Friday Epistle Archives

3/23/2012 The Friday Epistle A project of the North Central Chapter of NACBA, the National Association of Church Business Administration Friday, March 23, 2012             fridayepistle@nacbancc.org         www.nacbancc.org NACBA – The National Association of Church Business Administration The National Association of Church Business Administration® is an inter-denominational association of churches and individuals which exists to serve the Church by advancing professional excellence in individuals serving Christ through administration in local churches. If you are involved in any capacity with church administration, or if you desire a professional relationship with NACBA, there is a membership classification for you. We encourage your participation. Learn more at www.nacba.net. The North Central Chapter of NACBA The National Association of Church Business Administration Our Mission:          To empower Christian ministry through support of church administration. Our Vision:          To equip and reach out to people in church administration through education, connection, and communication. The 2012 meeting schedule is on line at www.nacbancc.org/mschedule.asp. Minnesota Association of Church Facility Managers MACFM (www.macfm.org) was established to promote fellowship, networking and educational opportunities for Christian Facilities Professionals (managers, maintenance, custodians), through the form of monthly meetings, discussion groups, and professional training. Come check us out! For more information contact: President, Jim Theis, jim.theis@westwoodcc.org, or call (612) 618-1727 Tip of the Week Section Originally Run March 25, 2011 The IRS Everyone, especially around the middle of April, hears comments about the Internal Revenue Service; many of these comments are not very nice. However, I will put to you the proposition that the IRS is the “good guys”. They, and our local property taxing authorities, give churches their most valuable worldly asset, a tax exemption. In return, all they ask is that we follow their rules. (If they made me an offer like that, I would stand up straight, smile, and salute!) Consequently, it is very important that we follow their rules. During these days when so many of our elected representatives oppose raising taxes, the IRS is becoming more diligent about finding new revenue sources. This means they are starting to look for churches that have not been obeying their rules. I commend to you Christianity Today Richard Hammer’s Church and Clergy Tax Guide. It has proven invaluable for researching a multitude of subjects. Learn more at http://store.churchlawtodaystore.com. Please also bookmark http://www.nonprofitattorney.com; this is Frank Sommerville’s site. Frank is an attorney who is very helpful to church people with questions on tax and other topics. Don’t be afraid to e-mail him a question; he will respond to you, but he won’t start “running the meter” until it’s clear he’ll be doing so. Special Events Section Peacemaking Events Rev. Dr. George Williamson of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA) will be in Minneapolis for 2 special events April 14 & 15. Saturday morning from 10:00 until noon, he’ll be at Judson Memorial Baptist Church for a presentation and discussion. The Sunday following, George will preach at University Baptist Church. Everyone interested in peace issues is invited and welcome. Find full details at www.nacbancc.org/GWflyer.pdf. NACBA 2012 Summer Conference Online registration is now open for NACBA’s 56th National Conference to be held at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston, Texas, July 10-14, 2012. Get full details at http://www.nacba.net/2012/Pages/default.aspx. Share the Knowledge Section Prayer Request Question We have had prayer requests (for our members or friends/family of members of our congregation) that people would like to put in the bulletin and in our monthly newsletter. Is this something that most churches do? If you put it in the bulletin how many weeks do you list it? Who monitors this or keeps it up to day? Do you put it in both the newsletter and bulletin or just one or the other? We have never done this because our pastor's concern is that it may be on for weeks and the person for whom the prayers are for may be deceased or is home from the hospital, etc. and no one contacted the church to remove the prayer. Judy Nyssen Administrator St. John's Lutheran Church P.O. Box 955 20165 Heath Ave. Lakeville, MN 55044-0955 (952) 469-4916 judy@sjlcl.org Did You Lose Your Reading Glasses? A pair of reading glasses was left at Hope Church last Thursday.    