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ANNUAL REPORTS

Read about what's been happening at Johnston Heights Church over the past year

2022 Annual Reports

Thank you for checking out what has been happening at Johnston Heights Church over the past year. God has once again proven Himself faithful and you'll be able to read stories of that in the ministry reports below. Thank you to everyone who has invested in Johnston Heights Church, truly Jesus is being made known!

Jon Thiessen - Lead Pastor

If I could summarize the past twelve months in a single statement, I would say that we have experienced God as “Jehovah Jireh” (the Lord has provided).  


First, the Lord provided financially.  With over six months remaining in the fiscal year this past fall, our financial situation was concerning.  This was communicated to the congregation, and you responded with incredible generosity.  Because of the Lord’s provision through you, our shortfall was eliminated entirely, and the fiscal year ended with a surplus.  In addition to this, the congregation continued to give generously to youth summer camp as well as to the boiler replacement fundraiser.  What is remarkable to me is that this generosity took place during a time of inflation with many in the church feeling their own financial pressure. 


Second, the Lord provided people.  The pandemic caused a major shift in the way people gathered with other believers and this shift has negatively affected many churches in their ability to do ministry.  The ministries of JHC, however, continue to expand.  In November, we hosted a newcomer’s event and over 150 people attended.  Many of these “newcomers” have stepped into vital roles serving the church and the community, helping to further the church’s vision and mission.  People have come to Christ, we have witnessed baptisms, and new ministries (some detailed through the following annual reports) have started up.  We are excited to be welcoming approximately 20 new members at the upcoming AGM.  


Third, the Lord provided staff support.  This past summer Josephine Papp finished her role at JHC as a part-time administrator, accepting a full-time role with the Lower Pacific District.  We are grateful for her many months of service at JHC, helping carry our church through a challenging COVID season.  After she completed her time, the Lord provided Marilyn Reichert who graciously agreed to serve as interim admin in the fall/winter.  Then the Lord provided Vanessa Johnson and Cindy Orivolo who are currently sharing the admin position.  We said goodbye this March to Ed Wallan (Care Pastor) who has been on staff in some capacity for nearly 34 years.  Ed is a friend to many people at JHC and will be dearly missed.  We are grateful that again, the Lord has provided Dan Nicholson to take on this mantle.  Dan has a rich history serving the people of and the community around JHC, having pastored here for 19 years.  We look forward to working with him.  As our Children’s Ministry has welcomed new families, we are grateful for the giftings of Vicky Janzen, who provides admin support for Emily and our Children’s Ministry. 


When I think of the Lord’s provision, I am reminded of the passage from Genesis 22 (the first mention of God as Jehovah Jireh):  


“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns.  He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.  So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided’” (Genesis 22:13-14).


Many years later, the Lord did not spare his own Son but provided him as a sacrifice for our sins.  Indeed, the saying is correct, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”  


“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).


I am humbled to serve alongside of you at Johnston Heights Church and continue to be grateful to serve within a rich history of God’s provision.  I look forward to the year ahead as we seek to walk out our vision of “Making Jesus known in every community God places us.”  


phil harris - outreach & community life

Outreach


Our church vision is to make Jesus known in every community where God places us. One of the ways we are called to do this is by shining and showing the love of Jesus. Another way is by testifying about Jesus’ death and resurrection and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. One of my roles is to help equip members of JHC to testify in this way. Here is how we are endeavoring to do this:  


Billy Graham Chat Coaching

We have seven or eight who regularly go on the Billy Graham website and share the gospel with people around the world who are curious about Jesus.


Surrey Witnessing

We run a yearly equipping event where Holy Spirit led witnesses go out and share the gospel with those whose hearts God is preparing. This past year, twenty people went out throughout September and October. Many made a commitment to follow Jesus and many more seeds of the gospel were sown for a future harvest.  


Philippines Trips

While we haven’t been to the Philippines for a few years, these trips play an important role in equipping our congregation to share the gospel and lead others to Christ. This April, 2023, a group from JHC will going to Laoag, Philippines, to train National pastors and leaders in witnessing and discipleship movements that plant and multiply churches.  


