Welcome to this edition of our e-blast. These church updates have been coming to you every 3 to 4 months to inform you as to what’s happening within the bridge. Here, you’ll be updated on what is happening this summer, the board nomination process, an update on our finances, and property development.

Last week, the staff returned from a planning retreat for the fall and beyond. Every year, we take time to team build, clarify roles and objectives, evaluate progress and the effectiveness of ministries, and develop both personal and church-wide strategies for growth and leadership development. If time permits, we may even throw the frisbee around a bit.

Let’s talk summer…we’ve just launched our new sermon series Treasuring Jesus. Jesus Himself tells us, “Wherever our treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). Our treasure is what we hold dear; what we sacrifice for; what we alter our lives around. What we treasure, we value to the degree that we protect it at all costs. Our overall wellness and balance in life stems from our value system. Treasuring Jesus is an activity that automatically produces within us the order and the meaning that we so desperately crave. We come to our fullest selves in having Jesus as the chief object of our affection. It is going to be a great month!

Following this series, Pastor Samuel will be launching a summer series on contemporary issues that will hit you where you live. He has been inviting you to submit your ideas as to what are the important issues of our day. Bringing God’s wisdom into our consideration of these contemporary concerns is what this series will bring.

We have just finished collecting for the SHARE food drive and we look forward to being open these next few months for the community to be involved in our many summer camps. We will have 12 students involved in summer employment at the bridge. We will be having mid-week Summer Group Connect and the gym will continue to be open for drop-in basketball and volleyball. The youth and young adults have a full schedule of gatherings, groupings, and goings; speaking of which, the youth and young adults are heading off to the Dominican Republic once again this year. Exciting times ahead!

As you read this e-blast, please remain prayerfully engaged in the ongoing mission of the bridge. We are praying for you and your summer; asking God to bless you with rest, recreation, and some personal renewal. If you are missing any services, remember that you can join us via live stream or by way of our website.

Finally, please remain faithful in your financial support of what God is doing in and through the bridge. We’ve provided a number of ways for you to maintain that support through the summer months.

May God truly bless you this summer and may God continue to bless us as we continue to live for Him.

Brian Childs
Lead Pastor

Board Nominations

Our next Annual Business Meeting will be taking place on Saturday, November 17. It is a time when we reflect on the past year, look forward to the new season ahead, and elect Board members to serve the church. In our last e-blast, we communicated a mid-year members meeting would be held in June in order to update our by-laws as related to the Board election process and other legislative matters. After further discussion with our lawyer, and at their recommendation, the Board has decided a meeting will not be necessary and updates will be addressed at our November meeting.

This year, the Board has decided to start the process of finding suitable Board members two months earlier to provide adequate time for potential candidates to give due consideration. Our previous Board Nomination Committees have also felt that a longer time period was needed to carry out the process of electing Board members for the next term.

The Board Nomination Committee requests your prayerful engagement in the matters of our church and to nominate members to the Board. This year, there are two positions that need to be filled. The role of the Board member is to partner with the Lead Pastor in the overall direction, governance, and administration of the bridge, so as to guide the pastors and congregation towards God-honouring best practices and purposeful ends. Please visit the Board nomination webpage for information about our nomination guidelines, role description, qualifications, and to nominate members for the Board.

The Nomination Process and Timeline:

June 17: Board nomination opens online or by ballots at the Info Centre
July 8: Board nomination closes & Board Nomination Committee reviews nominees
August 19: Board Nomination Committee contacts those eligible
October 21: Board Nomination Committee presents eligible names to the congregation
November 17: Annual Meeting and voting to take place

Based on the qualifications and your prayerful consideration, please consider nominating members to the Board. We would like to thank you all for your engagement and commitment to serving God.

Jey Anandarajan
Chair of the Board Nomination Committee

Finance Update

It’s almost that time of year again. Not the beginning of summer or the end of the school year, but budget season. It’s the time of year when the pencils, calculators and spreadsheets come out and numbers get crunched for the year ahead.

The development of the annual budget at the bridge is prepared by the Budget Committee in conjunction with the church staff. The fiscal year of the church runs in parallel with the ministry year—September to August. The staff spend countless hours developing their annual plans for the ministries they oversee and the resource requirements to achieve their ministry objectives. These plans are consolidated and presented to the Budget Committee.

The Budget Committee consists of select staff, Board members and congregation members. This group spends numerous hours over the summer months prayerfully developing financial plans for the church to ensure all the various ministries receive the funds they require. Scenarios are also developed to forecast the giving and income amount for the year ahead. Sometimes difficult conversations are had and difficult decisions are made, but thankfully our God is faithful and always provides.

Please pray for the staff and Budget Committee as they meet over the upcoming months to develop the 2018–2019 budget. Please pray especially for wisdom and guidance as it relates to budgeting the required expenses to close the land sale.

It has been a great year of ministry and impact. We are thankful for your generosity and for what God has provided. Giving and income is ahead of target, with many new givers contributing to the bridge this year. Expenses are also positive to budget with very few unexpected expenses being received this year. With three months left in the current fiscal year, we continue to work towards our property development and plan various ministry programs and initiatives for the church and our community. We encourage you to check out what will be happening at the bridge this summer.  As you enjoy the summer months, please join with us in ending the fiscal year strong. Consider using pre-authorized debit or Pushpay (mobile or online giving) if you are travelling this summer. Thank you for your partnership in the mission and vision of the church.

Tim Jenkins
Chair of the Budget Committee & Board Member

Facilities Development Update – June 2018

the bridge’s land sale and subsequent building project involves a complex set of tasks, city submissions, negotiations and detailed planning. Each of these processes involve different groups of people and function at its own unique pace. Since our last update, much progress has been made toward reaching our objectives.

Land Sale

With the assistance of a development lawyer, we have negotiated a Memoriam of Understanding (MoU) with Andrin as related to details associated with the land sale and subsequent changes it brings to our property. Andrin will pay for the costs associated with relocating bridge assets that exist on the severed lands; this includes items such as the hydro transformer and fire water connection. The MoU also addresses continued access for the bridge from Alexander Lawrie, as well as other technical details. The MoU also establishes the end of October as the closing date for the land sale agreement. This is significant as it allows for the debt to be paid down when our loan term expires this December. Not paying interest on our debt allows money to be used for purposes productive to the bridge and its mission.

Building Project

After many meetings with church staff, the Building Committee and our architect, the church submitted plans for Site Plan Acceptance (SPA) to the City of Markham in mid-March. Submitting for SPA triggers numerous city review processes that include transportation impact, urban design, fire and emergency services, water and waste water, waste management, etc. Each of these city departments have to agree on the building design and the supporting infrastructure. This review process is very comprehensive and takes several months to complete. Comments have started to come back from the various city departments and we expect the remaining comments to come in soon. Once all the comments have been received, we will review the feedback and ensure necessary adjustments are made in keeping with our budget and without impacting ministry objectives.

I thank you for your continued prayers, interest and support. This is a long running process but one that I know will return great results for the bridge, God’s kingdom, and the community of Markham.

Kevin Aide
Chair of the Building Committee & Board Member