Board of Trustees

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New Ministry Initiatives

• The Board of Trustees continues to manage church property, equipment and investments actively and effectively in capital improvements.  The next major project underway and approved by the Board is the modernization of the Church's two elevators that require updated supporting controls and modern technology to operate faster, more efficient and safer.

 

Recently Completed Events/Stats

• The replacement chiller was successfully installed on October 11, 2023 by Tebarco Mechanical, our HVAC vendor.  The $320k project is now complete and the new system is running more efficiently and will help reduce our annual energy costs.

 

General Ministry Progress Update

• Regarding the Church's relationship with the Boy Scouts of America, the Board of Trustees has made a recommendation to the Executive Committee for the Church to continue as a charter organization for the calendar year 2024.  Church Council will vote to approve this recommendation on October 26.

 

Caring Ministry

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Caring Ministry has been giving hope and help in the following ways:

• GriefShare is hosting a group of 12 folks as they maneuver through their grief journey.  Many of them are not members of Mount Pisgah which is opening doors to our community.

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• Our Divorce Support Group has moved to meeting once a month as we see if this is a better way to engage community into this season of pain for people as they seek healing.

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• We have our first Stephen Ministry training class since Covid!!  So good to have this training back in place.

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• Our USO ministry continues to encourage our military brothers and sisters as well as their families as they travel through the ATL airport.

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• Senior Living ministries is having regular worship services at area assisted living homes as well as sending cards of encouragement to our Home Bound members.

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• Prayer ministry is beginning to recruit folks to “adopt” a confirmand to pray for as they look to confirmation beginning in January. 

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• We had a beautiful Day Apart with Jesus at Camp Lighthouse.  Doug Parsons led us with some beautiful thought of resting in Jesus to prepare us for going out on property to spend time alone with Jesus.  We had 28 people come and look forward to doing this again hopefully in the Spring.  We had wonderful comments through a survey we went out afterwards.  Thankful for the presence of Jesus!

 

 Children’s Ministry

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• Childrens Ministry is now MP Kids and Nursery is now MP Kids Jr. The new names and logos better reflect these vibrant and effective ministries.  

 

• The first ever sixth grade day away at camp Lighthouse was a great success and wonderful opportunity to transition  the sixth graders from MPKids to student life. 

 

• High five, a leadership and service program for fifth graders, is off to a great start. Fifth graders have made meals, cleaned and repaired things at church, and enjoyed social time together.

 

• The Epic 3rd - 5th grade retreat was this past weekend. We took 45 kids and a dozen volunteers to camp strong rock in Cleveland Georgia for three days of worship and fun. 

 

• Attendance in 316, the 11 AM small group program for kindergarten through fifth grade, is up 25% this fall. Invitational events like the retreat, VBS, glow in the dark and Wednesday night Collide classes are increasing attendance on Sunday mornings. 

 

• MP Kids Jr (Nursery) is getting an indoor playground! S125, formally the crave room, is being transformed into a forest complete with indoor swings, climbing structures, a big slide and worship area. Stop by and check out the progress! Completion is scheduled for mid November.

 

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Community Engagement

 

• Ricky Brown has written a contextually specific curriculum for the Equipping for Community Engagement class he recently taught for 4 weeks to the church staff. During the 4 week class the staff learned various practical steps toward engaging our community with the Gospel. Students participated in various group exercises which in turn yielded wonderful suggestions for new ways for Mount Pisgah to engage our community with the Gospel. The next step is to make the equipping class available church wide through one of two ways: 1) In person classes both day and night starting January 2024. 2) Video series on demand will be recorded soon and made available to those desiring to get involved sooner. Once we have a shared philosophy of ministry, and strong theological underpinning, we'll embark on various community engagement initiatives. The vision is to have the entire church feel equipped to engage their community with the Gospel and not just a specific ministry team. 

 

DiscipleLife

 

• We have updated our Discipleship Group marketing flyer, and it now includes a Discipleship Group Inquiry Form QR code. This digital form is an additional way for congregants to express their interest and availability in joining a Discipleship Group. We have over 200 people engaged (attending, volunteering) here at MP but not in Discipleship groups. As part of our GROW initiative for Discipleship, we want to make sure as many as possible are experiencing the transformational and grace-filled relationships present in a Discipleship group here at MP. 