Alpha

Rather than run a church wide Alpha last year, we decided to make the links to the Alpha talks available to Life Groups and individuals, so people could run their own mini-Alpha event. 


Community Meal

Most know of our bi-weekly feeding program at our church. Clients receive a packed lunch and hamper along with an assortment of bread, vegetables, fruit and meat.  


However, our clients greater need is to be rescued from the penalty of sin, which is death. That is why we give out gospel tract hampers. We also have Spirit led witnesses connecting and sharing the gospel as God opens a door. This ensures that people are not only fed physically, but spiritually as well.   


Visitation of Newcomers

Because there are a steady stream of new people coming to JHC, I’ve been able to visit with many of them. I will often bring another Christian along with me so they can learn how to share the gospel. 


International focus

We are seeking to establish international small groups of Mandarin, Korean, Spanish and Swahili speaking people. So far this has happened with the Mandarin, Korean and Spanish communities. Our hope is to also to have translation in our Sunday services to better serve these Nationalities.   


These are some venues we offer to equip JHC members to share the gospel so that the harvest can be brought in. 


God is at work. One lady in our church who experienced God’s anointing has been regularly leading people to the Lord. This has resulted in her being able to start her own Bible study group involving these new believers. Others are also bearing fruit because of being equipped through one or more of these venues.


For the next year, my prayer is that more will step out in faith to be equipped so that not only will they be able to shine God’s love, but also be ambassadors of the message of Christ’s love. 


Community Life


The role of community life is to provide opportunities for our church members and adherents to make deeper connections within the JHC community. Here are some of the venues through which this is happening:  


Life Groups

Through small groups, people form deeper relationships which results in more spiritual growth. Also, participants often engage in activities outside their weekly meetings. Currently, we have 24 groups operating. 


Something new is that some National groups have recently been formed- Spanish, Korean and one that is connected to our Community Meal – Mandarin.


A heartfelt thanks to Charles Labun for his ongoing faithful partnership. An exciting development is that Charles has recently taken on the leadership role of the JHC life group ministry.   


Discipleship Groups

 A year and a half ago, we started a new brand of life group. Its purpose is to educate people in what it means to be a follower of Jesus and to equip them to grow in that pathway. At the end of the course, each member is invited to disciple others in the same way that they were discipled.  In this way, they become disciples who make disciples. 


From the original group, we have seen six new discipleship groups started – led by members who were discipled the year before. So, in total, we now have a total of 30 life and discipleship groups meeting on a regular basis. 


It is the hope that these groups will continue to multiply in this next year.  


Membership Classes

Since the softening of Covid restrictions, we have seen an influx of new people to our church. This has resulted in needing to run two membership classes with almost 20 people applying to become members. 


Thanks to Bruce Flegg for his partnership in this ministry!


Community Meal

I love being a part of this ministry. Helping people practically is God’s calling and we are blessed to feed just under a hundred people every couple of weeks. We are grateful to Save-On Foods for their generous and ongoing donation of food that we can pass on to our clients.


In addition to our regular volunteers, several life groups are also involved taking turns preparing the meals. I know for my own group; it’s always a highlight. This is another way that meaningful community life is experienced in our church. 


Something new is that members of Tebah Church (the new Korean church that uses our facility) have also been helping in various capacities in this ministry. This has enhanced the international element.    


In addition to the meals, hampers, meat, vegetables, fruit and bread that we provide, we also offer a Mandarin and English-speaking Bible study for our clients. Typically, there are 10-14 people involved in each. 


I want to specially thank Elsie Oolohju who started and has led our Mandarin group for the past couple years. Even though she is transitioning out of this ministry, Simon Lo will be taking on the leadership.  


I want to also thank Harv and Barb Friesen for their faithful service to administrate and serve in Community Meal. Thanks also to our faithful volunteers: Cecelia Wilson, Jim Bender, Garth and Darla Young, Dave Redline, Ralph Schwabe, Gabby Santiago, Calvin Morris, Mooi Chiang, Elsie Oolohju, Kevin and Loree, Mary Walters


Congregational Care 

For the past several years, Pastor Ed has been faithfully calling and caring for the senior contingent of our JHC family. Before that, he was a fulltime pastor here at JHC for almost 20 years. He has been a blessing for so many for so long.  


