MISSION STATEMENT
Our Motto
To Live By Faith, To Be Known By Love, To Be A Voice of Hope
To Live By Faith. Our faith in Christ brings us together in an inclusive intergenerational family of believers. Fellowship in that church family supports us and grows our faith. We express our faith in God in a traditional worship service with an emphasis on Biblical preaching and excellent traditional and global music. We walk with our Jesus each and every day by faith.
Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
To Be Known By Love. Jesus calls us to love and serve our neighbors. That love and service ranges from congregational care, to assisting the underserved in our local neighborhood, to supporting projects with our neighbors in world‐wide mission.
John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
To Be A Voice Of Hope. Hope is a bright star in a hopelessly dark universe. Through the omniscience of God, the Holy Spirit fills our inner selves. Hope makes us smile on the inside as well as on the outside. Hope is not just an emotion; it is a promise that smiling and laughter are just around the corner. Hope is drawn to the person who sees beyond the present defeat, beyond the moment of being cast down, beyond the loss of the job, and beyond the negative words of hopeless voices. There is that voice telling us to look beyond the darkness - to the bright light of hope. That is the voice our church wants to be.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- MISSION STATEMENT:
Yarnell Community Presbyterian Church is a church worshiping, learning and participating with one another and with our world for the purpose of sharing God’s love. We are growing and finding our way into God’s plan for us, and it is our desire to be vibrant and connected with the world that Jesus loves.
We are a church small in numbers but large in heart for Christ. Our congregation recognizes its call to seek and to do the will of God, and it is our mission to represent Christ to our communities and to the world, inviting all to share in our inclusiveness and joy, offering love and hope centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, It is our Scripture-mandated desire to reach out beyond ourselves, caring for our members and friends. We seek to respond to the needs of our communities, regularly supporting the mission of the larger church, and to provide for the indigent and those in crisis who come our way so that no one leaves untouched by God’s love. We work to promote community events that bring aid and social interaction, relating as a partner with our fellow citizens.
Ours is a church marked by friendliness and genuine warmth, sharing the rich experiences of life and the belief that the joy of Christ is contagious.
We are determined that our church remain a church of people, not a church of programs. We are determined to not lose sight of the fact that love and acceptance - not programs - draw people. We work to meet needs and discover hearts, as this was what Jesus modeled; and we work to project acceptance, to have people come as they are, both physically and spiritually. We would preach God’s Word and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
Emil Brunner said, “The Church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning. Where there is no mission, there is no church.” Understanding that mission is a definable objective of what we work to accomplish, of why we exist, a mission statement should clarify what we expect to do and how we will empower others as we do it. To that end, Yarnell Community Presbyterian Church encourages our congregation to DO rather than TALK through exposure to opportunities for community service and mission work. We work to inspire them to share their gifts, talents and experience by educating them to the broader picture of Christian nurture and need, both in our community and in the world. Motivated by a desire to see others find fulfillment in Christ by helping them reach their full potential, we have summarized our mission with the following statement: “To Live by Faith, To Be Known by Love, To Be a Voice of Hope.”
- “WORD PICTURE” OF CONGREGATION:
How do we encounter Christ?
We believe Jesus Christ is the one and only way to salvation. He is part of the Trinity and is fully man and fully God. Baptism and communions are sacraments. The importance of these elements is presented to the congregation each Sunday morning as we bring them forward and place them on the communion table during the quiet meditation at the beginning of worship service. We believe in the triune God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We start all of our meetings with prayer, inviting Christ to join and guide us, as we endeavor to do God’s will.
Who is our community?
Our community covers many miles, from North Ranch to Congress at the bottom of the Yarnell Hill, to the community of Wilhoit 22 miles to the north. It also includes the small community of Skull Valley to the northwest. North Ranch, which lies 6 miles south of Congress, is a privately owned RV community with 436 homes. Approximately half of our congregation comes from this diverse group of people who still travel in the summer in their RV’s. There are friends and members of our church who live in Congress as well as Wickenburg which lies another 15 miles south of North Ranch.
Traveling north from Congress on Highway 89 at the base of the Yarnell Hill and winding up through the Weaver Mountains, the communities of Glen Ilah and Yarnell sit at the top of the hill. It was here that the church was established in the 1940s. Our church's roots are deep in these mountain towns. Most of our members are over the age of 60.
- GIFTS OF THE CHURCH
Our church has the wonderful gift of music and the gift of love for others. Our love for God and our love for one another are apparent upon entering our church. We are, first and foremost, servants of God, a quality visible to our congregation and to our communities. We invite all nearby communities to participate in our Weaver Mountain Christmas cantata, and we always have considerable participation. We have in-depth Bible studies in different members’ homes. Many community organizations are led by members/friends of our church. We offer workshops for learning, and we travel together to training seminars.
How do we use our gifts?
