Heritage News
Q4 2024: October - December
BREATHE
Respite
Our recent Respite event served 112 special needs families with the help of 90 volunteers, and they had a blast! We had a great time with games, hay rides, and even a space where parents could come and have a relaxing experience.
Night to Shine
Preparations are underway for Night to Shine, which is just four weeks away. This Christ-centered prom celebrates individuals with special needs and promises to be the highlight of the year. We can't wait to see individuals with special needs come to be loved and celebrated, and we're gearing up efforts to get more volunteers involved.
Future Dreams
We’re envisioning expanded spaces and playground improvements to better serve our Breathe families.
Our recent Respite event served 112 special needs families with the help of 90 volunteers, and they had a blast! We had a great time with games, hay rides, and even a space where parents could come and have a relaxing experience.
Night to Shine
Preparations are underway for Night to Shine, which is just four weeks away. This Christ-centered prom celebrates individuals with special needs and promises to be the highlight of the year. We can't wait to see individuals with special needs come to be loved and celebrated, and we're gearing up efforts to get more volunteers involved.
Future Dreams
We’re envisioning expanded spaces and playground improvements to better serve our Breathe families.
COMMUNICATIONS
Promotions & Videos
The Communications Team successfully completed several projects this quarter. A heartfelt tribute video was produced to honor Brad Bowen's time as lead pastor. It was a celebration of his legacy, including Finishing Well, leaving the 99 to seek the one, and even a few silly moments such as Pastors Of Love.
Each quarter we compile and publish the church’s reports (such as the one you're reading now). This takes a bit of time to organize and produce, but we think it communicates what's going on at Heritage Church in a unique way.
When it comes to announcements for events, we produced a number of weekly announcement videos, promotional slides, and social media posts for:
A few other projects of note are that we designed and distributed a Christmas card to the church from the Leadership Team this year, created a Remembrance video featuring the Mock family, and produced a feature video highlighting the Cardwell family. We also produced signage for the atrium, and are continuing this effort into the new year.
Proactive Communication
Looking ahead, we aim to adopt a proactive communication approach. This strategy will focus on consistently casting the vision for events beforehand to inspire participation and celebrating their impact afterward by sharing stories and highlights. Let's cast the vision, and then celebrate it afterwards!
The Communications Team successfully completed several projects this quarter. A heartfelt tribute video was produced to honor Brad Bowen's time as lead pastor. It was a celebration of his legacy, including Finishing Well, leaving the 99 to seek the one, and even a few silly moments such as Pastors Of Love.
Each quarter we compile and publish the church’s reports (such as the one you're reading now). This takes a bit of time to organize and produce, but we think it communicates what's going on at Heritage Church in a unique way.
When it comes to announcements for events, we produced a number of weekly announcement videos, promotional slides, and social media posts for:
- Breathe Fall Respite
- The Freedom Event
- Surviving the Holidays
- Remembrance Sunday
- Kids Christmas Musical
A few other projects of note are that we designed and distributed a Christmas card to the church from the Leadership Team this year, created a Remembrance video featuring the Mock family, and produced a feature video highlighting the Cardwell family. We also produced signage for the atrium, and are continuing this effort into the new year.
Proactive Communication
Looking ahead, we aim to adopt a proactive communication approach. This strategy will focus on consistently casting the vision for events beforehand to inspire participation and celebrating their impact afterward by sharing stories and highlights. Let's cast the vision, and then celebrate it afterwards!
