October 9, 2025
Reports:
Pastor Andrew
Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession. We serve a winning God, and I’m thankful for that. Since our last meeting, I continue to be busy with the work of the church. After a series on love, we have returned to our time in Exodus. Along with the usual church work, I have also begun investing in a men’s group with a few of our young husbands and dads. I feel this investment is valuable and needed in our day. I also benefit from the mutual encouragement of groups like this.
I’m thankful for the seven people who chose to invest in the membership class. Their interest represents continued growth.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that currently my greatest stressor is school. I was not prepared for the amount of investment my latest class required. So far, things are going ok, but I would appreciate prayers as I invest in that and in my other duties.
Elders
We have met 2 different times this month, and we have discussed;
- Finished up our study on the different churches of Revelation.
- Put together a lunch with an informational meeting in a way the congregation would like to see the church grow, and in future planning.
- Received some good ideas and are working through some of the information received.
- We also suggested that we hear from Pastor Joseph and Children’s Director Lexi Milne every so often, so the Church knows what is happening within their ministry.
We look forward to seeing what God has in store for Zoar Church. We are all very appreciative. We have discussed how we think we, as Elders, seem to be listening to God and following his directions, and it is exciting to watch the church growing beyond its walls. What a great problem.
Trustees
- Brian Wedel replaced the garbage disposal switch
- Cameras have been ordered for the sanctuary
- A new kitchen faucet has been ordered
- There was discussion about the modulator they want to purchase to improve the quality of the picture on the TVs at PVH. At this time, only St. Peter’s UCC will be in on this project. We will be moving forward with the purchase of the modulator.
Finance/Budget
As of the end of September 2025, the budget is $60,410.33 behind. We are at 61% of our budget and should be at 75%. All bills have been paid.
Other Business
We will continue to have Listening meetings for the congregation, to feed into the business meeting.
me serious.
September 11, 2025
Pastor Andrew
I’m reflecting on the death of Charlie Kirk as I write this. Never has the church seen such evil times. While some political and even spiritual ease has drifted across our nation under the leadership of Trump, that office has no ability to face off with the evil spirit that has begun to permeate this land. We see the effect of this type of evil even in our own community. How many of our students are following Christ passionately, bravely, and devotedly? How many in our town understand the Word of God and do it? We want to keep boys out of girls’ bathrooms. When we succeed, we feel as though we have really won. This is not the case. We have already lost. The fact that topics such as these are on the docket is proof of our failure.
The question we must ask is, what is the church’s job in fighting these trends? Since COVID, we have seen a large reduction in church attendance city-wide. While Zoar is maintaining her numbers, other churches are not. The result is that the gospel has become even less effective in our town. How should we respond? The men of Issachar understood the times and took action. Do we understand the times? Do we take action? Or, are we simply happy to have so many pews filled?
Zoar church is at war. We are engaged in a violent struggle against the current of our time, and more than ever, we are going to need to see what God is calling us to do about it and then do it. I hope and pray that the fulfilment of my basic pastoral duties is part of that battle. I continue to rejoice in part that Joseph and Lexi play in that same endeavor.
Please continue to pray for the Elders and me as we seek God in discerning how to engage in this fight. God holds us responsible in the church for being proactive in this regard, and we need your prayers.
Elders
Elders have met 2 times in August, with some really good things working:
- We are about to wrap up our study of the churches in Revelation. Interesting how this applies to modern day; we see similarities to what we do today.
- We have been in great discussion about what we need to focus on for next year, 2026
- We will have 2 informational listening meetings before the next business meeting; the first one is scheduled for September 28th, directly after church. We will have a guided discussion of what the church would like to see, where we need to spend our time and resources. The 2nd meeting will be held in November.
- We will start meeting again with ministry groups to help guide the budget process, so we are not scrambling at the end of the year to hurry through the process, and this will allow the Finance team to take a little of that responsibility off their plate.
- The Elders and Stewardship Council meeting in August was a very productive meeting, and working to make sure everyone is on the same page and headed in the same direction.
- Elders met with Pastor Brent Warkentin from Ridge Point for Elders to ask questions about direction, as well as bounce a few ideas off of. Elders have realized that in our demographic, the Inman area is very low in the number of churched individuals, and how can we reach out to the lost? Brent was very informative to us.
We are all excited to see the direction Zoar Church is headed. Brent left us with scripture of Ezra 10:4 “Arise; for the matter belongeth unto Thee, and we are with thee, be of good courage and do it.” Brent told us God has given directions to us, now it is up to us to just do it.
Trustees
- The padding on the basketball goal was installed.
- Gail put a plexiglass splash guard on the back side of the dishwasher in the kitchen.
