CBCGB Church Council Minutes, Q2 of 2015

        June 20, 2015

中文翻譯在末後段落

1. In Attendance:

1. Board of Elders (“BoE”): Ke-Chieh Chu, Yuguang He, David Ho, Terry Yang
2. Board of Deacons (“BoD”): Joshua Chang, Christopher Cheng (Secretary), Lance Pan, Phil Sailer, Beata Shih, Ji-Yong Wang (Treasurer), Xin-Wen Wang, Haiguo Wu (Head Deacon), Jimin Xiong, Jian Zhang
3. Pastoral Staff: Minister Steven Bowman, Minister Jennifer Lin, Pastor Chuck Lowe, Pastor Ju-Ta Pan, Pastor Jiang Wei
4. Absent:

1. Elders: Liqin Chen (Chair), Timothy Lu
2. Deacons: Chun-Yi Hu
3. Pastors: Sr. Pastor Caleb Chang, Pastor Steve Chang, Pastor David Eng, Pastor Sandy Liu, Minister Yuegang Zhang

2. Location: Church office basement

3. Meeting Agenda & Minutes

1. Meeting started at 9:06 am.  Elder Terry opened in prayer.
2. Pastoral staff reports

1. The pastors used a joint slide show to share (rather than the individual long form reports used in the past).  The new format was received favorably by all.  It was suggested that pastors also share about challenges that they see the church facing and projections that pastors may have about the future.  It was also suggested that sharing lessons learned from past challenges would be helpful.
2. Church-wide

1. Rev. Morley Lee preached at Mother’s day joint worship service; Minister Steven Bowman will preach at Father’s day joint worship service.
2. Pastors are coordinating 151 room use plan and will review with church council prior to commissioning in August.
3. Pastors are also creating a pre-vetted list of guest speaker candidates.
4. Ministry matrix is being finalized.

3. Children’s ministry

1. Vacation Bible School held 6/24-26.
2. Crumbling sidewalk by the first floor entrance is slowly being repaired; steps also require attention.
3. There is a need for more teachers, especially for Philly ministry and toddlers.

4. Chinese ministry

1. Memorial day retreat was well received and a 2016 retreat (same weekend and same location) has been recommended.
2. Small group leadership training is going well.
3. Summer sermon series is entitled “Church Purposes”.  Fall sermon series will cover Post-Exilic third wave.
4. Five funerals and one wedding occurred recently, with one more wedding coming up.
5. Six new people have been trained for Stephen Ministry.
6. Twenty-four people were baptized on 4/26.

5. English ministry

1. Core values and focus have been defined in the past few years.  English ministry is now working on defining its identity.
2. Eight college students graduated; summer college fellowship is 18-20 people.
3. Seminary Intern Jeff Hwang will begin ministry in NYC soon.

6. Youth ministry

1. Raised $2,960 for World Vision during 30 hour famine.
2. Prepared and baptized 17 youth and youth alumni.
3. Prepared and carried out May Youth/Family retreat.
4. 8th and 12th graders graduated.
5. Preparing short-term missions teams: Hopi (6/13-22), Lynn (6/28-7/3), NYC (8/14-23)
6. Additional pastoral duties: 2 youth staff weddings, 3 joint worships, 2 upcoming ordinations, counseling cases, and ongoing discipleship

7. City outreach ministry (COM)

1. Summer season: graduations, vacations, internships, and preparation for next school year.
2. The COM building fund proposal is being revised.
3. A fall evangelistic retreat is in process of being planned.
4. Annual co-worker retreat will be held on 8/15.
5. COM is looking to define security processes in an effort to improve safety.

8. Metro-south (MS)

1. Youth group and MS congregation collected toy/clothing/book donations for Quincy fellowship.
2. Baptism held on 6/14.
3. 6/21 outdoor worship service cancelled due to inclement weather
4. Submitted charter membership documents to Board of Elders and projecting to start charter membership in September.
5. Land survey is almost finished; landscape design phase will follow.