The only way we can use our gifts is to share them… to live them day by day. We invite people to share in our love of God and each other. We continue with our weekly Bible studies which are open to anyone and everyone.
The Gift of Love for Others: Our love for God and for each other are apparent upon entering our church where all are met with hugs and smiles. The warm, friendly greeting continues into the worship service and then the fellowship time that follows. We are Servants of God, and it is visible to our congregation and to our communities. Signs over our entry doors proclaim: "Servants Entrance." That is exactly how we see ourselves. The church has embraced the Stephen Ministry program. Many of our community organizations are led by members/friends of the church (i.e., leaders and members of the Weaver Mountain Regional Chamber of Commerce, board members and volunteers of the Yarnell Fire Department and the Peeples Valley Fire Department including their auxiliaries, chair and co-chair of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots Memorial Park (funding and building), members of the school board and volunteers for the local Model Creek School, members of Weaver Mountain Economic Development Committee, volunteers at the local community center). Many members and friends regularly volunteer and participate in the annual Yarnell Daze, the Hot Shot 5K Memorial Run, auto show fundraisers and numerous other annual celebrations.
The Gift of Music: Our church is blessed with wonderfully talented musicians who lovingly share their gift of music with both instruments and voices. Choir season normally runs from August through May. During the summer hiatus "special music" is presented by volunteers. One Sunday each month a local professional violinist who does not attend our church plays for our worship service. Our music, drama, mission and worship committees work together throughout the year to present skits, larger dramatic pieces and other special services for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Maundy Thursday, Pentecost Sunday, World Communion Sunday, Advent, Christmas Eve and Sunrise and traditional Easter as well as other services throughout the year. We have an outstanding number of willing and very capable volunteers for all of these special services and presentations.
- MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH
Though our church is small in numbers, it is large in heart for Christ. Our congregation recognizes its call to seek and to do the will of God, and it is our mission to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ relevant to the communities we serve. Ours is a church marked by friendliness and genuine warmth, sharing the rich experiences of life and the belief that the joy of Christ is contagious. It is our Scripture-mandated desire to reach out beyond ourselves so that no one leaves untouched by God’s love. Caring for our congregation and seeking to understand and respond to community needs was best exemplified by our response to the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, when we became the hub for connecting to necessary services like the Red Cross. We support the mission of the larger church, providing for the indigent and those in crisis, promoting community events that bring aid and social interaction, and relating as a partner with our fellow citizens. We strive to worship, learn and participate with one another for the purpose of sharing God’s love, growing and finding our way into God’s plan for our community church, and being vibrant and connected with the world that Jesus loves.
We have seen slow, steady growth over the last ten years, although our membership declined from 90 to 72 since 2017, due to what our Presbytery COM has called a “disconnect between the congregation and our newly called pastor” that ended after one year. However, we also include 10-12 “Snowbirds” who maintain their membership elsewhere but attend during the late fall to early spring months while in Arizona. Area demographics point toward increasing growth that demands change if we are to cultivate the ministry of our church through the development of our educational programs and even greater availability to members and the community at large to reach our full potential.
- FUTURE EXPECTATIONS
Each Sunday we close our worship with the Halverson Benediction:
Wherever you go, God is sending you.
Wherever you are, God has a purpose in your being there
Christ, who indwells you, has something He wants to do through you where you are!
Believe it and go in His grace and power.
We truly believe that God is in charge, leading us and whoever is called will need to be able to live and love in a way that is attractive not only with our congregation, but also with those in the larger community.
- SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Our demographic study concentrated on learning the critical needs of the communities we serve. We did that by meeting with small groups from our congregation (both members and friends) in an attempt to determine who we are, where we want to go as a church and what is important to us as individuals in the church and as a congregation.
We hold meetings with community leaders to gain a better understanding of the community and learn more about residents’ concerns. We ask about perceptions of the church and specific ministry opportunities. The results of these discussions are overlaid against the actual demographic statistics we have compiled from census data and information from various sources including local and county officials, education, health and social service officials, law enforcement, realtors and business owners, as well as information on residential development in our area.
Wickenburg, our nearest city, had a 2017-2018 Census population of 7,840 with a projected annualized growth of 5.25%, a projection typical for the entire area. While the population of Yarnell was approximately700, according to the 2017-2018Census, we serve several nearby communities, increasing the population of our immediate area to about 3,400 (Peeples Valley, Wilhoit, Congress, North Ranch and Wickenburg, all within a 25-mile radius of our mountaintop community). The combined population is 95% white, approximately 63% married and 80% high school graduates (10% have bachelor’s degrees or higher). Area homes are 84% owner-occupied, and the median home value was $162,281 in 2020, 2017 it was $123,100. The per capita income averaged $33,750 in 2017, with 28& of the population in the labor force. Yarnell has the largest proportion of investment and retirement income at 36.0% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has Social Security in the mid-point of other places in the area at 31.1% of the total and is ranked in the middle of the group.
