Chestnut Assembly of God
ANNUAL BUSINESS CELEBRATION MARCH 6, 2024
The Annual Business Celebration was called to order by Pastor Antonio (Tony) Cotto at 7:20 pm.
Pastor Tony opened in prayer, and the congregation stood for a time of prayer and praise unto the Lord. He then exhorted the church with an incredible word to the house. Pastor Barb prayed a declaration over the house and then brought a Word from the Lord to the church.
Pastor Tony stated that a quorum of 90 members was needed to continue the meeting, and thankfully, it was established. Pastor Tony thanked Cheron Rosado for putting the Annual Report together.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS
Pastor Tony read the names of the 46 new members for 2023 and stated that the next Growth Track course would be on April 7th and 14th.
The pastor also honored the members who passed away in 2023. He cited Psalm 116:5, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints,” and named each person.
LEAD PASTOR’S REPORT
Pastor Tony read his Annual Report. Ron Josephsen moved to accept the report as presented, which was seconded by Sam Mercado. The congregation’s vote to accept was unanimous.
BOARD SECRETARY’S REPORT
The Secretary’s Report from March 8, 2023, Annual Business Meeting was included in the Annual Report and made available to church members prior to the meeting. Damon Lampson motioned to forgo the reading of the minutes, and the ministry reports and to accept them as presented. Marion Kennedy seconded the motion, and the congregation’s unanimous vote to accept it.
TREASURERS REPORT
The Annual Financial Statement is not designed to be a detailed report. On a monthly basis, the Deacons elected by the membership review the detailed reports to ask questions, express concerns, and seek clarification. The membership received the Annual Financial Statement prior to the Business Meeting and was invited and encouraged to submit any questions to Pastor Tony prior to the annual meeting.
GENERAL/MISSIONS FUND
Treasurer Regina Lopez presented the General Fund Statement by reading the subtotal and total figures.
Pastor Tony provided information, shared explanations, responded to questions, and clarified specific items in the General Fund Statement. Eddie Cruz made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented. Damon Lampson seconded the motion, and the congregation voted to accept it unanimously.
BUILDING FUND
Treasurer Regina Lopez read the total figures of the Building Fund Statement. Christine Lampson moved to accept the Statement as presented, which was seconded by Leslie Josephsen. The congregation’s vote to accept was unanimous.
SAVINGS FUND
Treasurer Regina Lopez presented the Savings Fund Statement by reading the total figures. Terry Forte made a motion to accept the Savings Fund Statement as presented. The motion was seconded by Danieliz Figueroa, and the congregation’s vote to accept it was unanimous.
PAYROLL FUND
Treasurer Regina Lopez presented the Payroll Fund Statement by reading the total figures. David Santiago made a motion to accept the Payroll Fund Statement as presented. Damian Lampson seconded the motion, and the congregation’s vote to accept was unanimous.
NET WORTH STATEMENT
Treasurer, Regina Lopez, presented the Net Worth Statement by reading the total figures. The report was provided for information only and does not require a vote by the congregation.
DEACONS AND ELDERS
The pastor provided a detailed explanation to the congregation, highlighting the distinction between the roles of deacons and elders. Deacons are responsible for managing the church’s finances, while elders assist the pastor with the spiritual aspects of the ministry.
v ELDERS:
The pastor felt led to add a new elder to the leadership team. He picked Ron Josephsen. Ron addressed the congregation and expressed his gratitude for this new position.
v DEACONS:
· According to our bylaws, the pastor is not required to undergo a body nominee process for deacon. As outlined, when there is a vacancy, the board selects a candidate they believe is qualified for the position. The pastor then interviews and evaluates the individual. The pastor and board decide on the most suitable person for the specific role.
· After completing this process, we selected Terry Forte to join the board for three years. Terry addressed the congregation to express his gratitude for his new position.
· As of March 6, 2024, Tami Schoenborn was promoted to lay pastor and will step down from her deacon position that she held for five years.
· The Secretary and Treasurer are appointed positions, each serving a two-year term. Every two years, if they wish to continue their roles, Pastor presents them to the church body for ratification.
· This year, Pastor needed to ratify my position as secretary. I, Lillian Baker, accepted for another two years. I expressed my gratitude to the congregation.
· Our Treasurer, Regina Lopez, has decided to retire from her position after five years of service. She had one year remaining in her current term before the next ratification. To fill the vacancy, the pastor and board interviewed and vetted Toshie Faloye to complete the remaining one-year term. At next year’s business meeting, Toshie must be ratified for a full two-year term.
Ø Regina addressed the congregation to express her gratitude for the opportunity to serve over the past five years, and Toshie addressed the congregation.
Ø Toshie addressed the congregation to express her gratitude for being appointed to replace Regina for the remainder of the term.
MINISTRY REPORTS
Other Ministry Reports were included in the handout for the congregation’s reference. The pastor asked specific ministry leaders to give updates on their ministries.
· Pastor Greg shared that he is stepping down from the worship team to focus on leading the greeters’ ministry in his role as the connections pastor. He spoke on relaunching “outside greeters” on Easter Sunday and having regular greeters every Sunday. He also discussed plans to implement a new “catchers” ministry.
· Ivan Perez shared growth statistics for the church’s digital ministry. He also showed a PowerPoint presentation and a video of the production/tech team's progress. Ivan also shared about doing a live stream “pre-show” in the foyer starting Easter Sunday. Jonah Cotto is now a full-time tech director, and Christian Perez – is a part-time tech.
· Pastor Rolando gave an update on the Spanish church.
The pastor mentioned and honored the following leaders: Angel and Nichole DeJesus of Children Ministries, Frank and Elizaray Guzman of Young Adults, and Rich and Lakeycha Cortes of Youth Ministries.
Pastor discussed and explained the formation of a new rebranding committee.
Transitions Clothing Store closed indefinitely.
Pastor honored Christine Tolbert for her tireless service with Code Blue and for cooking meals for the homeless.
PASTOR’S CLOSING REMARKS
The pastor discussed March 8th being the church’s 71st birthday and Pastor Snook’s 80th birthday. The church sang and recorded a “Happy Birthday” song, which will be sent to him by video.
ADJOURNMENT
Pastor Tony entertained a motion to adjourn the Annual Business Meeting at 8:48 pm. He asked Marilyn Snook to close in prayer. Ron Josephsen made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Damon Lampson and carried out by unanimous vote of the congregation.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lillian Baker
Lillian Baker
Board Secretary