PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
It has been a privilege and honor to serve as your President this last year and working alongside these Council members, Carl Skooglund,
Vice President
, Ashley Hanks,
Secretary
, Michael Weir,
Treasurer
, Erika Allen, Laura Kodat, Paul Jentz, Sharon Lane, and Brian Thomas has been a blessing in so many ways. All of us have continued to work closely with Pastor Jim Graeser and the staff to help support and implement his vision, which was introduced and outlined in the
Ministry Action Plan (MAP).
To help with the
MAP
, your Council was hard at work with:
- Quarterly Council News.
- Approval last fall for a Detached Monument Digital Sign approximately 15 ft. high, and adding “Lutheran Church” under our existing stationery building sign presented by the Sign Committee.
- Add the position of a Young Adult Ministry Coordinator to the staff.
- We have established a new program of Neighborhood Connection Groups.
- The Facilities Committee, along with David Cowart, our Director of Church Administration, has begun efforts to accomplish maintenance needs around King of Glory.
- The north rental house (6410 Clubhouse Drive) has sold and closed in December of 2019.
- Read the book: “Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church.”
- We continue to lift up the many ministries King of Glory members volunteer and support.
- A search committee began for the position of Director of Music and Artistic Ministries. Two candidates have been selected and are in the final interview process.
Council is looking forward to our
“20/20 Vision!”
Thank you for continuing to hold up your Congregation Council in prayer as we work through the tasks placed before us.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart…. Proverbs 3:5
Michelle Hild
Council President
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MAP - Equip and encourage our congregation to confidently share their faith in Jesus
In moving King of Glory members (disciples) to being encouraged and equipped to confidently share their faith in Jesus, Pastor Jim led a four-week adult Sunday School study in June,
Harley Davidson and Jesus Changed My Life.
The course emphasized that we are not shy about sharing our hobbies and interests that have been meaningful in our lives, like going to the gym, riding motorcycles, or watching movies; why not use that same boldness to talk about our faith in Jesus?! Talking excitedly about running our first half-marathon ought to be no match for how excited we are to be followers of Jesus and how much he means to us. In September, we launched
Cross Fit KOG
, not as a program launch but rather as a culture shift within King of Glory. Our goal is for every KOG member to be “Spiritually Fit,” leading lives that look Cross-shaped. Spiritually Fit people easily share their faith and invite others into the Spiritually Fit life. All of our programming is now viewed through the lens of “how does this help a person become/remain spiritually fit?”
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MAP - Support, equip, and build up our ministries led by young adults.
2019 saw the start of many great things for our Young Adult Community! Nicole Graeser leads a
Taco Tuesday
small group for the young adult ladies, and a
Young Adult Coordinator
, Veronika Czutor, was hired this year and started her position at KOG the beginning of January. Veronika is leading a Young Adult Study this Spring semester, providing fellowship as well as outreach opportunities. We look forward to the growth of the Young Adult community within King of Glory. As you can see, some of them joined in to help John Mathis and his team in getting the apartment ready for the newest refugee family who arrived on January 29.
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MAP - Update and renovate children and youth rooms for security and aesthetics.
It's incredible all the different talents KoG has within our congregation and how they are shared. A special thank you goes out to a member for their gracious donation, to Mark and Lynn Sullivan for the beautifully designed wall graphics and cork wall and to Dan Cupp who painted the solid walls of the Holy Grounds Cafe. This is a newly designed and renovated room that currently is being used for our
Jr and Sr High kids to gather for Sunday School and Confirmation
. Be sure to stop by the Activities Center to see this beautiful and cozy room. Perhaps this might be a place you would like to reserve for your next meeting, small group or fellowship activity. The renovation and aesthetics for our youth and children's ministry classrooms are in the works for 2020.
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MAP - Cultivate a culture of generosity that leads to a 20% increase in regular giving.