FINANCES
🟢 - CHECKING ACCT. BALANCE
Goal: $100,000
Q4: $163,938
Q4: $163,938
🟢 - SURPLUS / DEFICIT
Ultimate Goal: Surplus
(Giving total vs. budgeted need)
Q4: Surplus $95,894
(Giving total vs. budgeted need)
Q4: Surplus $95,894
- Q1 - Q4 Total Giving Received : $2,217,262
- Q1 - Q4 Total Budgeted Spending $1,934,274
- Capital Expenditures: LED/ SH Renovations / S2 / Playground Equipment / Atrium Renovations $251,936
🟡 - SAVINGS ACCOUNT BALANCE
Goal: $1,090,862
(50% of operating budget)
Q4: Savings: $1,089,406
(50% of operating budget)
Q4: Savings: $1,089,406
🟢 - MISSIONS FUNDS RAISED
Q4 Goal: $130,938
Q4: $161,755
Q4: $161,755
- Heritage Church 12% Contribution: $63,505
- Storehouse: $75,625
- General Contributions:$22,625
🟢 - DEBT BALANCE
Goal: $0
Q4: $0
Q4: $0
🔴 - LEGACY FUNDS BALANCE
Goal: $2,000,000
(Campus ,ministry, and missions expansion)
Q3: Campus: $1,210,993.69
Q3: Missions Legacy: $54,291
(Campus ,ministry, and missions expansion)
Q3: Campus: $1,210,993.69
Q3: Missions Legacy: $54,291
MISSIONS
The Storehouse
The Storehouse reported $75,371 in 4th quarter sales, which was $5,000 less than 2023, but 2024 total sales of $257,177 surpassed 2023's total of $247,745.
The Storehouse Relief team served 52 individuals/households, providing clothing for students, furniture for CrossRoads graduates, aid for fire victims, and essentials for the homeless and families during Christmas. Other ongoing Storehouse initiatives include Johnny Ray’s Honduras water filter project, Eddie Seagle’s Jacksonville prayer blanket project, Carol Poole’s Backpack’s for homeless and many others.
Over the holidays, a local realtor introduced a couple from Washington state, Michael and Robin, who donated the contents of two fully furnished homes and a barn after a weeks-long collaborative project. They were deeply impacted by the community's love, attending the Storehouse Christmas banquet and remarking on how they saw the light shining through the Storehouse community. Serving Michael and Robin was a wonderful opportunity to welcome outsiders to our community and to share the love of Christ in word and deed.
We had 96 in attendance at our Storehouse Christmas banquet. This was a special time of celebrating all that we’ve been able to accomplish together as well honoring 10 new volunteers who joined the Storehouse Family this year. Spouses and friends who attend this banquet are consistently amazed to hear the scope of all that is accomplished at The Storehouse and to experience firsthand the sense of community that exists among this serving family.
New developments and projects include a pastoral care team led by Pat Gordon, restructuring the clothing department (now over 25 members), and plans for adding a bathroom and sink for improved facilities.
Mission Partners
Heritage Missions completed a five-year partnership with Eric Foster Whiddon, who received his doctorate and now teaches at Tabor College in Kansas. He and his family practiced hospitality evangelism and discipleship in England and Scotland during this time, and it’s been an honor to partner with them as Eric has taken this journey to impact so many lives as a professor.
We added two powerful national partnerships this year- Ben Nieman’s weekly worship services at Ft. Benning in Albany, GA and Pat Garlick’s Pride Packages. Every 8 weeks, a new rotation of soldiers comes to Albany for Basic. They are stripped of all technology as they go through Basic Training. Hundreds of these soldiers are attending Ben’s worship services weekly, trusting in Christ, and being connected with discipleship materials through a partnership with CRU. Pat Garlick’s Pride Packages is also a ministry to our service men and women. Through volunteers and donations, she sends hundreds of care packages throughout the year to service men and women deployed all over the world. It’s so exciting to be able to sow into both of these ministries.
Upcoming Global Trips
We have several global trips in active planning and prep for 2025. Seth Berl’s Medical Mission is March 1-8th. He’s currently hosting medicine packing sessions twice weekly. Next Gen is taking over 20 students and parents on a Family Honduras SoloHope Mission March 29-April 5. Eddie Seagle is planning his annual mission to New Life Children’s Home in Peru June 6-15.
With a growing interest in global missions among our people, we may be adding some more opportunities for 2025. We believe that participating in global missions is integral to developing a world Christian perspective and going through the planning and prep is an excellent discipleship tool.
