Pastor Jordan
Report from the Executive Pastor
Grateful for God's Continued Blessings
Kathleen and I are continually grateful for the love and support that we consistently receive from the people of CrossRoads. We are blessed beyond measure.
Last summer the Church Board gave me permission to take a three-month leave, which allowed me to take some needed time to renew my health, mind, and spirit. I was extremely grateful for this opportunity and came back feeling healthier and ready for what the fall would bring.
When I came back in September the renovations were in full swing and our weekend services were running in the Gym, the Youth Centre, and the Chapel. The various ministries had adjusted to the disruption due to the construction, which then carried on through the Fall up to the end of October. I’m grateful for the patience that the people of CrossRoads displayed through the Fall and even up until Christmas as the construction continued. Perhaps the disruptions last year during the construction were preparing us all for the disruptions we find ourselves in today.
The renovations were, for the most part, completed by Year End with a few tidy up things that took place in the New Year. Today, we look back and can say that our renovations look wonderful and will serve us well for many years to come. We have received enough funds (including an internal transfer from some long-term contingency funds) that we can celebrate that the renovations have been paid for without incurring long term debt. A true gift from God!
As we plan forward regarding the completion of the building we will need to wait and have patience before beginning the related work. While most all the design plans are in place, we still need to acquire a good portion of funds before starting. And we will not be moving forward until we can say with confidence that COVID-19 is mostly behind us.
So much has changed even since our renovations were completed. We thought that was change - How about our current situation?! Since the middle of March when COVID-19 was in full swing here in Alberta, we have had to change and adjust to so many things as a church. All our ministries have moved to virtual solutions, our services are virtual, and our staffing picture has changed significantly.
We made decisions concerning staff related to the work that needed and could be done and watched our finances closely to see if this too would impact our decisions. Our staff count dropped from 57 individuals to 35 individuals.
I’m grateful for your prayers through this time as we made these tough decisions. The staff that we said goodbye to need God’s peace and blessings in these times. It would be fair to say that we are all grieving the loss - both those that have left and those that remain behind to carry the work forward. For those that are gone still remain very much a part of our church family and so we have done everything we could to care for them during this time. We provided opportunities to ask questions, counselling, prayer, and coaching on EI and other government programs that they could draw from during this time.
We have no idea when we will be back to a full compliment of staff, but we do know it will be gradual and will not be at the same level that we were prior to COVID-19.
We can all thank God for His continued blessing regarding our finances. The level of giving has stayed strong enough that we did not have to lay off staff due to a shortage of dollars. Although we cannot anticipate what the summer and fall will mean for the financial picture, at our current level of giving we should not have to reduce our staff any further. I also want to take this time to thank many of you for making the adjustment to online giving, be that through our website or through your online banking using the "Payee" option. It would also be good to note that with our current level of giving, we have not had to reduce our financial commitments to our missionaries, local agencies, and global partners. They are all extremely grateful. Having contacted many of them, they have shared that their sources of donations have been greatly impacted. For some, we were able to provide a few extra funds where this was the case.
In terms of the operations of the church, I have three asks of us all:
- That you pray for our staff. The stress of the current situation weighs heavily on them as they perform their various duties. Many of them are learning to do things differently in order to serve and bless us all. On top of all that, we are all (57 of us) grieving the loss of each other through the layoffs.
- That if you are able, continue giving faithfully to the work of the church. This allows us to plan out through the fall for the things that need to be accomplished so that we don’t miss the opportunities that God gives us in these days to share the gospel with the people of Central Alberta.
- That you pray for heavenly wisdom (James 3:17) for our leaders who will be mapping our way forward out of the current situations into a new normal, for that which we do not know or understand.
Thank you once again for the opportunity to serve you in this way. I’m humbled and grateful that you place such a high trust on myself, Pastor Dan, and our Church Board.
In Christ,
Jordan Polson, Executive Pastor
