Board of Directors Report

Ben Clinkenbeard • March 10, 2025

We are blessed to have One Ministry with many moving parts.

Members of St. Peter’s,


We are blessed to have One Ministry with many moving parts, some of which include: weekly communal worship, senior ministry, high school and middle school youth ministry, young adults, athletics, adult Bible study groups, women’s ministry, Care Ministries, VBS, Kids of the Kingdom, Altar Guild, praise team, junior and adult choirs, preschool , PTL, Hope Sessions, Community of Care, day school, a principal, preschool director, two associate pastors and soon, God willing, a Senior pastor, coupled with many full and part-time staff, and many faithful volunteers who share the honor, the willingness and the joy of Connecting, Growing and Sharing our One St. Peter’s ministry. 


One of the main duties the St. Peter’s membership has given to the Board of Directors is maintaining and continually developing policies which better equip our One Ministry to function efficiently, by providing a clear, well-written governance structure on leadership, accountability and Christ-centered expectations. With the calling of a new Senior Pastor on the horizon and making every effort to make the transition seamless, your Board of Directors over the past several months has been working diligently to address our current policies and procedures, some of which may be confusing, unclear or not applicable to our current One Ministry here at St. Peter’s. For you to better grasp and appreciate the changes being brought to the Voter’s meeting in May, we are providing materials including copies of the proposed Bylaws changes and a list of Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to our new Policy Based Governance model in the Ministry Center. 


In addition, we will be holding a series of townhall meetings over the next few weeks, beginning March 16th. In preparation for the vote on the Bylaws change that we will bring to the congregation at the May Voters’ meeting, these town hall meetings will offer a time and place to discuss our change to a Policy Based Governance structure and why we feel NOW is the proper time to act. These town hall meetings will provide ample opportunity for discussion beforehand so that we will all arrive at the May Voters’ assembly ready and better prepared to vote. Praise be to God for all that He has provided for us here at St. Peter’s. Thank you!


Town hall Meeting Schedule:

  • Sunday, March 16th, 2025 - 9:00 am (Following the 8:00 Service)
  • Sunday, March 16, 2025 - 12:00 pm (Following the 10:30 Service)
  • Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 - 5:45 pm (Prior to Wednesday Lenten Service)
  • Saturday, March 22, 2025 - 6:00 pm (Following the 5:00 Service)
  • Other town hall meetings may be scheduled between now and the May Voter’s meeting.

News & Notes

By Pastor Paul Dancy May 27, 2025
A Final Note
By Ministry Team May 27, 2025
See you at church!
By Barb Christian May 27, 2025
A Note from Barb Christian, Preschool Director
By Church Office May 27, 2025
Our online directory is updated with our new pictures, and you all look fantastic!
By Pastor Paul Dancy May 27, 2025
Sermon by Pastor Paul Dancy
May 19, 2025
There's Been a Change
May 19, 2025
Board of Directors Ben Clinkenbeard Your Board of Directors is proud to announce that the motion to change our bylaws was approved by the members of St. Peter's on Sunday. A hearty THANK YOU goes out to all of our members who attended the meeting. The meeting also provided an opportunity for spirited discussion and reports from the Endowment Committee, Treasurer, School and Preschool, and some of our Ministry Teams. We also received an update from the Vision to Victory team and the Senior Pastor Call committee. As Pastor Dancy steps away from St. Peter's at the end of May, please be on the lookout for updates from our Senior Pastor Call committee and updates from the Board of Directors as we transition into our newly approved bylaws. We want to extend another thank you to both Pastor Dancy and Pam Launer! Blessings on your next chapter. New elections to the Board of Directors were as follows (* indicates incumbent): Dennis Borchers Ben Clinkebeard* Gary DeCamp Bill Habegger* Mark Timm Vision to Victory Mark & Sandy Timm If you missed the Spring Voter’s Meeting, you missed a big announcement from the Vision to Victory Team. WE PAID OFF THE MORTGAGE! Praise the Lord! We took out a loan twelve years ago to make additions and major renovations to the church. Paying down, or paying off this loan has been a major focus of four consecutive capital campaigns. And we are now debt free. Thanks to everyone who contributed to any of these capital campaigns. It’s been a long time coming, but we praise the Lord that this has been accomplished. Huge cause for celebration! In the weeks to come, the pastors will incorporate a symbolic “mortgage burning” ceremony as a part of our weekly services. And maybe, if we ask nicely, we might even get some refreshments following the service! The Vision to Victory campaign has four major objectives. Retiring our debt was the first and foremost. Done. Refurbishing the sanctuary was the second objective. That has been accomplished and paid for through dedicated funds that were earmarked for this purpose. In fact, we did not require any funds from the capital campaign to accomplish this work. Refurbishing the organ was a third objective. This work is also complete and paid for. At a cost of $330k, we were fortunate to receive a grant from the Lutheran Foundation to cover half the expense. We also were able to use a fund that was previously set aside for this purpose. In reality, we only required a little over $70k from the Vision to Victory capital campaign to get this work accomplished. The final objective of this campaign was to accomplish some much-needed work at the school. Last summer, we were able to install air conditioning units for the school cafeteria and gym. That work is paid for. This summer, we will replace all the windows in the school and refurbish the gym ceiling. We expect this work to total approximately $150k. The Vision to Victory Capital Campaign was designed to run for three years, through June of 2026. We are almost finished with the second of those three years, and we are in great shape. But this is not a time to step away from our pledges. A dozen years ago, the congregation approved a Master Plan that featured three phases. Paying off the mortgage closes the books on the first phase. Whether we continue with the other two phases as described 12 years ago, or go in another direction remains to be seen. But I am certain there will be a next step. And by honoring ourcommitments in the Vision to Victory campaign, we give ourselves a running start on whatever those next steps may be. Like all the generations of church members before us – from the original families who came together to form St. Peters 170 years ago to today – we need to follow two objectives. Maintain the church to meet the needs of the day. And prepare the church to meet the needs of the next generation. We thank each and every one of you who contributed to our accomplishments so far. Let’s finish this final year of the capital campaign by tucking some funding away for wherever the Holy Spirit leads us in the next phase of the life of St. Peters. Finance If you would like a copy of the budget presented at the voter's meeting, give the church office a call and we're happy to get you a printed or electronic copy upon request.
May 19, 2025
St. Peter's Seminarians & Deaconess
By Pastor Adam McDowell May 19, 2025
Sermon by Pastor McDowell
May 19, 2025
When considering the example of a servant leader, one face easily comes to mind... Mrs. Pam Launer and her ever present smile.
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