter and spring we were powerfully taught and challenged by “EPIC: The Story of God.” I was greatly encouraged by the growth we experienced as a con-gregation in corporate worship during the course of each of these series. Praise God! I continue to be encouraged by the amazing team of artists (musicians, singers, techs, etc.) that God has raised up to serve here at Immanuel. Each year brings the opportunity to increase our team and see new people use their gifts to bring our focus to Christ each and every weekend. I can’t wait to see what God will do in the year to come. Praise God! Sincerely in Christ, Kelly Davis

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DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S MINISTRY What a great year for our children! Our Kids’ World hallway has a bright new friendly look thanks to the wonderfully creative art work of Javier and Raquel Lugo. Upward Basketball was amaz-ing with 430 boys and girls from throughout our community walking in our doors throughout the season! Our “new” baby dedications have a complete new look with a new intentionality and purpose that have made them extremely meaningful for the parents and extended families. But the most exciting events of the year have been our summer backyard clubs. We were able to reach five communities with the gospel and help our families de-velop some new relationships with people in their neighborhoods. What an exciting year! Thank you for all your prayer and sup-port!

Ruth Karner Director of Children’s Ministries

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MINISTRY FACILITATOR

As I look back over the 23 years that I have been privileged to serve on Immanuel’s staff, I marvel at the goodness of God and His provision for all of our needs. At times, I feel like the guy in the circus who keeps a whole bunch of plates spinning at the same time; just when you

know that one of them is going to fall and smash into a million pieces, he reaches over and starts it spinning again! God graciously allows me to spin more than one plate at a time – but He is the one who keeps all of them going, and He picks up the pieces after the inevitable crash! My responsibilities this year included:

• oversight of our marvelous secretarial team (Cheryl Dace, Sue Vanlaningham, Dagmar May, and Linda Touchton). They serve the Lord, our staff, and the people in the Immanuel fam-ily with patience and grace.

• implementation of a new membership process in conjunction with the elders. We held three Immanuel 101 sessions. These serve both to introduce newer people to our church and as the first step toward membership. Thirteen individuals completed the membership process, and cur-rently 36 others are eligible to take the next step in the fall if they choose to do so.

• preparation of five adults for baptism on April 10.

• presentation of six Finding Your Niche seminars, to help people identify their spiritual gifts and find meaningful places to serve.

• Sunday morning interviews of six people in the Volunteer Spotlight.

• preparing the staff meeting agendas and leading the meetings

• coordination of the 20th annual Green Lake Getaway, under the direction of an awesome 11-member team. Step Right Up to the Greatest show on Earth was happily attended by 227 adults and children. Twenty-two percent of all attendees were first-time participants, and most of these were very new to the Immanuel family. oversight of the weekly Immanuel Life program and timely promotion of ministries and events. I am so grateful for the rest of Immanuel’s staff, who are godly, serious about serving, and a lot of fun to be with. They teach me by example every day. Immanuel’s hundreds of committed volunteers amaze me with their creativity and dedication to helping people know Christ and

grow to be like Him. God has certainly blessed me beyond what I could ever have imagined, and I remain thankful to Him for using me. To Him be the glory! Serving With You, Diane Verratti

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PASTOR OF VISITATION/SENIOR ADULT MINISTRY

Senior Adult Ministries (SAM)

SAM Breakfast Club is a main part of our service to senior adults. We meet Wednesday morn-ings from August into June at Bob and Anne’s Restaurant in Waukegan. We usually have 35 to 40 senior adults come for breakfast, friendly conversation—the servers refer to us as “the happy group”—and Bible based discussions. Our series for fall of 2010 was based on Little Things Mean A Lot. We looked at some of the little things in the Bible that had significant impact, such as the loaves and fishes given by a young boy. For winter and spring of 2011 we based our discussion on material from a book by Ken Gire: Intimate Moments With the Savior. We had our annual August open house, complete with Kringles. In December we again viewed the movie The Nativity Story. In spring we “visited” the apostle John on the island of Patmos, through the film presentation St. John in Exile featuring Dean Jones. Our summer activity in July was Riding the Rails—to Kenosha.