9. Pastor staff travels and speaking engagements

1. Pastor Caleb

1. Montreal and Toronto in May
2. Pittsburgh Chinese Church 50th Anniversary and San Francisco 6/18-30

2. Pastor David

1. Short term missions trip to Asia 8/9-26

3. Minister Steven

1. Vacation in Costa Rica 7/5-19

4. Pastor Juta

1. Cherry Hill CCC Educational Conference 4/26-28
2. Chinese CEF 22nd Annual Fall Gospel camp 9/5-7

3. Board of Deacons update (Deacon Haiguo)

1. The Board of Deacons has implemented a new capital fund approval procedure to plan ahead and better prioritize capital requests.  Ministries are asked to submit capital requests by the end of June, having asked a deacon to evaluate the request ahead of time.
2. Stewardship updates

1. Property projects highlights

1. Main building basement HVAC project is 75-80% done.
2. New parking area has been opened although the access road used by both cars and pedestrians is narrow so those who have been given a permit are encouraged to abide by the rules and guidelines.

1. It was noted that we should build a pedestrian pathway/staircase as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, this cannot be done without a multi-month permitting process (due to site survey requirements).  Thus, obtaining a permit for occupying 151 Spring Street has been prioritized first.
2. It was suggested that access be blocked on Friday night (or an announcement be made to discourage use) due to lack of lighting.

3. The parking team guidelines have been updated to try to improve traffic flow and safety.  Church members should expect a change to traffic patterns.

2. Property maintenance highlights

1. Sanctuary carpet was cleaned.
2. Cloakroom has been cleaned.
3. It was suggested that broken chairs be either thrown away or set aside so that people don’t accidentally use them.

3. Property management highlights

1. Coordinated with CBE in getting landscaping quotes.
2. Assisted the 151 Spring Street contractor in getting the ST-5C tax exemption certificate.

4. Please refer to April and May Board of Deacon minutes for more items and information.

4. Board of Elders update (Elder Ke-chieh)

1. 383 Old Post Road was transferred to the church’s ownership in April.  Metro-south has submitted a proposed timetable for church independence.
2. English Ministry has been working on a proposal for defining their identity to help focus outreach.
3. A plan to ordain Ministers Jennifer Lin and Steven Bowman is being defined.
4. Benefit & Personnel Policies for Pastoral and Administrative Staff have been amended.
5. A para-church support policy has been approved in principle and will be officially approved after some minor revisions to the draft.
6. Church vision

1. BoE had proposed a first draft and discussed with pastoral staff.  A revised proposal has since been agreed to by both elders and pastors.
2. Next month, the church council will have a retreat to focus on the church vision to achieve alignment.
3. Ideas will then be collected on creating a church mission statement and strategic goals to achieve the vision.

5. Quarterly Financial Report (Deacon Ji-yong)

1. Deacon Ji-yong reported on the church’s current financial situation.  He gave an overview of the various monthly financial reports generated by the finance committee.  Unfortunately, as of the church council meeting, the financial data from May had not yet been compiled.

6. Annual Budget Approval (Deacon Ji-yong)

1. The fiscal year 2016 budget is a 6.16% increase from the fiscal 2015 budget.
2. Pastor Caleb proposed that Minister Yuegang or Deacon Xinwen should approve Chinese ministry fellowship ministry expenses instead of himself.  Since Pastor Caleb was not present, all three will be allowed to approve Chinese ministry fellowship ministry expenses for now pending future discussion at the next church council meeting.
3. Quincy ministry will continue to be funded through Chinese ministry as previously designated by the Board of Elders.  (The ministry matrix draft erroneously showed the Quincy ministry as being under Social Concerns Ministry)
4. YPF student retreat budget item has been eliminated.
5. Sister Lee Fang Shaw will replace brother Hong Shu for approving Metro-south expenses starting in July.
6. Elder Ke-chieh Chu motioned to pass the fiscal year 2016 budget.  Elder Yuguang He seconded.  The motion passed unanimously.

