2021 Pre-Assembly Information for Point of Grace Church
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2021 Pre-Assembly Information for Point of Grace Church
This is an introduction and brief summary of the action items which will be a part of the agenda for our Annual
Congregational Assembly on January 31st at 12:15 pm. This meeting can be attended in person or via zoom. Please
email pog@pog.church to request the zoom link to the meeting. It is our custom to combine into one banqueted
evening the annual items of business (that require congregation action) with a celebration of what God has done and is
doing. This year the “business agenda” will be taken care of in the official assembly meeting on the 31st at 12:15 pm,
then at 6:00 pm we will have a ministry celebration (online only) where we will CELEBRATE what God has done over the
last year, APPRECIATE all those through whom He did His ministry – that’s all of you and then ANTICIPATE and COMMIT
to what God wants to do through Point of Grace in 2021. Please attend the 6:00 pm celebration via the link provided at
www.pog.church.
There are two major items of business that require congregational action at the 12:15 pm assembly.
-The approval of the annual operating budget.
-The election of the constitutionally mandated Leadership Team.
To assist every member in understanding the issues at hand and to provide an opportunity for open discussion at the
assembly meeting the following information is provided. Our pastor and leaders will be available during the meeting for
questions and conversation before we vote on the agenda items. Voting will take place at the meeting and all members
who have signed the membership declaration will have opportunity to vote whether they are joining in person or online.
Part 1 - Approval of the Annual Operating Budget
It is our custom at Point of Grace to accompany the presentation of the proposed annual operating budget with a brief
glance back over ministry in the previous year while looking forward to ministry possibilities for the coming year.
2020 – The “Pivot” Year
We will spend a great deal of our Ministry Celebration time at 6:00pm on the 31st telling the story of how God was at
work in 2020 at Point of Grace. The celebration itself is the most comprehensive report of ministry at PoG this past year
and what a year it has been. This is important and we must do it, especially this year.
We began this year welcoming our new staff member, Andrew Cordy, as Grow Ministries Director and stepping into a
new chapter of ministry. Little did we know that by mid-March so much change would be on us. “Pivot” became the
new word to describe personal, family and vocational changes everyone was experiencing. The rest of 2020 was an
ongoing series of “pivots” for Point of Grace’s members, attenders, Leadership Team, staff, pastor etc.
The constant through it all was our God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus led us all personally and as a church in a
continuous stream of “pivots”. PoG pivoted to online Worship services then to online and in person worship. PoG
pivoted to online and mail-in financial giving, online Children’s Ministry, online High School/Middle School Youth, online
ACE, and online Alpha. Grow Groups continued supporting each other emotionally and spiritually through contactless
connections – Zooming, texting, emailing, phoning, snail mailing, socially distanced conversations at parks, on front
porches and in parking lots.Ways to “Serve” at PoG pivoted and are still pivoting. Although some usual ways of serving continued many were put on hold while new ones emerged. (i.e. camera operating, video mixing, online Alpha hosting etc.) In some ways a subtle “holiness of hidden serving” also emerged. Financial giving, for example, has always been an essential way of serving in ministry but the challenges of 2020 accentuated the need for faithfulness in this vital area of sacrificial service. 2020 regular giving only dropped 5% from 2019 levels and totaled 87% of the 2020 (pre-COVID) budget. In a year when circumstances could have excused less faith filled responses many PoG’ers continued faithful giving. Also, we gave in unprecedented ways to the Love Fund ($9,543) and towards the new technology needs ($15,414). In addition, simple acts of service like persistent prayer for each other especially those in need, texts, emails, phone calls, snail mail, zoom gatherings, participation in online chats during worship and Afterthoughts etc. have emerged out of the shadows as profoundly vital acts of service in the body of Christ during these trying times. These subtler acts of “serving” were always important to Jesus but it seems their value is more clearly seen in our current context. Times of rapid change are hard and chaotic. It takes a while before the dust settles and clarity comes. Thank you Point of Grace for hanging in there, coming together, trusting Jesus, pressing into His presence, being faithful to Him and one another, being supportive of your Pastor, staff and leaders. We are moving into 2021 as a healthy and strong church committed to “loving and leading real people into the meaningful life Christ intends” while moving forward into an unprecedented future. 