- Need to relocate the garbage disposal switch.
- Going to add a shelf in the staging area.
- Need to work on the fan/vent on top of the stove
- Jared Enns ordered the cameras for the church that improve the streaming quality.
- Bethel Church’s technology committee will be meeting to decide if they will want to go in on the new modulator at Pleasant View Home.
- We continue to work on things in the kitchen, the HVAC, and lighting in the sanctuary.
Finance/Budget
As of the end of August 2025, the budget is $58,259.66 behind. We are at 54% of our budget and should be at 66%. All bills have been paid.
August 14,2025
Pastor Andrew
As the summer winds down, we are just weeks away from kicking off our fall programs. Last week’s announcement about limiting the number of kids involved in Wednesday night pervolunteer may have surprised you. Despite a few exceptions, finding volunteers for Wednesday night has always been the hardest part of that ministry. For some reason, there seems to be a lack of buy-in. Because of this, our Children’s Ministry Directors cannot simply focus on developing a great program; they have to beg for help and leverage their existing volunteers, to be consistent and committed. Honestly, that’s a ridiculous and sad reality. By limiting the number of kids, we can accept per volunteer, we force our church membership to take ownership of our programs and lighten the load of our Children’s Ministry Director. If Church Members and regular attenders feel strongly that Wednesday night activities should be open to everyone, they should step up and help. I fully support these new guidelines.
There are a few other factors here also. Like, children are safer when there’s adequate help.Also, by entrusting way too many children to our volunteers we actively punish those whoselflessly engage in helping with our programs decreasing the likelihood that they will help in the future. There is a real possibility that this fall our Children’s Ministry will reach fewer than it could, simply because we don’t have enough volunteers. If that bothers you, I would invite you and your wives to get involved, even as many of you already are. Feel free also to encouragethose around you to take ownership of this. Inman’s children are not just Lexi’s problem. They are our collective calling.
In other news, the regular work of the church continues. I stay busy preparing sermons, leading Bible studies in my home and now, most recently think-tanking a men’s fellowship for young husbands and fathers. I’m also praying about joining the Ponca Board. You can pray for me as the school semester begins next week.
Elders
We have been meeting together every other Tuesday routinely. We have been starting out our meeting with prayer for the church and congregation, as well as specific areas of concern. We have also been studying the churches in Revelation and how they compare to Zoar and modern-day. Each Elder has been tasked to take a church and research it, and report on it to the rest of the Elders. Things we have been working on:
- Working with different ministries of the church and asking how to support them, as well as encouraging them to think outside the box on how their ministry can more effectively impact the church and community. We have also been working with them on their ministry budget, and we will meet with them again starting in September to ensure they complete their portion of the budget and submit it to the Finance team before the end of November. Rick is working hard to assist with this and is setting up meeting times with each team.
- Each Elder has been assigned a specific area for visitation to work with, and has been reminded to engage with the congregation to address any needs from members.
- Work has been done with benevolent funds and helping people of the church.
- I have visited different Sunday School classes to see what others have been doing and mentioned to classes that Elder desires to help them as needed.
- We have talked at length about what to do about lack of volunteering and how to encourage people to become more involved. Also visited about next steps if efforts are not met with cooperation. Fact is we cannot achieve the mission of God without our volunteers.
- We will be starting to work on goals for next year soon.
Elders stay in contact with each other on a regular basis via text in order to understand what is going on at Zoar.
Trustees
- The piece of equipment (modulator) for PVH that will improve the picture quality on the TVs will be purchased, and the cost will be split between three churches: Zoar, Bethel, and St. Peter’s, each giving $833.
- Also, we will be replacing 3 cameras in the sanctuary, which will be a big improvement at Zoar and will bring the technology up to date. The cameras will be about $7,000.
- The modulator and cameras will be paid for out of the memorial fund.
- Protective pads on the basketball goal have been installed.
- Planning on installing the fence around the playground this fall.
- We continue to work on things in the kitchen, the HVAC, and lighting in the sanctuary.
Finance/Budget
As of the end of August 2025, the budget is $56,822.19 behind. We are at 49% of our budget and should be at 58%. Multiply and Missionaries are paid up. All bills have been paid.
The Finance Committee categorized the funds to provide a clearer understanding of where our funds are allocated and for what purposes.
The Finance Committee is working on budget line items that have money in designated funds to make sure the budget matches the actual need.
July 10, 2025
Pastor Andrew
It’s good to see the Church continuing to minister through the summer. The holidays have provided an opportunity for a few new faces to trickle through our doors. Frank Peters has been working hard to encourage extra attention to new attenders. His efforts can be seen as a few of our members hurry around Sunday mornings with name tags on. The fact that this kind of ministry is needed is good news.
