Town Hall Notes 4/12/26
History of Leadership Board
John Wesley established the Methodist church to be a lay-led denomination. In the early days, we had very few pastors who were on circuits, and who would spend months traveling between churches. It was up to the laity to maintain, lead and grow the local church.
Post WWII Methodist membership grew and leadership was transitioned into committees: finance, trustees, staff-parish, and council on ministries.
Now, in the 21st century we have Simplified Accountable Structure. The one-board model combines all the committees into one group for fewer meetings, strategic leadership and stronger accountability. The boards of Methodist churches make decisions through representative, accountable leadership.
Haygood moved to this structure in 2018. Mission and alignment to mission drives the structure. The nominations committee, which includes the pastor, is the discerning body selecting possible candidates. Then a charge conference officially places the board members in that role. The people on the board cycle on and off in 3 year terms.
Board members are responsible for prayerfully making decisions on behalf of the whole church. That structure is meant to keep us focused on the bigger picture, specifically our mission rather than preferences.
Current Leadership Board
Early Service(s): Kennis Sigmon, Larry LaRue, Jimmy Porter, Gene Jones, Carol Loyer
Late Service: Mike LaRock, Sarah Wright, Jessica Grau, Liz McCauley
Lay Leadership: Audrey O’Donald and Beth Fite
Representatives across services, of all ages (this is the “oldest” board yet if you average our ages), and all genders, as well as supporters of various ministries.
Budget Update
We began this year carrying a deficit. We are sharing our monthly numbers in the bulletin, as they are available. Where appropriate, we moved some of our designated funds into our general operating account. This allowed us to meet the commitments we’d already made, including salaries, ministry support, and our apportionments. We also paused large expenditures unless they are pre-approved and we have the available cash to support them. However, things like the chapel repairs have continued as there was funding specifically for that.
Even with those adjustments, we are currently receiving about 75% of what we need each month to fully support our operating budget.
While our budget and structure has the church paying for the preschool director and the preschool paying for all other staff and expenses, the preschool has been making greater contributions to the church since last summer. Essentially, the church and preschool are splitting the cost of the Director position.
One thing to note is that giving is not evenly distributed across the year. Some months are stronger than others, often tied to things like tax timing or seasonal patterns. We expect that variability, and we plan for it. But even with that in mind, the gap we’re seeing right now is significant enough that we need to be attentive and proactive.
Journey To Easter Update
Journey to Easter has been one of the most visible and meaningful ways we engage our community. This year, 218 members of our community walked the Journey to Easter - including 52 friends who traveled from Richmond by bus. Additionally, 2 people shared that this was the first time that they had ever heard the story of Jesus’ journey from Palm Sunday to the Resurrection.
This is a huge outreach. It’s also something that really sets us apart from other churches and is uniquely Haygood’s. We are inviting discernment on this ministry as our number of volunteers has dwindled. Can we continue as is because more folks here will volunteer, do we need to adapt it, should we partner with another church to do it?
