2024 Congregational Meeting

SUNDAY, November 10, 2024

AGENDA

1. Opening Prayer

2. Year-In-Review

   1. Church Events

   2. Anchor Events

   3. Attendance & Offering

3. Council Candidates

4. Department Reports

5. Pastoral Reports

6. Financial Summary

   1. Statement of Activities

   2. Balance Sheet

   3. 2025 Budget

   4. Yearly Summary

7. Confirmation of Council Candidates and 2025 Budget

8. Election of Financial Auditor

9. Closing Prayer

IN MEMORIAM: Norman Carter

Norman Carter became a regular member of our church family in 2023. Norman faithfully attended service and always welcomed conversations. Norman passed away on December 23, 2023. We dearly miss Norman’s faithful presence and welcoming smile.

At his memorial service, we learned Norman was a committed supporter of all the churches he attended. He had a heart for missions and Bible studies wherever he attended. Norman considered Generations Church his last church family. Through the Norman Carter Trust, a generous gift was given toward “the mission and goals” of Generations Church. A fund is dedicated in his name to support the ministries of Generations Church.

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Program Events

• Anchor Christmas Party (Dec 15, 2023)

• Anchor Hangouts (Dec 22, Dec 29)

• Girls’ Appreciation (Mar 22, 2024)

• Union Rescue Mission (May 18, Oct 19)

• Senior Nite Out (Jun 4)

• Fourth of July gathering (Jul 5)

• Anchor Huntington Beach (Jul 7)

• Grad Night (Jul 12)

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Student Events

• PYSO (Dec 2, 2023)

• Santa Fe MS Boys’ Basketball (Dec 6)

• Arcadia HS Orchesis (Dec 8)

• Oak Avenue IS Christmas Program (Dec 14)

• Ballet Kukan Academy (Jan 21, 2024)

• PYSO (Apr 27)

• Santa Fe MS Boys’ Volleyball (May 4)

• Quinceañera (May 11)

• Alhambra HS Graduation (May 24)

• Temple City HS Graduation (May 31)

• Monrovia HS Girls’ Tennis (Oct 22)

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Average Weekly Attendance (through Oct 27, 2024)

• In-Person: 76 ± 11

• Streaming: 6.9 ± 3.2

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Total 2024 Budget: $305,420

General offering (excludes building, missions, and love) Through Oct 27, 2024:

• Average Weekly: $4,251 ± $4,032

• Total General Offering (through Oct 27): $178,522

• Budget target (as of Oct 27): $252,559

• Cumulative Surplus/Deficit (as of Oct 27): – $74,037 (deficit)

• % of Budget (as of Oct 27): 70.7%

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‡ Through Mar 8, 2020
* Through Oct 27, 2024

* Through Oct 27, 2024

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Henry Ting

Henry came to a personal saving faith and was baptized at EFC in 1979. He’s been married to Alice since 1992, and is a proud father of Erin and Ryan, and son-in-law, Gus. Henry first served as a Deacon in Children Ministry, and then served as Elder for 4 terms (12 years) at EFCLA/HarvestLA. Henry is a VP/co-owner of an insurance agency in Alhambra, and co-owner of a motel in Santa Monica.

In 2008, Henry suffered a near-fatal accident where he fractured his neck and was left paralyzed, face down underwater. By God's grace, Ryan and his two 10 yr old friends, rescued him from drowning. Then God allowed him to heal and recover almost completely. During his recovery, he was called by God for a new purpose: After 45 years at EFCLA/HarvestLA, he was called to help plant Generations Church LA.

Tim Lau

I was nine years old when I first attended a church in Chinatown LA. That was the first time I heard of Jesus, and I accepted the Lord the same year  I came to GCLA in 2017 and was baptized in 2022. I enjoy attending Sunday School and studying the Bible with fellow brothers and sisters. This past year I served as the church’s independent auditor. Our family is very blessed to be part of the Generations Church family.

I have been married to Jessica for 20 years. We live in Glendora and have a son and a daughter. In my free time I enjoy watching sports and playing pickleball.

I’ve found Matthew 11:28-29 very comforting in my time of joys and hardships: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

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OPERATIONS (Ken Wong)

Praise God, 2024 has been another blessed year. God has been beyond gracious and merciful to Generations Church LA.

