Meeting Highlights

• Devotional from Pastor Jason Meyer
• Membership Report
• Church Discipline Matters
• Motion to Amend By-Laws to Allow for Electronic Meetings
• Motion to Call Aaron Rothermel as Pastor for Children & Family Discipleship, North Campus
• Motion to Call Tom Steller as a Non-Staff Elder, Downtown Campus
• Motion to Approve Position Change for Brad Nelson to Pastor for Global Outreach
• Presentation of Proposed Changes to Constitution & By-Laws to Formally Establish “Campuses” and Allow for Campus Specific Business Meetings
• Treasurer’s Report
• Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25 Reports

Devotional

Pastor Jason Meyer gave a devotional on the topic of church discipline, one of the aspects of church life that takes place at Quarterly Strategy meetings, and how it ties into the concept of church membership. Pastor Jason considered texts from Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5. 

• Church discipline and removal from membership is driven by love and hope.
• Excommunication emphasizes that the one who is removed from membership is not recognized as part of the fellowship of believers.
• Believers should focus their interactions on going after the repentance and faith of a person removed from membership.
• The removal from membership can move forward swiftly (1 Corinthians 5) or through an extended process (Matthew 18), depending on the ability to test for repentance and the nature of the witness(es) required.

Membership Report

At the end of the meeting, Bethlehem membership stands at 2,550 members.

Church Discipline Items

The elders made members aware of three church discipline matters during the Executive Session in which all non-members were asked to leave the room.

Motion to Amend By-Laws to Allow for Electronic Meetings

The By-Laws were amended to allow for electronic meetings. The amendment was first presented in writing at the July 26, 2020, QSM. A motion to amend the wording with a few edits and an added sentence was approved, and then the amended motion also passed. The Guidelines for Electronic Meetings document provides information about the use of this format.

Motion to Call Aaron Rothermel as Pastor 

Aaron Rothermel (bio) was put forward as a candidate for Pastor for Children & Family Discipleship, North Campus. (Job description for the role.) The motion to call Aaron was approved.

Motion to Call Tom Steller as a Non-Staff Elder

Tom Steller is no longer on staff with Bethlehem due to his new role as a global partner with Training Leaders International. The motion to call Tom to serve as a non-staff elder at the Downtown Campus was approved.

Motion to Approve Position Change for Pastor Brad Nelson

The position change reflects Pastor Brad’s new role as Pastor for Global Outreach (formerly Pastor for Global Outreach Strategic Short-Term Ministry). The motion was approved.

Presentation of Proposed Changes to Constitution & By-Laws to Formally Establish ‘Campuses’

The Council of Elders presented Constitution and By-Laws amendments that introduce the concept of “campuses” and campus-specific business meetings in our governing documents. The constitutional amendments were officially presented at the September 13, 2020, Special Congregational Meeting. This second presentation accomplished the official presentation of the by-laws amendments at a QSM. Both amendments will be voted on at the December 13, 2020, Annual Meeting.

Treasurer’s Report

Tim Brinkmann presented the third quarter Treasurer’s Report to the assembly.

Third Quarter Summary

Giving was $2.03M

• Down $165K when compared to Q3 2019 giving

Spending was $2.33M

• Down $93K when compared to Q3 2019 spending

Spending exceeded giving by $294K

• In Q3 2019, spending exceeded giving by $222K

Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25 Reports

Church Planting

Kenny Stokes, Pastor for Church Planting, submitted his report in absentia via video.

• Overview of Pastor Kenny’s connections with seminary students and teaching with Bethlehem College & Seminary
• Update on church planting residents Marshall Posey (North) and James Lecheler (Downtown)
• Report on church planting efforts from recent residents now in Henniker, New Hampshire, and White Bear Lake, Minnesota
• Updates from the Treasuring Christ Together Network, including a recent retreat, extension sites in Cameroon and Hawaii (new development), and current prayer requests. 

Global Outreach

Brad Nelson, Pastor for Global Outreach

• The Global Diaconate has given more than $125,000 to international projects this year, including nearly $100,000 toward COVID-19 relief.
• Global Focus is starting on October 21. Our speaker will be Afshin Ziafat.
• Newly appointed Global Partners Jake & Amber F. were introduced. They will be serving in Southeast Asia through holistic development.
• Global Outreach has welcomed several new people to their team. Ministerial coordinator positions have been added to help fill in the gaps to care well for our global partners. New team members are ...
• Global Partners-in-Residence: Joe & Mary B.
• Ministerial Coordinators for Global Outreach, North: Global Partners Derek & Kristin Dearth
• Ministerial Coordinators for Global Outreach, Downtown: Global Partners Chris & Elizabeth Tachick
• Ministerial Coordinator for Short Term Mobilization: Ron Powell
• Pray for Global Partners Eric & Melissa A. and their three children. Eric was diagnosed with Leukemia on August 10 and is now fighting the cancer at Mayo Clinic. Pray against infection and cancer, pray for full healing of his body and reproduction of healthy blood cells, and pray for perseverance and for Christ to be magnified in their lives.