7. Report on church vision development

1. Elder Ke-chieh Chu provided a historical perspective of our church.

1. 46 years ago (1969), it was observed that there were many Mandarin speaking Chinese in the greater Boston area but no Mandarin speaking churches.
2. While meeting at Grace Chapel, the church grew to 100 by 1973.
3. The church then moved to Woburn and grew to 250 by 1982.
4. The church then purchased a second Woburn building and grew to 350 by 1991.
5. The church then purchased the property at Lexington and grew to 900 by 2012.
6. Past church foci:

1. Sunday worship and Sunday school teaching
2. Overseas missions and missionary support
3. Local outreach and evangelical ministries
4. Fellowship and campus Bible study groups
5. Social concerns and caring

7. Events that have facilitated church growth:

1. Annual missions conferences
2. Local outreach / caring / visitation / local evangelical meetings
3. Church building projects (Woburn I, Woburn II, and Lexington)
4. Youth, college, and church-wide retreats

8. Major ministry initiatives

1. Started youth and English worship as second generation grew to be adults
2. Missions conference and faith pledge \has enabled the church to support and mobilize many missionaries
3. Church building projects brought church members together as they shared work
4. Local evangelical meetings brought many seekers to Christ and strengthened the body of Christ

9. It was noticed that the external social climate also enabled church growth and that we need to adapt our outreach to the changing world around us.
10. Some asked whether the new church vision would impact the name of our church, but there is currently no plan to do so.

2. Elder David Ho provided a present perspective of the church

1. Current church demographics

1. Majority first generation Chinese immigrants
2. Stable second generation members
3. There are many young professionals and students (Post-1990 Chinese generation) that we are not reaching well.
4. High average education level

2. Strengths and weaknesses

1. Strong tradition of outreach and missions.
2. Bilingual and Chinese cultural background
3. Difficult for non-Chinese to join our church

3. Overall spiritual state of the church

1. Very dedicated ministry co-workers
2. Continuous numerical growth
3. Discipleship training is needed
4. Lack of bonding between Chinese ministry fellowship groups and between Chinese, English, youth and children’s ministries.  There was a question of what kind of relationship is desired or ideal between the different ministries.

4. Important issues facing us today

1. Church attendance: Friday night Bible study vs Sunday service and Sunday school
2. Spiritual formation and discipleship: disciple training needed
3. Church building expansion: Need more communication, promotion, and motivation
4. Unity among church leadership: healing and reconciliation, mutual trust and respect

5. The world around us

1. Chinese population has increased in Boston

1. In 2011, 123,000 in Massachusetts, up 46% from 2000
2. Less than 5% attending church regularly

2. Surging number of Chinese students enrolled in universities

1. 274,439 Chinese international students in U.S. during 2013-2014, up 16% from 2012.
2. 31% of all international students in the U.S. are Chinese.

3. Many Chinese churches in New England are smaller and/or weaker
4. More churches needed in Boston, Malden, and Quincy

3. Elder Yuguang He presented on the future by summarizing results from a survey taken by the Board of Elders as part of the visioning process.  Survey questions and selected responses include:

1. What personal piety do you value the most?
   Humility, honesty, courage, spiritual unity, faith, love, and patience, living testimony inside out.
2. What personal ministry do you value the most?
   Gospel spreading, spiritual formation, social concerns, caring, Christian family life, fellowship, children and youth
3. What major ministries should be emphasized?
   Discipleship training, ministry integration, social concerns, suburban campus outreach, mission to the unreached, worship in multiple sessions and mixed sessions, interactive Sunday school teaching, children/youth counseling
4. What major ministries should be de-emphasized?
   Large crowd, single session worship
5. What size do you like our church to grow to?
   (Double in size in 10-15 years)
6. What do you expect of our church in 10-20 years?

1. Larger, still growing but with lower pace in CM
2. Greater population of old, mature, ex-professional people
3. EM more dominant
4. Still a multi-cultural church
5. Still a place to love, care, worship, fellowship, and transform lives
6. More effective individuals who can lead
7. More short-term teams and long-term missionaries

8. Elder Yuguang closed in prayer and Elder Terry adjourned the meeting at 12:33 pm.
9. Addendum

1. In April via electronic ballot, Pastor Jiang Wei motioned to increase the FY15 Metro-south budget (Acct 53070) by $10,612.69 from $30,200 to $40,812.69.  Deacon Haiguo Wu seconded. The motion passed.
2. After the meeting, the financial information for May was compiled:

7. CBE Total Donation since 12/1/2012: $918,732.99.
8. Up to May 31, our total expense is at 89.1%, and our total offering is at 102.8% of the total annual budget (fiscal year ending June 30).
9. The general fund deficit in May is primarily because expenses for the Memorial day retreat were included, but collected registration fees and donations ($54,140) were not since those were deposited in June.