 

• New Discipleship Groups are forming, and we are kicking off a series of training sessions and times of fellowship for new and existing D-Group leaders to provide support, encouragement, and curriculum ideas. Ray Bachman, Kristy Pierce and Michael Jordan along with Pat and I are spearheading this effort.

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• We had a PLACE training workshop over the summer with Connie McIntyre conducting the workshop for 12+ members who have completed the PLACE assessment and are now interested in meeting with individuals as well as groups to help others find their PLACE here at MP. Having so many interested in pursuing training with PLACE to then pass on to others is extremely encouraging as we continue to equip others to make disciples. Since the training, many have taken PLACE and the new coaches are continuing their training by sitting in on the PLACE interpretation meetings. It will be wonderful to have new PLACE coaches enabling us to better serve those who are new to MP or those who are seeking to serve in their spiritual gifting. We’ve had about 50 people take PLACE this year so far and are hoping to increase that number next year.

 

• Connect Series Update:

  • Chris Henderson and Cameron and Kristy Pierce are continuing their Connect classes through the end of the year – they started with Connect to MP back in January 2023! They have formed wonderful relationships with their members and while some people have left after a class or two some have stayed on for the duration of the series.

  •  Michael Jordan will be finishing his Connect Series class (started in February) with staff (and Deborah Banfield) in the next month. Michael will be starting a new Connect Series for new staff (also open to congregants) next week.

  • Connie McIntyre launched Connect to MP on Sunday evenings this month with 5 couples – 10 members. About half stayed for the 3-week class.

  • Scott and Rebecca Williams will be continuing the Sunday night series with Connect to God the end of this month.

  • We are still brainstorming ways to offer and promote Connect Series with new and pending members. We are concluding that it takes about a year from start to finish to get through the entire 26-week series.

 

• Emmaus Update: Mount Pisgah continues to be very supportive of the Emmaus mission. There was an Emmaus Gathering here at MP on September 30th for the first time since COVID. Everyone (pilgrims and non-pilgrims) was invited for a night of food, fellowship, worship, and Emmaus testimonies. Valorie provided a word of encouragement and communion. The turnout was wonderful with about 75 to 100 children and adults in attendance. The NGWTE season has already started for Fall with 2 men’s and women’s walks in October and November as well as Chrysalis Flights in Dec. and January. The Emmaus board meetings take place at MP the first Tuesday of every month.

 

• Members of our Discipleship Council have been making progress as we continue to meet with different ministry areas that are beautiful examples of the impact MP has had on our community over the past several decades. For example, members are meeting with representatives from: MPCS, Summit, Emmaus, Narrow Gate, Beacon of Hope, Pisgah Fosters, Camp Lighthouse, Champions Place and Sunday Supper just to name a few. The goal in connecting with these ministries is to foster closer relationships between ministries and our council in which we hope to have more conversations around discipleship and how others are being discipled within these ministries. Over the next couple of months we hope to come along side each ministry and provide help and support in whatever way they need whether that be assisting with curriculum for groups that take place within a ministry (Champions Place), providing discipleship and support for staff members (Beacon) and helping them discern where individuals are in their relationship with Christ (Summit) to select appropriate Christian resources to meet clients where they are. 

 

• BTCL (Bible Training for Church Leaders) has been meeting on Thursday mornings at Mount Pisgah since August 2021. This 5-course curriculum is part of a 10 course, world-wide course that is used to training pastors in 92 countries in 41 languages. This women-only class is seminary level teaching that covers the following courses: Bible Study Methods, Old Testament Survey, New Testament Survey, Bible Doctrine Survey, Personal Spiritual Life and Church Ministry. The current class will be graduating on May 2nd, 2024, including 7 women from Mount Pisgah. There will be an orientation for prospective students on March 28th, 2024. Look for more information as we get the word out to our MP ladies to join the class starting August in 2024.

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• Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) at MP: Thank you again to everyone for the support you gave in getting this discipleship ministry here at MP! As a result, we have about 130 women and 60 children and teens attending small groups and attending lecture every Tuesday night. The registration is This is a wonderful partnership and an exciting addition to our DiscipleLife offerings for women, children, and teens.

 

 

Finance Committee

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New Ministry Initiatives

A new Mount Pisgah Tech and Security Advisory Committee has been formed of lay leaders who have expertise in the Information Technology field.  They have been extremely valuable in working with our IT Manager to ensure Mount Pisgah has a secure network and adequate policies and systems in place.