Visitation

It is a privilege to represent the Immanuel family to many who are in various medical facilities. With my wife, Jean, visits were made to ten hospitals covering the area from Milwaukee to downtown Chicago, three retirement and rehab centers, and several private homes. We met with 40 people, with a total of 69 visits. Teaching

The evening Precept Upon Precept Bible study was open to everyone. About 25 people have attended, representing a wide range of ages and interests. This year we used the Precept course Revelation 3, an in-depth overview of chapters 6 through 22. Other

I led funeral services for Natalie Fandrei, Edmund Leslie, Gary Nelson, and Evelyn Mischler. I serve as an elder. Jean and I also participated in VantagePoint3—an enjoyable experience under the leadership of Ben and Robyn Ondo. Thanks for the opportunities you have given to me! Don Tremper, Pastor of Visitation and Senior Adult Ministry

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ICYOUTH PASTOR Middle School

It was another fabulous year of ministry with the middle school community in 2010-2011. While there were no major additions to or subtractions from our normal schedule, we saw God do really great things in the hearts and minds of our students. We began the year with a teach-ing series called The Bridge in which we examined the Gospel message and its implications for our lives. Upon the conclusion of this three-week series, 22 students received Christ! Follow-ing this series we taught on topics such as depression, authenticity, Old Testament history, and The Story, where we took a look at the big picture of the Bible. iDENTITY held several special events as well. October marked our annual trek to Farmer

Ed’s, where students went for a hay ride, roasted marshmallows, and played football. In January our students attended WinterXtreme at Timber-lee. Sixty-five students participated in this year’s winter retreat! Finally, in March our Pirate’s Parlay lock-in welcomed over 125 middle school students to our building! k.o.B. (knowledge of the Bible) continued to be a pillar in our ministry strategy. Here, students are trained and equipped with foundational Biblical truth and ways to apply it in their everyday lives. One highlight from k.o.B. this year: 25 students wrote their personal testimonies for the first time. Several of them shared their story then at the lock-in or at a Wednesday night gather-ing. High School

The year in iMPACT began with a brand-new retreat called Summer of ’89. T his weekend was geared for incoming freshmen (transitioning from 8th to 9th grade) to help them make the jump to high school. The sessions focused on relational skills, priority setting, and spiritual depth. Perhaps the strongest point of the weekend is that it was led by several of the juniors and sen-iors from the high school community. This formed solid relationships within the group before the year even began. The freshmen also got to meet several of the high school staff with their familiar middle school staff in the same room. Our mid-week small group ministry continued to flourish in this its second full year. We ran three sites on three different nights of the week with roughly 45% of our regular attendance at one of the three options. These groups discussed in depth the teaching from the previous Sun-day’s gathering, had a meal together, and shared life with one another.

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Service became a large part of the high school community this year. In September, around 20 students participated in the 30-Hour Famine. They slept in cardboard boxes outside with noth-ing to eat for 30 hours. Each hour they fasted raised money for World Vision to feed the hun-gry around the world. Part of what they did during this time was clean the church and make blankets for another service project. Blanket Chicago was when those blankets were delivered to homeless people all over the Loop in Chicago. Our group also participated in Operation

Christmas Child this year with the pre-wrap party. There was a service project for each of the nine months of the school year! God has been so tremendously faithful to the youth department this year. Perhaps His greatest gift is the more than 40 adults who make up the staff. These individuals give countless hours every week to the students of Immanuel. None of what’s been a part of the year would have been possible without them! Sincerely, Josh Petersen

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CONNECTIONS

Three sessions of Alpha this year served up dinner, friendship and the truth of Je-sus Christ to around 150 guests! The majority of those who had a basic understand-ing of what it means to follow Christ had their faith ignited, while around 25 peo-ple entered into a first-time faith commitment to Christ. Two new host families opened their homes and hearts to share the love of Christ with Alpha guests. The addition of an ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) group and a fantastic “Alpha for the whole family” session this summer made it the best year ever!

