Sunday, August 30th
9:30 AM

As we prepare to elect new members to the Elder Board, we want to share what the Church Constitution currently says about the  Elder Selection Process. Below is a condensed version of what is stated in the Faith Church Constitution.

Selection of Elders

• Nomination: Nominations for Elder Candidates may be received at any time during the year but must be received no later than March 1 to be eligible for a vote at the annual congregational meeting. 
  • This year, there were 12 nominations for the Elder Board. Of the 12 nominees, 6 self-selected out of consideration, and 6 moved on for review.

• Review: The Board of Elders will carefully and confidentially review all nominees based on the Biblical qualities of calling, character, capability, and compatibility. 
  • This year, 1 Elder Nominee are advanced for elder candidacy.
• Candidacy: After the Board of Elders reviews the nominations, approved nominees will be contacted and asked to consent to their names being placed before the congregation at the annual congregational meeting. Elder Candidates begin attending Elder Board meetings during this stage of the process.
  • This year, 1 Elder Board Nominee will be up for election.

• Election: Each individual candidate will be selected based on a “yes or no” congregational ballot. A positive vote of 75% of members present at the annual ministry meeting will be required. (Please note that only Faith Church members are eligible to vote.)
  • This year, the Annual Meeting will occur on Sunday, August 30th during one Worship Together Service on August 30th at 9:30 am. 
• Assumption of Office: Newly elected elders will assume office on the first day of Faith’s fiscal year. Outgoing elders will serve until the last day of Faith’s fiscal year.
  • This year, Faith’s new Fiscal Year starts on September 1st. 

If you want to see the entire selection process worded in the Constitution, click here.

*If you are not a Faith Church member and would like to become one by the annual meeting, you can register to attend the upcoming Membership Classes on August 2nd & August 16th. You must attend both classes, fill out an application, and meet with a church elder to review that application. To register, click here.

Fiscal Year: 9/1/2026 to 8/31/2027
Faith Church continues to operate with a lean budget while making strategic investments in our staff, ministries, and facilities. This year’s budget reflects our commitment to caring well for our employees while remaining good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us.

The budget projects $1.58 million in revenue and giving, including general tithes and offerings as well as program revenue from camps, retreats, and events. This represents a 3.8% decrease from last year’s budget and reflects the lower-than-expected giving we experienced this fiscal year.

Key Budget Priorities:

• 3% cost-of-living increase for staff.
• Approximately $15,000 will be added to the Capital Repairs and Improvements fund.
• Added a part-time Administrative Assistant to the Teaching Pastor to provide needed ministry and administrative support.
• Increased administrative hours collectively by 10 hours per week to strengthen support for the church’s ongoing ministry needs.
• Continued strategic use of Employee Retention Credit funds to cover ministry allowances and professional development for the Lead Team, helping preserve general operating resources.

Personnel, facilities, and missions represent approximately 77% of our total expenses. This reflects our commitment to investing in people, maintaining the ministry environments God has given us, and supporting gospel work locally and around the world.

Financial Outlook: The approved budget currently anticipates a $36,997 shortfall between projected revenue and expenses. Consistent, faithful giving from our church family will help us close that gap and continue carrying out the ministry God has called Faith Church to pursue.

I am privileged and honored to be considered as an elder in our church. I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and beginning to follow Jesus when I was 9 years-old through the Steel Lake United Presbyterian Church in Federal Way. I was greatly influenced particularly by my mother, faithful Sunday School teachers, and pastors, Rev. Hurd and later Lyle Starkey.

I knew I had a physical disability and read and reread John 9:1-3. Was my condition because I or my parents sinning?  That was a very real question.  Jesus answered, “that the works of God might be displayed in me.” I know I didn’t understand the full implications but clearly heard He was working first in my heart because of my sins and He saved me.

At 14, I understood the Lord telling me, “Mark,  I want you to serve Me full-time the rest of your life.” I later learned that to be the inaudible voice of God. Numerous people who did not know what the Lord spoke, confirmed His message.  

As a college student, I was placed under “the care of the session” at Steel Lake under Pastor Lyle. I took my first missions trip to Newark, New Jersey through the Volunteers in Mission for 10 months in 1976-1977. I ended up at Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church in Burien where I was mentored by a third pastor, Dr. Robert Wheatley, who married Katharine and me in July 1982.  We have three sons, two are married, with five grandchildren, four girls and a boy, so far.

Dr. Wheatley recommended I pursue Western Seminary, ‘81-‘84, where I earned a Masters of Divinity with a pastoral emphasis. I went on to pastor two smaller churches for eight years first in Washington and then Oregon and returned to Federal Way in November of 1992. I’ve discipled peers and men since high school, wherever the Lord leads.

In 1992, we began attending Faith Church where we’ve actively served in many capacities. I presently serve on the men’s ministry leadership team and continue relational discipling.  In 2002, I started serving as a chaplain Bible study leader, discipler and chaplain at the Maleng Regional Justice Center and joined Prisoners For Christ Outreach Ministries in 2006 as a full-time, support-raising chaplain. I’ll be going on my 24th short-term missions trip with PFC in November, this one to Mexico.