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Recently Completed Events and Stats

• The fiscal year audit for the period ending June 30, 2023, was just completed by the accounting firm, Smith + Howard.  The audit report should be available by October 31, 2023, for review by the Audit Committee.  It will then be submitted to the Finance Committee for approval.

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• General Ministry Progress Update

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• Our "Vision Forward" sermon series continues with teachings on the 4 G's: Gather, Grow, Give and Go.  Our giving initiative is underway with the focus on "Give" for the month of October.  Commitment Sunday is scheduled for October 29th asking congregants to submit an Estimate of Giving card for the 2024 calendar year.  Please join us and others in declaring our faithfulness as disciples of Christ as we respond to the Vision Forward.

 

Hospitality

• Worked with volunteer teams on two TOGETHER worship Sundays on August 6th and October 1st.  Both TOGETHER worships were held on the church campus with lunch following a combined 11am worship.

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• Attended the TouchPoint Summit conference.  Great few days of learning how to best utilize our database for Hospitality engagement and reporting.  Spent time with other Hospitality staff leaders from churches around the country, sharing best practices with each other.

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• Continue to engage with mission partners in the community for our monthly Outreach of the Month.  For June/July we collected new school supplies and backpacks for our Mount Pisgah in Spanish congregation.  We partnered with Children’s Ministry and packed more than 90 backpacks for distribution to our Mount Pisgah in Spanish students.  In August we collected items for A Beacon of Hope’s Baby Boutique and pantry supplies for The Drake House and in September.

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• Set up autumnal theme outdoor decorations, creating a warm and welcoming entrance as people enter the church building.

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• Selected items and coordinated the Mount Pisgah staff store, giving staff an opportunity to purchase a variety of items including apparel, cups and bags.

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• Continue to assist in coordinating Mount Pisgah in Spanish Lunch de Traje Sundays.

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• Redesigned the coffee set up to be more engaging and welcoming.

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• Worked with volunteers to remove all materials and pens from the Sanctuary church pews, and then restocking with new cards, flyers, envelopes and pens.

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Marketing/Communications Update

 

• Vision Forward: We have been sharing the Gather, Grow, Give, and Go initiative through production of videos, call-to-action cards, web pages, and printed materials. We helped plan and facilitate an All-Staff meeting for the ministries to present each of their Vision Forward strategies for 2024.

 

• We have launched our customized daily devotional booklet which we distribute throughout the community. We are producing both an English and a Spanish version for the next quarter (Dec-Feb).

 

• In conjunction with the Disaffiliation Task Force, we are posting updates to the website as needed and continuing to design and order replacements for all printed materials to remove the cross and flame logo. The new logo has been designed and approved and will begin appearing on signage and printed materials after the vote on November 18th. We worked with the Caring Ministry to develop a 40-Day Prayer Calendar to lead up to the Annual Conference vote.

 

• More than 125 women from throughout the community attend Bible Study Fellowship here each Tuesday night. We have designed and ordered custom “Jesus, BSF & Me @mountpisgah”  tote bags to give to each of them (filled with printed material inviting them to our worship services and our Women’s, Student and Children’s ministry events/programs).

 

• Attended annual Touchpoint conference to learn how to maximize effectiveness of the church management program. Key takeaway was the many potential benefits of the new app for engagement. Mount Pisgah is serving as one of the app beta testers.

 

• We have been increasing social media messaging and storytelling to demonstrate Mount Pisgah’s mission to make disciples. We’ve also produced “You’re Invited” flyers and cards for distribution throughout the community.

 

• We are making a concerted effort to produce more of our printed materials in Spanish, to not only support the MPIS ministry, but to enhance collaboration.

 

• We have been working with all ministries on new/updated printed materials and web pages with the goal of increasing awareness and accessibility of their events and programs.

 

• Looking ahead to the holidays, we are currently designing graphics and supporting materials for the Advent “He Is” series and promotional materials for the Mount Pisgah Christmas Celebration on December 10th.

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Mount Pisgah in Spanish

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Initiatives of new ministries

• We will begin having two youth groups on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm. The first group is from 5 years to 12 years and the second group is from 13 years to 21 years

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• The liturgical dance group is being organized and we intend to have 5 adult dancers, 4 young dancers (17 years or older) and 4 dancers (5 to 10 years old).

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• We will begin English classes (First level), on Thursdays at 7:00 pm in the church. The teacher will be Vernon Harris and his wife.