CBCGB 2015年第二季度牧長執聯會會議記錄

        2015年6月20日

1. 出席:

1. 長老團成員: 朱克潔, 何煜光, 何明治, 楊德禮
2. 執事會成員: 張子剛，鄭嘉文 (秘書), 潘瀾 , Philip Sailer, 尹思瑩，王繼勇 (財務), 汪新文, 吳海國（執事會主席），熊繼敏, 張建
3. 牧師: 鮑斯文傳道,林珍妮傳道, 盧植德牧師, 潘儒達牧師, 韋江牧師
4. 缺席:

1. 長老: 陳利欽（主席), 盧忠信
2. 執事: 胡中義
3. 牧師: 章開第牧師, 張子義牧師, 吳經權牧師，劉梅碧儀牧師, 張越剛傳道

B.        地點: 教會辦公樓地下室

3. 會議議程及記錄

1. 早上9：06開始。楊德禮長老作開始禱告。
2. 牧師分享

1. 牧師們使用了聯合幻燈片分享（而不是過去使用的各自長格式報告）。新的格式很受歡迎。有人建議牧師們分享他們看到教會正在面臨的挑戰和未來可能的預見。也有人建議，分享從過去的挑戰中學到的經驗會有益處。
2. 全教會範疇

1. 李秀全牧師將在母親節講道；鮑斯文傳道將在父親節講道。
2. 牧師正在協調151房間使用計劃，並在八月之前與教會理事會一起評估。
3. 牧師們也擬出預審客座講員名單。
4. 事工分配表正在最後定稿.

3. 兒童事工

1. 暑期聖經學校6/24-26舉行
2. 一樓入口處有裂縫的人行道正被逐漸修復；臺階也需要修理。
3. 需要更多的教師加入，尤其是蒙愛事工和幼兒部。

4. 華語事工

1. 國殤日退修會深受好評，建議2016年退修會在同個週末和同一地點舉行。
2. 地區小組領導訓練進展順利。
3. 夏天講道系列的題目為“教會的目的”。秋季系列講道內容是被擄歸回第三波。
4. 舉行了五個葬禮和一個婚禮，另一個婚禮將舉行。
5. 六位新同工完成司提反事工訓練。
6. 二十四人將於4/26受洗。

5. 英語事工

1. 核心價值和重點，在過去的幾年中已經定義。英語事工目前正在醖釀命名事項。
2. 八個大學生畢業；夏天大學生團契的人數是18-20人。
3. 神學院實習生Jeff Hwang將很快在紐約開始事工。

6. 青少年事工

1. 在30小時飢餓活動中,為世界宣明會募集2,960美元。
2. 17位青少年受洗。
3. 籌備並舉辦五月青少年/家庭退修會。
4. 八年級和十二年級畢業。
5. 為短宣做準備: Hopi (6/13-22), Lynn (6/28-7/3), NYC (8/14-23)
6. 另外事項：兩位青少年同工的婚禮，三個聯合崇拜， 兩個將要來的按牧, 輔導事項和進行中的門徒訓練。

7. 城區事工

1. 暑期：畢業，假期，實習，並為下一學年準備。
2. 城區事工建設基金提案有修改。
3. 秋季福音退修會在計畫進行中。
4. 年度同工退修會將於8/15舉行。
5. 城區事工正在為加強安全而設定一些安全措施。

8. 南區事工

1. 青少年和南區會眾為Quincy團契捐獻玩具/衣服/書籍
2. 洗禮於6/14舉行
3. 因惡劣天氣取消6/21戶外敬拜
4. 提交創始會員文件給長老團，預計在九月開始創始會員資格。
5. 土地勘測基本完成；馬上開始外景設計。

9. 牧師人員外出和客座講道安排

1. 章開第牧師

1. 5月在蒙特利爾和多倫多
2. 06/18-30匹茲堡華人教會50週年堂慶和在舊金山 

2. 吳經權牧師

1. 8/9-26 亞洲短宣

3. 鮑斯文傳道

1.  7/5-19 Costa Rica 休假

4. 潘儒達牧師

1. 4/26-28 Cherry Hill CCC 教育大會
2. 9/5-7 Chinese CEF 屆年度秋季福音營

3. 執事會最新消息(吳海國執事)