We are both thankful and grateful to call ACS our Church home. The outdoor playground canopy area and covered hallway made for a great venue to fellowship and host special and memorable events.

Lease: Arcadia School District has extended ACS’ lease another 5 years. ACS has communicated that they will also extend our lease with a nominal rent increase. The exact terms are yet to be determined. As this is our largest expense, praise God for his abundance of financial blessings!

We currently have 2 classrooms, 1 for the Children’s ministry, and another for Anchor. I am prayerful that CM will grow and require and additional room which ACS, tentatively, can accommodate!

Budget: We’ve been able to stay well within our 2024 budget and do not anticipate any substantial capital expenditures in 2025.

Setup: I am thankful for the crew of hands: Chao Chuang, Ping Ng, Robert Wu, Tai Liao, Richard Gomez, Nelson Kou, Aki Ishibashi, and sisters whom are always willing to assist in the set up and breakdown every Sunday.

2025: With the grass field, blacktop, playground area, and large covered canopy area at our disposal, I’m hopeful that we can utilize the spaces for both outreach and fellowship.

Please pray that we continue to be good stewards of the resources which we have been blessed with.

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EQUIP (Kåre Thoresen)

During 2024, Christian Education has alternated between verse-by-verse Bible study and supporting disciplines that will benefit us in our walk with the Lord.

We began the year by comparing the Bible with the Book of Mormon, continued by Ted Chang teaching a series on the Doctrine of the Word of God. In the spring, the topic was a study of the Full Armor of God based on Ephesians Chapter Six.

During the summer season, the best option is to do a DVD based series using speakers to overpower the noise from the air conditioning in the Library. This year we watched Is Genesis History? providing valuable insight and commentaries related to the creation story in Genesis. Going forward and into 2025, a verse-by-verse Bible study of the Gospel of John is on the agenda.

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FELLOWSHIP (Yvette Chuang)

Small Groups:

• Adult FNF led by Pastor Mike Kim Every Friday

• Anchor FNF led by Pastor Andy Kuo Every Friday

• Mens’ Locker Room Fellowship led by Pastor Mike Kim Every 2nd Saturday

• Ladies In Faith Together (LIFT) led by Jane Kuo and Elsa Tien Every 3rd Saturday

Weekly After Worship service: refreshments and lunches served every Communion Sunday.

Large Group Events: We hosted these large group events: Easter Sunday Lunch, Church Anniversary Reception, Mother’s Day Lunch, Father’s Day Chili Contest, Fundraiser for Church Retreat, All Church Retreat at Forest Home Ojai, and Pumpkin Carvin’ Night. Upcoming events: Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner, FNF White Elephant, and Christmas Sunday Luncheon.

It was an honor to have served at Generations Church LA. I hope you enjoyed the fellowship, food and most importantly felt welcomed into this church community. There were many people who helped by picking up food, setting up tables, chairs, decorating, serving food, and cleaning up. I want to especially thank Amy Lee, Hannah Wong, Adeline Chen, Julie Liao, and all of Anchor Fellowship.  Thank you for being the extra hands and muscles I needed!

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CARE and COMMUNITY (Yvette Chuang)

Care & Community hosts the Sunday morning coffee hour prior to Worship Service and follows up on newcomers. Also, this year we helped at Shepherd’s Pantry in Irwindale by sorting, packing food and necessary household items to be distributed to individuals and families living in the surrounding who might need them. We helped 2x this year and brought a group of 10-12 helpers each time.

For the month of November, our church is partnering with Samaritan’s Purse and participating in Operation Christmas Child. We have been collecting hygiene items, school supplies, clothes, toys and small household items to pack in shoeboxes which will include the gospel message. The shoebox gifts are given to children around the world and are followed up for discipleship. Many many children have come to decisions for Christ after receiving an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. We are planning to have dinner together, sort, pack the gifts, then pray over the shoeboxes on Friday, November 15th. Please come!

Thank you to everyone who have helped set up the morning coffee and helped make people feel welcome at our church. I want to especially thank Marjorie Siu, Iwen Chuang, Wendy Cheng and Alice Ting for your help!