Another wonderful Family Roundup Festival served over 400 Im-manuel people and their guests with great grub, rip-roaring activi-ties, and western fun for the whole family. The Alpha message was everywhere you looked! The annual classic car show roped in around 60 participants, and a fun time was had by all. Best of all,

everything was FREE with a donation of a non-perishable food item for the Northern Illinois Food Bank. A big shout out to Jami Feasby and team for an unforgettable afternoon! Groups, Forums, and Communities were advertised three times during the year in the Roots

& Shoots catalog. Many new forums were launched every semester and over 500 people took part in a small group offering during the year. Our existing Communities carried out their mis-sion to make the love of Christ known to others in many ways including adopting a nursing home and remodeling the house of a man who suddenly needed wheelchair accessibility. Mark and Kate Demien recruited leaders and handled signups and materials orders with a smile all year.

Four First Friday services provided an opportunity for the Immanuel family to gather and ex-perience God through quiet, still, restful prayer, worship and meditation on the Scriptures. In July, Immanuel’s elders led us through a series of spiritual warfare talks and prayers. Each First Friday service was preceded by a week-long Prayer Guide that led the Immanuel family through daily scripture, prayer and reflection. We were encouraged to spend time with the guides at particular hours of the day so that everyone was praying the same prayers togeth-er. First Week: 2011 kicked off with the second invitation to a week of rest and prayer for the Im-manuel family. A special prayer guide led us through the week.

Footsteps: Journey to the Cross was the theme of Holy Week 2011. Prayer guides and the Sta-tions of the Cross filled the week with a sense of awe. Over 400 men, women and children vis-ited the experience where they entered into Christ’s journey through readings, images and in-teractive activities. Marion Medina Director of Spiritual Formation

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WORLD OUTREACH I want to be your hands and feet, want to be your voice every time I speak, want to run to the ones in

need in the name of Jesus. I want to give my life away all for your kingdom’s sake. Shine your light in

the darkest place in the name of Jesus. Here I am, I will go, send me out to make you known. There is

hope for every soul – send me out! (Send Me Out by Fee)

Those words sum up the World Outreach theme of this past year. Each Third Sunday of the month, we have asked the question “what’s my mission?” Through four WO Sundays and in a variety of ways, we shared stories from all nine of our missionary families, some from their own lives, some from the believers who are a part of their ministries and some from our own people.

You see, Christ has called us ALL to be part of His mission - saving people! This past year, you have participated in these amazing things: • Our church met Pastor Jepthe from Haiti. You responded with a Christmas offering to feed

120 children at the church/school of Haut Savanette in Haiti and provide micro loans to help change lives through the body of Christ…our church partnering with a Haitian church that is on mission!

• Three went to Haiti to SEE how God is working through the churches there and to see our partnership with Bright Hope at work in Haut Savanette.

• Operation Christmas Child exploded at Immanuel and affected our lives here and around the world!! See the OCC report for details.

• We heard testimonies from 50+ men who were on mission in West Virginia. They went to build, love people and grow deeper as men!

• A small group of men drove to Joplin, Missouri on mission to help clean up with Samari-

tan’s Purse and other Christ followers. • iMPACT (high school ministry) and WO partnered to send a team of students to the evan-

gelism conference called SEMP to learn how to share their faith with their friends and be part of Christ’s mission. Others were sent out on mission to Zion to live out Christ’s love.

• A team was sent to the Philippines to work alongside the Filipino believers who are on

mission, living for Christ with the Maranao (Muslim) people. • We welcomed home six missionary families throughout this year: Kraybills (South Afri-

ca), O’Briens (Philippines), Galadimas (Nigeria), Hills (Argentina), Gouzouleses (Mexico), Bickets (Indonesia)…all who are on mission in difficult areas, sharing Christ and building into Christ followers.

