Welcome to Laurelwood's Annual Report!
This report will be best viewed on a regular monitor, but if you are looking at it on your phone you will want to view it in landscape (wide) for the best experience.
State of the Church
by Pastor Erik Hallworth
Church Family, this has been another year of seeing God move in and through our church. In addition to everything you will read, I’d like to celebrate what God did this last year:
Generous Hearts: Giving for the year was $16k over budget. While numbers are not "the thing," they are about "the thing": spiritual growth. It’s encouraging to see hearts growing in this way.
Continued Numerical, Spiritual and Church Growth: I'm grateful to see God bringing people here… these all speak to God creating a culture of love at Laurelwood.
- Increase in Sunday worship attendance
- 33 New members – The largest membership increase in Laurelwood history
- New leadership – Brian Fraught, Keith Miller, Katie Doel
- New Elders – Bob DeViney and Doug Lundahl
- New Missionary – Luke Tanaka
- Baptisms: 7
Getting Clarity About How To Follow Jesus Together by Rooting in Christ, Growing in Love and Bearing Fruit
We just finished a 6 week series looking at a set of priorities for how to continue to “follow Jesus together.” For this next season, we hope to build around (rooting in) Christ, loving relationships in the church (growing together), and evangelism (bearing fruit).
I'm looking forward to seeing what work Christ will do in and through us in this new year.
Worship
by Pastor Kevin Kruse
Our “Summer at Laurelwood” 2023 was a HUGE success. 5 different events with hundreds coming out. The Worship Night was an amazing night of worshiping the Lord and seeking His face. And the Sunday Service in the Park saw nearly 300 people celebrating the “burning of the mortgage” as we paid off the loan for the Worship Center Repairs.
This year saw a major transition as I (Kevin) accepted the role of Lead Pastor at Cascade Park Baptist. A huge win was how during this news and transition, the worship ministry continued to function at a high level and people have stepped in to cover areas that I was managing. Laurelwood is in amazing hands and I am fully confident that God will continue to grow and help Laurelwood thrive.
Technology and Livestream services at Laurelwood continue to be a win and help draw people in. More and more people are commenting they joined us online first before coming in person. It is also helpful to have online capabilities for those times we have snow days and have to close the church campus, such as what happened on January 14, 2024.
Men's Ministry
by Brian Fraught
Men's Roundup (Retreat)
10 men attended Men's Roundup at Camp Tadmor in September. It was attended by over 1,200 men from the Northwest. Our speaker was Vince Miller who challenged men on the topic of True Brotherhood.
Men’s Wednesday AM Bible Study
The Wednesday morning Men's Bible study has continued throughout 2023-2024 with a focus on discipleship, faith, and prayer. We prayed the Lord to grow our group and we doubled in size this past year. We have a faithful group of 12 men that support, encourage, and challenge each other every week.
Men’s Thursday Evening Prayer
Every Thursday evening from 6:30-7:30p.m. men pray together for the needs of the church. Presently there are 4-5 men who faithfully meet to pray. This men’s prayer group is prayerful for more men to join the group.
Men’s Breakfasts
An average of 30+ men attended the Men's Breakfasts on Saturday mornings for fellowship and a short devotion. Our breakfasts are every 2 months and attended by guys of all ages. We have a short devotion followed by a time of discussion on topics that foster men having deeper relations with Christ and one another.
Men’s Hikes
We live in the beautiful Pacific NW and so one of our men plans local hikes to promote fellowship in the great outdoors. On a Saturday morning, men get in an aerobic exercise while enjoying God’s amazing creation in the woods. Annually we plan to have 4 hikes and 1 men’s campout.
Men’s Ministry Team
The Men’s Ministry team was officially restarted after a year or so break. The team of 7 members include: Bill Doel, Syd Jones, Doug Goostree, Mike Lewis, Mike Randall, Doug Lundahl, and Brian Fraught. The team went on a retreat in April, 2024 for a time of getting better acquainted.
The Men's Ministry Team Also Volunteered to cook for the Deep Roots Youth Ministry and for our church picnic
Women's Ministry
by Allison DeViney
We had 31 Women attend our annual Women's Retreat at Cannon Beach during the month of October. Relationships were strengthened through the fun and activities, time spent over a good meal (that we weren't responsible for cooking!), and our faith was encouraged as we heard from speaker, Georgene Rice.
We enjoyed learning the Word and fellowshipping with others through our weekly Bible Studies. Approximately 35 women (and 4 preschoolers) met weekly on Tuesday mornings, every other Tuesday evening or Wednesday mornings to discuss their Bible Study and pray together. We are grateful for our faithful teachers: Connie Russell, Laurie Hall, Connie Pratt, Jennifer Lindsay, Mary Dombrow and Allison DeViney.