2025 Goals
In 2025, a primary goal in missions is developing a clear and comprehensive pathway for our people to become more involved serving with our mission partners throughout the year. We also want to find the best way to consistently keep our people informed of all that is going on with all of our local, national, and global initiatives. The challenge is that there is so much going on and it’s constantly changing. However, our people always seem to be so encouraged whenever they hear a report of anything happening whether it’s through Hope House or in Honduras or Peru. Keeping people informed is challenging but fruitful and I’m deeply stirred to find a better way to consistently and clearly communicate our missions involvement and opportunities and to celebrate all the wins!
The Storehouse reported $75,371 in 4th quarter sales, which was $5,000 less than 2023, but 2024 total sales of $257,177 surpassed 2023's total of $247,745.
The Storehouse Relief team served 52 individuals/households, providing clothing for students, furniture for CrossRoads graduates, aid for fire victims, and essentials for the homeless and families during Christmas. Other ongoing Storehouse initiatives include Johnny Ray’s Honduras water filter project, Eddie Seagle’s Jacksonville prayer blanket project, Carol Poole’s Backpack’s for homeless and many others.
Over the holidays, a local realtor introduced a couple from Washington state, Michael and Robin, who donated the contents of two fully furnished homes and a barn after a weeks-long collaborative project. They were deeply impacted by the community's love, attending the Storehouse Christmas banquet and remarking on how they saw the light shining through the Storehouse community. Serving Michael and Robin was a wonderful opportunity to welcome outsiders to our community and to share the love of Christ in word and deed.
We had 96 in attendance at our Storehouse Christmas banquet. This was a special time of celebrating all that we’ve been able to accomplish together as well honoring 10 new volunteers who joined the Storehouse Family this year. Spouses and friends who attend this banquet are consistently amazed to hear the scope of all that is accomplished at The Storehouse and to experience firsthand the sense of community that exists among this serving family.
New developments and projects include a pastoral care team led by Pat Gordon, restructuring the clothing department (now over 25 members), and plans for adding a bathroom and sink for improved facilities.
Mission Partners
Heritage Missions completed a five-year partnership with Eric Foster Whiddon, who received his doctorate and now teaches at Tabor College in Kansas. He and his family practiced hospitality evangelism and discipleship in England and Scotland during this time, and it’s been an honor to partner with them as Eric has taken this journey to impact so many lives as a professor.
We added two powerful national partnerships this year- Ben Nieman’s weekly worship services at Ft. Benning in Albany, GA and Pat Garlick’s Pride Packages. Every 8 weeks, a new rotation of soldiers comes to Albany for Basic. They are stripped of all technology as they go through Basic Training. Hundreds of these soldiers are attending Ben’s worship services weekly, trusting in Christ, and being connected with discipleship materials through a partnership with CRU. Pat Garlick’s Pride Packages is also a ministry to our service men and women. Through volunteers and donations, she sends hundreds of care packages throughout the year to service men and women deployed all over the world. It’s so exciting to be able to sow into both of these ministries.
Upcoming Global Trips
We have several global trips in active planning and prep for 2025. Seth Berl’s Medical Mission is March 1-8th. He’s currently hosting medicine packing sessions twice weekly. Next Gen is taking over 20 students and parents on a Family Honduras SoloHope Mission March 29-April 5. Eddie Seagle is planning his annual mission to New Life Children’s Home in Peru June 6-15.
With a growing interest in global missions among our people, we may be adding some more opportunities for 2025. We believe that participating in global missions is integral to developing a world Christian perspective and going through the planning and prep is an excellent discipleship tool.
2025 Goals
In 2025, a primary goal in missions is developing a clear and comprehensive pathway for our people to become more involved serving with our mission partners throughout the year. We also want to find the best way to consistently keep our people informed of all that is going on with all of our local, national, and global initiatives. The challenge is that there is so much going on and it’s constantly changing. However, our people always seem to be so encouraged whenever they hear a report of anything happening whether it’s through Hope House or in Honduras or Peru. Keeping people informed is challenging but fruitful and I’m deeply stirred to find a better way to consistently and clearly communicate our missions involvement and opportunities and to celebrate all the wins!
