Fifth Reformed Church of Muskegon
Consistory Meeting Minutes
Monday, October 7, 2013
Present: Pastor Paul, Howard Connell, Ray Klug, Bob Sieplinga, Ed Wilkes, Frank DeLong, Tim DeVriendt, Brad
Swain, Frank Kern and Steve Pothoven
Absent: Gary Boss, Greg Churchley, and John Humphreys
1. Opening Business:
a. Call to order, devotions and opening prayer: The meeting was called to order at
7:45 pm. Devotions and opening prayer were given by Brad Swain. Brad read
from Colossians 6:7 talking about “Are you a witness?”
2. Routine Business:
a. Approval of minutes for September 9, 2013: Motion made, supported and carried to
APPROVE these minutes.
b. Correspondence received: “Transformed & Transforming” re: the RCA’s new vision was
handed out for information. We will discuss this in more detail at a later time.
c. Elder Board Report:
1. Reaffirmations of Faith: Jeff Van Munster’s public reception into membership will be
conducted on October 20th.
2. Transfers In: Tom & Yvonne Vander Lee were received from 2nd Reformed Church,
Grand Haven and Carol Binnendyk was received from 1st Christian Reformed
Church of Muskegon.
d. Deacon Board Report:
1. Reviewed and discussed Controller's monthly income and expenses reports.
2. Finance Committee update (no report provided)
3. 2014 Budget revisions were discussed. Steve Pothoven will have a final draft at
our November meeting.
4. Benevolence ministry actions for past month: helped several people with gas for
car and with housing. Also helped a mother and son living in a motel with
housing, food, medical prescriptions, and transportation.
e. Pastoral Care Board Report: Frank DeLong reported, provided for information.
f. Staff Report:
1. Vacation days for staff: Pastor Paul, October 8-14, 2013 (previously approved)
2. Update re: John Davidson's Commissioned Pastor Program (for information only)
3. Other staff information of interest: Pastor Paul is now the co-chair of the Muskegon
Classis Commission for Ministerial Formation & Preparation, and thus a member of
the Classis Executive Committee.
3. Ministry Team Reports:
a. Church Life (no report)
b. Education & Youth (for information only)
c. Evangelism (for information only)
d. Outreach & Missions (no report)
e. Prayer (no report)
f. Small Groups (no report)
g. Property & Equipment:
1. The Property & Equipment Team came with a proposal to have the Deacons set up
a fund where deposits can be made to build a storage garage to be used for the
Women's Ministries Used Items Sale and for other church storage. The Women’s
Ministries already have $1,000.00 to be deposited into this account. They want to
have a bake sale to add to this fund, along with other donations that may be ear-
marked for this purpose. After much discussion it was decided to allow the
Deacons to set up this special fund. The garage will not be built until enough
money is in this fund to fully cover the cost of the building. Also, if after a certain
amount of time they do not reach their goal, or for some reason the Consistory does
not approve the building of the structure, the Consistory will have the right to move
all deposited money over to the Building Fund or to any other account they
deem necessary. Motion made, supported and APPROVED to accept this proposal.
4. Old or Tabled Business:
a. Development of Deacon Ministry Team (remains tabled)
b. 2013 Elder & Deacon Nominations slate - updated information was provided. The
Nominating Committee will next interview the nominees and have the final slate ready
for their approval at the November 4th Consistory Meeting.
c. Decision regarding hosting of Fall Festival: Due to the problem of not finding anyone to
take charge of this festival it was decide to cancel it this year. Consistory talked about
making this festival an every-other-year event or to try putting it in with some other
event. We will see what feedback we receive from the congregation over this.
d. Feedback regarding DeColores weekend: The DeColores men were very impressed
with the cooperation of our staff and our church facility. They look forward to future
weekends with us. There were a few concerns with how they left things when they
departed on Sunday, and these will be looked into.
5. New Business:
a. Worship related items: October 13 Pulpit Supply will be Rev. Mike Wissink
b. Anonymous designated gift: $600.00 has been given to the church for new TVs in
classrooms (old TVs will be discarded). The donor will work with Bob Barrett on
obtaining the right TVs and making sure they are secured properly on the carts.
c. Update on status/progress of Families Victorious ministry: Allison DeVriendt and her
team are still working on this. Allison did a training run with Harry & Norine Pothoff
and did a good job. We need referrals and new prospects to get this going.
d. Other items for discussion (none)
6. Adjournment and closing prayer: Motion made, supported and APPROVED to
adjourn. Pastor Paul closed with prayer at 9:35 pm. The next Consistory Meeting
will be Monday, November 4, 2013.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ray Klug, Clerk of Consistory