Staff and Leaders
Staff Roles and Organizational Structure
2025-26 First Church Leadership
2025-2030 Strategic Plan
On September 10th, 2025, the First Church membership approved a new strategic plan to guide our ministries over the next few years. The Church Council leads strategic planning and assessment for the congregation.
Current First Church Strategic Plan
Meeting Logistics
Do I need to make a room reservation, request communication related to my area, and add meetings and events to the public church calendar?
YES, for several reasons:
- to ensure that the coordination of space for all our ministries is done with organization and care;
- to provide access to the building for members of your group;
- to be transparent with the information from church leaders to the rest of the congregation;
- and to communicate any AV needs and room setup requests.
How do I schedule a meeting, reserve a room, request communication about an event, and add it to the calendar?
- Check the church calendar for possible conflicts.
- Complete the Calendar and Communication Request at least a week in advance to reserve a room, submit a request for communication, and add a gathering to the church calendar.
What AV resources are available?
- On the Calendar and Communications Request form you can request audio/visual equipment, use of a Zoom account for a meeting, OWL technology for a hybrid meeting, and communicate room setup needs. We have AV equipment available to use, but we do not have a staff member to run your technology for you.
Meeting Expectations
What do I need to do?
- Communicate in advance about an upcoming meeting
- In Realm “create an event” for your committee/group
- Send communication out via Realm
- Include prayer or another spiritual practice as part of the gathering.
- Take minutes and approve minutes from the prior meeting.
- Record attendance in Realm (“mark attendance” for that meeting) and include attendance in meeting minutes.
- Please post meeting minutes on your Realm group for record keeping. (“Add file”. Suggestion: Give the file a name that starts with the meeting date.)
Leaders are encouraged to schedule meeetings at least six months in advance, so that all members know when and where the meetings will be held. Of course, changes can be made if necessary. But advance planning and communication create a sense of clarity and organization to our work together. It also encourages good collaborative work between committees.
Other Helpful Resources on Leading Meetings
https://blogs.volunteermatch.org/how-to-conduct-effective-volunteer-meetings
https://www.theorderexpert.com/make-sure-you-have-these-7-items-on-your-next-meeting-agenda/
https://hbr.org/2018/05/how-to-run-a-meeting-without-talking-too-much
https://volunteerhub.com/blog/manage-volunteers
Budget
How do I request a copy of the budget and year-to-date projection for my committee/program?
- Please contact Athina Sato, Church Accountant, at 847-864-6181 ext or 216 or athina@faithatfirst.com.
How do I spend money or request reimbursement for costs?
- Use this reimbursement request. Please turn in the form along with documentation of all expenses. You will be asked to include the appropriate church account number(s). Please contact Pastor Britt with any questions.
Can I get a copy of the church’s sales tax-exemption info?
- Yes. Contact Pastor Britt britt@faithatfirst.com to receive a copy of our tax-exemption form.
Realm
Do I have to use Realm for communications and recordkeeping?
- We are requiring utilizing Realm for committee communication and recording keeping, including tracking attendance.
- Check out the How to Use Realm Connect page for instructions on navigating the Realm platform.
- If you need help learning Realm, please begin by watching these training videos.
- After watching the videos, if you need additional help learning to use Realm for your committee/team, please contact Claire Amey office@faithatfirst.com for a brief training session.
