Church-wide Information Meeting Minutes

April 17, 2016

1. Location: Church chapel

2. Meeting Agenda & Minutes

1. Meeting started at 1:40 pm.  Pastor Caleb Chang opened in prayer.
2. English Pastor search update (Elder Bryan Che)

1. Pastor Chuck is retiring at the end of June after 16 years of ministry at CBCGB.
2. The pastor search committee members are Pastor Caleb Chang, Elder Bryan Che, Emily Cheng, Elder Yuguang He, Loren Shih, and Elder Terry Yang.  They have been meeting since last fall.
3. Pastoral search process

1. Job description review with English Ministry and posting (December 2015)

1. https://www.cbcgb.org/em/pastor-job-search
2. Applicants are asked to provide materials such as testimony, statement of faith, sermon samples, etc.

2. Candidates phone screens (January 2016 - ongoing)
3. Candidates committee interviews (February 2016 - ongoing)
4. Single candidate church-wide visit
5. English Ministry feedback, English Ministry Leaders Core review, Board of Elders review
6. Candidate offer

4. Out of concern for the privacy of candidates, the committee will not share anything regarding candidate identities until a single candidate has been identified to visit the church for a weekend.  However, the committee is on track to finding a replacement for Pastor Chuck by the end of June.
5. Contingency plans

1. Pastor Chuck’s last week is June 26, 2016.
2. If there is no pastor in place by the summer, Pastor David will preach twice a month.  Visiting missionaries and seminarians will preach the other weeks.
3. If there is no pastor in place by the fall, the church will invite a visiting speaker to preach regularly.  There is already a candidate for this role in mind.

6. Contact for any feedback: epsc@cbcgb.org

3. Youth Pastor search update (Elder Terry Yang)

1. Pastor Sandy is retiring at the end of August.
2. Youth pastor search committee members are Pastor Caleb Chang, Karin Hsieh, Kelly Hsu, Pastor Jennifer Lin, Elder Terry Yang.
3. Elder Terry is on both English Ministry and Youth Pastor search committees, so the process for the youth pastor search is similar to that for the English pastor search:

1. Job description and selection criteria review (March 2016)
2. Single candidate selected (April 2016)
3. Single candidate church-wide visit
4. Youth ministry feedback, youth parent feedback, Board of Elders Review
5. Candidate offer

4. A candidate had already applied before the search process started.  The committee did not know about this candidate when defining the job description and selection criteria review, but has since reviewed the candidate against the independently created selection criteria and decided to move forward with inviting him/her to a church-wide visit.  Assuming that the candidate is still available and is approved, the church is on track to having a youth pastor in place by August.

4. Metro-south updates (Pastor Jiang Wei)

1. Metro-south held its five year anniversary on March 6, 2016.
2. Metro-south is preparing for independent status.  Metro-south has received its certificate of incorporation and its Employer Identification Number (EIN).  It is almost ready to file for tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service.  Metro-south is on schedule to be fully independent by June of next year.
3. Pastor Wei gave an overview of the architectural design of the new Metro-south church building.  It will consist of 8400 square feet with a sanctuary, fellowship hall, adult classrooms, and church/youth rooms.  The sanctuary will hold 200-300 people.
4. Metro-south is ahead of schedule paying off the member loans used to purchase the 383 Old Post Road, Sharon property.  It is projected that all loans will be paid off by the end of June 2016.  They have started a pledge drive for the church building, with a target of $1 million ($250,000 in donations and $750,000 in personal loans).  They have already raised one-third of this goal after only one week into the pledge drive.

5. English ministry identity update (Elder Bryan Che)

1. For the last half year, English ministry has been discussing their identity.
2. Key questions:

1. What is the role of our English congregation within the broader context of a Chinese church?
2. How would we ideally relate to other congregations in our church?
3. Whom should we target and how should we engage outside our church?

