In 2006, the church's goals were outlined at the annual meeting, which was to provide an additional $15,000 for the purpose of hiring Jim Elias as part-time associate pastor. Jim was working with Faith Initiatives of Wyoming and would be available for several hours each week to assist Pastor Borgaard with the ministry/programming of the church. Since April 2005, Jim attended the Theological Institute in Denver and felt that God was calling him into pastoral ministry. Pastor Elias was installed as associate pastor at a ceremony on May 7 followed by a reception in Fellowship Hall.
Church services were merged into one service at 9:30 am. Traditional services would begin worship and the praise band would close the worship. A coffee ministry group provided refreshments after service. Sunday School classes were from 11 am to noon. A telephone hookup to the Fire Department was installed as part of the fire alarm system.
The congregation reached out to Michelle Beach in June when her husband died as the result of when he was mountain climbing in Colorado. Doug was a member of the Laramie County Search and Rescue Team. The community turned out for impressive services at the Cheyenne Civic Center. The CWF group assisted Cheyenne Fire and Rescue with the reception at the new Kiwanis Community House. Michelle stayed on for some time. Margery Marquez began as a secretary in November.
The Spiritual Strategic Journey began in May to engage groups of three in Prayer and Share Triplets to meet over the summer to build relationships and intentional prayer about what the future of the church would look like.
An outcome of this program was a document outlining what the church would look like in ten years. The draft narrative was shared with the congregation for affirmation and suggestions. The draft classified the church as a Congregational faith community, where God draws people in and transforms them into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. To advance the mission of FCC, a dynamic organizational structure should be implemented that aligns the roles of staff, volunteers, and ministry teams.
The Education Ministry, Chair Kathleen Elias with CWF, hosted Family Fun Nights Out. First was a square dance in October, a game night in November, and a get-together in December. Another successful Journey to Bethlehem was presented 3 nights. Many children expressed their delight. The Membership Care group continued to call shut-ins. Mike Williams, a member of the Finance Team coordinated getting the zoning changed from residential to commercial for the property on 26th Street. This necessitated modifying the house to meet city codes for handicap accessibility and landscaping. The church secured a second mortgage on the house to pay for the upgrades. It was leased to The Father Factor, a support group for single dads. On that note, 2006 closes.
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