First Free Church 2002-2003 Annual Report

Senior Pastor

Student Ministries

Worship and Music Ministries

Visitation Pastor

Liaison to the Community

Church Council Report

Social Concerns Committee

Finance and Property Board

Audit Committee

Treasurer's Report/Financial Statements (please contact the church office for a copy)

As the saying goes, "Time flies when you are having fun!" And this year has flown by! Joy and ministry go together. Paul expressed this to the church in Philippi when he wrote to them, "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:3-6; NIV; underline added).

One of the highlights from this past year was the "40 Days of Purpose" spiritual growth campaign in the Fall of 2002. For seven Sundays we focused on God's 5 purposes for us as individuals and for us a church. We looked at them in our worship services and sermons. We studied them in our Adult Bible Fellowships and in our small groups. We read about them daily in the book, "The Purpose Driven Life." And God went beyond our original expectations. God changed lives. God gave us renewed focus and excitement. And at the conclusion, we celebrated all God did with a Celebration Service and a Celebration Dinner.

With those 5 Purposes in mind, we have rewritten our church's purpose statement. First Evangelical Free Church exists to Bring people into a relationship with Jesus, Connect them to God's family, Mature them in their faith, and Equip them for ministry so that God's name will be Exalted. And now, everything we do as a church has to come under one of those purposes. We are sharpening our ministry programs to do just that.

Our worship has grown as we have added Pastor Eric Twietmeyer to our staff in the area of Worship/Student Ministries. Eric has a great team around him, including Debbie Smith, Krista Luedtke, and Barb Olson. We thank them for encouraging us to continue to grow in our understanding and experience of worship.

We have continued with our desire to be effective in our outreach. We saw over 100 children from the community attending our summer VBS, with a Bible study for over 10 Hispanic women going on at the same time. Individuals and couples in our church were able to develop relationships with over 15 government officials from Beijing, China, and many of them attended our church and heard the gospel preached.

Our Adult Bible Fellowships have become the major avenue for newcomers to get connected to our larger body. The ABF's provide a place for adults to feel welcomed and a place for them to belong. We have seen all the ABF's grow stronger, each developing a leadership team. The Chaim ABF and the Sojourner's ABF have developed distinct and healthy identities. These ABF's continue to provide solid Biblical teaching as we challenge each person to grow in their faith.

As the year has progressed, I have witnessed a great number and variety of gifts being used for God's glory. These gifts are apparent on Sunday mornings in our worship services, in the Adult Bible Fellowships, and in the fellowship times. I can see them at work at various times during the week in small groups, mid-week children's clubs, and at prayer groups. I love to see God's people using the talents God has given them to make a difference for Him.

Finally, I need to say how much I have appreciated all the work of those that serve with me in this ministry. Cindy Sawyer and Donna Larson have been wonderful in the office. They have been a great support. Pastor Eric's, Bob Chapman's, and Russ Anteronen's partnership in the ministry has been invaluable. Scott Beckett has done a great job of keeping this building clean and ready for ministry. A special word also goes to Don Brueske in his role as Chairman of the Council. He is my friend whose advice, support, sense of humor, and heart for God has been greatly treasured.

And now we look towards the future. Henry Blackaby said this: "If you live for time (the here and now), you will miss the ultimate purpose of creation. If you live for time, you allow your past to mold and shape your life today. Your life as a child of God ought to be shaped by the future (what you will be one day). God uses your present time to mold and shape your future usefulness here on earth and in eternity."

It has been a great joy to see God at work here this past year at First Free. But I look forward to see how God is going to use us this next year! All for His glory!

The past nine months, I've had the opportunity to jump into the middle of what God is doing in the student ministries here at First Free. When I arrived in September, the youth group had spent the summer doing some activities that were helping them build friendships with one another. After some deliberation about meeting night, we resumed the Wednesday night meetings. Last fall we attended Camp Shamineau's Fall Fling where a number of our students committed to growing spiritually and making a difference with their lives. In February, I was initiated into the Wilderness Fellowship where our group lived together in a cabin with a wood-burning stove, but no running water or electricity. On average about 20 junior and senior high students come out each week to enjoy an activity, a meeting and a small group interaction time. In February we sponsored a 30-Hour Famine event. We've recently begun a student band, and we've been learning to play and worship through music. We sponsored a coffeehouse-the FyrEscape Café in mid-March where students brought friends and enjoyed some interesting music. We stand on the brink of our trip to Rochester for the North Central District Student Ministries Conference.

