To: Rush Creek Bible Church Congregation
From: RCBC Board and Staff Leadership
Subject: April-2020 Update
Dear Friends at Rush Creek Bible Church,
As the ministries of our church work through the second month of the governor’s mandatory stay-at-home order to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the goal of our board and staff leadership is to provide you updates on several encouraging fronts.
RCBC in your homes. Our entire church staff is working diligently to keep Sunday morning ministry engaging for in-home viewing and participation for the entire family; every age and stage. We praise God for providing the skills and technology for this to continue during these weeks. Our prayer is that the risk of the COVID-19 virus is soon eliminated, that people are safe from this disease, and that the restrictions are lifted soon. We are making ministry plans now for beyond the stay-at-home order.
Steve Sherman will be starting soon. We look forward to Steve starting next week as our Pastor of Discipleship. You can be praying for Steve as he acclimates to his new role and as he begins to complement the efforts of the staff and extend the vision/mission of the church. We also look forward to Steve’s integration into the life of our congregation as he is already anticipating what it looks like to address the congregation in their homes.
RCBC staffing update. Here are two additional staff shifts that will take place over the next couple of months that we are excited to share with you:
Kaylee Mys—Interim Director of RushKids Ministries including the ages of 5th and 6th grade
Emily Stratmeyer—Interim Administrative Director of DropZone
While nearly all of our staff has revised job descriptions as we continually optimize the gifting of our staff toward church needs, these are two of the more notable changes. Yet, we don’t want to overshadow another significant shift: Sarah Riegler, who has served as Interim Director of RushKids Ministries, will still remain in a support role for both RushKids and RushStudents ministries. Her willingness to step into the interim role, extend her time beyond what was anticipated, and do such an amazing and graceful job has been a blessing.
Where are we at with our focus on Family Ministries? We have diligently explored with 5 potential individuals that could serve in a director and/or pastoral capacity to include a focus on holistic family ministry. As we anticipate the onboarding of Pastor Steve and a new normal coming out of the pandemic, we will slow down our search to allow staff time to acclimate and to ensure we understand the greatest needs. We remain committed to this pursuit but will not run ahead of God’s plan. Our staff has invested itself over the last month into evaluating how we are doing in every facet of ministry as it relates to holistic family ministry as well as every age and stage, and we are making future plans accordingly.
Finance update. Praise God that He continues to supply the financial needs of this ministry, even though we are unable to meet together! Yes, we have seen a small reduction in giving during these months, but our church leadership, together with our finance team, has also reduced our expenses as to help us ensure financial health. We expect our expenses to start increasing i.e. payroll, property care, and other spring/summer/fall projects that require attention. We ask that you continue to prayerfully consider support of this ministry in these upcoming months. Every week more people begin giving through PushPay, our online giving platform. Online giving allows us to budget more effectively and reduces administrative costs and efforts. But we are certainly grateful for your generosity—in some cases increased giving—in whatever form you prefer (online, cash, or check), even amid these challenging times.