The DHF of NC Leadership Council met in regular session on Saturday, Jun., 3 2017 at FCC Richlands with six members of the council present.  We were glad to have Rev. Bill Pollack, FCC Richlands’ new minister, to visit with us.  The meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Gary Edens followed by a devotion by Rev. Kim Holley.  Kim spoke on Psalm 99 and the theme of “real worship.”  Kim reminded us that we represent the Lord and that the basics of our ministry is first, to worship the Lord.  The primary purpose of worship is to praise God, and we are then blessed.

Rev. Lynn Maxwell read the minutes from our last meeting on Jan. 27, 2017.  Rev. Betty Stowe, who was absent due to recent knee surgery, mailed Lynn the financial statement.

The first order of business was to review the workshops held on March 12, 2017 at FCC Richlands.

1. 1. We should refrain from holding a class in the same room where refreshments are being provided.  This causes an undue distraction for all the people in the room.
   2. Instructors need to pay close attention to time limits and ensure the clocks in the rooms are set correctly.
   3. Everyone felt comfortable with the seminar format of holding the three seminars concurrently and trying to wrap things up around noon time.
   4. Everyone agreed that the snacks and lunch provided were excellent and well prepared.
   5. We agreed that we should begin focusing on next year’s seminars right away.  Lynn mentioned looking at Rev. Thom Rainer who is a well-known church consultant and author.  Lynn will try and contact Thom Rainer’s organization and see what it might cost to bring him to one of our seminars.
2. Lynn reviewed our recent newspaper advertising campaign to solicit interest from other churches.  We didn’t succeed in generating any real interest or responses from other churches.  It was suggested that we might look at purchasing a Disciples of Christ year-book in order to identify specific churches that may have left the denomination and target those specific churches.  It was agreed that we need to find a more effective way to reach out to other churches.  Gary said that he would reach out to Kevin Ray from DHF for assistance in this area.
3. Kim noted that the “Wrapped In Love” ministry is looking for volunteers to train and actively participate in the ministry.
4. Gary and Kim reported on their experience at the DHF Connect Conference in Illinois.
   1. Kim said there was only thirty-four persons present in the DHF assembly.  She really enjoyed the speakers at the assembly, especially Rev. Rick Grace who a powerful speaker.
   2. Gary noted that he thought there was poor communication and connecting across DHF.  Kim said that DHF hoped to hire someone to oversee and run DHF within the next year.  They also hope to hire someone to maintain their web site.
   3. Gary said that this was DHF’s first attempt on a national scale.  The layout of the event was very good.  Gary noted that his presentation didn’t go as well as he had hoped and it seems that part of the reason was the way in which his power-point presentation was handled by the media team at the conference.  He said he also needed to let Kevin know about the lighting problem that made it difficult to see things.
   4. Jack Mumford suggested that DHF might want to consider a national newsletter as a means of communicating in addition to the website.
5. Lynn reported on the preparation of a letter to go out to all our churches regarding election of new Leadership Council members.  Instead of just two members going off the council, Lynn noted that according to the bylaws we are to replace “three or four members (as appropriate)” after two years.  The group decided that we replace three this year leaving Betty Stowe in place since she is our Treasurer.  Lynn will draft the letter and present to the Leadership Council prior to mailing out to the churches.  We will see what kind of responses we receive and take action as appropriate.
6. Lynn presented the council with a draft certificate for DHF of NC churches; one for congregations and one for individual members.  The council made some recommendations on the wording, so Lynn will make the changes and present the revised certificates at our next meeting.
7. The group discussed some initial plans for our next DHF of NC gathering which is scheduled for Sep. 16, 2017.  Gary and Kim both recommended that we ask Rev. Rick Grace, who was the best DHF speaker at the Connect Conference to come and speak at our gathering.  Gary will contact him to see if he would agree to come.  It was agreed that this year’s gathering would be held at FCC Richlands.  We need ideas for Gospel groups to sing and we will need to plan the meal.  This will be revisited at our next meeting.
8. Lynn noted that we had received an individual membership request from Rev. Harry Niser from Bath, N.C.  Harry and his wife Beth visited at FCC Richlands and recently at Pleasant Hill CC.  Lynn and Judy shared lunch out with them and enjoyed a great time of fellowship and sharing.  Harry is not currently serving as a church Pastor but has an evangelistic ministry.  Harry noted that he really liked our Statement of Belief and desired to fellowship with us.  We welcome Harry to our fellowship.
9. Our next meeting will be held on Sat., July 22, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at FCC Richlands.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lynn Maxwell