3. English ministry has created an identity document that affirms the following statements:

1. We are a congregation of CBCGB.  We welcome and incorporate all people to worship, fellowship, and serve with us, regardless of background.
2. As part of our core values, we are God-centered, Biblical, transformational, communal, and missional
3. We are currently in the midst of a focused effort to align our vocations and/or what our vocations provide us for the advancement of God’s kingdom through:

1. Entering vocational Christian ministry
2. Relocating our jobs to serve as intentional witnesses in underserved areas of the world
3. Selecting and committing our careers to Christ
4. Using what our vocations provide us to advance God’s kingdom

4. Through our multi-cultural demographic, with many having some Chinese heritage, we provide a unique bridge for diverse groups and special opportunities to serve God, including:

1. People of all races who are interested in cross-cultural experiences or outreach opportunities
2. People with mixed-culture backgrounds
3. First-generation immigrants looking for an English-speaking, Americanized environment.

5. We strive to integrate our values, focus, and heritage.  As part of our core values, we are missional and work to advance God’s kingdom to all peoples everywhere.  Through our multi-cultural heritage, we have special opportunities to serve God.

4. Creating a new sub-brand and website

1. Why do we need a new brand or identity to help draw people to English ministry?

1. Current challenges: If you search for our church on Google, the English ministry doesn’t show up in any search results because CBCGB-related search results are dominated by Chinese ministry.  If someone is looking for an English speaking congregation in a Chinese church, it is very hard for them to discover our congregation.  The first goal is to reach out to people to enable them to know that there is a English ministry program available to them.

2. Why create a new name and not a subdomain?

1. CBCGB has the word Chinese in it, but English ministry is seeking to not only take advantage of our Chinese heritage but also reach out to other cultures.  We want to make sure that non-Chinese feel welcome at our church.
2. CBCGB is already long and hard to remember.  If we make it any longer, it will be even more difficult to remember.
3. It is common practice among both businesses and churches to create multiple brands and identities.  Brands help coordinate the way in which they outreach to different target audiences.  For example:

1. Google not only has their core brand, but also Gmail and Youtube.
2. General Motors owns the Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC brands.
3. Grace Chapel has complete websites set up for different ministries (e.g. grace.org, deepercloserwider.org, etc.)
4. Redeemer Church in New York City has different websites for vocational ministry, urban ministry, and their senior pastor.

3. English ministry is seeking to create a new name and website to help reach their target audience.  It is currently a work in progress.  Two possible themes that are being explored as potentially being part of the name:

1. Theme 1: Multi-cultural pieces that combine together to form a cohesive unit
2. Theme 2: Spring/Renewal (since the church is on Spring Street)

4. The goal is for English ministry to reach out to multiple cultures as part of the overall church vision (as other ministries in the church are also doing).

6. Major facility improvements (Deacon Haiguo Wu)

1. There have been six major projects approved or completed during the last 12 months:

1. Main Building Basement HVAC Project (Completed August 2015: $63,630)

1. This project was never completed after the church was built, and the basement has not had any HVAC until now.  This is why the basement was often humid and conducive to mold growth.  The kitchen was also converted from propane gas to natural gas as part of this project.

2. Sanctuary HVAC project (Completed December 2015: $81,000)

1. The temperature in the sanctuary was never reliable or consistent.  The previous system was also 20 years old and at end of life.

3. 151 building project (Completed September 2015)

1. Thanks to the church building expansion team who ran the project.
2. The Board of Deacons was tasked with audio/visual installation and furniture purchase.

4. Upper parking lot (80% Complete, May 2015)

1. This project was also run by the church building expansion team.  Signs have been installed to help regulate traffic.

5. Sanctuary projector replacement (Completed March 2016)

1. The previous projector had a useful life of 2,000 hours after which the lamp would need  replacement.  We had already used the lamp for 3,100 hours.  The projector was replaced with a higher resolution laser projector on March 24, 2016 (the day before Good Friday).  The lifetime of the laser projector is ten times longer than the previous projector, and will hopefully last us a couple of decades.  The projector also has a wider aspect ratio.
2. The lift used to replace the projector was supposed to returned the following day, but the rental company did not pick it up.  As a result, we used the lift to also clean the sanctuary ceiling fans.