NEXT GEN
During the 4th quarter, Heritage Kids averaged 163 attending preschool and elementary ministry, with Heritage Students averaging 101 students at our middle school (56) and high school (45) weekly worship/small group gatherings. In God’s kindness, we had 19 kids and students publicly identify with Christ in baptism in 2024.
Elementary
In the fourth quarter, Kids Ministry participated in a meaningful International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. We also had several missionaries visit and speak to our students, including our friends that we supported in Change for a Change in 2023. Each time our kids were able to get vision for global missions and pray for the visiting missionary. Additionally, Leah Gaines turned our Sunday night small group childcare into Kids Club with a meaningful kids Christmas musical.
Student Ministry
Student Ministry spent most of the semester studying Jesus from the Gospels and learning how to walk in grace and truth. In October, we hosted our annual 10th Grade Freedom Milemarker where we challenge students to make the most of their high school years and encourage parents to look for opportunities to bless and encourage their students in who God is forming them to be. The following week we hosted a powerful night of Freedom for our high school students that included teachings on repentance, forgiveness and renouncing lies and gave each student an opportunity to be ministered to personally after each section. There were powerful testimonies of forgiveness and repentance from many students. We have 14 students actively involved in one on one discipling/mentoring relationships.
Updates
As of January 1st, we are thankful to say that Amy Bloodworth has joined the staff of Heritage Church as our new kids pastor.
We are about to kick off the year with a Fam Jam and parent equipping for young families to get unstuck and gain vision for the things that matter as they start the year.
Elementary
In the fourth quarter, Kids Ministry participated in a meaningful International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. We also had several missionaries visit and speak to our students, including our friends that we supported in Change for a Change in 2023. Each time our kids were able to get vision for global missions and pray for the visiting missionary. Additionally, Leah Gaines turned our Sunday night small group childcare into Kids Club with a meaningful kids Christmas musical.
Student Ministry
Student Ministry spent most of the semester studying Jesus from the Gospels and learning how to walk in grace and truth. In October, we hosted our annual 10th Grade Freedom Milemarker where we challenge students to make the most of their high school years and encourage parents to look for opportunities to bless and encourage their students in who God is forming them to be. The following week we hosted a powerful night of Freedom for our high school students that included teachings on repentance, forgiveness and renouncing lies and gave each student an opportunity to be ministered to personally after each section. There were powerful testimonies of forgiveness and repentance from many students. We have 14 students actively involved in one on one discipling/mentoring relationships.
Updates
As of January 1st, we are thankful to say that Amy Bloodworth has joined the staff of Heritage Church as our new kids pastor.
We are about to kick off the year with a Fam Jam and parent equipping for young families to get unstuck and gain vision for the things that matter as they start the year.
PRAYER & PASTORAL CARE
God Is Moving Among Us!
Our prayer ministry had some exciting opportunities to pray this quarter and they loved it! Pray-ers love to pray! Over 300 people attended our Christmas Eve Communion, which deeply blessed both families and the prayer teams. We were particularly moved by a Christmas morning post by Frank Pierce on Facebook. Upon giving up hours of Christmas Eve to prepare and serve hot chocolate and wassail in the atrium with his family, here's how he framed it: “I’m feel so blessed to be given the chance to serve our church family. And to have my whole family serving with me made it the best Christmas ever.” Wow! Pray-ers love to pray. Servers love to serve and count it not as a cost, but as a blessing!
Another great serving opportunity for our prayer people was our Freedom Retreat in November. We had about 37 participants who were supported by a 13-member prayer team and a 10-member intercessor team. The prayer team ministered individually at six sessions, while intercessors prayed throughout the event. Though events like this can be physically exhausting, pray-ers love to pray! A few comments from the event were, “There was an anointing over the whole weekend” and “To see the hand of God moving was awesome.”
