Suncreek is blessed with a group of people who are concerned about maintaining healthy relationships amongst the staff and the congregation of Suncreek. The SPR committee meets monthly and performs duties such as interviewing and hiring staff members, developing job descriptions, ensuring that performance is reviewed, addressing interpersonal issues, and requesting the annual staff salaries budget. The committee also works to anticipate future staff needs. We have developed a 5-year staffing plan for our rapidly growing congregation.

2008 Staff-Parish Relations Committee

Chairperson, Scott Vedane

Doug Chandler

Jeff Cole

Ron Ebinger

Joey Glass

Anne Kalmbach

Robin Knuutila

Eric Dahl

Becca Cartwright

Priscilla Sanchez

Tricia Loe , Lay Leader

Ordained Ministry Information

How does the Clergy Appointment System Work?

Understanding the Different Categories of Clergy

What is the Process for Becoming an Ordained Minister?

Persons Recommended as Candidates for Ordained Ministry by Suncreek UMC

How Can I Support our Church Staff?

Each member of the staff has felt the calling of Christian leadership and they all have a great love for Jesus Christ. You can help by recognizing and expressing your appreciation for the work that they do. Kind words with a supportive hug or a short note are great ways to communicate support to a staff member. They work tirelessly to provide a place of worship where people can learn about God’s love.

Seek to respect staff persons’ time off. Staff members often work a normal workday and then attend meetings on weekday nights. Staff persons typically take one weekday off, due to their work on Sundays. If you need to reach a staff member during their time off, please call the church office and ask at what number they can be contacted. If there is an emergency or a pressing need during a time that the church office is not open, call the church office and select the number indicating you have an emergency. You will be transferred to a recording that lists emergency contact numbers.

One of the best ways to help our staff is to volunteer your time to support an area of ministry. Without a large team of volunteers, our ability to facilitate effective ministry is quite limited. People take church jobs because they want to make a difference. When we are part of the team that makes this happen, we give our staff, our church, and ourselves the greatest gift of all.

What Do I Do if I Am Concerned about the Performance of a Staff Member?

Being employed at a church is a physically and emotionally demanding job. We ask that you keep this in mind as you have concerns that relate to a staff member. If you have a concern, you may want to share the concern with a trusted friend or your spouse to obtain some perspective on the concern and to sort out the validity and importance of the issue. Seek to avoid making negative statements that are not constructive to groups of church members. Denigrating staff members in a non-constructive manner harms the church family.

Take time to share your concern directly with the staff member. Be specific and avoid global statements. For example, ”It concerns me that you have been about 15 minutes late to our last four meetings.” This is preferable to “You are always late!” Express negative feelings as needed, but also express your love and support. If the staff member does not resolve the issue and you believe this is a significant issue, you should express your concern to the Senior Pastor and/or the Chairperson of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee.

The speed with which you move through this process should depend on the nature of the issue. For example, if you believe that the staff person’s actions are likely to result in significant danger to themselves or others, you should very rapidly communicate this concern to the staff member, Senior Pastor, and Staff-Parish Relations Committee Chairperson.

Suncreek UMC has a written sexual abuse and sexual harassment policy. These types of problems may require different action than what is stated above. Persons should also be aware that Texas state law requires that you make a prompt report to the State if you suspect that children or elderly persons have been abused (800/252-5400).

This is somber information. We especially want church to be a place where all persons are treated with the love, care, and respect that is exemplified by Jesus Christ. If that is not occurring, we want to do all that is within our power to address the problem. We seek to remove all barriers that block effective ministry.

Suncreek UMC has a talented staff. They are continuing to learn and develop new skills as the church grows. Our church staff seeks to give their best to you, the church, and to God!