However, as of March 5, 2023, he transitioned out of this ministry in order to get involved with a local church closer to where he lives. So, I want to say again, “Thanks, Pastor Ed! You’ve been such an amazing blessing to me and everyone else!”


God has been faithful to provide someone else to serve in this area - Pastor Dan Nicholson. He, too, has been a pastor at JHC for about 20 years, knows many of the people and will bring much encouragement and wisdom to this ministry. 


I also spend a significant amount of time connecting and ministering with people on Sundays and throughout the week. It is a privilege to be able to serve in this caring aspect as well. 


Other

I’m also the point person for other ministries in our church community such as Friday fellowship  (formerly Golden Agers), the Library under the leadership of Ed Knorr and English as a Second Language (ESL) under the leadership of Sheila Walton. Regarding ESL, we are still looking to the Lord for when this ministry will start up again. 


God is doing something special within the community of our church. I’m grateful to be able to facilitate for some of it in these ways. 

Logan hawkins - worship & communication

It is an honour to serve as the Worship & Communications Director at Johnston Heights Church! I have the privilege of working with teams of volunteers that run worship, tech and livestream ministry as well as the communications of Johnston Heights Church whether that be our online footprint through website & social media or inter-church communication and promotion of events and initiatives.


There are many highlights that stick out from this past year in worship ministry. Simply being able to meet together consistently has been such a blessing and I’ve seen the momentum of that multiply throughout the year when we worship together. This is not only evidenced in Sunday morning but the prayer/worship and volunteer celebration evenings we had. 


Once again we had the opportunity to take 10 team members to the Worship Central Conference in Vancouver. These weekends are always so special as we are equipped by global leaders in philosophy and theology of worship. Our Christmas Eve Services in partnership with Tebah Church also stick out as a highlight from this past year. Musically it was one of the largest worship teams I can ever remember being part of and the preparation and execution from each musician and tech member was at such a high level. I’ll always remember singing ‘Silent Night’ & ‘Jesus We Love You’ by candlelight in both English and Korean!


In last years report, I mentioned one of the goals we had was to grow and build on the foundations that were laid in 2021 as it relates to our online presence . That was accomplished and then some this year with the growth of our online footprint specifically through our hopetoyou.com website. This past year we had over 9,000 different users visit hopetoyou.com. This increased our homepage web traffic by 32% and represents a significant jump in engagement online. Our three most popular webpages were: 

  1. Homepage 12,000+ views, 
  2. Sunday Services 3,200 views
  3. Sermons 2,800 views.


Additionally, there were 2,383 unique video starts indicating engagement with our service videos. What this means is: 

  1. People are finding us online
  2. They are accessing “how to attend on a Sunday”
  3. They are engaging with our online services. 


These are fantastic results and a great foundation to continue building on. 


I can’t count how many times I’ve met a new person at JHC this past year and they shared how they found us online, started watching the livestreams and then made the decision to come in person. Praise God and a HUGE thank you to the teams of volunteers who put the plan into action each week and serve to the best of their ability creating the space for all of this to happen!


This upcoming year I am looking forward to continuing the building of team in the specific areas be that camera operators, musicians, sound & lighting techs, livestream team, social media as well as exploring ways we can engage and interact with those who engage with us online. 

Emily Carnahan - kids & Families

Children’s Ministry plays a vital role in the life of Johnston Heights Church; enfolding, equipping, enriching, and encouraging the children and families of JHC to effectively make Jesus known in every community they are in, while learning to be influential followers of Jesus Christ.  On Sunday mornings, we see over 70 children go through our nursery (0-2 years), 2- & 3-year-old class, 4–5-year-old class, Grade 1-3 class and Fusion (grade 4-7).  Vicky Janzen has come on as children’s Assistant, as Ashley Green has now fully stepped into the position of Fusion Facilitator.  Vicky has brought life to the children’s spaces within the church, and works hard each week with our curriculum, The Gospel Project, to prep lessons for the volunteers that help us teach about God’s Word, pointing each week towards Jesus.