Christ is made ALIVE IN US by the power of His Spirit!

Thank you for praying. Thank you for every dollar you give to this ministry. Thank you for being people who love others and see that there is hope for every soul.

Pray that God would keep showing you where your own mission is, who He’s put around you and pray that He would bring opportunities for you to share how Jesus Christ saved

YOU. Serving together, Christy Davis, Eric Feasby, Tom Hogan, Alison Knoll, Beth Marshall, Michael Matteoni

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WE SUPPORTED THESE MISSIONARIES

September, 2010 - August, 2011

Mary Beauvais serving in Orlando, Florida with Campus Crusade for Christ

Mike and Kelli Bicket (New Tribes)

serving in Indonesia with Helimission.

Bulus and Rose Galadima (Atu) serving in Nigeria with Entrust at the Jos Evangelical Theological Semi-nary Chris and Kathy Gouzoules (Samuel, Ana Luz, and Nico) serving with World Team in Mexico Paul and Ana Hill (Amy, Paul, Mark, Laura) serving in Argentina with Converge Worldwide in an evangelism and discipling ministry Rod and Lori Kraybill (Alanna, Autumn, Anissa) serving in South Africa with Africa Inland Mission John and Elaine Mehn serving in Japan with Converge Worldwide, giving leadership to a nationwide church-planting networking organization Tom and Michele O’Brien (Colin) serving in the Philippines with Christar, doing evangelism and discipling ministries among unreached tribal groups Gary and Elizabeth Ricci (Grace, Faith, James, and John)

planting New Hope Christian Community in Round Lake, Illinois Murray and Kathy Trim (Josiah) serving in Japan with The Evangelical Alliance Mission in an evangelism and discipling ministry

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OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD (OCC)

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse which uses simple gift-filled shoe boxes to express hope and God’s love to children of the world who have experienced war, devastation and/or other hardships in their lives.

Immanuel has participated in Operation Christmas Child for more than a decade. Never have they completed more shoe boxes than in 2010: 2,009 shoe box gifts, more than 87% higher than the previous year, and likely the most collected by a single donating organization in northern Illinois. The hope is that each shoe box will equal one or more lives saved for the KINGDOM. The team was assembled in January, 2010, and met regularly to prepare for the Packing Party, held in November. The team and World Outreach staff made a God-sized goal to assemble 1,500 boxes. The goal was communicated to the church in June, and the vision for the project was promoted from the stage and through various forms of written and electronic communica-tion. OCC had a constant presence in the foyer with an attractive kiosk display and large, dec-orated shoe box collection bin. The team had the support of the Immanuel leaders through the entire ministry season. Although some outside donors were approached in 2009 for contributions, a significant in-crease in this initiative took place in 2010, resulting in a substantially boosted inventory. All entities were solicited specifically for donations to OCC, with less focus placed on Immanuel. Several great partnerships with local businesses resulted. Donations of items and money were collected from the church family and outside donors. Two events, attended by approximate-ly100 people, were held to prepare for the main event. All were invited to the Packing Party, where a brief OCC overview and an orientation were presented. About 400 guests participat-ed in packing shoe box gifts, and 23 OCC volunteers worked the event. The next day, Immanuel held a dedication service for the shoe boxes (Gospel opportunities). The congregation was blessed by the story of our special guest, Veronica Radu, who received a shoe box as a child in Romania. She lives in Illinois and now packs shoe box gifts with her family! All 2,000+ gifts were at the front of the church, and prayer was poured over them for their journey to children worldwide. Operation Christmas Child has been a great avenue for Immanuel to serve and participate in the Great Commission. This ministry involves every age level of the church, and serves as a tool to unify the body of Christ. We feel many lives (here and abroad) have been positively impacted because of Immanuel’s continued involvement in this ministry. With approval and blessing from the Immanuel staff, the OCC team will launch a similar OCC initiative for 2011. Project Leaders: Connie Pfeifer and Susan Schmidt Team Members: Juli Bevers, Corinne Connan, JoAnn Glenn, Kari Perkins, Sandy Peterson, Lauren Pfeifer, Abbie Randle, Arrika Randle, Beverly Randle, John Schmidt, Shauna Thayer, and Jessica Wolfe.