Providing an update for this goal is a challenge because giving has become more complex at KOG. Members are directing more of their gifts to specific items and activities instead of providing those gifts for operations. For example, regular giving to operations declined 1.3 percent in 2019, from $1.902 million to $1.877 million. But designated giving included special gifts of $80,000 in 2018 and $110,000 in 2019. Combine these with regular offering and we increased from $1.982 million in 2018 to $1.987 million in 2019, an increase of 0.3 percent. While this increase is a slow start for this goal, we are in a better financial position after the sale of a rental house and the receipt of a $120,000 special gift. As of December 31, 2019, King of Glory has no debt, an operational surplus of $53,000, as well as $122,000 set aside for capital improvements and $61,000 for a digital sign. So we are off to a great start!
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Establish neighborhood care groups for the ongoing care of our faith community
The response to the Neighborhood Connection Group display at the February 9 Care Ministry Fair was excellent. KOG members had an opportunity to study our 26 neighborhoods on a large map and were able to identify their nearby member/neighbors, something that came as a pleasant surprise to many. For those who were unable to attend the event, the display will be available in the Atrium for the next two Sundays along with an opportunity to sign up as a neighborhood leader. Ten leaders have already volunteered. Leader orientation and training will be held in early March, dates to be announced. Thanks to all for your excellent response and interest in this new ministry.
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MAP - Locally encourage our North Dallas neighbors through mission work and support outside our walls.
This past Advent season, KOG supported our North Dallas neighbors through a number of outreach programs. Thanks to all who planned and participated in our congregation-wide
Comfort All My People
event, which supported Mt. Olive Lutheran’s homeless outreach, Family Gateway, Genesis Women’s Shelter, and area homeless through direct giving of blessing bags. Additionally, KOG members’ generosity was great through
Angel Tree
and Offering donations. This year our Angel Tree benefited pre-K students at Dobie Primary School and middle school students at Forest Meadow Junior High. The
Christmas Offering
, totaling almost $11,500.00, went to the City Square Transition Resource Action Center, Network of Community Ministries small loan program, and to help the Dallas area victims of the October tornadoes.
MAP - Increase ministry participation through greater volunteer engagement.
Do you remember
The Next 100
? Are you inviting new disciples to join King of Glory? Can you give more each month? Who are the next 100 leaders at KOG, and Where is KOG’s next service hours? Do you remember the Post-it Note Sunday?
The results from the exercise of writing where you volunteer were put together by Church in Society, and they found out of the 809 notes received - 462 members volunteer internally within our ministries like ushering, teaching Sunday school, washing coffee mugs, caring for our members such as Stephen Ministries or Parish Care and 347 also volunteer externally in other ways such as In the City for Good, Habitat for Humanity, delivering Meals on Wheels, or Scouting.
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MAP - Increase adult education opportunities that focus on disciple-making rooted in our understandings of scripture and the church and that live into our values.
King of Glory is excited to provide multiple opportunities for adults, young and old, to further their faith through education. Every Sunday, members can choose from a variety of classes that will help to nurture their faith and find deeper connections with other members. This spring the available classes include;
The Cross Fit Life
(Exploring what it means to be true disciples of Christ)
,
Making It Real
(An examination of Isaiah)
, and for the first time, a
Young Adult Study
, led by our new Young Adult Ministry Coordinator, Veronica Czutor, geared toward our members that are still in the beginning stages of their adult life.
The teaching teams are comprised of many different members of the congregation, all committed to helping each member find a place to connect and learn more about our faith and our place in the greater community of Christ. We hope everyone takes an opportunity to find a class that speaks to them and that the spring session brings us all closer in faith.
MAP - Create community across generations.
Intergenerational ministry is a model of Christian ministry that emphasizes relationships between age groups and encourages mixed-age activities. We’ve attempted to maximize the intergenerational community through:
- Committees made up of cross-generational members;
- Service events like the Advent Event Comfort All My People, the Lenten Event Rise for Hunger and Impact Dallas;
- Confirmation mentors;
- A sermon where Pastor Graeser emphasized the importance of each generation to train the following generation;
- Children’s Christmas program presented during regular worship services;
- Teams of adult volunteers provide weekly meals for confirmands and their families.
- Women's Ministry Retreat
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