Council Meeting Minutes

Council of Elders Meeting Minutes: 07-Mar-2023

Members Present: Pastor TJ Anderson, Mary Fonken-Holden, Linda Kordosky, Gary Engelbrecht, Loree Petersen, Dan Davis, Gunnar Unger, Steve Eckhardt, and John Oldfield (ex-officio)

Members Absent: Mark Mueller
Mary called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.

Opening Prayer
Steve opened with prayer.

Approval of Agenda
Dan made a motion to approve the agenda. Gunnar seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

Approval of Minutes from February 7, 2023
Gunnar made a motion to approve the minutes from 07-Feb-2023 minutes. Steve seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

Pastor TJ’s Report
There will be a combined worship service at the Arden Hills location on Sunday April 30 at 10:30 am. This service will include baptisms. If you want to be baptized and/or have your infant/child baptized, please contact Diane Armstrong at 651-797-7832 or A baptism class will be held on Sunday, April 16 at Arden Hills following the 10:30 am service. Pastor TJ reported that the Nominating Committee is on schedule and has been contacting potential candidates for open positions on the Council of Elders, Nominating Committee, and the NHCA School Board. Please be in prayer for this process.
Pastor TJ has been working with Tracy Sweeney on exploring worship nights in August, which would incorporate three consecutive nights. They are praying for God’s direction and guidance on this and would welcome your prayers also.
Josh Rosa is working on a young adult ministry. He is trying to identify the young adults that come to the Sunday services and ministries on Wednesdays. One of the ways he is doing this is hosting a “Connect with Donuts” at the Arden Hills Welcome Center following the service.
Pastor TJ and Pastor Jordan are reworking the Discipleship and Growth Track. They are looking at how to intentionally have the Discipleship and Growth Track work together and move people through them purposefully.
The Meal Pack day for Ukraine has not been finalized.
Book signing will be done on Sunday morning, March 12, outside of the Arden Hills Bookstore by Greg Berglund, Tasse Swanson, and Johan Hinderlie, who have published books. Their books can be purchased at the bookstore and signed by these talented authors from the North Heights community.
Sermon series will continue on Luke followed by sermons on Pentecost, and a Father’s Heart. On Sunday, June 11 Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge will be at both locations.

Land Sale Update
John reported on the land sale update. The developer, Trident Development, met with the Arden Hills City Council on February 21. A number of items were discussed. Overall, there were three take-aways from the meeting.
1) The city seems to be in favor of the development.
2) There has been no decline in construction costs since 2022.
3) The developer needs to find a lower mortgage rate in order to proceed with the purchase of the land. Please continue to pray for God’s will in all of this.

Policy Change regarding working from home
The Council discussed the need for an employee policy of working from home. The Council directed Pastor TJ and John to prepare a memo to staff that employees are no longer to work at home without authorization from their supervisor and HR. The called pastors are exempted from this policy.

11:00 Worship at Roseville
The Council has prayed and consulted with Thom and Jan Hardwick about the 11:00 am Worship at Roseville. All agreed that it is in the best interest of the church to post a Worship Leader position for the 11:00 am Roseville Service to start the hiring process. This will be a part-time position with a focus on Spirit-filled contemporary worship bringing people into the presence of God.

At 7:35 pm Dan made a motion to close the meeting. Loree seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

Pastor TJ provided the closing prayer.

Jesus unites us all in His eternal love.

Respectfully submitted,
Linda Kordosky
NHLC Council Secretary