Trustees’ Report

As we look back on 2022, the Trustees are filled with praise to God our Father for His provision and protection of St. John’s Vancouver Church. It has been very encouraging to see how St. John’s continues to make, grow, and send forth disciples of Jesus Christ.

Positioning ourselves as a Sending and Welcoming church seems to have been a theme of last year. We wonderfully sent Dan Gifford to his appointment as Bishop of the Anglican Network in Canada and delightfully welcomed Jordan Senner in as our new Vicar. This transition has brought new energy and yet a continued sense of familiarity with strong leadership and teaching. This year saw a transition in leadership, as we welcomed new Ministry Directors for Women’s Ministry (Lorna Ashworth) and Youth Ministry (Mark Ashworth).

Preparations to launch King’s Cross church plant in 2023 are well underway. This past year the church plant has been growing in numbers, building momentum and working through many logistics. Trustees have been engaged with the impacts this will have on St. John’s membership, both in terms of leadership and resources. Although we will see staff and members move over to the church plant, we are blessed by the opportunity this brings both as a sending church and in welcoming new members to St. John’s. Chris Ley, our Director of Evangelism and Outreach, has integrated a clear pathway for how we welcome, engage, and keep newcomers and connect with non-Christians in our community. We are encouraged by the number of new people who join us each Sunday and how they are welcomed and connected.

Trustees are responsible for upholding the long-term strategic health of the Church and overseeing the overall direction. The Trustees priorities continue to focus on evangelism, growing our congregational composition; specifically in the 20-40yr olds, building back up our community life, and continued progress on our search for property. Missions continue to be a strong part of St. John’s and in 2023 we will continue our commitment to supporting refugee families, welcoming and financially supporting their transition to Canada.

In 2022, Trustees implemented a new Trustee Nomination discernment process, providing clearer guidance to the congregation on the process and discernment of nominations for new Trustees. This year we sought nominations for 2-3 new Trustees, as we bid farewell to Ewan Wilding and I (Joanne Sawatzky) who both reached the end of our allowable terms. We are especially thankful to Ewan for his faithful commitment to David Short, supporting David with a servant heart as Rector’s Warden.

Finally, your faithful commitment to St. John’s is made evident in your generosity towards the gospel work that God is leading us into. We give praise to God for the ways He has worked among us to provide for St. John’s needs financially in 2022. We put our trust in God’s ever-faithful and gracious hands as we seek to be a community of contrast, gripped by the gospel of God’s grace, sharing Christ with our city and beyond.

Blessings,

On behalf of the Trustees of St. John’s Vancouver Anglican Church, Joanne Sawatzky People’s Warden