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Recent church events we completed with attendance numbers:

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• We began the first level of discipleship via Zoom with an attendance of 5 people

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• In the second level of discipleship by Zoom we have 6 people

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• The first level of in-person discipleship began, with 20 people attending. Hernando Montana is the teacher

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• We held a family day where we had more than 80 people in attendance.

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• We held the worship group concert where 6 churches attended and 90 people attended.

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• Prayer services each Friday are attended by over 25 people in person and streamed on Facebook (21 people online)

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• We held the wedding retreat at Camp Lighthouse with 25 couples in attendance. We call the retreat a three-strand cord

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• We continue to send couples and individuals to three-day retreats in Christ

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• On Wednesdays we have classes for children (6 children), young people from 12 to 18 years old (5 young people), young adults over 18 years old (7 young people) and the service for adults with an attendance of 30 people. On the third Wednesday of each month we have a united service with attendance of more than 35 people in total

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• We held Glory Friday (last Friday of each month), with more than 55 people in attendance

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• Weekly we have more than 3 new people arrive and we are giving them a bag with a Bible and information about our church services.

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• The ministry of evangelization (Franklin Montes) is distributing tracts and advertising of the Church in Hispanic supermarkets once a month

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• The coffee with Jesus group meets weekly at the church. It has an attendance of 8 young adults

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• We packed 10 boxes with food, clothes, toys to send to Venezuela

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• The men's ministry meets every month with 12 men in attendance.

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• Average attendance at Sunday services in person is 190 people and online is 120 people

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• We continue to support the Fresh Expressions program where dinner is shared at the Villa de Marisol complex (formerly Holcomb Bridge). The program is Sunday Dinner.

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• We are providing advice and counseling to 2 marriages and 3 personal cases.

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• Luz Marina coordinates classes on Sundays for children from 9 to 13 years old. Attendance is 17 children per Sunday.

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• We have prayer via Zoom at 10:00 pm, Monday to Thursday of each week. With an attendance of 25 people per day

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• We are supporting the Roswell Methodist Church who distribute food on the first Monday of each month. Our job is to pray for each family that goes in their car to pick up food. This month we pray for more than 250 cars

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• We continue with the One invites One campaign. It is praying for a family member or friend and modeling the testimony of what Christ is doing in each of us and inviting them to the Church so that they learn to have a relationship with God.

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• The women's ministry has met once a month, with 23 women in attendance

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• We carry out training on scholarship opportunities and financial resources for young people to study at university. Those who taught the class are the daughter of Lucerito, a member of the Church. Attendance of 25 people I have periodic meetings with the directors of each ministry, where I follow up on the plans, objectives and support for each director of the different ministries of our Church.

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• We held two times of Baptisms where 13 people were baptized

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• We have participated in and supported united services, where we appreciate the opportunity to worship our beloved God in our own language

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Updates on the progress of the general ministry in the future:

• We continue with our mission and vision of making disciples here, there and everywhere, passionate and in love with Jesus Christ. To be a Church of life where Jesus heals, restores people, families and we expand the Kingdom of God

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• We continue to motivate, encourage and train people to follow the model of Jesus (Discipleship). For people to connect with God through prayer, fasting and have a new lifestyle that reflects the life of Christ.

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• We continue to focus on giving spiritual food to the members of Mount Pisgah in Spanish, so that they mature and develop a good and solid relationship with God.

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• We continue to provide counseling and spiritual guidance to couples, adults, married couples, and the youngest members of our Church.

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Thank you to the Mount Pisgah family for supporting us with all the food, donations and most of all thank you for your love and support of our community.

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Thank you and God bless you all!

German Betancourt

Jorge Henao

 

 

Music Ministry

Recently Completed

 

• Welcome Elizabeth Weathington: We are thrilled to welcome Elizabeth Weathington to our Music Ministry team! Starting July 1, she has led the 11:30 service and provide valuable assistance with various Music Ministry duties. Elizabeth is already a part of our musical family, currently singing in the 9:30 choir and Praise Team. We look forward to the harmony her presence will bring to our ministry.

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• Carnegie Hall Performance: A group of our talented choir members travelled on Thursday, June 22, to join fellow singers from across the country in a spectacular performance of the musical ‘Celebrate Life’ at Carnegie Hall

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• Choir Social: We had a choir social on June 28, which was our last rehearsal before our well-deserved July break.