John and Mary Kaye continue to do a wonderful job leading our Sunday morning prayer teams with care, resulting in 48 prayer members ministering to 105 participants. Four new team members joined the team, while one moved on to another church. We’re talking about how moving forward we can keep awareness of the prayer room opportunity before our people. Our pray-ers want to pray!
We’ve also heard quite a few grateful comments that the altars have been moved back into the worship center.
Ongoing Initiatives
The Prayer for the Nation group meets weekly in the prayer chapel.
Sandee and Jerry Williams lead a new Sunday morning group praying for worship gatherings.
The Wednesday night prayer gathering at the chapel this semester was led by different worship/prayer combinations each week. This seemed to stir the desire in many who participated. I led this initiative during Q-4 and was hoping others may take the baton and continue moving forward. It looks as if the January Fire nights are going to birth some sort of monthly worship and prayer gathering, potentially in different communities. The first Fire Night was super successful with over 200 participants. Many participants commented that they would love to have a regular monthly Sunday night prayer gathering.
We have so many people who love to pray! To nurture growth, several small groups focused on prayer development were offered last year. We continue seeking effective ways to engage our community’s passion for prayer.
Pastoral Care
During this 4th quarter,, 77 pastoral care team members supported 41 individuals through sickness, crisis, and other difficulties. Additionally, 47 volunteers provided meals for grieving individuals and families, serving a total of 282 people.
The above numbers only represent ministry facilitated by pastoral care. Much of the ministry happens organically within small groups and Team Life teams, as members care for one another during challenging times.
Lisa Demott’s GriefShare group hosted the annual Surviving the Holidays event right before the holidays for families who’ve experienced loss. She had 33 participants and said it was their best one yet. One man who didn’t know anyone showed up. He never spoke to anyone until the end of the event when he shared that he had felt so alone until coming that night, but he discovered he wasn’t alone.
Our prayer ministry had some exciting opportunities to pray this quarter and they loved it! Pray-ers love to pray! Over 300 people attended our Christmas Eve Communion, which deeply blessed both families and the prayer teams. We were particularly moved by a Christmas morning post by Frank Pierce on Facebook. Upon giving up hours of Christmas Eve to prepare and serve hot chocolate and wassail in the atrium with his family, here's how he framed it: “I’m feel so blessed to be given the chance to serve our church family. And to have my whole family serving with me made it the best Christmas ever.” Wow! Pray-ers love to pray. Servers love to serve and count it not as a cost, but as a blessing!
Another great serving opportunity for our prayer people was our Freedom Retreat in November. We had about 37 participants who were supported by a 13-member prayer team and a 10-member intercessor team. The prayer team ministered individually at six sessions, while intercessors prayed throughout the event. Though events like this can be physically exhausting, pray-ers love to pray! A few comments from the event were, “There was an anointing over the whole weekend” and “To see the hand of God moving was awesome.”
John and Mary Kaye continue to do a wonderful job leading our Sunday morning prayer teams with care, resulting in 48 prayer members ministering to 105 participants. Four new team members joined the team, while one moved on to another church. We’re talking about how moving forward we can keep awareness of the prayer room opportunity before our people. Our pray-ers want to pray!
We’ve also heard quite a few grateful comments that the altars have been moved back into the worship center.
Ongoing Initiatives
The Prayer for the Nation group meets weekly in the prayer chapel.
Sandee and Jerry Williams lead a new Sunday morning group praying for worship gatherings.
The Wednesday night prayer gathering at the chapel this semester was led by different worship/prayer combinations each week. This seemed to stir the desire in many who participated. I led this initiative during Q-4 and was hoping others may take the baton and continue moving forward. It looks as if the January Fire nights are going to birth some sort of monthly worship and prayer gathering, potentially in different communities. The first Fire Night was super successful with over 200 participants. Many participants commented that they would love to have a regular monthly Sunday night prayer gathering.
We have so many people who love to pray! To nurture growth, several small groups focused on prayer development were offered last year. We continue seeking effective ways to engage our community’s passion for prayer.