1. 執事會已經開始實施新的資金審批程序，目的是更好地計劃和列出資金申請的優先次序。各事工必須在六月底以前提交資金申請報告，而且會有一名執事提前過目。
2. 產業管理報告

1. 產業項目概要

1. 主樓地下室空調工程已完工７５－８０％
2. 新的停車場已經啟用，美中不足的是上下坡道還是人車共用，有停車證的車主和乘客都被要求遵守開車和步行規則與標牌。

1. 有建議我們應盡快修建一條人行道。但是，僅申請開工許可證就要耗時數月，此項工作應列為最高優先。 
2. 也有建議在光線不足的情況下，譬如星期五晚上，應停止使用新停車場.

3. 週末交通指揮準則已經更新，這樣交通流量和安全性都會提高，會眾會注意到行車路線變化.

2. 產業維護概要

1. 大堂地毯已經清洗完畢
2. 衣帽間也已打掃幹淨
3. 有建議將損壞的椅子要麼仍掉，要麼放到一邊，以免被人誤用，造成不必要的傷害。

3. 產業管理概要

1. 已與植堂同工協調有關外景工程報價
2. 協助施工單位取得ST－５C免稅證

4. 如需詳情，請參閱四，五月執事會會議記錄。

4. 長老會最新消息(朱克潔長老)

1. 古郵政路383房產已於四月份正式轉入教會名下。南區分堂已提交有關教會獨立運行的時間表。
2. 英語部事工已著手他們的命名提案，這樣有助於他們對外交流。
3. 有關林珍妮和鮑斯文的牧師任命工作已經準備完畢。
4. 有關牧師和教會管理同工的福利事項已經修正完畢。
5. 新的非教會組織支持政策已原則上通過，在正式批准前，還需對草案略作改動。
6. 教會異象

1. 長老團已經提交第一份草案，並與教牧同工交流。雙方對修改過的提案已達成共識。
2. 下個月的牧長執聯會退休會，教會異象將會是討論的重點。
3. 教會將蒐集所有的意見，以準備教會的使命宣言和戰略目標，來實現教會的異象。

5. 季度財務報告（王繼勇執事）

1. 繼勇執事介紹了教會目前的財務狀況，以及由財務委員會完成的數份月報。但是，五月份的財務數據還沒有出來。

6. 教會年度預算報批情況（王繼勇執事）

1. ２０１６財年預算比２０１５增長６.１６％
2. 開第牧師提議中文部團契事工開銷應由越剛牧師和新文執事審批，而不是他本人。因開第牧師缺席今天的會議，目前暫定他們叁人都可以審批，最終結果留待下一次教牧長執聯會討論。
3. 按照原來長老團的規劃，昆西事工財政繼續劃歸中文堂。（在事工分配表上，被錯誤地標注為由社會關懷事工負責）
4. 取消社青團契學生退修會預算欄目。
5. 從七月份開始，邵麗芳姐妹將取代洪書兄弟審批南區教會的開銷。
6. 克潔長老和煜光長老分別提議和附議通過２０１６財年預算，最後無記名通過。

7. 教會長遠目標發展情況

1. 克潔長老回顧了教會曆史

1. ４６年前（１９６９年），大波士頓地區有許多講國語的華人，但沒有一個講國語的教會。
2. 其間借用Grace Chapel聚會，至１９７３年，人數已增加到１００人。
3. 後來教會搬到務本，至１９８２年，人數增加到２５０人。
4. 後來教會在務本購買了第二棟房子做教堂，至１９９１年，人數增加到３５０人。
5. 再後來教會在勒辛頓購買了現在這塊土地，至２０１２年，人數增加到９００人。 
6. 以前教會的重點：

1. 星期天崇拜和主日學
2. 海外宣教和宣教支援
3. 當地外展和福音事工
4. 團契和校園查經班
5. 社會關懷和照顧

7. 有助教會成長的活動：

1. 一年一度的差傳大會
2. 當地外展／關懷／探訪／本宣佈道會
3. 教會建堂（務本I，務本II，勒辛頓）
4. 青少年，大學以及全教會的退修會

8. 主要事工

1. 第二代成年後，開始青少年和英語崇拜
2. 差傳大會和宣教認獻使教會能夠支持更多宣教士
3. 建堂事工讓會眾在一起工作，增加凝聚力
4. 本地佈道會幫助許多慕道友認識耶穌，壯大基督的身體。