I've had the privilege of working alongside a great staff this past year: Scott and Vanessa Beckett, Jon and Carrie Boyum , Doug Brown and Beth McGrew each led discussion groups and spent quality relational time with various students. They also provided me with the much need advice in what to do this year! As an adult staff, we began meeting monthly to go through some Foundations of healthy youth ministries and to train ourselves in youth ministry.

On the Sunday morning end, Wayne and Julie Danielson gave significant leadership to the senior high Sunday school, through their teaching and mentoring skills. The Junior High (7-9^th grade) Sunday school continues to be a blast as Debbie Smith and I and the group look at the scriptures each week-and play a few games.

As we round out this ministry year and look ahead to the summer and fall, I see the youth group growing and developing in at least three areas.

Cultivating Friendships: This summer will provide excellent opportunities for students to hang out with friends and bring them along to our FyrEscape-or social activities. If the group is onboard, we will continue to plan these types of events throughout the school year. We will also work to incorporate the seventh graders this summer.

Growing spiritually: Through our Sunday morning classes, mid-week Bible studies and one-on-one mentoring, our students will encounter Jesus in new ways. I will be working with our student band to establish the biblical foundations of worship.

Training for ministry: This summer our students have the opportunity to attend a tremendous training event hosted by the Free Church. WOW will equip our students to share (and own) their faith by actually sharing their faith around the Twin Cities. A number of the students this summer will also participate in ministry on mission trips, at VBS, and at camps this summer.

Other future items include: Developing a youth ministry internship for the summer, reorienting the Sunday school for better integration into the whole student ministry, and establishing a student ministry team.

Many thanks to the volunteers, students and parents whose efforts-even without a youth pastor-have helped to pass the faith on to the next generation. I have truly enjoyed working with these students and look forward to all that God will do in them and through them!!

God is amazing! I have been very privileged to serve in the worship ministry this past year at First Free. When I began this fall, I walked into a situation where numerous excellent musicians were already graciously giving of their musical talents-to God and to the congregation here. Before I talk about any of the "progress" made this past year, I want to say thanks to the team that was in place when I came on board as Worship Leader. Our high-caliber, core instrumentalists, Debbie Smith and Barb Olson, have been a tremendous help as they continue to use their gifts in our services.

The choir and orchestra were reestablished and stabilized these past eight months. The choir focused on a Christmas production for most of the fall, and then began performing bi-monthly, leading up to the Easter Season. The recruitment of Krista Joy Luedtke as our choir director allowed me (Eric) to focus on other areas of worship and production, while giving our choir a wonderful and encouraging director. Jerry McDonald recruited a throng of University players for the Christmas production giving us in excess of 17 instrumentalists for a fantastic performance of A Christmas Tapestry. The orchestra will continue to play monthly with the worship services.

One of the first purchases we made this fall was an electric drum set-all with hopes to establish some worship bands. While this was difficult at first, God has been faithful in providing two volunteer drummers from within our church body. Jenny Merry and Mark McClun continue to improve in playing and making our worship music exciting. On the vocalist side, our worship ensemble has been very faithful in preparation for Sunday morning.

When the high school students had a day or two off this past year, we met and began playing through some praise music, learning how to play and how to play together. I have been very encouraged with Carl Holman, , Mark Fleming , and Carl Amstutz as we've worked together to start a student band. I look forward to working with this group and incorporating more singers and players.

All that happens up front would not be effective without those who serve behind the scenes. Matt Beckett, Jeff Olson, Mark Poston, John Londborg, Geoff Wehrman, Hong Gu, Pete McWilliams and Stacy Olson each have played an important part in making the production-side of Sunday morning excellent.

This group is responsible for overseeing the overall spirit of worship in our church. The past year we've met monthly and accomplished a lot: We planned for the 40 Days of Purpose campaign, evaluated worship services, ate together, visited a Heart of the City worship service together, reviewed congregational comments, got to know one another and established the following worship vision statement (values and strategies were also outlined, but aren't listed):

Our Worship at First Evangelical Free Church seeks to EXALT God through Spirit and truth, CELEBRATE God for who He is and what He has done, and RESPOND to God through service.