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MISSIONS (Ping Ng)

Our goal is to encourage and train members of Generations Church LA to become missionaries in other nations to spread the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.

Members of the Mission’s Department: Ping Ng, Ted Chang, Pastor Mike Kim, and Kåre Thoresen

2024 Highlights:

Missionaries and Organizations we support:

1. Global Recording Network – Mike & Cora

2. Northwest Ascending Campaign – Daniel

3. International Action Ministries – Rick & Eunice

4. Rafiki Foundation – David & Julie

5. Live Global – John & Bev

6. Indo Partners – Jeff & Kurt

7. Mission International – Frank (New organization we began supporting in 2024)

Mission Activities:

1. Each mission’s team member is assigned a missionary that they are responsible for in terms of updating the council and the congregation on their ministry.

2. In Feb 2024, we allocated our 2023 Mission’s budget surplus of $23,000 to the 6 missionary organizations we supported prior to 2024.   

3. Held a missions interest meeting in May 2024.  Discussed how we would like to do a missions trip in the summer of 2025, sometime towards end of July.  The trip would be open to all members of the church, not only youth.  Meeting participants indicated they would be interested in a trip where they could bring their children to be part of the experience.  We discussed some options for missions trip in 2025.  An organization in central California was recommended by a couple of attendees as a good option:  Gleanings for the Hungry, which is a peach farm in Dinuba California. 

4. Met with Mike Hendricks (Global Recording Network) to discuss possibility of missions trip to reservations in Arizona or Mexico, which he is familiar with. 

Mission Week:

We designate one week in each calendar quarter as Mission’s Week. Each quarter we invite a missionary to share their experience with us. The guest missionaries do not have to be the missionaries that we support.

This year we had the privilege of having Jeff Gulleson from Indo Partners and Tungpi from Live Global, come visit and share with us.

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CHILDREN’S MINISTRY (Wendy Cheng)

In Luke 18:16, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” 

There are currently seven kids in Children’s Ministry. Of the seven, three are in grade school and four are in kindergarten and below.

In 2024, Children’s Ministry held three special events:

1. Easter: During this event, our kids sang on stage, watched a short Easter skit performed by the CM teachers, and participated in an egg hunt.

2. Mother’s Appreciation Day: The kids dedicated a song to their mothers to thank them. Our sister Christine shared encouragement with the young mothers. This event was held in the CM classroom.

3. Glow-in-the-dark pumpkin painting: Our kids invited their friends to this fun event.  

This year would not have been possible without our kids and all the CM teachers. Specifically, I would like to thank the following:

• To our amazing kids, thank you for reminding me of the beauty of simplicity.

• To all parents, thank you for entrusting us with your children; and

• To all CM teachers, thank you for dedicating your time, loving the children, and cultivating the children’s faith in Jesus Christ through biblical teaching.

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WORSHIP (Daniel Wong)

Welcome new worship ministry volunteers

• James Cheng (Audio/Visual)

• Josiah Kim (Worship Leader)

• Andly Kwan (Drummer)

• Janet Hsu (Keyboard)

A tremendous thank you to everyone who has served this year: Lynn Chen, Dean Chuang, Dick and Steph Chuang, Joe and Gloria Hsiao, Joyce Huang, Dawson Kim, Jane Kuo, Elsa Tien, Henry Ting, Wade and Eunice Wang, Daniel and Yun-Lan Wong, Karenna Yang

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FINANCE (Aileen Lam)

The Finance Department is responsible for accurate bookkeeping, and ensuring our church’s  “Standard Operating Procedures” be followed strictly, which include proper protocols, checks & balances applying the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Since 2023, Aileen Lam has been working with Christine Chiang (served from Jan, 2020 to Feb 2024), Alice Ting, our current Treasurer, who keeps track of all incoming tithes and offerings, and Elsa Tien, Controller and bookkeeper, who cuts checks and makes sure reimbursements and spending are according to protocols, and prepares financial reports. Each check must be signed by 2 authorized signers. We require 3 office holders, who are chosen by the church council (currently are the Chairperson, Finance Deacon and Controller) to be present to either open or close a bank account. 

Each month, the Finance Dept sends out checks to the missionaries our church supports, works with EFCGA to make payrolls for pastoral staff, and remit them 10% of our tithes quarterly. 

