SESSION

Session
Session is responsible for the mission and government of the particular church. Some of the functions of session include; to provide opportunities for evangelism, to receive members into the church, to lead the congregation in participation in mission, to provide for the worship of the people of God, provide educational and spiritual growth opportunities, lead in the ministries of personal and social healing and reconciliation and to challenge the people of God to be good stewards of money, time and talents.
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Deacons
The vision for deacons is to be a seamless extension of the pastoral staff, while serving the congregation. We do this in various small and large ways; for example, deacons are blessed with the responsibility of preparing elements for Communion, ministering through visits and calls to our Special Friends, and responding to needs within our Neighborhood groups whenever needed. This response might take the form of a visit, providing rides to church or appointments, assistance with shopping, providing meals to a family when someone is ill or hospitalized, making phone calls to just "check in", or praying. The board of deacons has now grown to 24 to better serve those in need. We have all been called to this very important ministry to the entire congregation, and reap multiple blessings ourselves while doing this work.
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Ministry Teams

Worship Ministry Team
The Worship Ministry Team works closely with church staff to make sure that worship services function smoothly, meet the needs of both congregation and staff, and most importantly, facilitate the true expression in worship of the congregation as followers of Jesus Christ. The Ministry Team is also responsible for determining how best to apply available resources of time, talent and funds to achieve this. Ministry Team meetings are the first Tuesday of each month.
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Christian Education Ministry Team
The goal of the C. E. Team is to guide the children and youth of our congregation, to explore and grow in faith through engaging education programs, to challenge them to bring their faith to life through service/mission opportunities, to facilitate their active participation in the worship life of the church and to encourage them to join in fellowship with Christians both in our congregation and around the world.
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Mission Ministry Team
The Mission of the church is mission, reaching out beyond our walls to touch and help others. The Mission Ministry Team works with Session to provide leadership for the congregation in the field of outreach and provides assistance to individual members and groups of members moved by the spirit to engage in activities that help others and are consistent with the principles approved by Session. These goals are achieved b creating and submitting an annual mission budget for Session approval, reviewing and approving mission projects for presentation to the congregation, and working to help fund the mission program of the church. The Mission Ministry team's goal is to have each and every member of First Presbyterian incorporate mission as an important part of their life.
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Building & Grounds Ministry Team
Building and Grounds Ministry Team is responsible for the upkeep of the church and campus. The Team is also has responsibility for overseeing the pre-school, and approving the use of the church by outside groups and activities.
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Adult Formation Ministry Team
The mission of the Adult Formation Ministry Team is to provide a variety of opportunities for study, discussion, and participation on relevant topics as one vehicle for both personal and community growth in our ongoing journeys of faith. We attempt to be faithful to this mission by, among other things:
     1. addressing current topics in the news
     2.   re-visiting biblical themes from a different viewpoint
     3. acknowledging the existence of and discussing the tension between
"pop" culture messages and our faith
     4. learning about other cultures/countries and the challenges they face
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Discipleship & Nurture Ministry Team
This team provides meaningful services to all members and to those who regularly attend First Presbyterian by developing social and spiritual gatherings in a small group setting in homes as well as at the church site. The team also gathers information for church membership rolls, new members involvement, provides worship hour coffee service, educational/leadership tools for other congregational needs and annual updating our church's informational brochure.
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Stewardship Ministry Team
The Stewardship Ministry Team facilitates the effective use of our financial and human resources. The team is concerned with three major areas. One is the overall financial operation of the church including budgeting, month to month financial review, and oversight of the churches endowment and special gifts. The second is financial stewardship, including annual operating and special capital campaigns as well as year-round stewardship education. The third is the stewardship of the congregation's time and talents. The Ministry Team is staffed by the church administrator and head of staff.
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Personnel Ministry Team
The Personnel Ministry Teams hires, supports and nurtures the paid staff in their efforts to serve the congregation. Personnel policies are maintained to ensure staff is treated with compassion, justice and love. With the Head of Staff and Session, they adjust the staff organization to best serve changes in the needs and goals of the congregation.
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Peacemaking Ministry Team
The mission of the Peacemaking Ministry Team is to be faithful and obedient to Jesus Christ by nurturing and equipping God's people as peacemakers, that we might be actively engaged in peacemaking in ourselves, our homes, our communities and our world; and to enable the church to live God's shalom, bearing witness to Christ by being a center of moral discourse on the difficult issues that divide our congregations, communities and world.

Church Info:
6201 Osgood Avenue North, Stillwater, MN 55082 • e-Mail church@fpc-stillwater.org
Telephone (651) 439-4380 • Fax (651) 439-4388
© 2005 First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater, All Rights Reserved • Questions about this site, e-Mail church@fpc-stillwater.org