09 Jan Moving Ahead Into 2021
A church planning meeting was held on Saturday, January 9. The purpose of these meetings, which are held every calendar quarter, are twofold: to provide an update on actions that have occurred, and to discuss plans for actions and events that will take place in the months to come.
Update On 2020 Projects
During the update portion of the meeting, elder Danny DeLoach highlighted the various building maintenance and repair projects that had been completed. Our building was closed for several of the spring and summer months due to COVID-19 concerns, making it an ideal time to work on much-needed renovations and repairs. Here is a list of the repairs and renovations that were made, some of which are still in progress.
- A complete demolition of our 1980’s-era restrooms, replacing them with expanded facilities that are ADA compliant and fully accessible by all, and new water-saving plumbing fixtures to reduce utility costs.
- Likewise, the front entrances of our building are being updated for accessibility (work is underway).
- The sound booth was demolished; in its place, a much larger media booth has been built and equipped for video and livestream production of church activities.
- Needed repairs to the baptistry pump and filter were performed.
- Ceilings in the foyer and main hallways were repaired and updated (goodbye, popcorn ceilings!), and light fixtures were replaced with new energy-efficient LED lighting to lower utility costs.
- The auditorium, fellowship hall, and hallways were repainted.
- A general “house cleaning” of the entire building will continue through the first quarter of 2021.
Danny mentioned that some of these renovations were pricey, but necessary – especially the changes to make our building more accessible to all. The church did not assume any debt; all of these renovations were paid for out of the building fund.
Budget for 2021
This being the beginning of the new year, our budget for 2021 was also handed-out to attendees and discussed. Thanks to the generosity of member contributions, our ministry and mission efforts will continue into 2021 at the same or greater levels as during 2020, including support to the following missions and organizations, among others.
- The church of Christ in Burrell Boom, Belize
- Eastern European Mission
- Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort
- Heritage Christian University
- Florida Bible Camp
- Mount Dora Children’s Home
… as well as continuing our support of outreach and events here in the High Springs community to the extent that COVID-19 will allow. Several new outreach efforts were discussed during the meeting, but with the qualifier that these might be held in 2021 or delayed to 2022, depending on how soon we may safely resume large public activities.
Future Decisions Related to Services
Danny, along with elder Jerry Swilley, discussed the decision-making process on restarting classroom training and large fellowship events at the building. Classes and events will remain cancelled for the immediate future. While our large auditorium allows for a socially-distanced and safe worship environment, the other rooms of our building are much smaller, and it is simply not advisable to bring a lot of people together into a small classroom or fellowship hall at this time. It is the desire of everyone – including our elders and minister – to get “back to normal” as soon as possible. The elders are constantly evaluating the situation, and will restart classes and fellowship events as soon as it is safe to do so.
Sermon and “Power Hour” Topics for 2021
Minister Tim Spivy has asked for ideas and suggestions for sermon topics from the congregation, also for lesson topics for the Wednesday midweek “Power Hour”. If there’s a Biblical topic you’d like to hear about in Sunday lesson(s) or Wednesday night class(es), see Tim.