Periodically, the Finance Department provides the council with up-to-date expense reports, and data to prepare our annual budget. 

This year, we especially want to acknowledge a special gift of $32,000.00 from Norman Carter Living Trust. Our council has decided to set aside the fund for future use that will honor Mr. Carter’s wishes in the area of Bible Study and/or Cross Culture Missions. 

We are happy to report that our church reserves have earned over $20,000 interests this year thanks to higher CD interest rates. 

Attached we are submitting the financial reports for the period from January 1, 2024 to Oct 31, 2024, full year reports from year 2023 for comparison, and the proposed budget for year 2025 for your review and approval. Our auditor Tim Lau has examined our records, which are also open to members. If any of you like to examine them personally, please let me know and I will make arrangements for you. 

Thank you very much for your faithful tithes and offerings. A big thank you to Christine Chiang, Elsa Tien, Alice Ting and ladies who regularly assist our accounting of the weekly offerings and tithes. 

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This theme was emphasized at our all-church summer retreat. We were reminded that the LORD calls us to Him who is trustworthy. Through the LORD God, we can press onward and live the life that God desires for us. However, we do not have to do it alone. In fact, we are exhorted to be in community together, helping each other in our times of need.

We experienced different aspects of community together throughout the year. We enjoyed our annual activities and social events. We continued our fellowships and Bible studies. We celebrated child dedications and baptisms.

Small prayer groups were formed as an extension from the summer retreat small groups. These small groups provide another aspect of community for fellowship and prayer. In all, we hope to press onward together, maturing our faith, and strengthening our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Going forward into the new year, I pray we will continue to grow and mature our faith community at Generations Church. I hope we can build upon relationships that already exist and grow new ones through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. My prayer for Generations Church is that we would prayerfully and intentionally help each other love God and love others. May God enrich our church with unity in Spirit, with the love of Christ Jesus, and growing passion to see the transformational power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

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Associate Pastor Andy Kuo

Anchor Student Ministry continues to thrive in our second year at our new location at ACS. We have temporarily moved our FNF location to Room 11, which has been decluttered into a more intimate setting. We continue to have weekly prayer meetings and small group leader meetings over Discord.

The students are bonding well together. Michelle Shen and I are tasked with leading and teaching the youth in their walks with Jesus. She continues to be an invaluable partner, especially with the Anchor girls. She continually takes them out and has overnights at her own house. I am encouraged that many are praying and doing daily devotions on their own, without prompt from parents. Our goal is to make disciples of Jesus.

Sundays

Christian Education attendance is stable as we review the passage for the speaker that same Sunday. The students are very responsive to questions, and I am very encouraged by their discussions.

I finished preaching through the book of Daniel by covering chapters 10-12 in one sermon. In Daniel’s final vision, he sees that the kingdoms and countries on earth are unstable. The conflict is spiritual, so our real weapon is prayer. His reminds us today that God’s people are never alone. Our biblical response to the promises of heaven, to the promise of that future, should be: Live for that kingdom now. Recognize His reign now. Be obedient now. Fulfill our present responsibilities now.

The next book I chose was Esther. From a lowly orphan Jewish girl to Queen of Persia, Esther has demonstrated the wisdom of obedience and discretion. We have been challenged when we show off: do we boast in our accomplishments, or do we boast in the Lord?

Sometimes, God chooses us for an unexpected calling. I pray that we would all have the courage to do God’s will, especially in times of crisis. Let us all look to make a difference for God right where we are, when we are. We leave it up to God to work his providence.

…And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14b

I continued in administrative tasks for Sunday service, and we pray that the significant challenges are behind us! After multiple attempts at troubleshooting, we have replaced the HDMI cables (twice!) to fix our projection issues. Both Kevin Lee (livestream, technical) and Elsa Tien (lyrics, announcements) continue to be invaluable for Sunday worship service.

Also, James Cheng has joined the team, and he is learning both functions: live-streaming via YouTube and lyrics (building the Sunday Service) via ProPresenter.

Fridays

The main topics for the year were Salt & Light (being good witnesses for Christ), Losing Face & Finding Grace (“face” and “grace” in the lives of Asian-American Christians), and Jesus As… (series exploring the different facets of Jesus, such as God, human, healer, confronter, servant, savior, shepherd, etc.).