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• Patriotic Sunday: On July 2, Patriotic Sunday, our choir played a significant role in the celebration during the 9:30 service.  

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• July Break: During the month of July, the choir was on a break to recharge and enjoy some well-deserved rest. We resumed rehearsals on August 2.

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• Choir Welcome Back: The Choir commenced the new season on August 2 with a warm welcome back potluck, marking the beginning of another musical journey together.

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• Choir Outing: The choir enjoyed a delightful team outing on Kim Pickering’s boat on August 13th, sailing under the sunny skies and bonding over music and laughter.

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• MP Kids Choirs: Exciting news! Our Children’s Choir has transformed into MP Kids Choirs! We are thrilled to announce this change, reflecting our commitment to nurturing young talents and creating a vibrant musical community.

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• MP Kids Choir (1st – 5th Grade): Our MP Kids Choir (1st – 5th grade) started their musical journey on August 23, bringing enthusiasm and melodies to our congregation.

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• MP Kids Choir (PreK and Kindergarten): The littlest voices in our community, the MP Kids Choir (PreK and Kindergarten), began their musical adventure on September 6, filling our hearts with joy and innocence.

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• Choir Performances: Our talented MP Kids Choir (1st – 5th grade) delighted the congregation with their voices on August 27 at both the 9:30 and 11:00 services and again on October 1 for the special “Together” service.

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• Recent Performance: The MP Kids Choir (PreK and Kindergarten) showcased their budding talents during the 9:30 service on October 15, capturing the hearts of everyone present.

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• Christmas Kick-Off: We kicked off the festive season with a joyful Christmas event on September 13. There were cookies, laughter, and of course, Christmas music. We are delighted to share that our choir doubled in size during this merry celebration, spreading the love for music and the holiday spirit.

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• Special Performance: A small and talented student choir had the honor of performing at the 11:00 service on October 15, leaving the congregation in awe with their remarkable voices.

 

New Ministry Initiatives

 

• Music Reading Initiative: We've launched a new initiative to enhance our musical skills. Every Wednesday, the first 5 minutes of choir practice will be dedicated to training everyone in reading music.

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• Choir Chili Cookoff: Our much-anticipated Annual Choir Chili Cookoff will spice up the evening on October 25th in the gathering area.

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• Additional Practice: On November 12th, we have scheduled an extra practice session to prepare diligently for our upcoming Christmas program.

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• Hymn Sing Off: On the same evening of November 12th, we're organizing a thrilling Hymn Sing Off. It's a chance for our choir members to showcase their vocal talents and passion for hymns.

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• MP Kids Choir (PreK and Kindergarten) Christmas Program: Our youngest performers from MP Kids Choir (PreK and Kindergarten) are excited to present their delightful Christmas Program on Wednesday, December 6 at 6:00 p.m. It's bound to be a heartwarming event filled with the innocence and charm of our littlest singers.

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• MP Kids Choir (1st – 5th Grade) Christmas Celebration: Our MP Kids Choir (1st – 5th grade) will add their voices to our Christmas Celebration on December 10 at 4:00 p.m. Their spirited performance is sure to fill the air with holiday cheer.

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• Christmas Student Choir: A special Christmas Student Choir is forming, and they are starting their practices on Wednesday, November 1. These dedicated students will showcase their talents in the grand Christmas Celebration on December 10 at 4:00 p.m.

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• Festival of Trees: The Choir is considering attending the Festival of Trees this year to share their melodious voices and spread the holiday cheer.

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• Christmas Program: Our festive celebrations continue with our much-anticipated Christmas program on December 10th at 4:00 p.m., followed by the magical tree lighting ceremony. 

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• Christmas Eve celebration: Two identical services at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., both filled with the spirit of the season. Additionally, our youth will lead a special service at 11:00 p.m., creating a magical atmosphere for everyone to experience the true essence of Christmas.

 

Parent Ministry

 

• The ministry handed out 25 Back-to-school welcome packets to kindergarten and new families in Children’s Ministry.

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• We hosted 23 parents of 6th grade or new middle school students and 5 parents of 9th grade or new to high school for informational meetings in August to help in the transition to a new grade and encourage participation in Student Life programs and small groups.

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• This is the last week of an 8-week Bible study for parents of middle and high school students on Sunday nights, during their student’s small groups.  This fall we are reading and discussing an “Age of Opportunity” to equip and encourage parents to view this season as a practical and spiritual opportunity rather than something to dread.