2021 - Vision, Theme, Challenge “Unprecedented Opportunity” If “pivot” is a good word for 2020 then “opportunity” is a great word for 2021. The forced pivots of 2020 have created rich opportunities for 2021 and beyond. Alpha is one of many examples of this. We moved to an online format for Alpha questioning whether this seemingly impersonal context would be effective. But, God worked through Alpha online in much the same way we have always seen Him work. That was the “pivot”. Now for the “opportunity”. Previously, only people that lived close to our campus could go to Alpha at PoG thus dramatically limiting who we all could invite. With online Alpha, geography is not an issue. Instead of just reaching the people living close to PoG with invitations to connect with Jesus through Alpha we now can reach all the people in our relationship networks with invitations...…. no matter where they live. This is what Jesus envisioned …… people bringing people to meet Him. Now the people we care about can receive an invitation to connect with Jesus, anywhere. God used a pandemic to force “pivots” which have created “opportunities” for us to step into. And this is just one example. Our Pastor, Staff and Leadership Team are highly committed to leading our church to follow Jesus into these kinds of opportunities. He will direct us to seize the opportunities He has designed for us. We don’t have to worry that if we press into digital online ministry people will not come back to in person ministry. If that becomes a challenge God will lead us and equip us to address it. Now, we have unprecedented opportunity to deepen the quality and breadth of our online presence. We cannot seize every opportunity nor should we. But we can seize the one’s Jesus leads us into. The word “and” helps paint a picture of where Jesus is leading PoG. When the pandemic is in the rear view mirror be assured PoG will have quality in person ministry experiences like Worship, Alpha, Grow Groups and Serve teams. But, that won’t be all. PoG will Worship in person “and” online, host Alpha in person “and” online, do Grow ministry in person “and” online, engage in Serve opportunities in person “and” online. It is as if, without us realizing it, God planted a new Point of Grace campus … … … an online campus. As we walk together into this future we will see more and greater opportunities to “love and lead real people into the meaningful life Christ intends” in person and online.
The Theme - “I BELONG … to Him, His Church His Mission”
This theme saturates us with exactly what we need to see and seize the unprecedented opportunities described above.
Belonging is our launching point. No matter how we each practically connect with PoG we each “BELONG”. We each
need truth, love, encouragement and guidance to proclaim with confidence “I BELONG to Him, His Church, His Mission”.
The pandemic journey has been very hard on us and our sense of belonging. We may feel adrift, beat up, washed up on
a distant shore, not sure of … what we used to be sure of. This year has taken a toll. We need sure footing … deep
within our souls. We need to know and live with confidence, “I BELONG to Him, His Church, His Mission”.
The “I BELONG Challenge” for 2021 calls 100% of Point of Grace to the same unified action.
Each Day – I will Read and Pray over the daily scripture reading from the sermon notes.
All of us engaging the same scripture every day.
Each Week – I will worship at Point of Grace online or in person.
All of us worshiping together every week.
This Year – I will bring at least one person to Alpha in 2021.
All of us will need to pray for many and invite several so we can bring one.
If 100% of Point of Grace takes up the “I BELONG Challenge” can you imagine the sense of belonging God will work in us
so we can see and seize the unprecedented opportunities before us.
The Financial Report and Proposed Operating Budget for 2021
The spreadsheet below compares the budget for 2020, the actual income and expenses for 2020, and the proposed
budget for 2021. Please read the “Explanations” section following the spreadsheet for helpful information in
understanding the spreadsheet.
(budget) (actual) (budget)
Income 2020 2020 2021
General Giving 620,000 541,082 580,000
Other 5,319 5,425 5,400
Surplus from 2020 29,241
Total Income 625,319 546,507 614,641
Expenses
Salaries/Benefits 318,730 311,564 326,195
Building & Grounds 179,189 172,327 176,389
General & Admin. 44,050 47,314 42,900
Denominational Mission
Support 31,000 27,054 29,000
Ministry Program Expense 52,350 23,515 40,157
Total Expenses 625,319 581,774 614,641
Additional Funds from PPP Loan +64,508
Net Gain/(Loss) 0 29,241 0Explanations
General Giving includes general offerings given to support PoG’s ministry. The 2021 budget anticipates a 7%
increase over 2020 actual giving. This does not include funds given for specific purposes like Love Fund, New
Technology, relief efforts, Alpha etc.
Surplus from 2020 - The Leadership Team recommends we use the 2020 surplus as part of our 2021 budget.
This surplus is a direct result of receiving federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds.
Other includes income from interest rebate program with our lender – Texas Church Extension Fund
Salaries/Benefits includes salaries, payroll taxes, benefits such as healthcare and retirement! Our staff now
includes a full time Pastor and Grow Ministry Director, part time directors of Alpha, Children and Worship, a full
time Administrative Assistant and a small allowance ($6000) for part time ministry assistance in the area of
digital innovation. This budget increase allows for a 3% raise for all staff.
Building & Grounds includes mortgage, utilities, grounds care, maintenance and janitorial cleaning expenses
General & Administration includes all office supplies, copier costs, consumables for kitchen/building, liability
and property insurance, website fees, IT support.
