Mercy Church is organizing much of our shared work through committees. This structure helps more members participate in the life of the church while keeping each area of ministry coordinated and accountable to the Session.
Why Committees?
The elders are responsible for overseeing the spiritual life of the church. Committees give members practical ways to support that work, develop ministries consistently, and bring their gifts and ideas into the church’s shared service.
Mercy currently has four committees: Christian Education, Fellowship and Outreach, Building, and Safety.
📚 Christian Education Committee
Chair: Bob Niichel
The Christian Education Committee is designed to help manage and enhance our various church activities involving the ministry of the word. The CEC will help recruit classroom and study leaders, make recommendations and suggestions about Sunday School and Bible study materials, and other related things. The CEC also helps manage the Nursery volunteer schedule.
🤝 Fellowship and Outreach Committee
Chair: Nathan Harlan
The Fellowship and Outreach Committee will provide the personnel and structure needed to carry out fellowship activities like after-church potlucks, and also help the church be intentional about reaching out to the community. We do not believe the F&O Committee will be the exclusive place where fellowship and outreach ideas begin and end, but will ensure that our basic activities are maintained and developed consistently.
🏠 Building Committee
Chair: Brady Hillegas
The Building Committee will bring together individuals with the skills needed to maintain and improve the building we now own. Although both of our deacons have construction skills, that is not a biblical requirement for deacons. The Building Committee can therefore help the Diaconate both now and in the future care for the church’s physical property.
🛡️ Safety Committee
Chair: TBD
The Safety Committee is different from the committees above in that it will likely only exist for a limited time. The goal of the committee is to develop a coordinated approach to safety at Mercy PCA. Now that we have our own building, we need clear policies for its regular use, consistent practices across ministries, and practical plans for responding to emergencies. The committee will review our current policies, procedures, and equipment, identify gaps, and bring recommendations to the session. Its work will cover three general areas: child protection, building security, and emergency response and accident prevention. This committee was just created on Monday, and we are looking to populate it.
What This Means for You
This structure has some consequences for your life in the church:
- Share ideas with the appropriate committee:
- For Bible study, Sunday School, or other Christian education ideas, contact the Christian Education Committee.
- For fellowship or outreach ideas—or help getting one started—contact the Fellowship and Outreach Committee.
- For facility concerns or opportunities to help with the building, contact the Building Committee.
- If you feel passionate about one of the areas mentioned, talk to one of the elders about getting involved, since the Session appoints members to committees.
- We want to particularly encourage the men of the church to prayerfully consider joining a committee at some point. One way that church members identify men to nominate for office is when they see a man step up and serve the church.
- If you are unable to help out on a committee, please be in prayer for their work. We will be working on committee communication, but we encourage you to reach out to members of the different committees to find out how you can be praying for them.
To get involved, contact an elder directly through our leadership profiles or email the Session at session@mercypca.org.
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