Special Pastoral Report

Jeremy Norton, Lead Pastor (August 7^th, 2024)

Summer 2024 Leadership Team Update

Dear Mountainview Church Family,

As we move through the summer months, it’s important to reflect on how God is guiding and shaping our leadership team during this season of change. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." With this understanding, we trust that God is establishing our steps as we navigate transitions within our church leadership.

The following update highlights some of these changes and the faithful individuals who have served and will continue to serve our church community. Your prayers, support, and involvement remain crucial as we move forward together in faith.

Ministry Leader Updates

Tech Lead: Emma McFarland will be heading off to film school in Vancouver. However, she will continue to contribute to our church by editing and uploading video content, as well as monitoring our social platforms. We are excited about her new journey and grateful for her ongoing dedication to our media ministry.

Audio Tech: Toan Nguyen will be returning to his role as Audio Tech on September 1st after his sabbatical. We want to extend a huge thank you to Carl Kho, who covered for Toan during his absence. Carl has been an invaluable asset to Pastor Byron and the Filipino Gathering, and we are grateful for his continued service.

Tech Intern: Jude Norton has enjoyed serving as a volunteer for the past few years and has faithfully contributed as a Summer Intern. That being said, he has decided to decline the opportunity to oversee filming and video capture in the fall. Instead, Jude will continue to serve as a volunteer, and we fully support his decision to contribute in a capacity that aligns with his interests and commitment level.

Video/Media Tech: Long Nguyen (no relation to Toan) has been shadowing and serving on our Tech Team for the past couple of months. Through God’s provision and the Spirit’s leading, Long has expressed interest in taking on a more significant role. With a background in media, specifically related to church worship, he could be the perfect fit to handle video capture for Emma while also being a valuable media teammate to Toan’s audio work on Sundays. Together, Long and Toan would collaborate on scheduling, training, and building a strong volunteer team.

Systems Administrator: Rachel Neis will be leaving Mountainview Church. Her last day will be September 27th, following the Women's Mini-Conference.

• As per her resignation letter, Rachel shared, "The friendships I've made, the spiritual growth I've experienced, and the memories I've created will always be cherished. I am genuinely grateful for the opportunities I've had to serve and be part of this supportive and loving community." While it is difficult for her to leave, she feels it is the right time to "explore new directions in [her] journey with God."
  

We are currently assessing Rachel’s role and exploring potential candidates or transitions to fill this vital position. We wish Rachel all the best in her future endeavours.

Music Lead: Mark Blydorp will be stepping away from his role as Music Lead this fall to focus more on family life. We deeply appreciate Mark’s dedication and skills in organizing our musicians and vocalists while leading our congregation in worship. Stepping into Mark’s role is Alex Deans, who will oversee the Music Ministry from a different perspective. While Alex will still handle planning, scheduling, and organizing, he feels called to support song leaders more than leading himself. We are excited to support Alex in this new endeavour.

Board Member Updates

Secretary: Katharina McArthur has returned from her sabbatical, and we're thrilled to have her back! She will resume her role as secretary starting this month. A huge thanks goes out to Cornelia for covering most of Katharina’s absence, and to Noah and Aaron for their temporary stints in board secretarial work.

Treasurer: Sarah Geary may need some support in her role as Treasurer this fall. With Rachel's departure and her prior involvement in day-to-day HR and bookkeeping tasks, Sarah will need to secure additional help. I’ll be working with her to find the right person to cover these responsibilities in the coming weeks.

Chair & Vice Chair: We still have vacancies for the Board Chair and Vice Chair positions. For the upcoming member meeting, based solely on my experience facilitating meetings, I have volunteered to chair the meeting in the interim unless the Board decides otherwise. If you feel even remotely called to serve in a chair capacity, please consider reaching out to the Board at board@mountainview.church.

Lay Elders: We have a significant need for Lay Elders. Our church currently has three female Deacons (Alison, Katharina and Sarah, as voting board members) and four male Teaching-Elders/Pastors (myself, Aaron, Herber and Byron as non-voting, ex-officio members). Adding a couple of Lay Elders would bring more balance to our leadership team. If you feel called to serve in this capacity, please let us know at board@mountainview.church

Continue to pray for our leadership, drop me a message if you have ideas on who we should approach, and please consider volunteering in some capacity if you’re not already serving. As 1 Peter 4:10 reminds us, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” Visit Mountainview.Church/SERVE to join one of our ministry teams today!

We appreciate your continued support and commitment to Mountainview Church.