We have seen new families regularly attending each week, with an increased and steady growth in our children’s ministry on Sunday mornings by about 30 percent.  With an incredibly gifted, committed, energetic, caring, and loving team of over 50 children’s volunteers, these volunteers; teach children about God’s Word, and show His incredible love to them.  This volunteer team has also seen growth over the last year, as we have seen the return of some volunteers and added new volunteers; both young and old, enriching the children and families with a view of the whole church body. As more children and families attend, more needs arise, and as we look to serve the whole body, and all of its diverse needs, we have developed a Support Team on Sunday mornings, with a team of equipped volunteers, to come alongside anyone who is in need of extra support in our kids’ classes on a Sunday morning.  With the help of these incredible volunteers, we also established a quiet/sensory room, that helps all children find a safe place on a Sunday morning. 


As we look to equip and come alongside families, seeing them as the primary disciple makers of their children, we have had some great opportunities for families.  As a children’s team, we focus on the verse from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, that focuses on the whole church, parents, and the church, impressing the Word of God on our children.  We joined with 6 families in the Spring, and 4 in the Fall, who dedicated their children to the Lord and committed to train them up in the Lord.  We offered over 30 Advent packages to families, to help them dig deeper during the Christmas season, walking with their children in the meaning of Christmas, and we did the same with our Lent season, as families have been walking their children through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  At Christmas, we had the children join in on the worship service for the month, and it was a great time to have the whole church body worshipping together in the auditorium!

We have also joined with the whole church, providing fun family events to bring children and families together, and as an outreach to invite new families into the church.  We saw success with our Fall Kick-off and Pumpkins & Pancakes event, our Ice-Skating event in the Winter (with over 150 people!) and look forward to all our Easter Festivities. And of course, our largest event, bringing over 100 children and over 40 volunteers into the church for a whole week of ‘Monumental’ fun, for our VBS Kids Camp!  We learned all about God’s goodness, as children shared stories of God working in and through their lives and those around them.  We brought this celebration to the church on our Kids Camp Sunday, sharing our camp with the church that morning!


When we talk about highlights, it is hard not to be drawn to our incredible week of VBS Kids Camp, and the amazing team of volunteers that pour out their hearts, time, and energy into the lives of the children during this week.  As we celebrated God’s Monumental Goodness this week, we saw God move in powerful ways.  We heard stories of God working in the kids’ lives, as they talked about “God Sightings” they had in their lives.  We shared the Gospel and God’s story of His goodness as He sent His son, Jesus.  We sang songs of His goodness, laughed, played, prayed, learned Scriptures, and ate silly snacks.  This week also brought forward a great need for being a church that is equipped to welcome in all people with diverse needs, as we saw that play out at camp.  Our team of volunteers worked hard at camp to make it a place where everyone was safe and included, we saw God work through the volunteers and in the lives of children that were on the outskirts of the group.  This was one of the beginning points for the conversations on inclusion and being a safe place to those with diverse needs.  


As we continue to grow, one of the highlights in children’s ministry, as usual, is the team of volunteers and individuals who serve the church with their talents and gifts, and love on the children and families of JHC.  With this growth, as mentioned before, is the diverse needs that we have at JHC, and so has birthed the beginnings of a Sunday Support team, for children in need of extra support.  We have some incredibly gifted volunteers who have come together to form a team that is ready and available on a Sunday morning, to offer support for those with special needs, and support for a quiet/sensory room, for those that need a safe space on a Sunday morning.  It has been an incredible blessing to see God’s hand in this, as He has equipped and called people with hearts for children, families, and the church, and to be able to welcome in all children on a Sunday morning, with the right supports in place.  We look forward to and anticipate all God will do with the beginning of this team and the plans He has for the children and families of JHC.