6. Upcoming project: Carriage house parking lot expansion

1. This project has been approved and will start soon.
2. The project will remove tree stumps and widen the parking lot adjacent to the carriage house.  The project will also add parking to the front of the church office building.
3. The driveway potholes will also be fixed as part of this project.

7. Approved capital expenditure for these projects: $153,500

2. Upcoming project: New HVAC systems in the remaining main building areas

1. Locations: chapel, main foyer, 1st and 3rd floor classrooms
2. The existing systems are at end of life (unreliable) and inefficient (electric heating).  In the case of the church foyer and library areas, the existing system is also under-designed.
3. This project will start during the second half of this year and may occur in phases due to the high cost and lack of available funds in the capital fund.

7. Church vision update (Elder Ke-chieh Chu)

1. In 2015, a draft church vision statement was created:
   Every person of multicultural background in Greater Boston and beyond be a disciple of Christ
   從大波士頓到世界各地，從單元到多元文化背景，人人都成為基督的門徒。
2. Between September and November 2015, church leadership went to different fellowship groups to explain and discuss the draft church vision statement.  Church fellowship groups noted that the English and Chinese statements had some discrepancies, so the church council continued discussions this year to revise the vision statement.
3. The current vision statement, approved by the church council, is:
   To see every person become a disciple of Christ, across all cultures, from East to West, from Greater Boston to the world.
   從大波士頓到世界各地，從東方到西方所有文化，人人都成為基督的門徒。
4. The next step is to create our church mission statement.  Elder Bryan Che will be leading that effort.

8. CBE project updates (Elder Ke-chieh Chu)

1. The original plan scoped in 2012 consisted of three phases:

1. Phase I: Budget $1.6 million

1. 151 building rebuilt, additional parking, circular driveway

2. Phase II: Budget $2.6 million

1. Foyer, fellowship hall, classrooms

3. Phase III: Budget $2.0 million

1. Indoor gym/multi-purpose function hall

2. The original plan was to be funded by previously accumulated church building expansion project funds ($200K), donations ($1 million), and church bonds ($5 million).
3. Phase I is almost complete

1. Phase I part 1: Budget $1.2 million (Complete)

1. The 151 building was rebuilt with a cost of $1.14 million.

2. Phase 1 part 2: Budget $400K

1. Upper parking - Estimate $100K.  Currently spent $55K
2. Circular Driveway - Estimate $160K.

1. Land survey: $5,000
2. Consultant: $10,000

3. Current Phase I projected cost: $1.4 million ($1.2 million spent, $270,000 remaining)
4. Phase I Part 2 activities:

1. Upper parking lots: 80% complete

1. Stairway and lighting need to be done

2. Circular driveway

1. Land survey - completed 3/31
2. Road design - started 3/12
3. Permit application - planning
4. Contractor search - planning

3. The team is discussing whether to request to have the exit from the upper parking lot go into the adjacent Boston Properties parking lot which would simplify the plan and save money.

4. The Board of Elders and Board of Deacons have discussed whether we need further building expansion.  Four reasons identified for building new facilities are:

1. To resolve facility needs for Chinese ministry Sunday worship for the next 20 years.  The current sanctuary capacity is not sufficient.
2. To create a strong base to support expansion of other ministries such as mission, local outreach, social concern, etc.
3. Indoor activity center for children, youth, and AWANA
4. To prepare for reaching out to local Chinese immigrants

5. After Phase 1 Part 1, the team recognized that development of the first phase was only done by the church building expansion team.  For the second two phases, the team hopes to involve the entire church council and both Chinese and English ministry congregations.  It was also decided to swap Phase II and Phase III, because of a urgent needs in youth and children’s ministry and needed space for Chinese worship overflow.
6. Proposed alternative plan for Phase II and Phase III

