For the past several months, many church leaders have been working diligently behind the scenes to prepare for planting a church. And I’m excited to announce that we are ready to unveil a proposal to you as a congregation.

It is vital to our church leadership that everyone make an informed decision on the church plant. To do that, the Council will first hold three information sessions to present the proposal for Church Planting. This will be your opportunity to hear the specifics of the proposal and to ask any questions. Everyone is encouraged to attend one of these identical information sessions prior to the congregational meeting. Childcare will be provided at all sessions.

The three sessions will be held in room 202/204 on the following dates:

·        Wednesday, May 7, 7pm

·        Thursday, May 8, 7pm

·        Tuesday, May 13, 7pm

We ask that you pick a date and attend one of these three identical information meetings. They should last about one hour.

Then, on Sunday, May 18, we’ll be meeting as a congregation to vote on this proposal. We’re going to do our Sunday morning a little differently that day. We’ll have our 9am service as usual, then we’ll have our congregational meeting at about 10:10am. We’re going to push our second service back 30 minutes, so our second service will start at 11am that Sunday only. Childcare will also be available during the congregational meeting, and Sunday School will begin at 11am.

Now, how have we arrived at this milestone in our church? In fall 2002, we did a campaign called 40 Days of Purpose, and shortly after that we began in earnest a process to set a course for our future.

In September 2003, the council presented a vision for the ECC to grow at our current location and then later plant a new church in the Helena area. A couple of months later, the congregation instructed the leaders to move ahead and put together a plan for the future of the church facilities at our current location.

In June 2004, we decided to enlarge our building and, on July 24, 2005, we dedicated our new facility. In late fall 2006, we remodeled our entryway and sanctuary.

These facilities have allowed us to expand ministry, and our church has grown as a result. Current average weekend attendance is now around 360, up from 209 in 2002. Over 600 people now call our church their “home church.”

As we look to the future, a proven way to expand the Kingdom of God is to plant churches. That opportunity is now before us.

As we’ve been purposeful in our planning over the past years, we have kept some key ideas in front of us, ideas we need to continue to keep before us in the months ahead:

·        We recognize that this is God’s work. Let’s let God do his work here.

·        We need to be in prayer. We offer our best and God does the rest.

·        We must remain united as a congregation in our desire to live out the purposes God has for our church.

I want to ask that you become as informed as possible and prayerfully consider this important decision. If you are unable to attend a session but have questions, please feel free to contact any of the Church Council members, Matt, or me.

These are exciting days! God has truly blessed this congregation and given us a vision for the future. Join us as we seek to further the work of the Kingdom of God in new ways.