Looking ahead, there is so much to be excited about in children’s and family ministries.  As we have already mentioned, seeing the Sunday Support team grow, is one of the current highlights of children’s ministry.  We are currently looking for more support worker volunteers, as well as expanding this ministry to welcome even more children in.  We look forward to how God will expand this ministry within the church, making JHC a place where every person feels safe, and included, and are given the opportunity to learn about Jesus in their lives.  Another thing we are excited about, as always, is our VBS Kids Camp this year, “Stellar”!  This year, we are expanding our camp to include a Preschool program, and a Junior Leadership Program for grades 6-12 students.  The Preschool program will allow younger children to come to our camp and allow for them to have a safe and age-appropriate camp experience, while still being a part of all the excitement and goodness that camp brings.  The Junior Leadership program, in partnership with Youth and Fusion, will train and equip younger leaders, giving them an opportunity to serve and join in on camp and welcome them into the whole church experience through Kids Camp.  We are so excited to see how God will work in children’s ministry this year through the volunteers, children, and families of JHC!


levi fraser - youth & young adults

Youth and Young Adults is a vital ministry for the future of our church. We look to impact our young people so that they may live out the call that Jesus has placed on their lives. We have set up our programs to try and live out the mission and vision of the church of making Jesus known in every community that he places us by focusing on 2 main areas, the physical community he has placed our church, and the broader youth community that we work with; within young adults we focus to make Jesus known in each community that he places one of our young adults life groups in, as well as within the general young adult population. 


The highlight of youth this year has been the launch of our new drop-in tutoring and supper program. There has been so much that has gone into supporting our at-risk youth within our community, and this is just one of the ways we get to love our neighbours. We have seen an uptick in the amount of youth attending these services and are happy to have established a system and volunteer base so these programs can function. Within young adults we have been excited to establish a new life group that is specifically geared towards our younger young adults between the ages of 18 and 22. We look forward to this being a great resource moving forward as we invite our future high school grads into the group!


We are very excited to continue to expand our impact within our community, this has already been established with our partnership with schools and our new drop-in program but we are looking for ways to reach out even more and have an exciting plan for the fall.


Ashley Green - fusion

Fusion is our program for grades 4-7. This program allows students to smoothly transition from children’s programming to youth programming. During this transition we have the opportunity to teach kids more about God and the Bible which will result in them growing in their faith. We are also able to give these kids a safe place where they can be vulnerable, create friendships, and have lots of fun.


There have been so many encouraging moments and highlights from this past year but two come to mind right away. The first one would have to be how many kids have been willing and brave enough to come up to the front on a Thursday night or Sunday morning and read verses out loud in front of their peers during our large group lesson time. There have also been plenty who have volunteered to pray for others’ prayer requests. I would say at least half of the kids that regularly attend Fusion have taken one, if not both, of these steps of faith and bravery throughout the year which has been very encouraging to see.


The other highlight of the year was definitely our lock-in that happened in February. With 34 kids attending, we stayed overnight at the church playing games, eating some good food, and having lots of fun. Before our time together was over, we already had kids asking us when the next lock-in was going to be. I also got a message from someone that a child had said it was the best night of their life. Memories were made among regular attenders as well as some newcomers.


For this upcoming year, I am excited to expand on multiple aspects of leadership within Fusion. This includes my own leadership, the leadership of my volunteer team, as well as the student leadership side of things. I look forward to continuing my leadership role with Fusion as well as fostering my team to be able to use their gifts within Fusion the best that they can. I am also planning on beginning a student leadership team for grades 6&7 where they will be able to explore their leadership abilities in an environment they are familiar with and people that believe in their potential. I hope to see Fusion flourish with exploring new ways of leadership and allowing others to grow in their leadership skills.

ed wallan - pastoral Care support

The role of the Pastoral Care ministry of Johnston Heights Church is that of connection and communication without the scheduled programs employed by most of our other church ministries. Pastoral Care helps attendees keep connected with the church primarily through phone calls (around 2,000 made/received), but also can include home or hospital visiting, counseling, and praying. It would be accurate to say that pastoral care is primarily a ministry of encouragement to others.


The most encouraging part of Pastoral Counselling for me as a pastor occurs often when someone says something like "Your call came just when I needed it", or "This has really helped me". Those kinds of statements remind me that the Lord is answering my prayer for direction as to whom to call, and when. Those who have been hospitalized also express thanks to the Lord for a visit. 


I haven’t always been available for pastoral care ministry, and I want to express my gratitude to Ted Staunton for his willingness to help with phoning, as he has in the past whenever I would be unavailable. 