First Fridays continued for a third and final year with an average attendance of 49 each month. We were encouraged with a greater attendance of younger Middle School and High School students. While First Fridays had a good run, we're seeing the need to shift gears as we return to our busy pre-Covid lives. We'll begin offering quarterly gatherings for the 2024-25 ministry year in November.
During the past year, the Seniors’ Ministry continued to plan activities for seniors which focused on worship, God’s Word and fellowship and could be easily attended. We are thankful for everyone who helped in various ways. The guest speakers (Carley Wecks and Luke Tanaka) and those who performed special music (Douglas Lee, Don and Judy Ebel, and Nehemiah Brown–Music and Word) were encouraging and greatly enjoyed. Some of the highlights of the year included:
- July Picnic at the Plitts
- November Show and Tell
- February Hymn Sing and Sharing time
- April Luncheon
- May Ministering in Music and Word (Nehemiah Brown)
Deep Roots Youth Group
by Sam Halstead
This was an exciting year for Laurelwood’s Youth Ministry. This year was special because it marked the official launch of the Deep Roots Youth Ministry title and philosophy. During a fellowship dinner, I got the chance to unpack why we will be called Deep Roots from here on out to over 60 people in attendance. Students have taken the challenge seriously of setting their roots on faith in Jesus and His gospel, trust in the Word of God, and love for Jesus, His church, and the world He died to save. Since launching Deep Roots, one specific highlight that comes to mind is when we did a prayer circle where students responded to different prompts and those around them prayed over them. It was awesome to see students step out in vulnerable ways and pray for their fellow students.
We still have a ton of fun as a group. Our students are learning how to engage with a growing group during games and fellowship. It’s awesome to see students laughing and feeling like they can be themselves during youth group.
Key rhythms in youth ministry are retreats and camps. We returned to ETV and ETM this past year. It was an awesome time seeing students connect with the greater church community of the Clark County and Portland area. A highlight for our group specifically has to be the Spring Retreat. For the first time, we did our own cooking and meal service with students participating as the kitchen crew. It was awesome seeing older students serving younger students and their leaders. The culture of serving has continued to develop since Spring Retreat. Additionally, students learned how to testify of the work that God has been doing in their lives, and it was awesome seeing students celebrate together what their fellow students were sharing.
Deep Roots will continue to take deeper looks at important topics. Some of the topics we covered this year are the peace of God, the hope we have in Christ, and what it means to be a disciple of God. This summer, we will be taking a look at what it means to be a healthy Christ-centered community. Continue to pray that students will actively grow the depth and strength of their roots that are set upon the right things.
by Katie Doel
In the Children’s Ministry this past year:
Laurelwood had their annual Soccer Camp in June, reaching over 60 students. The gospel was shared, and kids had a great time.
On Sunday mornings there are about 45 adults and youth rotating through, serving on average 40-50 students. Kids are learning the Bible as one story and how the gospel is woven throughout using Lifeway's Gospel Project Curriculum.
Club 66 meets on Thursday evenings serving 54 kids. Two children asked Jesus to be their savior.
Kid's Ministry celebrated the retirement of Coach John in March and Katie Doel started as the new children's director in a seamless transition. God is blessing our kids' ministry and their families!
Beginning Adults
Kicked off the Beginning Adults Group in the fall of 2023. Started with four young adults and focused our time connecting and discussing how to take ownership of our faith as we move into adulthood.
Weekly meetings have grown to eight young adults as we entered into and spring and have been filled with games, food, practical Bible study, and fellowship.
Planning many more activities and opportunities for the summer as we welcome in returning college students and recent high school graduates.
Connections Ministry
In April we had a Connections coaching time with Ushers, Greeters and Safety team.
In that session we discussed roles and responsibilities along with how to keep our parishioners safe in the event of an emergency.
Soon after, we officially launched our church safety team ministry.
Bible Class Ministries
by Jennifer Lindsay
The 9AM Equipping Hour began a season of transition last August with John Wecks stepping down as the Chair and with Jennifer Lindsay stepping in to the role with the aid of Tracy Halstead, Scott DeViney, Lynn Ruark, and Paul Lantz as the planning committee.
We saw an increased interest in the Discover Laurelwood Classes, with a number of new attendees going on to become LBC members after finishing the classes.
We continued with the Explore LBC classes, Biblical book study classes, Topical classes, and added a Financial Class (led by Brian Fraught).
The teaching team expanded with the addition of Don Ebel in the spring.
We’ve enjoyed seeing a wider mix of cross-generational attendance, which has served to deepen discussions and offer more opportunities to expand on future studies and topics.