Summer often provides a conundrum for ministers as some weeks are really slow and others are packed with several events. I’ve taken the opportunity on the slower weeks to visit or call different members of the church.
The recent baptism of two young students has proved the efficacy of our children’s programs and the involved approach that our volunteers and staff take in their ministries. I’m glad for their work.
Our church was busy with VBS, after which Hope and I, along with most of the church staff, drove down to Oklahoma for the Southern District Conference.
Moses continues to be our teacher, along with Pharaoh, as we seek to learn what the Spirit has for us through Exodus. This series has been challenging and encouraging as we plod along. I’m thankful for the grace of God as we work with Him in the vineyard for the harvest.
Elders
The Elders continue to meet every other week with devotions, prayer, and conducting the business of Zoar MB Church. Things working on:
- Each Elder has been tasked with taking a church in Revelation, studying it, and presenting a devotion on it at the beginning of each Elder meeting.
- We continue encouraging prayer for the Church both personally and corporately. It has been mentioned several times and in the bulletin for people to come to the Sunday morning, 9 am prayer time. We are working out a time of guided prayer, like we had around Easter time.
- Each Elder has an opportunity to minister to different areas of the church and report back to the Elders at each meeting on how it is going
- A greeting/welcoming team has been formed to hang out in the foyers each Sunday to greet new visitors and welcome them to Zoar Church.
- Wednesday night summer supper mission was a success, each night not only delivering meals to the elder members but also some new ones at PVH. Most of the time, we were delivering between 25 and 30 meals to PVH and serving 75-100 in the fellowship hall.
- Eric has started joining different Sunday school classes to remind them that the Elders are there for them and are willing to do what they need for their class to succeed. It also gives us a chance to pray and answer any questions that they may have.
- We are meeting with different teams of the church to get a feel for what they do; it has been very eye-opening for the Elders. We want to understand as well as encourage them to use their budgeted money as God leads them, and to remind them to have next year’s budget recommendations to the finance team by the 1st of November.
- We are working with what we see it could look like for Zoar’s projected church growth, and what we can do to prepare for it.
Even though it has been a busy summer, the Elders are putting the Church and Church Family 1st and like seeing the growth we are experiencing, but we “Give God all the Glory for our Growth.
Trustees
Working on a piece of equipment at PVH that will improve the picture quality on the TVs.
Finance/Budget
Discussed the budget as of June 2025; the budget is $52,741.68 short. This makes us 24% behind on the budget. The first half norms have been paid to Multiply. Missionaries have received their money for the first two quarters. All bills have been paid.
Business
Church Council b voted to help with the expenses for Vacation Bible School.
May 8, 2025
Pastor Andrew
Greetings, Church Council. These last several months have been both blessed and difficult. The ministry of the church continues to work. We were blessed with an awesome turnout on Easter Sunday, and our attendance seems to be growing steadily. More important than that is the spiritual growth that we all are experiencing as we invest in the body. I was glad to see the Elder’s prayer incentive work so well. That represents both exciting leadership from the Elders and a willingness on the part of the body to cooperate as we pursue God together.
Lexi wrapped up her first semester here with the church. I’m confident that her work has been enjoyed by our students and their families. I look forward to seeing her continued growth. Joseph intends to keep his program going through the summer as he did last year. I think that’s a good direction. He’s also planning a mission trip to North Carolina.
I’d invite all of you to continue to pray with us on Sunday mornings. Jesus said, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray earnestly then to God for more laborers in the vineyard!
Elders
Elders are still meeting every other Tuesday and starting our meeting with devotions and prayer.
Things we are working on;
- Still working on vision casting for the church
- One area is Visitation from Elders, and each Elder took an area to work on
- Widows and Widowers
- Shut-ins and Elderly
- Farmers
- Hospital stays
- New Christians and Visitors
- Prayer for Zoar
- Had a 24-hour prayer vigil during Holy Week and had a good turnout.
- Having prayer time before the church service
- One area is Visitation from Elders, and each Elder took an area to work on
- Partnering with StepMC from McPherson to teach people how to manage money and allowing them to present to the Church.
- Still offering communion one time per month
- Added to the bulletin a reminder that the Elders want to pray for fellow churchgoers and for them to submit their problems and concerns to them through their communication box in the south foyer.
- Met with Council and Brian Harris (District Minister) on how we can improve.
- Working on more accountability
- Working on unity with Council and other teams in the church
- Approved team members for a mission trip to Uganda
- Working on bringing all ministry teams to Elder meetings this year to make sure they have what they need to run their ministry and to help with next year’s budget so it does not all fall on the finance team’s shoulders.