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MOPS Immanuel MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) exists to provide moms with a positive atmosphere of love and relationship and to give them an exposure to Christ and opportunities to grow in their relationship with God. The MOPS experience should be:

• relevant, so that every mom will know that MOPS is for her

• relationally inclusive, so that every mom will feel welcome and accepted in community

• growth-oriented, so that every mom will be challenged to grow as a woman, mother and leader

• passionately Christian, so that every mom will be drawn one step closer to Jesus and one step further in her influence for God’s kingdom

purposeful, so that every mom will know she’s part of God’s bigger purpose, picture and plan to make a better world!

We attempt to meet these by creating a strong sense of community, by being welcoming and loving to all moms, by bringing in insightful Christian speakers who speak on various relevant topics relating to being a mom, wife, and woman of God, by encouraging moms to take the next step in their relationship with Christ, through offering outside ministries at Immanuel, such as women’s Bible studies, Alpha, forums, and The Marriage Course, and by praying for our moms.

Two Thursdays a month children are well cared for in the MOPPETS program while moms eat a hot breakfast (uninterrupted) with other moms. They hear a wonderful speaker and participate in a creative activity, while enjoying the company of other moms and being refreshed, support-ed, and encouraged as moms and as women. Our MOPS program had another fruitful year! The program had 103 women registered, 40 of whom are Immanuel attendees, with an average attendance of about 75. We had around 60 vol-unteers, and over 125 children attended the MOPPETS program. About ten women attended Alpha, 12 women and their husbands attended The Marriage Course, and around 40 women attended a WOW Bible study. Many women have also started attending Immanuel with their families. MOPS hosted two events at that were open to everyone: Sally Baucke, a Christian comedienne, performed for a fun night out, and Jill and Mark Savage spoke on marriage at a couple’s event. Here are comments from some of our women:

I have appreciated the friendships that have developed, as well as the spiritual encourage-

ment and guidance in my journey as a mother with little ones. I have found it helpful to

hear MOPS speakers and moms validate that being a mother of little ones can be hard

work, and that I am not the only one who struggles with this, and how Jesus can come

along side me to help.

I looked forward to MOPS. It helped renew my spirit to be a better mom.

MOPS was challenging, encouraging, refreshing, and a good reminder of what we do as

moms day to day matters so much!

The support and the conversation have been such a blessing. I come to MOPS and feel

good, rejuvenated, and happy to be a mom!

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When I walked into the MOPS group last fall, I was exhausted and frazzled: my one-year-

old daughter simply wouldn't sleep, and I didn't have any friends with kids in the area.

Our table leader immediately made me feel welcome. I've made a few good friends and

even found another mom to swap babysitting with. My daughter now loves her naps and

is sleeping through the night which I am certain is a direct result of the prayer group's

intercession! MOPS has encouraged and equipped me to be a better individual, mom,

and wife.

MOPS moms were my angels this year. Without MOPS I am not sure I would have gotten

through this year. My table was very instrumental in helping me overcome the loss of

my mom. They all made I did not sit at home and grieve too much. They provided din-

ners, desserts, and their hearts to help me grieve.