Estimated weekly attendance saw an average of around 40 attendees spread throughout the various classes during the spring months.
Outreach
by Scott DeViney
As a church, we provided significant support to 10 missionaries and organizations in fruitful service locally and around the world
At the beginning of our fiscal year in June 2023, we began supporting Brian & Melanie Stark as they moved back into missions work with World Venture after many years of pastoring in Tri-Cities. The Starks are long time Laurelwood members and we had previously supported them as missionaries in Australia and New Zealand.
In September, Phil Ball was appointed as the Northwest Regional Coordinator for the National Network of Youth Ministries.
In November, our church packed 1,156 shoeboxes as a church to send God's love and message of salvation around the world with Operation Christmas Child - which was the most we have ever done!
At the end of our fiscal year in May 2025, we voted to begin supporting Luke Tanaka as our newest missionary with Child Evangelism Fellowship of Clark County. Luke has been actively volunteering and working for many years in children and youth ministry at Laurelwood and with CEF. We are excited about what God is doing as he raises up more workers for His harvest field!
Treasurer's Report
by Brian Wolf
The Treasurer's Report reflects a financially sound year for the church. The congregation's generosity was evident, with over $730,000 in giving. Planned ministries were successfully carried out within budget, indicating effective financial management. Strong cash reserves continue to provide stability, while the complete repayment of the building project loan represents a significant milestone that frees up future resources. The congregation at Laurelwood remained faithful in its giving and commitment to the mission, vision, and values of the church. Let us continue to pray for God's guidance and wisdom on how to make more disciples in our community and around the world.
Caring Team
by Paul Lantz
Caring Team touched every aspect of Body Life by ministering through celebrations of:
Body Life — wedding, receptions, memorial services
Worship Service — communions & baptisms
Fellowship — social events, special meals, hospital visits
Mercy — Marital & financial aid and coaching
We continue to be blessed by a Church that continually seeks to look after its own. Our desire is to ensure that members and regular attenders, including newcomers, feel well-served in those ministries designed to connect us with the Lord and each other. Our Caring Team Staff worked tirelessly in the background serving other Church ministries, while at the same time attending to the personal needs of individual Church members. The Laurelwood Benevolent Fund was able to disburse $5,200 toward the emergency needs of those individuals. The Social Committee faithfully supported numerous memorial services, receptions, and special meals. Our Meals Committee provided dozens of meals to families in need and is a ministry that is not on everyone's radar screen but blesses those who benefit the most. Barb Larsen’s gift basket ministry continues to brighten the lives of many who were going through difficult times. Thanks to all who served faithfully on the Caring Team this past year.
Facilities Team
by Mike Lewis
The Laurelwood Campus encompasses 5 acres. We have over 50 trees and 90 shrubs, 80,000 square feet of lawn with a 30 -zone sprinkler system and 4 buildings.
Much of the front lawn along 172nd street and grass close to the main buildings is maintained by a Landscaping Service. The rest of the area is taken care of by volunteers. I want to thank Bob DeViney and Sue DeViney who provided a list of items requiring attention to the volunteers. I thank Thao Cooper, Jeanette Zeller, and Cindy Sandor for all their hard work. They work hard every week to keep the grounds looking nice for our Sunday Worship and meetings during the week.
The facility requires constant maintenance and facility upgrades. This is mainly done by the Wednesday Work crew who are organized by Bill Doel. He and Mike Lewis provide the work list that we try to knock out every week. Work includes replacing sprinklers, repairing toilets, installing items and repairing items that need repairing. The Wednesday work team is Bill Doel, Mike Lewis, Syd Jones, John Crawford, Dan Sandor, Bob Deviney, Trent O'Neal, and our newest member Neil Butler. I thank you all for your time and hard work. I estimate these guys save Laurelwood 30,000 dollars a year working as volunteers.
Some projects that were completed this year were:
- Built a Tool Shed at the corner behind the garbage bin.
- Replaced the Fellowship Hall Lighting with LED lighting.
- Ladies and Men’s Restroom replaced Fluorescent Lighting with LED lighting.
- Toddler/Nursery Lighting replaced with LED Lighting.
- Replaced the men’s handicap toilet.
- Entire parking lot Seal Coated, and stripes repainted.
- Mowed the Large extra parking area.
- Helped our widows/seniors with odd jobs.
- Replaced the Ministry and Fellowship Hall Blinds.
- Painting touched up and some walls.
Clerk Report
by Rebecca Lundahl
Total active membership as of June 1, 2023: 185
Total active membership as of May 31, 2024: 202
Gains
- By statement of faith: 33
Losses
- by moving/attending elsewhere: 16
Baptisms 7
Child Dedications 0