About 10 worship ministry teammates and I will attend a worship leader's conference in May at Hope Church, Oakdale, where we will be sharpened by some training to help us develop plans for deepening our worship experience at First Free. Certainly we will want to continue to integrate old and new worship elements, take risks in responding to God in new ways, and encourage one another as we walk through life together. We also look forward to integrate other art forms, dramatic and visual-especially as Stacy Olson has begun as my assistant. She and I will also be assisting Barb Olson in producing a children's musical-"It's Cool in the Furnace" on June 1^st. Lord willing, each of the above arenas of ministry will continue-but with an even more intense sense of God's presence and a continually deepening response by those involved. May God be exalted and glorified in His church through us!

What a delight it has been to serve the church this past church year as your Visitation Pastor, especially in this year of working together with a new Senior Pastor. Thank you for this privilege and for allowing me to have this small part of what God is doing in our midst. I would like to express a special thank you to the many who pray for the pastoral staff and for this work. These do the "real" work.

The responsibilities of this position have included visiting the sick, those with special needs, and some of the elderly. I take communion to those unable to attend church on a long-term basis, help with funerals, and serve on the Caring Commission. I find the telephone and the computer to be helpful tools in expressing the love of Christ and sharing His Word with those in special circumstances. Submitting prayer requests for the Church Concerns section of the weekly prayer guide is also my responsibility.

It is important that we acknowledge all those who are involved with "visitation" in our church. Many are expressing concern and giving support in a number of ways, including actual visits, for those with illness or other stressors.

During the church year of 2002-03 we have had the opportunity to help students with tutoring and just being friends at Hale Elementary. We gave gym access, some coaching, and relationship building for the children and parents of the McCrae Park basketball team. They placed second in their league playoffs with only one loss. Then they went on to win the Martin Luther King Park tournament, with an overtime win in the championship. They appreciated our continued partnership with them.

The Children's Gospel Mission has a few of their children attending our clubs, and I continue to assist them in their Sunday evening programs. We have a limited connection to a fine mentoring organization in Kinship. Some continued time has also been spent in athletic skill building through Hospitality House Youth Ventures track team and a few individuals.

Every so often I get to talk with people who approach our church with needs. Much of this has been redirecting to other resources or prayer and counsel. The benevolent fund and Caring Commission gave me opportunity to assist about four individuals with some financial needs. There were also some food bags distributed around Thanksgiving. They actually came from Union Gospel Mission, were forwarded to the Children's Gospel Mission, and then on to us for delivery. What a fine example of working together to meet needs. It has been increasingly clear to me over this past year, that when we personally interact with individuals or small groups, one person can make a difference - with each person letting Christ work through them.

"Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before Him;
God is a refuge for us". Psalm 62: 8

The past year has been one of great rejoicing as we see God working among us in powerful and wonderful ways. He is certainly reviving us as a people who are called out to be a witness to His holy name. As we have sought out His will for us as a congregation, He has supplied all our needs in order to complete His purposes for us and through us.

We can see God's faithfulness to us at First Evangelical Free Church in the following ways:

We have closed out our financial year in a strong position. We thank each one of you for your faithful giving of God's resources to the work of the ministry here at First Free. There can be no better place to invest your financial and spiritual resources than right here in this congregation. May God be praised as we look forward to the new things that He has for us His people!

Vision Statement: We seek to glorify God by fostering a growing dependence upon Him in our church, finding its expression in both individual and corporate prayer.

Volunteers are available to pray with those seeking prayer at the conclusion of each Sunday morning worship service.

A weekly guide is printed which contains prayer requests from our church body. This information is also distributed via email to approximately 50 people.

We held several Saturday morning times of prayer with our elementary school kids.

Many of you signed up and are now praying for one of our youth or youth sponsors.

A special weekly prayer guide was provided as we studied the 40 Days of Purpose material.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed so faithfully on behalf of our church over the past year.

I would like to thank Pastor Joel and Pastor Bob for their guidance and support. Special thanks to Donna Larson and Cindy Sawyer for faithfully producing our weekly prayer guide.