Elizabeth Strahan and Cathy Coleman, Coordinators

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FACILITIES

Keeping our building and grounds looking good is a priority. Volunteers Doug Legere and Ren-ny Peters lead the groundskeeping team, assisted by Bob Hogan, Art Schultz, and Darrell Walk. In addition to mowing the grass, they take care of weed and feed applications. Our grassy areas look beautiful during warm weather! An outside contractor trims the trees and takes care of the plantings along Dilleys Road. Mary Magnuson provides TLC to our flower beds. They provide a lovely welcome to our front en-trance. Gaylord Strahan is our head custodian, and accomplishes much during his part-time hours. Doug Leafblad fills in for him during one week each month. They are responsible for setups and teardowns in our classrooms, routine maintenance/cleaning, and minor repairs. Ozzie Larsen volunteers as the “fixit guy” who is able to bring damaged and broken furniture and toys back to life. A cleaning service prepares the building on Saturday night for Sunday, and then gets it ready for the week ahead on Sunday night. Four teams serve in rotation to set up the auditorium early on Sundays. Their “reward” is enjoy-ing breakfast at The Point after their work is done. Another crew takes down the chairs at noon. These volunteers are a huge blessing to our church family. A major cleanup effort took place just prior to the Easter season: many volunteers prepped and painted the Kids’ World hallway, cleaned walls, dusted all of the books in the library, washed the auditorium chairs, washed interior windows, and super cleaned the bathroom stalls. We were ready to welcome our friends and guests at this important time. God has blessed Immanuel with a beautiful facility as well as many who help to maintain it

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GUEST RELATIONS

First Impression included greeters, ushers, Welcome Center team, traffic team, Surf City reg-istration, library, duplication team and coffee bar team. The ministry’s mission is to value each attendee and ensure they feel the love of Christ from the time they enter the parking lot to when they leave. Over 140 volunteers make this happen each Sunday morning. Assisted Parking was launched this ministry season. Twenty volunteers saw the vision, shared in the passion, and are now participating in serving those who need assistance entering and exit-ing the building. Facts and figures that may be of interest: • We had 164 first time guests walk into Immanuel Church in 2010 (sources: Connect! cards,

Welcome Room, and Kids’ World registration). • Of the 164 first time guests, 49 (30%) consider Immanuel Church as “home.” • The coffee bar serves over 100 drinks a Sunday and sustains itself financially. Profits and

tips are put back into the ministries of the church. • The library continues to add a variety of current materials through donations and purchases.

Fifty-five percent of the people of Immanuel have visited the library with 45% of the items being utilized.

Assimilation: Assimilation as defined by Larry Osborne is “newcomers connecting to a pro-gram or ministry.” With this definition in mind, Immanuel has assimilated 21% of its163 first time guests in 2010.

The Welcome Room is open once a month for our recent attenders. This is an opportunity for them to meet Pastor Joe and other church staff. These individuals are encouraged to participate in a ministry that best suits their spiritual needs. The Welcome Room averaged about five indi-viduals/families a month, of which 47% are considered to be assimilated and 55% retained. I praise God for these results; however, I continue to explore new ways of helping our first time

guests know Christ and grow to be like Him.

Help Wanted: you don’t see that sign very often during these economic times; however, your

help is always needed in the assimilation process as you make an effort to greet people you have not met. Thank you for joining hands with me and the other volunteers who make assimi-lation happen at Immanuel. The Marriage Course is based on Christian principles and provides practical tools to improve and strengthen the marriage relationship. Thanks to the leadership, hospitality, and serving team, two courses were run within the ministry year with 42 couples participating. We expect to have a large number of participation again for the fall and winter sessions.

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iCare was developed to meet the physical needs of people in our Immanuel Church family who are not connected to a group, forum, or community. Within the ministry year, the iCare team, with the help of our volunteers, has been able to meet the needs of those in need. • Caring Hearts: Five elderly individuals were matched with volunteers to provide visita-

tion, friendship, and support. • Caring Hands: Auto and minor home repairs, yard clean-up, and moving help was com-

pleted by our volunteers. • Caring Meals: Countless meals were prepared and delivered to the sick and bereaved. • Caring Wheels: Several have been blessed with volunteers meeting their needs for trans-

portation. The iCare ministry is supported by over 80 volunteers. Thank you to those who give generous-ly to help those in need. God continues to provide the volunteers and the resources to complete His work. To God be the Glory! Thank you for the opportunity to do ministry here at Immanuel Church. It is a privilege and joy

to work alongside the many volunteers and staff.