- Will be starting June 11th providing Pop In Supper
Trustees
Have had a lot of trouble with the refrigerator, and it is fixed and working now.
Brian Wedel fixed the backflow to the boiler.
Gail Wiens is going to make a door in the wall to gain access to the boiler pump.
The basketball goal is up and being used.
There has been a request to have a bench put in by the playground.
Still need to install a fence around the playground.
Finance/Budget
Discussed the budget as of the end of April 2025. A little behind but not uncommon. The mission trip for those going to Uganda is paid for. Missionaries have received their money for the first quarter. All bills have been paid.
Business
Pastor Andrew and Hope will be attending Sunscape Retreat in Divide, Colorado sometime early fall.
Other Business
Pastor Andrew will be on vacation from May 26 – June 2. Pastor Joseph will be giving the message on June 1. Also, Joseph will be the speaker during the 2nd week of Ponca.
March 18, 2025
Pastor Andrew
These last several weeks have been mostly business as usual. I continue to tend to the flock while also pursuing a strategy of equipping the other leaders in our church to do the same.
We finished up our series in Ephesians during the month of February. My prayer is that those lessons continue to guide us as a church. Since then, our church has moved into a new series looking at the book of Exodus. I’m excited to lean into these passages as the year continues.
The new series is called, “Becoming the people of God”. My prayer is that the lessons of Exodus reach across the divide of time and even covenants to help us understand how we can more fully follow God.
I look forward to the weeks ahead as our church changes its focus somewhat towards Lent and the sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord. We do indeed serve a risen Savior.
Trustees
- Rerouted plumbing on the baptistry
- Took care of maintenance on the boiler. Worked on and took care of a leak.
- Basketball goal post is at Brian Wedels, ready to be sandblasted and painted
Finance/Budget
Discussed the budget as of March 18, 2025. All bills have been paid.
Other Business
Pastor Andrew shared that Janet McMahon, Pam Thiessen and Hope Wuerffel will be going to Uganda June 8-22 and looking to do some fundraising to help with their expenses and give people a chance to support them.
February 13, 2025
Pastor Andrew
January and February can be busy or slow. Of course, the lead-up to the annual business meeting can be hectic for all of us. Perhaps our business meeting was the most significant thing that happened in the church’s view in the month of January.
Speaking of significant happenings, it was awesome to see two new members join the church in February.
As for the last few weeks, things got incredibly busy around the time Nora Jane passed away. I was working on several different church-related duties around that time. I’m often amazed at God’s timing. After we took time to celebrate Nora Jane’s life, Hope and I got very sick. We were out of it for about a week with fevers and bed rest. Hope bounced back quickly but I seem to have come down with some secondary infection that’s kept me pretty miserable until now. I’m still not at full capacity and am especially thankful that the church calendar is not bursting at the seams right now. I’m especially thankful for Pastor Joseph this last month who filled in for me on Sunday the 2nd.
I continue to maintain my basic duties and look forward to having more energy soon. This month, I’m glad for our great God who continually sustains us even when we are sick.
Elders
Well, another year to gear up for. We really discussed at our last meeting all the ways we see work being done for God’s kingdom at Zoar Church. Along with the Elders being more visible, we are trying to make sure that our leadership for the church is God-Centered.
- We had a great presentation from Mark, Rick, and Frank at the annual business meeting about how we would like to see this year be for the Elder group and how we can show true Godly leadership.
- We are lending ourselves to be more present during morning prayer time on Sunday mornings.
- Andrew will be doing a series on prayer, and Elders will be introducing some ideas, along the way that will encourage the church to become more of a prayerful church.
- We will be more intentional with encouraging Sunday School classes to add prayer to their teaching.
- We will be reaching out to the different ministries of the church, to come to an Elder meeting to visit about how things are going, as well as giving some direction and advice, if needed. We would like to see all ministries of Zoar be intentional about God-Centered functions.
- We talked about expanding something more for men but will need to encourage more men to step up and lead.
- We met with Angie Brunk from STEPMC, an organization that teaches financial guidance to people below the poverty line. They are starting a class here in Inman, and we will partner with IMA to support that. It can be a real outreach for the church to the community. More information will be coming at a later date.
We appreciate our Lead Pastor Andrew, Youth Pastor Joseph, and Children’s Ministry Director Lexi. We are so blessed to have all of them leading.
Trustees
- Trustees met and organized
- Fixed the heater and it is working well
Finance/Budget
The Annual Business Meeting went well and the new budget for 2025 was approved. Discussed the budget as of February 13, 2025. All bills have been paid.