Pastoral Care
During this 4th quarter,, 77 pastoral care team members supported 41 individuals through sickness, crisis, and other difficulties. Additionally, 47 volunteers provided meals for grieving individuals and families, serving a total of 282 people.
The above numbers only represent ministry facilitated by pastoral care. Much of the ministry happens organically within small groups and Team Life teams, as members care for one another during challenging times.
Lisa Demott’s GriefShare group hosted the annual Surviving the Holidays event right before the holidays for families who’ve experienced loss. She had 33 participants and said it was their best one yet. One man who didn’t know anyone showed up. He never spoke to anyone until the end of the event when he shared that he had felt so alone until coming that night, but he discovered he wasn’t alone.
SMALL GROUPS
We are really thankful for a wonderful Fall semester of small groups. We had 58 groups and 945 people consistently participating in groups this semester.
Freedom Groups
We had three strong Freedom groups meeting this semester and we finished at the end of November with a powerful Freedom Event. 37 men and women participated and 46 incredible leaders shared, prayed, and contended for the freedom of their brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are so thankful for the amazing teams who served and ministered together during the weekend. May it continue!
Getting To The Basics
We offered two groups this semester for new believers in the basics of our faith. Georgia Barber had a great group on Growing in Christ and Rod and Lasonda Davis offered a foundational group entitled Life With Jesus. We hope to offer these groups moving forward as we continue to see people come to Christ and join our community!
Mid-Sized Groups
We also had several mid-sized groups providing a place of community and deeper spiritual growth for a large number of people. Our largest group is the 4th Quarter Bible Study with 70 participants and an average attendance of 38. The Storehouse Family has 87 people consistently engaged serving and being cared for in community. Chrissie Forehand led 55 ladies through the book of James. Our 2nd Quarter Community Group had around 45 men and women who ate together, talked about life and faith, and dug in to The Sermon on the Mount.
Bible Study & Engagement
We celebrate the huge number of small groups this semester who dug in to Daniel, John, Galatians, Ephesians, Hebrews, James, Revelation and others.
We’re very grateful for the huge number of mature spiritual leaders we have and the consistent engagement by so many people in small groups this semester. We hope to build upon this momentum as we look to our January launch!
Freedom Groups
We had three strong Freedom groups meeting this semester and we finished at the end of November with a powerful Freedom Event. 37 men and women participated and 46 incredible leaders shared, prayed, and contended for the freedom of their brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are so thankful for the amazing teams who served and ministered together during the weekend. May it continue!
Getting To The Basics
We offered two groups this semester for new believers in the basics of our faith. Georgia Barber had a great group on Growing in Christ and Rod and Lasonda Davis offered a foundational group entitled Life With Jesus. We hope to offer these groups moving forward as we continue to see people come to Christ and join our community!
Mid-Sized Groups
We also had several mid-sized groups providing a place of community and deeper spiritual growth for a large number of people. Our largest group is the 4th Quarter Bible Study with 70 participants and an average attendance of 38. The Storehouse Family has 87 people consistently engaged serving and being cared for in community. Chrissie Forehand led 55 ladies through the book of James. Our 2nd Quarter Community Group had around 45 men and women who ate together, talked about life and faith, and dug in to The Sermon on the Mount.
Bible Study & Engagement
We celebrate the huge number of small groups this semester who dug in to Daniel, John, Galatians, Ephesians, Hebrews, James, Revelation and others.
We’re very grateful for the huge number of mature spiritual leaders we have and the consistent engagement by so many people in small groups this semester. We hope to build upon this momentum as we look to our January launch!
SPECIAL EVENTS
One Night For Her
One Night this year was incredible, with a record-breaking 950 plus people in the building with over 100 churches represented! It was a huge undertaking with over 150 volunteers.
What makes One Night so unique is that it started out as a type of small group but has grown so much that it's become a missional outreach ministry that brings in so many people from our region.
One Night this year was incredible, with a record-breaking 950 plus people in the building with over 100 churches represented! It was a huge undertaking with over 150 volunteers.