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• We are also wrapping up a Bible Study for parents this week during Wednesday night programs on how we can influence their child's relationships with themselves, God and others and will be launching a new Bible Study for parents next Wednesday night by Paul David Tripp "Gospel Principles that Can Radically Change Your Family" through November.

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• With four new women to the weekly Mom’s Fellowship Group this fall, we are studying Shauna Niequist’s Bible Study “I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet” and now have 12 women participating weekly.

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• Parenting tools continue to be provided to Children’s Ministry for follow-up with parents, whose kids accepted Christ for the first time during the recent GLOW event and Epic retreat with “Next Steps” for their kids and themselves.

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• The support group for moms of children with mental health challenges continues to meet weekly and is beginning its 5th year.

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• Text updates for prayer and logistics were sent to 120+ parents of Student Life and Children’s Ministry fall retreats and had 10+ follow up meetings with parents as a result of that communication and support.

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• We are working with the Pisgah in Spanish ministry to support and increase their participation in parent, student and children's ministry’s activities and classes and at the same time are encouraging are English speaking parents to attend events such as Lunch De Traje.

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• Support and prayer is being given to parents and families from all three congregations during times of crisis- large and small.

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• The collaboration with the Discipleship Council continues with the goal of developing an ongoing list of resources by age group in order to equip and encourage families to disciple their younger family members (grandchildren, kids, nieces, nephews, etc) them in parent classes. 

 

Pisgah Fosters

 

• We hosted our first Family Fun Day at Camp Lighthouse for 8 foster families who enjoyed fun games, crafts, fishing, swimming and time for fellowship and food.  This included support from 25+ staff and volunteers from our ministry and that of Camp Lighthouse.

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• The Fill-the-Freezer efforts from the congregation continued this summer and fall have enabled us to be able to donate meals to several foster families in need and prepare for the Parents Day Our families in November.

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• We continue to provide ongoing care and support to two foster families who currently have placements of 3 teenage boys and had a family dinner for one care team hosted by the foster family as a thank you.

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• The second of two sons in one of our families had his adoption finalized.

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• We are hosting our sixth Pisgah Foster’s Parents Day Out on Sat. 11/11 and currently recruiting Volunteers and foster children and their siblings for 3 hours of childcare, fun and love; families will be gifted frozen meals, for all participating kids.

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• We are currently accepting grocery store gift cards, craft and Lego kits as part of the church’s Outreach of the Month, which will be given to families at our Parents Day Out event in November.

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• We are also currently looking for more members to be trained and participate in the Advocate Team and care teams.

 

Both Ministries look forward to a time of smooth transition and continued growth under a new Director of Parent Ministry and Pisgah Fosters, in light of Jenny Bramel’s recently announced departure on 12/31/23.  The search process for this position is currently underway.

 

 

Student Life Ministry

 

Regular Programs

 

• Despite the recent transitions in Student Life, we continue to see steady attendance numbers in all of our regular programs, i.e., The House (Wednesdays), Bible Study (Sundays), and Small Groups (Sundays). 

 

Student Leadership

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• Student Life continues to lean into students who feel a nudge toward ministry, allowing them to explore that calling within the safe space of Student Life.  There are 6 high school seniors serving as small group leaders, and 1 high school senior serving as a coordinator of mentors for our 2 special needs students who attend the House regularly.  In addition to the seniors, 8 juniors are serving in various ministry areas within Student Life.  2 are leading the speaking teams (one for the House and one for Bible Study), 2 are diving into the Worship ministry with Audrey, one is leading our tech team and the remaining 3 are serving as hospitality ambassadors.  The Student Life staff provides oversight to all the student leaders, both as discipling mentors and ministry coaches.  Adding the juniors to the leadership team was a new initiative this year and has proven to be highly successful.

 

Retreats

 

• Student Life has completed its Middle School retreat (Velocity) and its High School retreat (Lighthouse).  While both retreats had slightly lower attendance than previous years, this due mainly to conflicts with school functions and retreats.  Next year, both retreats have been rescheduled to different weeks so that those conflicts will not be an issue.  At Velocity, Anna Van Haveren was our speaker – she did a phenomenal job and connected with the middle schoolers well.  In this we can see the fruit of discipleship and mentoring that was done previously.  At Lighthouse, Alan was our speaker and it was encouraging to see the high schoolers dive deeply into their faith with him.