Other Business
Gordon Enns gave a presentation.
Pastor Andrew
The regular work of the church continues without any hindrance. We canceled church of course on the 5th of January. I have used the extra time I’ve been awarded because of that cancelation to do some visiting at the Home.
I’m eager to see what God has for us in the New Year and hopeful that all of us will surrender to God’s will in all things.
Thanks to everyone here and everyone represented here for making the last year work.
Elders
- We have been working on goals
Trustees
- Basketball goal has been selected and paid for
- Discussed creating manuals needed for operations in the church. (re: HVAC, Sunday Morning setup)
- There are plumbing issues that need to be taken care of. Some of the drains need to be changed to help drainage. The baptistry drain needs to be revamped. Sometime in January, we will have a camera/snake run through the drains to see their condition.
Finance/Budget
Discussed the final outcome of the 2024 Budget. All bills are paid and we’re in really good shape. Reviewed the 2025 Budget to be presented and voted upon at the Annual Business Meeting.
Other Business
- There was discussion on the possibility of having an online directory.
December 12, 2024
Pastor Andrew
Merry Christmas. Greetings, Church Council. As we enter the Christmas season, our eyes focus on Christ. The simplicity of a Child in a manger reminds us of why we exist. The church’s job is not just to maintain itself. Rather, we are called to leave what is comfortable in order to reach the world around us, just like Christ did. Let’s make sure as a church that we are not like the busy innkeeper, housing everyone and everything but the most important Person.
Nothing really has changed since our last meeting. Our ministries are winding down for the season. Hope did an awesome job with the Children’s ministry. I’m hoping that Lexi will soon add to the good foundation that Julie and Hope have set as she digs into the work of the church.
We have been blessed with a well-attended membership class as well and a few young people who got baptized. This couple communicated to me that our church and the ministry here was really beneficial in their walk. God is good.
This council has my prayers as they shore up the business of the church before our business meeting in January. I’m thankful for each of you. Your leadership, diligence, sharp minds, and good intentions have helped our church through the 2024 year. Teresa, thank you for putting up with us men for this whole time. You are a gift.
Elders
Working on Goals for the Elders for 2025.Still studying the book Biblical Eldership and it has been an eye-opener. Feel really good about how far the Elders have come in the past 2 years
- Have added a communication box to the mail boxes in the south foyer. This is to keep an open line of communication between the church and the Elders. This is to keep us informed of the different needs of the church or if someone just has a question that needs to be addressed. There will be a message put in the bulletin to let people know that this is available.
- Elders and their wives hosted a time of fellowship after the Christmas cantata. We planned to have 120 people and had about 150 in attendance. Thank goodness we had enough food 🙂 The Cantata was a huge success and Thanks to Julie Wedel for instigating it and organizing it as well.
- Very excited to only have less than a month left before our new Children’s Ministry Director begins her responsibilities. (January 1, 2025) This year Kids Quest has been very good and thanks to Hope and Melissa for their work in making this so successful and also those who are keeping Children’s Church and Children’s Sunday School going as well.
It is just so exciting to see God at work at Zoar. Looking forward to the new year and what else He can do. All we have to do is trust Him.
Trustees
- The concrete was poured for the basketball goal.
- We’re in the process of getting a goal.
- The sound system is working great
- Going to check out the drains at church to make sure they are all working properly.
Finance/Budget
Discussed budget summary as of December, 2024. All bills are being paid and we’re in good shape.
Business
- January 1, 2025, Lexi Milne will begin her position as part-time Children’s Ministry Director. There will be a gradual transition time. Hope Wuerffel, Melissa Funk, and Lexi will meet to discuss the transition. She will take over Children’s church.
November 21, 2024
Pastor Andrew
Elders
Things we are working on:
- We are still in the book “Biblical Eldership” and going through a chapter at each meeting. It has been an eye-opener to study what God expects from elders in the church. Elders are not only held to a higher standard but being above reproach takes on a much stronger meaning. Elders are assigned, according to God’s word, to shepherd the flock and be an example to other Christians while also supporting the pastors.
- In-depth discussion on 2025 goals for Elders
- Will be continuing on Elder Transparency.
- The youth, with the guidance of Pastor Joseph, will be leading Advent.
- Elders will continue to work on the book on Biblical Eldership and will work on goals to present at the January Business Meeting.
Trustees
- Making a few changes to the lighting inside
- Outside projects are being discussed
- Working through a small hit list in the kitchen
- Discussed budget summary as of November 19, 2024. All bills are being paid and things are running smoothly.
Other Business
- The Annual Business Meeting is set for January 26, 2025