What makes One Night so unique is that it started out as a type of small group but has grown so much that it's become a missional outreach ministry that brings in so many people from our region.
SUNDAY AM
Lighting Upgrade
By the end of August, we successfully completed the installation of state-of-the-art LED lighting throughout the worship center. The new lighting system provides a much brighter atmosphere yet is flexible with brightness levels, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for worship services, while also creating a more evenly lit space.
The LED lights are energy-efficient, offering long-term savings benefits, aligning with our commitment to stewardship.
Worship & Tech Teams
Our worship and technical teams are an incredible group of 40 dedicated individuals, united in their passion to create meaningful, Spirit-filled worship experiences while using their gifts to lead others into God’s presence.
By the end of August, we successfully completed the installation of state-of-the-art LED lighting throughout the worship center. The new lighting system provides a much brighter atmosphere yet is flexible with brightness levels, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for worship services, while also creating a more evenly lit space.
The LED lights are energy-efficient, offering long-term savings benefits, aligning with our commitment to stewardship.
Worship & Tech Teams
Our worship and technical teams are an incredible group of 40 dedicated individuals, united in their passion to create meaningful, Spirit-filled worship experiences while using their gifts to lead others into God’s presence.
SUNDAY SUPPORT &
DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY
Gathering Together & The Holidays
In November, Sunday Support leaders celebrated the 3rd Annual Friendsgiving with their families, fostering fellowship and connection. The team also served at the Freedom Retreat. December brought Christmas Gatherings, where several members were honored with "Thumbs-Up Awards" for exceptional service, creating heartfelt moments.
The Christmas in the Atrium Team decorated the refreshed Atrium, creating a memorable space for families. Seeing their holiday photos on social media was a bonus!
The Family Tree initiative was a huge success. Lisa, DeNeal, and the team assisted families with needs, even rallying to provide a new stove for a team member in need—just in time for Christmas. We really do love each other well!
Discover Class and Team Life Update
Our Discover class and Team Life orientation were on hold this Fall. Brad shared the Discover material churchwide as we expanded the material. Starting in February, he will lead a Discover Small Group for those wanting to join the church and take next steps. He’ll also package the material for future use. When Brad begins his sabbatical, Stephen will take the material and work with Discover to help shape the process moving forward.
We are eager to give opportunities for our people to get involved in ministry so we are offering a two-step Team Life process to help people get connected this January:
These steps can facilitate more immediate involvement for those who are ready. The Discover Small Group will kick off in February and we’ll roll out the rest of the process from there.
In November, Sunday Support leaders celebrated the 3rd Annual Friendsgiving with their families, fostering fellowship and connection. The team also served at the Freedom Retreat. December brought Christmas Gatherings, where several members were honored with "Thumbs-Up Awards" for exceptional service, creating heartfelt moments.
The Christmas in the Atrium Team decorated the refreshed Atrium, creating a memorable space for families. Seeing their holiday photos on social media was a bonus!
The Family Tree initiative was a huge success. Lisa, DeNeal, and the team assisted families with needs, even rallying to provide a new stove for a team member in need—just in time for Christmas. We really do love each other well!
Discover Class and Team Life Update
Our Discover class and Team Life orientation were on hold this Fall. Brad shared the Discover material churchwide as we expanded the material. Starting in February, he will lead a Discover Small Group for those wanting to join the church and take next steps. He’ll also package the material for future use. When Brad begins his sabbatical, Stephen will take the material and work with Discover to help shape the process moving forward.
We are eager to give opportunities for our people to get involved in ministry so we are offering a two-step Team Life process to help people get connected this January:
- Ministry Fair – This Sunday, January 12: Tables in the atrium for all our Team Life serving opportunities.
- Orientation – Sunday, January 26: Stephen and Jason will host a Team Life orientation after each service, covering details, the honor code, and vision for serving. Attendees will then connect with a Team Life leader for specific training.
These steps can facilitate more immediate involvement for those who are ready. The Discover Small Group will kick off in February and we’ll roll out the rest of the process from there.