1. Phase II: Budget $2.4 million

1. Indoor gym/multi-purpose function hall

2. Phase III: Budget $2.4 million

1. Foyer, fellowship hall, classrooms

3. Phase I, II, III total estimate: $6.2 million (same as before)

7. There have also been changes to the financial plan.  The original plan was to raise the money for Phase II and Phase III with church bonds.  However, relying on member loans may be more cost effective (to eliminate overhead expenses).  The proposed plan is to fund Phase II with $1.2 million donations and $1.2 million member loans.

1. Promotion and fundraising will be led by pastoral staff and the Board of Elders (Brother JingNing and Deacon Jian to coordinate)
2. Requirements specification: Led by Board of Deacons and pastoral staff (Led by Deacon Phil)
3. Design/construction: Led by Church Building Expansion Team
4. Financial Planning (Led by Ji-yong and Elder Ke-chieh)

8. Proposed Plan for Phase II

1. Arrive at consensus with church leaders
2. Draft requirements documents (Solicit input from all ministries)
3. Draft rough design
4. All parties agree on rough design
5. Communicate to the congregation
6. Promotion/fundraising/issue loan
7. Detailed design and permit application
8. Contractor search

9. Depending on the output of ministry requirements gathering and proposed design, it is possible that Phase II and Phase III may be combined.
10. Time table

1. Requirements document draft to be submitted to church council for review/approval by June 18, 2016.
2. Rough design draft submitted to church council for review/approval by September 17, 2016.

9. Question and answer

1. The four reasons stated for church building expansion may not be sufficient.  For example, with the ability to stream video to on-site and remote locations and/or the ability to have multiple services, do we need building expansion to support the growing Chinese ministry worship service?  Should we instead use our financial resources into other needed areas, such as City Outreach Ministry facilities, missions, or social concerns?

1. The church has tried multiple Chinese ministry worship services in the past unsuccessfully.
2. City Outreach Ministry has great needs.  Unfortunately, property costs in the city are very high and we are unsure how the church will help.  These concerns will be brought to church leadership to discuss.

2. Regarding EM pastor search: Does the senior pastor need to play a more active role rather than leaving operations to other search committee members?

1. Pastor Caleb believes that the best way for the pastoral search process is to work with search committee members as a team, from whom he has learned a lot.  As soon as this meeting ends, Pastor Caleb and the rest of the English ministry pastor search committee will meet for two hours.  Pastor Caleb believes that it is best to engage with ministry leaders while searching for pastors.

3. Our sanctuary is not currently full.  Perhaps we should consider renting facilities outside of the church for overflow.

1. The church needs to plan long term.  By the time the sanctuary is full, it will be too late to implement a solution.

4. Should we expand our financial support further for City Outreach Ministry?

1. We’ll discuss this among the Board of Elders along with City Outreach Ministry co-workers.

5. Some youth parents have expressed hope that the new youth pastor would be able understand some Chinese for better communication with parents.

1. Pastor Sandy noted that she has never had difficulty understanding parents, except for understanding what their heart is saying.  There are plenty of capable people to help with translation when necessary.  Around the area, most of the Chinese church youth pastors are Caucasian and/or don’t speak any Chinese.

6. When this church was first built, the location was chosen because of its centrality.  However, there are many Chinese churches now.  For example, Newton has four Chinese churches.  Do we need to bring more of the greater Boston Chinese to this location?

1. Whether people choose to come to Lexington or other churches, our penetration rate is only 5%.  There are still many people to be reached regardless of which church they ultimately go to.

7. Is the multi-purpose function hall only to be  used by children’s ministry and AWANA?

1. The plan is to also use the hall for Chinese worship overflow.

10. Pastor Chuck Lowe closed the meeting in prayer, and Elder Ke-chieh closed the meeting at 3:36pm