They were left in the NACBA session we did here on Thursday a week ago. Call Bruce Sullivan Hope Presbyterian Church 7132 Portland Ave Minneapolis, MN 55423 (612) 866-4055 bruce.sullivan@hope-pc.org Dear ACS User Group of the Twin Cities (ACSTC), We had our very first meeting this morning at Plymouth. While we were small in number, we were mighty with ideas and how we should get our new group up and running! Here is what we decided: •     Meetings will be the 2nd Thursday of every month o     We will gather at 8:30-9:00 for refreshments o     We will meet from 9:00-11:30      We will start with a main topic to discuss for the whole group      After a break, we will meet in small groups around the various modules: •     People •     Contributions •     Financials •     Etc. o     Those who choose may go to lunch after the meeting o     We will try and meet year-round/or as need demands o     We will rotate our meeting site each month o     Next meeting is April 12, 2012      Hope Presbyterian Church in Richfield •     7132 Portland Ave •     Richfield 55423-3264 •     (612) 866-4055 •     Host: Cindy Forsgren o     The main topic for discussion in April will be MEMBER STATUS      What are our various Member Status      What has worked and what hasn’t      Bring your questions and what you are currently doing o     We will also begin to work on sharing our various policies and procedures for how we enter into ACS, etc., with a goal of developing a manual template for our group to use Whew, we covered a lot of ground and we are all excited to begin our work together! If you know of someone who should be added to our distribution list, please shoot me an email. The more, the merrier! See you in April! Karen E. Hartz Director of Operations Plymouth Congregational Church 1900 Nicollet Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403-3746 (612) 977-1266 karenh@plymouth.org Tuition Question A member of our school community has suggested that we allow people to use a portion of the profits earned on Scrip sales to be applied to their tuition. The goal is to increase participation in the Scrip program by allocating a portion of each families Scrip purchases back to their own tuition account. The remainder would continue to be designated to the church and school. I am wondering if anyone else has implemented a similar program and can share how it all worked and what challenges you encountered. Is it even ‘legal’ to do and are there any tax implications for the school and/or family? Gordon Thomas Trinity Lutheran Church & School 601 2nd St E Waconia, MN 55387-1608 (952) 442-4165 Gordon.thomas@trinitywaconia.org Job Descriptions Needed I am also looking for job descriptions for church treasurers and financial secretaries that are elected as part of your organization’s by-laws. Thanks, Gordon Thomas Trinity Lutheran Church & School 601 2nd St E Waconia, MN 55387-1608 (952) 442-4165 Gordon.thomas@trinitywaconia.org Where are you getting your Easter Lilies? I am struggling with this. Any suggestions? Gordon Thomas Trinity Lutheran Church & School 601 2nd St E Waconia, MN 55387-1608 (952) 442-4165 Gordon.thomas@trinitywaconia.org Beg, Buy, Sell, or Give-Away Section Heavy-Duty Custom Volleyball Sets – 4 Available – Free! (Nets NOT included) I used to host volleyball tournaments and we would rent turf space where you are not allowed to drive stakes into the ground… so long story short, I custom-made some concrete bases and poles to hold nets that would not damage turf.   Each base is 150-200lbs of solid steel and concrete, so you will need a good truck to haul them away. I am giving them away because I need the storage space and I no longer host events for volleyball.   They need a good home, but it is first come, first serve. I have given away two sets already, and 4 are currently available. YOU MUST pick them up if you are interested. Thanks, Tyree Lawrence Director LVY Foundation info@theLVYfoundation.org (612) 234-1589 Kneeler Needed Wanted: A free-standing gently used kneeler. Can you help? Please contact Linda Nelson Office Manager Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church 2020 W. Lake of the Isles Pkwy Minneapolis, MN 55405-2438 (612) 377-5095 churchoffice@loti.org Job Line Find the Job Line at www.nacbancc.org/JLS.asp. Meeting Schedule Our chapter’s meeting schedule, complete with maps and hyperlinks, is on our web site at http://www.nacbancc.org/mschedule.asp. About Us The Friday Epistle, a project of the North Central Chapter of NACBA, the National Association of Church Business Administration, is a free e-mail service for church administrators; it’s available to anyone who wants it. Feel free to pass this document to anyone who may be interested. To subscribe, please send your e-mail address to Craig M. Wiester, CCA fridayepistle@nacbancc.org To unsubscribe, send “Unsubscribe” to that same address.