July 17, 2025 | Deacon Meeting Minutes

Attendance: John Genskow, Bruce Winkler, Chuck Falch, Mark Oldenberg, Stan Norman, Denny Denk, Erika Zank, James Martin, Gail Graese (zoom)

Absent: Adam Urberg, Aaron Libner

Ex-Officio:  Pastor Ethan Luhman

Recording Secretary: Sue Gumz

John Genskow opened the meeting at 6:31 pm.

Introduction of New Deacons (John Genskow)

• Chuck Falch – helps with the facility

• Stan Norman (newly elected) – at Peace since 2016, retired ENT doctor, enjoys golfing, volunteering at Mayo, downhill skiing, biking, surfing, and a wide range of outdoor activities.

Erika Zank shared a devotion and opened the meeting in prayer.

Deacon Orientation (John Genskow)

• Role of Deacons & Expectations were discussed.

• Robert’s Rules of Order are followed

• Deacon contact information – no changes made

• Deacon photos – Mark O and Stan N need pictures.  Can be found under “I’m New”, then staff & deacons.

• Sign up for devotions/opening prayer/closing prayer

• Deacon videos – please sign up with Kristin (kristinb@mypeacechurch.com) to have these done

Consent Agenda (John Genskow)

A motion was made to approve the Pastoral Report for July by Denny Denk, seconded by Chuck Falch. Motion carried. The June meeting minutes were approved by email vote.

Financial Report (Gail Graese)

Giving was up from last year; the change in cash from the beginning of the fiscal year to the end of the year was minimal. We have $149,626.49 left on our mortgage.

A motion was made by James Martin to approve the June financial report, seconded by Bruce Winkler. Motion carried.

Follow-Up Items

• Annual Meeting Minutes (John Genskow) –John is asking to approve the minutes as a draft and then they should be put on the website. A motion was made by Chuck Falch, seconded by Erika Zank to approve the annual meeting minutes from June.  Motion carried.

• Establish an Audit Committee to select an outside firm to audit the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year and to monitor progress.

  • Mark Oldenberg made a motion to form an Audit Committee with himself as chair. Denny Denk seconded, motion carried. 

• 2025-26 Visioning process update (Pastor Ethan)

  • We are now finishing up with the 5-year plan of True North. Pastor Ethan would like Pastor Mark to lead this next vision process. He would like to get potential people on that team who can help with this process.

  • Pastor Ethan anticipates continued use of Discover Grow Go and the Faith Journey pathway. Pastor Ethan will most likely use some surveys to determine what things are most important as we move forward at Peace.

  • Pastor Ethan will lead the process, and Pastor Mark will facilitate. They are looking for the board to buy in. Please pass names on to Pastor Ethan, who you think would be a good fit to be in this group.

New Items

Fundraising to celebrate Pastor Mark and Lynette’s service and to retire the current mortgage. There is a policy about this with the approval from the Lead Pastor, but with the conflict of interest, the Board believes it would be appropriate for the Board to take care of this.   

Mark Oldenberg made a motion to allow fundraising to pay off the mortgage using the June 30, 2025, balance. Erika Zank seconded. Motion carried.

Training

• Policy Review (Bruce Winkler)

  • Section A (Governance Policies), Section B (Planning Policies), Section C (Operations Policies), Section D (Human Resource Policies), Section E (Membership Policies), Section F (Facilities Policies), Section G (Finance Policies), Section H (Children & Youth Policies)

• Information Technology (James Martin)

  • All deacons have been given an email account through mypeacechurch.com. James showed how to get into that as well as getting into SharePoint. Contact Kristin if you have any questions.

Additional Comments

• John Genskow thanked this board and last year’s board for the abundance of meetings this past year – three call processes, additional deacon meetings and congregational meetings. Scheduled meetings for the upcoming year: Sept. 18, Nov. 20, Jan. 15, March 19, May 21, and June 18. The annual Congregational Meeting is set for June 22, 2026.

• Deacons should attend staff meetings. The staff meetings are on the first Monday of the month, but in the past the deacons came quarterly. Hoping to have a couple of deacons attend the full staff meeting that happens once a month. Coordinate this with Sue Gumz.

• Invite staff to report at each deacon meeting. John will pick someone if no one has been suggested. Ethan will talk to Kristin to attend the September meeting. 

Closing Prayer (Mark Oldenberg)

Adjourn

A motion was made to Adjourn the meeting by Denny Denk, seconded by Bruce Winkler. Motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 8:53 pm.