Welcome to the latest edition of the Board E-letter.

The purpose of this e-letter is to inform and invite. The information shared is what we refer to as “membership matters” … constitutional, governmental, organizational, and ministerial matters.  Bylaws, policies, finances, church health, ministry initiatives, church membership, and staffing are all items that we have been communicating through past editions.  While the e-letter is focused towards members, we are hopeful that it will contribute to greater engagement by everyone who is participating in and partnering with the bridge.

The invitation offered is for feedback and further growth.  As they say, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions!”.   As an engaged member or attender of the bridge, we want to hear from you.  Your suggestions, thoughts, and concerns may just end up initiating something new, something effective.  So, don’t hesitate.  May I encourage each of you to always be working on your relationship with your church; communication is key, and dialogue is healthy.  One of the ways to be inspired in your membership and engagement is to attend Discover the bridge and Discover Your Purpose.  These two regularly offered events will orient you towards the beliefs, vision, values, and methodology of our church.

In this e-letter, you’ll be caught up on staffing, finances, property development, and Board Nominations.

As to staffing… we’ve been BUSY!  We have a new Communications Pastor and a new Assistant Discipleship Pastor.  Also, in the upcoming year, we are trusting God for a new Children’s Pastor, as Ruth Crawford is retiring. God is leading, and God is providing. Our church is so blessed! Check out our leadership page for an understanding of who does what.

It truly is a season of renewal! One of the areas where we continue to see stable and gifted leadership is at the Board level. All of our last year’s team will be back, save for Jen Dickens (Thank you for serving this past year Jen!). We have two very capable and qualified leaders who have been nominated and will be presented for a vote at this year’s AGM.

Thank you to all those who have given so much to be the great leaders they are!  Come on out to this year’s Annual General Meeting to celebrate and learn more of what God has done in the past year, and the stupendous things He will do in the year ahead.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Board Nomination Update

The Annual General Meeting of the bridge is to take place on Sunday, November 18th. It’s a time when we reflect on the past year and look forward to the new season ahead.  Members are encouraged to attend and engage in the matters of the church.

This year we had two board positions that became open. Kevin Aide and Jen Dickens completed their terms. The board nomination committee consisted of Grace Lee, Joanne Williams, Paul Yoon, Winston Stewart, Pastor Brian and myself.

Since our update in June, we received 12 nominations, of which 6 were qualified. They were notified and encouraged to give prayerful consideration to taking on the role as a board member.

After prayerful consideration, 2 nominees allowed their names to be considered and they are as follows:

• Kevin Aide: current Board member, Chair of the Building Project Committee and serves on the Host Ministries team.
• Bill Buck: previous Board member and experience serving in youth and worship arts ministries.

We would like to thank all those who prayerfully submitted nominations and the other nominees who gave prayerful consideration as part of the process.

Affirming the nominees:

The two board nominees will still need to be affirmed via vote by the members of the church. You will have an opportunity to do so at the annual meeting.  If you are not able to attend, we encourage you to complete a proxy form, which is available online and at the Atrium. They are due November 14th.

Please pray with us as to what God would desire for us as a church and thank you for your engagement in the matters of the church.

Jey Anandarajan
Chair of the Board Nomination Committee

Finance Update

It has been another great year here at the bridge.  Our financial year runs in parallel to the ministry year, September to August.  As we reflect upon last year, we are thankful for God’s provision and your generosity in partnering with us in expanding the message of God’s love and truth throughout Markham and around the world.

Giving and income was ahead of budget and $180,000 ahead of the prior year. Thank-you! New giving methods that allow for more convenient and cost effective giving were introduced.  Giving options include on-line and mobile app Pushpay, debit machine, pre-authorized debit, donation of stocks & bonds, cash and cheque. We are encouraged by the number of new and repeat givers that partnered with us last year which allowed for the investment in growing ministries and staying within our budgeted expenses.

The annual budget for 2018/19 has been completed.  This was done by the Budget Committee, in conjunction with staff, who developed and presented their ministry plans and objectives to the committee.  The committee consists of Staff, Board members and Congregation members who met and prayerfully developed financial plans for the church that resource ministries effectively.

Stay tuned for more information on the financial position of the bridge.  The financial statements will be made available online in the next 2 weeks and presented with the budget at the upcoming Annual General Meeting on Sunday, November 18th.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Tim Jenkins
Chair of the Budget Committee & Board Member

Property Development Update

Building Project

The 5 P’s: Here at the bridge, the Property serves the Programs, the Programs serve the People, and the People serve the Purposes of God in a Principled way.  This is a mantra that we’ve been working on since the beginning of this project.  We’ve had to add a 6th P:  Patience.  The committee has had some time off while we waited 6 months for the City departments to complete their review and provide comments on the Site Plan Application that was submitted in March.  We have finally received the last of the City’s comments and are incorporating their feedback into our design, all while keeping in mind: purpose, budget and impacts to parking requirements.  Come out to the bridge’s Annual General Meeting to get an update on where we are with the project and how it’s “shaping up.”

Property Sale

The last of the details related to the property sale are being completed and the closing is expected to take place on or before November 29th, 2018.

Please continue to pray for the Staff and Committee as they invest their time into this significant project.

Kevin Aide
Chair of the Building Committee & Board Member