As for the future, since I am retiring from the Ministry at Johnston Heights, my hope and prayer is that God will direct someone to serve Him in the ministry of Pastoral Care. I would encourage the congregation, while praying for those who are already in place and serving, to pray for whoever will be replacing me in the days to come. I thank God for the blessing this ministry has been to me over the years. 


vanessa johnson - co administrative director

The Administrative Managers are responsible for the direction, development and leadership to the administrative operations of the church, as well as to oversee the functioning of the administration committees and staff of the church. Stepping into this position in January as a job share between Cindy and Vanessa, we have spent a lot of time transitioning into this position. This involves updating current church accounts, following up with contracts and maintenance, familiarizing ourselves with policies and procedures related to non-profit organizations, and spending time getting to know the staff team. In the upcoming year, we look forward to creating and building on different systems and practices within the church. We hope to establish processes to help the church operations run more efficiently. We are thankful for this opportunity to serve at JHC and are excited to see what God has planned for the church moving forward.


josh thiessen - elders board

The Board of Elders meets monthly. We work closely with Jon, who is both a Board member and the Lead Pastor.  We also work closely with Cindy and Vanessa in their role as the Administrative Managers.  There are many committees at Johnston Heights, each with a unique purpose.  The Board interacts with each of these committees to varying degrees, covering a broad range of topics.


Some of the responsibilities that we deal with have more of an administrative focus, including financial and other business-related items. Other responsibilities include spiritual oversight, discernment, and decisions that influence the health and spiritual direction of the church.  At times it can be challenging to juggle the ‘practical’ decision making with the ‘spiritual’ responsibilities – as a Board we perpetually try to maintain a healthy balance between thoughtful deliberation and seeking God through prayer.


It is an honour for us to serve God as members of the Board of Elders.  It is also an honour for us to provide leadership and oversight to Johnston Heights Church within our capacity.


ang thiessen - serve surrey

Serve Surrey began five years ago to intentionally give hope to people in our community.  By addressing tangible needs, we have had the opportunity to serve people in our schools and neighbourhoods, partner with organisations that are serving vulnerable people, and build bridges with those who wouldn’t otherwise have connections with the church.  


This past September, we added two new elementary schools to our current school partnerships.  We began connections with staff from these schools in the spring and as kids returned to school in fall, we were able to deliver sporting equipment and school supplies donated by the congregation.  At one particular school, the office staff immediately began digging through the supplies we had brought, labelling the items for families that had already been identified with needs.  

As the year progressed and we returned to Johnston Heights Secondary to deliver Christmas hampers filled with gifts and basic necessities, we were met by the youth care worker who we have built a relationship with over the past five years.  She helped us bring in a vehicle full of boxes for families and interrupted a meeting with the administrative staff to introduce us to the team at JHSS.  Principals, Vice-Principals, teachers, and support staff spoke of the supportive relationship of the church with the secondary school, the investment of the people of the church in people they don’t know, and the hope to continue working together to support families in our community.  This relationship, the church with the public schools, has taken years to establish and is an incredible connection as we seek to make Jesus known in our community.


We are super excited to be introducing packages for single moms at Mother’s Day this year.  We recognise there are single moms in our congregation who are doing incredible work and we want to honour this!  We also recognise there are people within our congregation that have friendships with single moms in their neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools, etc.  This April/May, we are inviting people to reserve a free gift-box for a single mom in their circle of influence and on behalf of the church, gift these items to these women.  We want to recognise and honour these women while also providing opportunities for us, in the congregation, to intentionally build friendships with people around us.  

harv friesen - community meal

At the Community Meal Ministry our goal is to meet the physical & spiritual needs of the less fortunate in our community. 


On average we provided 80 to 100 Meals twice each month. We also provide our Guests with a prepackaged Dry Goods Food Hamper which we purchase, plus donated Bread, Fruit, Vegetables, Dairy, Deli, & Meat items which God provides thru our arrangement with Food Mesh through National Food chains. We continually Praise God for these donations! 


