Board of Deacons Chair Dave Sohmer

Dave Sohmer

The role of deacon has its roots in the early church, referenced in Acts 6. The apostles needed to focus on the preaching of the Word and needed men to handle many of the administrative and logistical aspects of the church. The board of deacons is involved in many of these aspects at College Church that are often assumed or behind-the-scenes, whether in oversight or execution.

In a year when the mode of worship changed multiple times due to COVID-19, College Church staff embodied flexibility, responsiveness and care. Highlighting:

• The Facilities Team had to respond quickly with a parking lot plan, tents, outdoor baptismal and outdoor sound systems. When worship returned to the Sanctuary, the team needed to set up spaced seating guides in the pews and source disinfecting solutions, equipment and labor. On top of this, the church lost a steeple and several chunks of the roof to the derecho and incurred a significant mechanical failure.

• The Communion Committee, along with the deaconesses, procured contactless communion options as the worship services reopened responsibly.

• The Technology Team had to find acceptable lighting and sound mixing to provide a suitable streaming experience for the members and regular attenders that had to go online during lockdown, targeted through three channels.

In addition to these extraordinary changes, ongoing deacon responsibilities continued:

• Working with the deaconesses to help congregants who found themselves in financial need this year, through administering Care and Share funds. The two groups also continued to work together with communion service. Further, the two groups are working with the pastoral staff to focus on greater effectiveness with visitation.

• Serving congregants who needed physical help – e.g., moving or repairs.

• Collecting, consolidating, reviewing and presenting a budget for the next fiscal year to the Council of Elders.

• Reviewing the auditor results; and selecting an auditor for recommendation to the congregation.

• Ensuring cash donation integrity.

• Reviewing monthly financial status.

• Reviewing capital improvement project funding, such as purchases of strategic adjacent property, and renovations to the Crossings building.

• Ensuring congregant safety.**

• Clearing snow from the STARS houses.

** Each Sunday, there is a dedicated group of men and women who serve on the Life Safety Team (LST) at College Church, to ensure a safe, welcoming environment. The LST consists of nurses, a fireman and numerous individuals with life skills and experiences which lend themselves to this safety and security ministry. Under the auspices of the deacons since its inception in 2018, this dedicated group quietly safeguards your worship experience and can react quickly to urgent medical or other incidents.