Denominational Mission Support is calculated as 5% of total offering and given to Texas District – LCMS for
mission and ministry in Texas and throughout the world.
Ministry Program Expense includes all non-salary program expenses for our strategy areas of ministry.
(Worship, Alpha, Grow, Serve, Bring) Minimal in person activity in 2020 reduced these expenses dramatically.
Planning for 2021 is inconclusive because the recovery rate towards more normal human interaction is
unknown. In planning, we were guided by the general idea that in person, socially distanced worship will
continue and that other in person activities may slowly begin to increase as we move through 2021. This affects
planning in a multitude of areas such as High School/ Middle School/Children Ministry, Alpha, community
events; advertising, Grow Groups, other programing expense etc. Some allocations have been made so we will
be prepared to engage with in person ministry as circumstances allow.
Part 2 - Approval of the Leadership Team for 2021
Point of Grace adopted a revised constitution in December 2020 which mandates the congregation place into office a
Leadership Team of six elected members plus the Pastor.
The constitution bylaws mandate the creation of a Nominating Committee to service each year and present a
recommended slate of members for the Leadership Team to the congregation for approval.
The nominating Committee for 2021 is John Hunt (Chair), Melissa Garcia, Jerry Russell, Mark Lehman and Michelle
Turnipseed.
The 2020 Nominating Committee presents the following slate of nominees for the 2021 Leadership team:
Bill Ducat for a 2 year term (President) Jim Brown for a 3 year term (Member)
David Turnipseed for a 1 year term (Treasurer) Richard Peters for a 2 year term (Member)
Kim Grona for a 3 year term (Secretary) Marci Protsman-Romero for a 1 year term (Member)
Since this is the first election under the new constitution all six members are being elected with designated lengths of
service. After this, two positions will become vacant each year.Proposed Resolutions
2021 Operating Budget Resolution
We, Point of Grace Congregation gathered in assembly, approve and support the 2021 Operating Budget as
presented. We understand and take responsibility for the $48,334 monthly giving goal ($580,000/yr) that is required by
this plan. This represents an 7.2% increase over 2020 giving.
Electing Leadership Team Members
We, Point of Grace Congregation gathered in assembly, hereby approve the recommendation of the Nomination
Committee and elect and place into office:
Bill Ducat for a 2 year term (President) Jim Brown for a 3 year term (Member)
David Turnipseed for a 1 year term (Treasurer) Richard Peters for a 2 year term (Member)
Kim Grona for a 3 year term (Secretary) Marci Protsman-Romero for a 1 year term (Member)
Additional Report
A Year in Review – Little Hands of Grace Preschool
As we all know so well, 2020 was a challenging year, so it was also for Little Hands of Grace. In late January and early
February, Covid was beginning to make its way across the United States. Covid then struck our community, forcing
everyone to go into lockdown. Little Hands of Grace was forced to shut its doors on March 23rd, but because of the
fantastic and supportive parents, 90% of the parents agreed to continue virtually.
The Little Hands of Grace staff quickly rallied together to build an online curriculum for their students and created
packets for their students to be picked up weekly. This continued through the end of the school year in May. Due to the
deep love for their students, all the teachers agreed to stay on staff and pivot to the online model. Along with the
church’s general budget LHG received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds so our staff could receive full pay.
In Mid-July, the Covid numbers had decreased to safe enough numbers to allow Little Hands of Grace to reopen and
move back to in-person teaching. Again, the amazing parents demonstrated their support, and the vast majority brought
their children back. Another challenge was added when we received news that our On-Site Director Krissy had accepted
a job at a different pre-school at the beginning of the new school year.God again showed His strength and support of our Little Hands of Grace ministry. With the extraordinary help of Devon,
now our Co-Director, we banded together and decided to continue forward as a team of two. Partly due to Covid, a few
teachers chose not to continue, but 90% of them did agree to come back, and due to their love and dedication to their
students, we have never been stronger. Many were worried that since Little Hands of Grace was only allowed to
accommodate 60% of their students due to Covid, our expenses might exceed our revenue. God again showed His
mighty hand, and through some restructuring and well-planned cost reductions, we were able to meet our expenses and
show a profit.
Little Hands of Grace is truly blessed to have the amazing parents and teachers we have.
Brenda Watson, Executive Director
Enrollment and Financial Summary
Currently LHG has 62 students, using 4 class rooms lead by a staff of 14 (part-time).
Here is an LHG financial recaps for the last fiscal year August 1, 2019 – July 31, 2020
Income (Tuition and Fees) $257,812
Expenses
Salaries and Benefits 220,773
Program, Admin, Building 51,602
Subtotal - 14, 563
Paycheck Protection Program Funds + 31,392
Total Net Income $16,829You can also read