Linda Schultz Director of Assimilation

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ELDER TEAM

Ever since I became an elder, people have asked me, “What do the elders do?” So first, a little bit about the duties of the elder team. The elders are the governing body of Immanuel. It is the duty of the elder team to care for the church’s spiritual condition, to guard the purity of doctrine and life of the church, and to discipline the church in accordance with the Word of God. The elders are responsible for setting the vision for the church and they corporately oversee with final authority all church ministries and personnel.

This past ministry year was one of transition. In the fall we welcomed a new elder to the team, Ben Ondo, while Mike Vanlaningham elected to step down due to his commitments as an inter-im pastor at another church. In addition, Jurrell Belonga and Jeff Rector joined the team as ap-prentice elders. This role allowed them to participate in elder meetings for one year before be-ing affirmed, giving them a chance to see what they are in for. We hope we haven’t scared them off yet.

The elders wrote and approved two position papers during the course of the year, one on the exclusiveness of Christ and a second on eternal security. These papers help establish the teach-ing position of Immanuel on topics of importance that are not covered in our statement of core beliefs and values.

The elders worked with ministry staff to update the church membership process this year. Pre-viously a three-hour class, Immanuel 101, served as both a membership class and as the intro-duction to Immanuel for those seeking more information about the church. The class often felt rushed, and portions of the class which were essential for some were of little interest to others. The new structure involved three separate sessions, Immanuel 101, 201, and 301, which could be characterized respectively as Who We Are, How We Operate, and What We Believe. Imman-

uel 101 remained the first step in the membership process and an introduction for those who are new, while those continuing the membership process continued with 201 and 301 (in the future, these sessions will be combined). If you consider Immanuel your church home but have not yet become a member, I’d like to invite you to do so.

One of the guiding documents that we have used as we look ahead is the Future Shock Report, prepared in 2009 by a team from Immanuel that identified a number of major cultural shifts that we need to be aware of. Based on the findings of this report, the elders had established a goal this past year to develop and implement a ministry strategy related to volunteerism as it relates to the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1946 and1964). This summer we’ve been reading through a book titled “Baby Boomers and Beyond,” which has helped us better under-stand the opportunities and challenges in reaching this generation. As the next ministry year begins, we hope to start implementing some of the strategies developed in this area.

It is a great privilege to serve Immanuel as an elder, and on behalf of the rest of the team, I thank you for entrusting us with this noble task.

Respectfully submitted,

Dan Strahan

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TREASURER’S REPORT The results below reflect the fiscal year beginning September 1, 2010 and running through August 31, 2011. These results include 11 months of actual amounts and a forecast for the month of August. The General Fund giving is projected to be $1,222,978 close to the budget estimates a year ago. Additionally, we have added some line items on the income side to reflect money com-ing in from a couple of our ministries. These include $32,617 for Upward and $16,100 for a Place for Brew which previously showed up as a negative expense. The General Fund ex-penses are estimated to be $1,241,913. If we remove the effect of the Upward and A Place for Brew line items, we are close to $1.2 million, just slightly lower than the budget established. Capital giving in the Breaking Free Fund is projected to be about $172,000. This resulted in a shortfall of $50,000 needed to make the mortgage payments. We were able to manage the expenses in the General Fund to cover this amount. Missions (World Outreach) giving is projected at about $150,000 and spending at about $170,000. The difference reflects money received in the prior fiscal year that went toward expenses this year. Otherwise, giving and spending were about $5,000 above budgeted amounts established a year ago. The mortgage balance dropped below $3 million this year and as of August 1, 2011, the bal-ance is $2,964,542. Our Emergency Fund balance is currently at about $25,000. Jeff McLeRoy Church Treasurer

STATISTICS

Following are the statistics for the September, 2010 through August ,2011 ministry year: Seven individuals were baptized. Twenty-three new members were received. Two members died.

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