 

Student Life Staffing Updates

 

• At the end of July, Tyler Johnson tendered his resignation and the SL team immediately launched into the search process.  Audrey Goodwin had been hired in late May as the SL Worship Pastor and she has already done a fantastic job leading our students to a better understanding of what worship is and worship is so important, as well as encouraging the worship team’s growth and creativity.  Nicole Torres came on at the end of July as our SL Administrative Pastor.  She has come back to us after college and working/serving at other churches.  She quickly created processes and procedures that make the ministry run smoothly and effectively, especially while the team is short a person.  The search process for Tyler’s replacement is underway.  Ministry Architects, a consulting firm that specializes in youth and children’s ministry pastors/workers, has been contracted and they are actively seeking candidates.  At the outset, they indicated that this search could take 6 – 9 months and so the SL team has organized themselves in such a way to be able to continue effective ministry during this time of searching.  This has included seeking strong speakers for the House and Sunday nights, asking small group leaders to take on a greater responsibility for pastoral care, and looking at each event and program to evaluate its intended purpose and effectiveness.  Please continue to pray as we are that the Lord is working on the heart of the person He has ordained to fill that role and that he will join Student Life at the perfect point in time.

 

Women’s Ministry

 

• Mistletoe plans are coming along beautifully as we have invited Delma Morales to be our speaker and she has graciously accepted! Delma is connected to MPIS as well, so hopefully we will enjoy the fellowship of even more of our MPIS sisters this year. Christy Sniecinski will be chairing the event for the 3rd year in a row (yay!). Tickets will go on sale on Nov. 1st. Mistletoe will be on Saturday, Dec. 2. Again, we will be doing our “Be Our Guest” invite so first-time guests are invited to attend with no cost to them.’

 

• Mount Pisgah will also be hosting the 27th annual Sisters in Christ conference on Saturday, March 2nd. Delma Morales is the founder and President of the Sisters in Christ Ministry and this event is open to all women. Last year we had about 500 women from all over the Atlanta area attend. The one-day conference is non-denominational and features praise and worship music as well as powerful testimonies from 3 women (1 from Alabama and 2 from Georgia).

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• Our service chairs, Sonya Tablada and Kim Cooper, are working closely with A Beacon of Hope and The Drake House, respectively, to provide meals and other meaningful connections between our Women’s Ministry and these important ministries for women. 

  • In August, September and October ladies have made meals for 15 to 18 teenage girls at The Drake House!

  • $5,053.18 – is the total collected for the Beacon of Hope during the Baby Bottle Boomerang drive spearheaded by the Women’s Ministry

 

• Lunch Bunch meets the last Wednesday of the month at Marlow’s on Old Alabama, and we typically have around 15 or so ladies who enjoy lunch and fellowship. This continues to be a valuable way to bring ladies together for prayer, fellowship, and encouragement from each other whose paths may not cross otherwise. 

 

• Lacy Powell has spearheaded our monthly newsletter. It is emailed to more than 700 ladies as a way of not only another form of communication about upcoming events but as a way of invitation to come together and serve to help foster meaningful relationships.

 

• Merrie Beth Salazar chaired our Book Swap and Coffee Shop gathering on August 23rd. This event provided a relaxing atmosphere (and a great cup of coffee courtesy of the Gambill’s) for parents of collide children/SL parents as well as others to come and browse our extensive collection of books for free. Those books not taken were later offered to the congregation the following Sunday and then finally donated to Prison Ministry and Emmaus. It was a wonderful way to get all of the resources that have been collected over the years into the hands of those who really wanted them and if it weren’t for this event, they wouldn’t have known the books were available! Thanks to everyone who came to the Swap!

 

Technical Ministries

 

• Technical Ministries hosted a work and learn day, Saturday September 30.  Our incredible team of volunteers from Mount Pisgah in Spanish, along with our youth and adults, redesigned and updated the production lighting in the Underground. The redesign was headed by our Senior Intern, Sam Randel, who used industry-level software to design a new light grid, mapping out a visual representation of the fixtures in the room. Cable distances were calculated between fixtures along with the appropriate power. The update puts us closer to our goal of migrating to all LED intelligent lighting. We all got to enjoy a 16lb Smoked Brisket, as we ate together in fellowship. Technical Ministries staff were all able to invest in volunteers, teaching them technical skills and spending time in fellowship.