We’d like to thank the JHC Life Groups (and Cecilia who organizes them!) who continue to prepare takeaway boxed lunches that are given to each of our Guests.  Thanks also to the Harvest Team who help us spread God’s Word through Gospel Presentations, Handouts (Pamphlets & DVDs), and Prayer for our Guests during their visit at each Community Meal.


Before the Community Meal, we have Bible Studies in both Mandarin & English. We have noticed significant spiritual growth in those that attend. Thanks to Calvin, Mooi, Stella, Kent, & Simon for making these happen! It is important also to acknowledge our Food Bank Volunteers: Alison, Darla, David, Gabrielle, Garth, Jim, Kevin, Loree, Mary, & Ralph. It would be impossible to provide our services without these very generous people! Thank you all for your time commitment.

 

Thank you also to Tebah Church, who have helped us with Summer Staffing by organizing & supplying Teams. Your contribution in this way is not only appreciated by us at JHC, but it is seen as a Love offering by our Guests!


Thanks also to the Congregation of Johnston Heights Church for the much-appreciated Christmas Hampers prepared & supplied with love last November! Our Guests truly appreciate these gifts!

ed magaling - missions committee

We are thankful to support the following Missionaries around the world!


  1. Petros and Arlene Yergatian are Missionaries in Rwanda, Africa. Their ministry focuses on church growth, discipleship, education and community outreach growth, Bible distribution church planting in villages where there are none. 
  2. Larry and Diane Willems are Missionaries in Prachuap, Khirikhan, Thailand. Larry & Diane started Home of Joy in 2014, do discipleship and train high school students from the mountain tribes. They will be in Surrey, BC this coming June and July 2023.
  3. Steve and Myra Neufeld are the Area Director in Latin America. They do ministry in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico also in Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Cuba.
  4. Dale and Anne Little are Missionaries in Japan, establishing Tokyo Multi cultural church. Dale also teaches theology part time at Japan Bible Seminary. 
  5. Heather Rix serves with Missionary Gospel Fellowship in Guaymas, Mexico.
  6. Dennis and Janet Fierbach serve with Power to Change Canada. They are Global Mentors with Global Aid Networks (GAIN)
  7. J.Y. is a Missionary in Egypt working with the Sudanese refugees and the 200 families in Cairo and Alexandria. 


calvin morris - friday fellowship

The role our ministry plays in the life of the JHC church family is summed up by our name and motto : Friday Fellowship 50+: food, friendship, faith, and fun !


A highlight for us from this past year was the talented Nicolenco Family. The mother played the piano and her three children accompanied her on string instruments and blessed us with beautiful sacred and classical music. We are looking forward to deepening our friendship with one another in the coming year. Come join us from 11:30 am to 2 pm Fridays.

ed knorr - library & Policy

Library


The purpose of the library is to provide a broad range of Christian books, DVDs, and magazines to enrich the spiritual walk of JHC attendees—young and old.  This allows attendees to get deeper into the Word of God, and thus supplement the pastors’ sermons and meetings/classes (children’s and youth programs, Life Groups, Friday Fellowship, etc.).  It is also a great place to stop and chat on a Sunday morning!


We regularly add new materials, and we remove things that are getting out of date or have been superseded by even better work.  With many local Christian bookstores going out of business in the Greater Vancouver area, the library is a great place to find all kinds of resources.


We are encouraged by our increased circulation during the past fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023).  We had an average of 17 items go out per week.  Trends that are exciting are: (a) the number of new people/families that are using the library for the first time (hooray!), and (b) the increased circulation: we’re averaging 25 items per week during the first 3 months of 2023.


We have been providing greater visibility of items within the library by attaching labels to our shelves to provide visitors with the locations of topics, such as Discipleship, Holy Spirit, Parenting, Apologetics, Prayer, Giving, Gender Identity, Anxiety, Depression, Abuse, Cults, Spiritual Warfare, New Testament books, etc. and of course Fiction (including labeling the shelves with the names of our most popular authors).  We’re also highlighting recommendations and a list of our recently added materials (by title and by topic).  Thanks go to Dawn Samson for championing this effort!