9. 顯而易見，外部社會環境變化也有助於教會發展，因此我們應該改善我們的外展計劃以更好適應這個變化的世界。
10. 曾有人問，教會異象會不會改變教會名稱，就目前來看還沒有。

2. 何明治長老提供了對教會現狀的觀察

1. 當前教會人口統計

1. 大多數是第一代中國移民
2. 穩定的第二代成員
3. 對於許多年輕專業人員和學生（中國90後的那代人），我們還沒有較好的接觸.
4. 較高的平均教育水平

2. 優勢和弱點

1. 優良的拓展和差傳傳統.
2. 雙語和中國文化背景
3. 非華人很難融入我們的教會

3. 教會的整體屬靈狀態

1. 非常敬業的同工團隊
2. 不斷增長的人數
3. 門徒訓練的需要
4. 中文部團契之間以及中、英、青、和兒童部團隊之間缺乏聯絡。有個問題就是什麼樣關係是我們想要的或是最理想的

4. 今天面臨的重要事項

1. 出席人數：週五晚上的查經以及主日崇拜和主日學
2. 屬靈建造門徒訓練：需要門訓的培訓
3. 擴堂事工：需要更多的溝通，推廣和動力
4. 教會領導之間的合一：調和與諒解，相互信任與尊重

5. 週邊的環境

1. 中國人口在波士頓已經增加

1. 從2000到2011年，在麻州增長了46％至12.3萬
2. 經常參加教會的人數不到5％

2. 就讀於大學的中國學生數量激增

1. 從2012起， 2013~2014年期間，在美國的中國留學生人數增加了274,439（16％）.
2. 中國留學生佔美國所有國際學生的31％.

3. 新英格蘭地區的許多中國教會比我們更小更薄弱
4. 在波士頓，馬爾登，和昆西地區需要更多的教堂

3. 何煜光長老通過總結長老團異象規劃的調查問卷結果，展望未來。調查問捲和部分回饋包括:

1. 你最看重的個人虔誠的品質是什麼?
   謙卑，誠實，勇氣，屬靈合一，信心，愛心和耐心，內外一致的生活見證.
2. 你最看重哪項個人事工?
   傳福音，屬靈建造，社會關懷，愛關，基督化家庭生活，團契，兒童和青少年
3. 應該注重的主要事工?
   門徒培訓，事工整合，社會關懷，郊區校園外展，福音未及之地的宣教，多場敬拜和混合敬拜形式，互動式主日學，兒童和青少年輔導
4. 應該減弱的主要的事工?
   大型聚會和單堂崇拜
5. 你喜歡我們的教會發展到什麼規格?
   (在10至15年間人數翻倍)
6. 在10至20年間你對教會的期待是什麼?

1. 華語部事工規模更大，但增長的步伐變緩
2. 老年人，成年人，退休專業人員增多
3. 英語部事工更具主導性
4. 仍然是多元文化的教會
5. 仍然是一個充滿關愛，關懷，崇拜，團契，並能改變生命的地方
6. 能發揮有效領導能力的個人會更多
7. 更多短期的宣教團隊和長期的傳教士

8. 何煜光長老做了結束祈禱，在下午12時33分，楊德禮長老宣布休會.
9. 附件

1. 四月月份通過電子投票，韋江牧師提議在2015財年,南區預算（帳號53070）由原先$30,200增加$10,612.69至$40,812.69.69。吳海國執事附議。該議案通過.
2. 會議結束後，五月份的財務數據出爐:

1. 自2012年12月1日起來：教堂擴建工程捐贈為總額$918,732.99.
2. 截止到截至5月31日，我們的總費用佔年度總預算的89.1％，而我們總奉獻額佔年度總預算的102.8％（財年截至6月30日）。
3. 五月份的經常費用赤字主要是包括紀念日退休會在內的消費費用造成的，而收集到的報名費及捐款（54140美元）並沒有存入五月而是存入了六月。