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January 8, 2026

Pastor Andrew
January is the busiest month of the year for our office as Melissa gets reports and other information together for the business meeting. I’m thankful for her hard work.
 
Both Joseph and Lexi have been working on their New Year’s vision and goals. They will be set to present their thoughts at the Vision and Goals meeting. I’m thankful for their forethought and willingness to embrace the process.
 
Last Sunday we had the joy of affirming two new families into church membership. It’s always a blessing to see new folks join our number. My prayer is that Zoar continues to grow into a place where people feel fed, encouraged, and challenged in their faith. 
 
I’m so thankful for the willingness of the Stewardship Council to try new things as we changed the business meeting format. Hopeful this will be strategically beneficial for the body.
 
Please continue to pray for me as the pastor of this church. I’m thankful for God’s grace and His enduring goodness as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

 

Elders

The elders have been meeting more often in December and working on items. We start each meeting with prayer and invite God to come alongside and direct us.

  • We are working on the agenda for the January Vision and Goals Meeting.  We support the change in this meeting moving forward, to look to the future of what God has in store for Zoar Church. In times past, this has always been a time for reflection, which is important, but more important is looking ahead.  There will be certain business items that still need to be voted on per the constitution, such as the new budget.
  • We wrapped up with the Finance team on budget suggestions. 
  • We did not do an official pastor evaluation but suggested to the Finance team that our pastoral staff are doing an excellent job and should be rewarded for that.
  • We did visitation with people who are sick and kept in contact with their families, so that the elders can continue to pray.
  • We did a reminder to the congregation on how to find what is going on in the church via the website.
  • We will be working in the first part of the year on our social media presence by enhancing our website as well as our Facebook pages.

This year will be interesting to see what God has for us.  We will be replacing two Elders who will not be eligible for another term.  We pray that God will place the right men in these positions. Our goal is to trust God completely.  

Trustees

  • The mower is getting older but is still in good shape. We have checked around for a new mower and a good trade-in value. The trade-in value is $5,000, and the difference will be $8,400.
  • A contractor for mowing Zoar’s Cemetery has not committed.

 

Finance/Budget

  • Presented the Budget Summary for 2025

            All expenses and conference norms were met

  • Presented the Mission Support Summary for 2025
  • Charles presented and discussed the 2026 proposed budget
Business 
Brad Franz was approved as the Annual Meeting Chairman.

Discussed the agenda for the Annual Meeting.

Other Business

Pastor Joseph Carter – Joseph and his family will be leaving sometime this June. They will be going to North Carolina to do mission work with JAARS.