It has been my privilege to meet and pray with many of you. Any feedback and suggestions are welcome.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12

"So in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others."
Romans 12:5

The Caring Commission is responsible for overseeing and organizing some of the ways we care for one another as the body of Christ. Some highlights from the past year include:

Margaret Jensen continues to do a great job recruiting and organizing the volunteers who so lovingly prepare and serve lunch following funerals at our church.

Thanks to Gen Erickson for coordinating volunteers who stand at the front door and greet people as they come to worship each Sunday. Virtually no one gets by Gen's expert team of hand-shakers!

Mae Olson and Ardese Barrett do a wonderful job with their ministry at the Information Desk.

Coming soon! Visitor Welcome Packets which will contain information about our church and programs (and a little gift).

Our Visitation Pastor, Dr. Bob Chapman, does a tremendous job of contacting and encouraging people in the hospital and other care facilities. He is uniquely gifted for this responsibility because of his medical background and his compassion for people in need. God has blessed our church body with Pastor Bob!

Every time you show love -- offer help to someone in need, greet a visitor at church, call a sick friend, send a note of thanks, invite someone over for dinner, say a prayer for someone who is troubled,

YOU are doing the work of the Caring Commission. I guess you could say we are ALL members of the Caring Commission! Let's continue to reflect Christ's love in tangible ways by caring for people in our church and in our community.

"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." I Corinthians 15:58

The word nurture by itself implies that someone or something is giving themselves to assist another in becoming better, stronger, wiser, healthier and more able to meet any challenge that lies ahead. That is exactly what happens week in and week out through the activities that have been placed under the heading of NUTURE. Individuals have felt the call and the need to be involved in a spot that, sometimes unbeknownst to them, is making members of our church body better, stronger, wiser, healthier and more able to meet their challenges. We could not, nor should you, be more thankful for all of the workers in our Sunday School, Junior Church, Wednesday night clubs, etc., etc. The words continue to ring out " Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was changed."

A quick synopsis of events that were and will be throughout the past and this coming year:

God indeed is good and we bow in adoration of His never-ending grace and His everlasting love.

As you finish reading would you pray this prayer from Deuteronomy 32:2 along with, and for all of those involved in the nurturing ministry.

As I look back upon this past year, I recognize, as the psalmist did, that God has been faithful and answered our prayers for help in wonderful ways. We truly have a hymn of praise to our God for what He has done in worship!

A year ago we were without a worship leader. The interim worship leader had moved on to another church, and we were filling the gap with our own people. Many thanks to Debbie Smith as the worship crafter, and Mark McClun and Mark Mellema as worship leaders in all they did to get us through this period.

Beginning in the fall we welcomed Eric Twietmeyer to our church as our Worship Leader. It has been a great experience having him with us to lead us in praise and worship to God each Sunday. His enthusiasm and heart for worship has done much to bring a whole new attitude and excitement from our church family. To hear the comments from our own church body and visitors to our church has been absolutely great. Praise God!

I am thankful for the faithful committed people on the Worship Commission, especially in the realm of being like-minded. You all have been wonderful to work with!

Lastly, I thank you, the church family, for your patience over the last several years that we have been going through this difficult time. I know there were times of frustration, but you hung in there in many wonderful ways. Remember, we as a church are just beginning a whole new experience of worship to our God, and we are looking to Him for His blessings as we seek to please Him in worship!

Budget: This past year, with a step of faith, we took on support of four new missionary families; Andy and Lorna Gilbert, Debra and Ben _____, Craig and Donna ____, and Rebecca Reeve. All have affiliations with the Evangelical Free Church and have had contact with our church. We increased the amount of support for Dan Reeve and also for short-term projects.

We maintained the same support level for the other missionaries as in previous years except for the Droullards who left their mission to return to the US. At this time we support 36 missionary couples or singles, 12 organizations and provide funding for the other outreach activities from this church.

You will note that our expenses were maintained close to the budget put forth last year. However income did not keep up with the budgeted amount. It came to our attention that new attendees did not understand the need to give to Outreach. In February, a pamphlet describing how Outreach money is used was distributed to attendees and they were informed of the financial need through First Free News. The giving to Outreach in March was double that of the average of the past eleven months.

