On Wednesday, November 15, 2023 140 members of Shuswap Community Church gathered to vote on a set of motions that will now point the church in a new direction. Each motion passed with a high percentage in favour, indicating strong support for planting each campus of SCC as a fully autonomous, local church.
Two amendments were made to the draft motions and are reflected in the summary below.
MOTION 1
To take the necessary steps to dissolve the concept of “SCC Central” and for the Sicamous, Sorrento, and Chase campuses of Shuswap Community Church to become fully autonomous local churches.
117 in favour (84%)
22 opposed
1 abstention
MOTION 2
To recognize the Salmon Arm Campus of Shuswap Community Church as the “church” defined and described in the current CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS of Shuswap Community Church, and to maintain the Sicamous, Sorrento, and Chase campuses under its auspices until each campus reaches local autonomy.
128 in favour (91%)
9 opposed
3 abstentions
MOTION 3
To transfer ownership, including any remaining debt, of “The Hub” property located at 442 Finlayson Street, Sicamous, BC, to the Sicamous Campus of Shuswap Community Church or its successor, once full autonomy and legal status of the church in Sicamous is obtained.
126 in favour (90%)
1 opposed
13 abstentions
MOTION 4
To elect a search team to identify a candidate for the role of Lead Pastor of Shuswap Community Church. The following individuals have agreed to let their names stand: Jennilee Vellacott, Jen Honecker, Troy DeVries, Kyle Reddeman, Don Roy, Steve Janz, Don Cundiff (Board), Tim Walton (Board).
121 in favour (86%)
4 opposed
15 abstentions
You might be wondering, Now what? and that is a very good question. Now, the leadership of the church (board, elders, pastors, staff) will begin to make plans for how to move in this new direction. The timeline for each campus will likely look different since each campus has unique strengths, needs, and challenges. One of the first and most important steps in the process will be for each church to identify and develop local leaders who will ultimately serve in various local leadership capacities in order to move their local church forward in the pursuit of autonomy. In addition, the newly elected search team will begin working on a search process for a pastor for the church in Salmon Arm. Please pray for God’s leading and provision in this.
Alongside all of this, nominations for the SCC board and elders are now currently open until November 30. During this transitional time as campuses become churches it is still possible and even beneficial for board members to be elected from all campuses as we work together to establish local churches with strong local leadership. Please visit the Board and Elder Nomination page on our website for more information and for the nomination/application package.
As always, questions, comments, and concerns can be directed to the SCC Board by emailing board@aplacetobelong.ca