We also embarked on a joint lesson series with parents attending called The Holy Sexuality Project, led by Pastor Mike. Finally, we also reviewed the CA propositions to challenge the students to think about social/legal issues from a Christian worldview. In the meantime, I have challenged the students to memorize the books of the bible in order.

Contact Work and Events

Meeting students remains a core part of youth ministry, one that I absolutely love. Seeing students in their “natural habitat” seems to allow deeper discussions on matters of family and faith. My personal family scheduling now requires that my son tag along at times, but we are still able to have meaningful conversations while he is occupied with reading and chess puzzles. I have also provided various tutoring when requested.

Church

I prepared a new GCLA Church Membership Handbook and subsequently taught church membership class (June 23, 30). I also held Baptism classes (Sept 15, 22, and 29). Praise God that Tessa Gomez, Katherine Chen, and Charis Chuang all decided to get baptized!

I aided Yvette Chuang in GCLA Summer Retreat planning (set-up online registration, created the retreat booklet, helped with logistics, led Anchor small groups).

And born out of the retreat, Jane and I have joined a prayer group with three other families. I am excited for our new fellowship group. We meet weekly after church on Sundays, and we even plan a simple lunch in Room 10. We are pretty active in our private Slack channel (#crazy-praying-asians) to communicate our prayer requests.

Miscellaneous

I remain the Pastoral Advisor for Arcadia Allies, a campus Christian club, now in my sixth year. I offer pastoral/theological support for officer meetings (Monday night Zoom) and attend each club meeting (Wednesdays during lunch).

Finally, I continued to meet with the English Ministerial Association, which is comprised of the other English pastors of our sister EFC churches. Our monthly meetings provided an outlet for transparency and vulnerability as we discussed the challenges of life and ministry. Our second annual pastoral family retreat was held in Temecula this year.

Personal

Most of you know that our family has had health issues the past 18 months. I am happy to report that I have passed the one-year mark for the squamous cell carcinoma on my left finger and no longer need any more checkups. Additionally my CT scans and blood work are clean for the testicular cancer. According to NCCN guidelines, I will need regular scans/bloodwork for another four years to be declared cancer free.

In April, Jane underwent a mastectomy to remove Stage 0 cancer (DCIS), and I am happy to report that her subsequent checkups are so far clean as well. The church (especially Wendy Cheng!) was wonderful in providing both her and myself support during these difficult times, and for that we are grateful.

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2024 Statement of Activities

Total Income: 286,650.50
Total Expense: 220,620.53
Other Income: 24,218.31

Net Income: 90,248.28

2024 Balance Sheet

Total Assets: 766,392.34
Total Liabilities: 0

Total Equity: 766,392.34

2025 Budget

Worship: $6,400
Equip: $4,600
Outreach & Care: $12,200
Fellowship: $9,400
Children’s Ministry: $3,600
Finance: $22,420
Operational Cost: $44,200
Missions: $25,300
Pastoral Office: $207,000
Insurance: $1,200

Total Expense: $340,860
– Missions – $49,800
– Building – $16,600

GRAND TOTAL: $274,460

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Original PDF: link (27 kb)

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BoM: Bank of Montreal, PB: Preferred Bank, RBB: Royal Business Bank

Original PDF: link (22 kb)

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To the Finance Committee
Generations Church of Los Angeles
Arcadia, California
November 5, 2024

I have reviewed the financial statements and other financial records (income statements, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, bank statements, reimbursement receipts, deposit slips) of Generations Church of Los Angeles. My responsibility is to express an opinion on the audit.

For the 2024 audit I have selected 3 months of samples of cash receipts, cash disbursements, and payroll withholdings. They were consistent with bank statements and financial statements, and were properly documented and authorized. Proper segregation of duties are implemented by finance committee members such separating different staffs for bank deposits, cash disbursements, bank reconciliation, and dual authorized signatures in reimbursements. All audited materials were accurate and no irregularities were found.

Internal controls are strongly enforced and in compliance with policies and procedures set by the Finance Committee.

Tim Lau
2024 Internal Auditor

Signed PDF: link (32 kb)

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