Because of increased giving in March, we would like to keep the same budget as last year, except that Becky Reeve, who has left the mission, no longer will receive support. We plan to reevaluate how we stand in September. We will decrease our budget at that time if it becomes apparent we are receiving insufficient funds.

Three Missions Weekends were planned and held in the past year. Each weekend had a Saturday breakfast and panel, and missionary speakers in the Sunday service and in Sunday school classes. Offerings were taken at the breakfasts for special mission needs. In May the Amor Viviente Church put on a meal for our Congregation on Sunday.

Short Term Missions We provided financial assistance to five people in the congregation doing short term missions.

Foreign Mission Activities We communicate with our missionaries, regularly pray for them, and try through a variety of ways to communicate their needs to the congregation.

Monthly Meals and a Movie has been started this year by the Heckers for the congregation and the neighborhood. The meals are homemade and delicious and the fellowship has been great. This is a growing ministry. Try it out!

A Spanish Bible School Woman's Class was offered during VBS. A few women continue to meet for weekly Bible Study. Bilingual Bibles were ordered for them.

English Classes at Salem: First Free people help teach English to Latinos on Tuesdays, morning or evening. Classes are scheduled through May, and may continue in the summer. A Latino pastor has expressed interest in working at Salem.

The Picnic in the Park: Participation by the church was coordinated by the Outreach Commission. We recommended that this event be under the direction of the Council who can form a special committee. It is a great opportunity to inform the neighborhood of our church.

Needs: A few good men or women who have a heart for missions to join this Commission.

The Social Concerns Committee is a very small remnant of a once larger group. Its function is to make the congregation aware of issues of importance for prayer and occasional action. It currently places material regarding these matters in the literature rack at the back of the foyer.

It also occasionally promotes speakers or lessons such as the speaker from Outpost for the youth group on the issue of homosexuality, and a series for the Chaim Class called "Should a Christian be involved in Social Issues?"

In the past there has been a group called "Mighty Pens" who wrote companies and government agencies to ask for action. They succeeded in keeping a pornographic video store out of a residential neighborhood.

Up front, I would like to thank the following people who served on the Finance & Property Board this past year: Harold Engberg, Mark Holman, Don Erickson, John Symington, Bob Goodman, Matt Beckett and Scott Beckett. Thanks also to our chairman from three years ago, Jerry Fisher, for staying on as an informal adjunct member of the Board, and volunteering for projects. I appreciate all the work that they have done, and all the time and effort that they have put into overseeing the financial affairs of the church and exercising proper care of the church's properties.

I would also like to recognize to Mark Poston for his continual work on our heating plant.

It is now been almost three years since Iglesia Amor Viviente (Living Love Church) has been holding its worship services at First Free. It has been a real blessing to aid a new ministry to our Hispanic community.

The biggest among many events this year for the board has been the installation of Scott Beckett as custodian. The effect of having a full-time caretaker has been remarkable, and has allowed the board to not get bogged down in day to day maintenance issues. The result is many important projects have been completed, and our project list has gotten much shorter.

The Finance & Property Board also thanks the many members of the church body who give their time and effort to help us maintain the church property. We also thank the church body for their continued generous financial support of the church's ministries.

There are many projects we look forward to completing in the next year, but none are as major as the repair of the steam line between the north and south buildings. We put this off last year because of all the projects, but would like to get it taken care of soon. Current estimates are $30,000 to do this work. Until it's fixed, we will have the problem of having the cold water supply periodically becoming hot.

As I look back over the last year, I really marvel at how our congregation has been blessed in the tangible form of our church building. After more than fifty years of service, it still fits our needs, and still offers us room to grow and do new things. Please join me in thanking God for this terrific tool He has given First Free.

As we look forward into the new year, we are excited with what God has in store for us, in this great building that God has provided for us.

We have audited the financial statements of First Evangelical Free Church for the period of April 1, 2002 through March 31 2003. Bank account balances were verified and the invoices were sampled to ensure that the expenditures were properly authorized and that payments were made accurately and in a timely manner.

In our opinion, the financial statements fairly represent the financial position of First Evangelical Free Church.

We would like to express our thanks to the Finance and Property Board and to Treasurer, Mark Holman, for the professional manner in which the church's resources are managed.