As of the end of March 2023, we have 5,858 items: 4,179 books, 795 magazines (including back issues), 626 DVDs, 115 audio CD sets, and 143 other items.  (These figures include lost items.)


During the new fiscal year, we plan to continue to improve visibility and marketing.  The library is located off the lower auditorium.  We are open before and after the Sunday service.  We have no fines, and JHC attendees of all ages are welcome to borrow materials.  The current library staff members are: Edwin Arneson, Neneng Galanto, Ed Knorr, and Paul & Dawn Samson.


Be sure to drop by, browse, and chat.  We’d love to see you!


ed knorr - policy committee

The purpose of the Policy Committee is to maintain comprehensive manuals for Johnston Heights Church by compiling current policies and procedures, modifying existing ones, and adding new ones for the efficient operation of JHC.  The manuals include the JHC Policy and Procedure Manual, Constitution (generally not updated), Bylaws, and protection policies and procedures for children, youth, and vulnerable adults.


The Committee will regularly review the manuals and provide the Board with any recommended revisions.  Some individual ministries (e.g., Missions, Library, Guest Services) or committees (e.g., HR, Health & Safety) have their own policies and procedures, and these would not be part of the Policy Committee’s mandate, and therefore would not require intervention or oversight from the Policy Committee.  They can be dealt with at the ministry level, although they might still need approval by the Board.  Many ministry areas have their own training procedures to supplement the manuals.


A big challenge is to keep our documentation relevant, updated, and not overly cumbersome.  We don’t want to scare off volunteers or add extra work to the Ministry Leaders, and we want to make sure that we honor the Lord and properly protect the ministries, children, youth, and adults that we serve.  We also want to minimize redundancy.  If something is repeated in multiple places, it becomes a challenge to keep those documents consistent.  One current project involves streamlining our volunteer applications and covenants, which tend to be longer than necessary and sometimes involve duplication.


As one can imagine, the policies and procedures are numerous and complex.  We need to consider usability and flexibility issues, yet adhere to legal and insurance requirements.  Our goal is to have practical, understandable, and effective policies, procedures, and guidelines.  We welcome your prayers in our efforts.


Our Committee members are: Ed Knorr (Chair), Dave Nicholson, Cindy Orivilo, Alex Santos, Dorothy Schroeder, and Zac Wong.

cindy orivolo - hr

The Human Resources Committee consists of 5 members – Vanessa Johnson, Gord Kirk, Marilyn Reichert, Wes Schroeder, Cindy Orivolo (Chair).  


The Human Resources Committee is responsible for recommending pay scales and salaries, sick leave, vacation time, staff insurance, and—where applicable—RRSP/pension contributions, care expenses, and fringe benefits for all staff. We also make recommendations for additional staffing needs. We ensure that all performance reviews have been completed and reviewed with the staff. We ensure that JHC is compliant with all Federal and Provincial laws.  

 

Our Committee is running very smoothly and efficiently, so 2022 was a year of less meetings and less time spent doing HR work because of some of the foundational work we’ve been able to accomplish over the past few years. We often deal with confidential matters, and it is encouraging to us that we are trusted in this capacity. We were able to assist staff in many issues in the absence of an official Administrative Director for the last part of the year. Once again in the Fall, we conducted Pastor/Director Job Evaluation reviews. We thank the members of the Congregation who took the time to complete these reviews and return them to us. As part of this process, we compile the results and review them with the individual Pastor/Director. We also ask that they provide us with their short term and long term goals and follow up part way through the year to see how they are progressing, or if they are in need of additional assistance. The Job Evaluation process is meant to be encouraging and help the Pastoral Staff in their growth journey.  


We never know what challenges the HR world will present in the year ahead, but whatever they are, we are assured that God will see us through and do what is best for the JHC staff. 


joel johnson - properties

The Properties Committee is tasked with addressing the regular and irregular maintenance items that occur, along with planning and budgeting for additional special project. This year we had the boiler replaced in the church and some painting throughout different areas of church.


In the upcoming year we hope to take on some bigger projects in the church such as replacing windows and doors to help improve the safety and security of our building. we are excited for the future of Johnston Heights Church and are praying that God will continue to help us steward and maintain the space that He has given us to do ministry in.