April Session Report

Like every meeting we have, we opened with an extended time of prayer, which included, scripture meditation, BCP vespers prayer, and praying for the families and needs in our congregation. We also stopped and prayed at various points in our meeting for some of the different topics that came up. One of the things that is very important to us is that our leading needs to be rooted in, and dependent on God’s leading. Prayer is one of the simple ways we can practice that dependance. 

After prayer we moved into some of the business of the church including officer/staff pictures, budget reviews, attendance records, shepherding group updates, and reviewing holy week services. We all agreed that having round tables was a game changer for eating together! We also picked a date in June to spend a morning working on a strategic plan for our school.

Next, we moved into longer form discussions. The first item up for discussion was on the book, “Deacon” by Cornelius Van Dam (I wish his first name was Jean Claude). Van Dam gives a beautiful and full picture of what the role of a deacon is in the church. Looking at what the first deacons did in Acts chapter 6, this is what Van Dam argues is the heart of the role of a deacon:

“Deacons are to safeguard the communal joy of the fellowship of believers so that everyone in the church can function according to the God given responsibilities each has been given.” 

This includes mercy ministry inside and outside the church, as well as caring for the physical needs of the building. The idea being, that if you are in need physically or financially, or even if the building is in need, it is limiting the fellowship and joy of the church. Over the next couple of years we will be working to build this kind of diaconate to help assist the work of the elders. To help us accomplish this, we formed a committee to develop a plan. We aim to have a report by our June meeting. 

The next big discussion item was continuing to work through our mission/vision statement as a church. This is something we’ve been working on together as a group since last October. I always had planned that our first session would work on these guiding statements together in order to help align them better with who we are. We plan to announce them and teach through them this fall to help our church have cohesion and focus around what we believe God is calling us to do at Saint Andrew’s. 

After that discussion we moved into shorter discussions including a report from Josh and David from their time at an MNA (Mission to North America, in charge of PCA church planting) conference. One of the things that has always been a part of our mission is to see more churches planted and we want to begin laying the groundwork for that now. A part of this discussion was talking about Andrew Perkins and his efforts of church planting in Richland and how we can support that work as much as we are able to. 

Lastly we went into executive session. This is where we talk about sensitive topics that are only for session members to hear and participate in.

Continue to pray for our church, for our leaders and members, that we will accomplish what the Lord has for us. Also continue to pray for the Lord’s provision for all our needs. 

As always, if you have any questions or comments don’t hesitate to reach out!

Blessings,

Craig