Yarnell, approximately 100 miles northwest of Phoenix, is located equidistant between the two major cities of Wickenburg and Prescott, a distance of about 60 miles. Our church is the only church of reformed faith in the area. The opportunity for continued growth, as well as ecumenical and mission opportunities, is self-evident. Even now, many members of our congregation come from as far south as Sun City and as far north as Wilhoit and Prescott.
The community of Yarnell is served by three churches: Assembly of God, Lighthouse Bible Church and Yarnell Community Presbyterian Church. Other area churches include Desert Hills Baptist Church, First Baptist Church, Good Shepherd of the Desert Catholic Church and Grace Bible Church in Congress; Skull Valley’s Bible Church; and Kirkland’s Mormon church. Of the four Yarnell churches, our church has, by far, the greater membership (70) and average attendance (55 for 2019). Next largest is Lighthouse Bible Church with 45 members and an average attendance of 25. Percept Group’s demographics show our area with a “no faith involvement” of 36%.
- CHURCH FINANCES
The total assessed value of the church/fellowship hall building is $159,000, which equates to a full value/market value of $187,000. This church has never had a mortgage. We have had 7 building programs and all of them have been supported by our church community.
We have an account in the Presbyterian Fund, and of December 2019 the balance was $74,519.92. We have an IBM balance of $1,732.50 as of December 2019.
The current financial status of the membership is good, as evidenced by the survey results that indicate a median annual income of $28,369. The current financial status of the church, however, does not reflect that of the congregation.
During a five-year period, we have had a faith-based budget and so far, it has worked, as our expenses indicate (estimated):
| Year | Budget | Actual |
| 2017 | $173,650 | $130,911 |
| 2018 | $128,665 | 108,100 |
| 2019 | 112,241 | 95,420 |
| 2020 | $ 94,143 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | Budget | Actual |
| Christion Missions | $ 12,288 | $7,365 |
| Salaries & related | $69,360 | $ 57,137 |
| Music & Drama | $ 12,150 | $ 9,046 |
| Worship | $4,365 | $2,808 |
| Administrative Costs | $28,356 | $ 26,060 |
| Contingency Fund Expense | $1,500 | $ 5,684 |
| Total Expense | $128,665 | $ 108,100 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | Budget | Actual |
| Christion Missions | $8,513 | $8,039 |
| Salaries & Related | $43,508 | $43,338 |
| Music & Drama | $ 12,150 | $7,244 |
| Worship | $5,714 | $10,848 |
| Administrative Costs | $28,356 | $21,519 |
| Contingency Fund Expense | $14,000. | $4,432 |
| Total Expense | $112,241 | $95,420 |
Our Projected budget for 2020 is as follows:
| Christian Mission | $6,250 |
| Salaries and Related | $32,800 |
| Worship and Programs | $1,275 |
| Music and Drama Programs | $11,050 |
| Worship | $5,425 |
| Pastor Nominating Committee | $0 |
| Administrative Costs | $29,343 |
| Contingency | $8,000. |
| Total Expense | $94,143 |
- ECUMENICAL EFFORTS IN THE COMMUNITY
Yarnell Presbyterian has been a leader in ecumenical efforts in our community, and more growth will enable us to pursue further opportunities to work with other congregations. Current ecumenical involvement includes:
- Women’s Fellowship Creative Circle meets weekly for fellowship and sewing and crafts
- The only Maundy Thursday and, until recently, Christmas Eve services in the community. Founding member of the Weaver Mountain Christmas Cantata.
- Easter Sunrise Service, inviting local pastors’ participation in the program
- Weekly Bible study open to anyone who wishes to attend.
Other activities where the congregation is active:
Model Creek School Supplies Collection
Yarnell Food Bank
Yarnell and Peeples Valley Fire Departments and Auxiliaries
Community Thanksgiving Dinner
Santa Night for children of the area
Walk for Meals on Wheels
Yarnell Regional Community Center
Lion’s Club Eye Exams
Annual Yarnell Daze and Parade
End of Life Workshop
Fund Raising Concerts
Yavapai County Health Initiative
Yavapai County Polling Place
Petey’s Playground Animal Shelter
AA
Tai Chi
- POTENTIAL GROWTH
We believe in the potential of this church to reach further into our communities. Already approved are 5,100 homes plus commercial developments slated for completion within the next several years. Both in size and number, these developments offer the promise of exciting opportunities for outreach and growth as well as an encouraging field for community evangelism.
Continued growth is evidenced by the several residential developments within our service area:
- Weaver Mountain Estates (nine miles distant) has a potential of 600 homes with 130 already inhabited.
- Wickenburg Ranch (about 20 miles distant) is a mixed-use, 2,160-acre residential project approved for 3100 homes with a population of 4,600 to 5,500 people.
- Ruger Ranch (about six miles north) is another ranch development offering its 550 acres in 36-acre parcels.
