This week wraps up another amazing year of ministry at Believers – it marks 24 years for my family, and the past 17 of those I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside our awesome staff. It has been the best ride! And, like most long journeys, there have been some twists and turns along the way. We have watched God do some incredible things in and through our church family this year!
Last September, we ALL went Back to School through our message series that challenged us with what it looks like to be disciples of Jesus. Then, we continued something that we’ve been doing for many years now, we picked up our fall series on the Pauline Letters; this time, we were in the Book of Philippians. Our message series and BeGroup study, Joy Ride, helped us learn how to experience the joy of walking with Jesus in the middle of all life’s circumstances. When the end of October rolled around, we hosted the BIGGEST Fall Festival we’ve ever had. Plus, through an incredible partnership with Oasis and Rose & Womble Turkey Brigade so many people experienced a Thanksgiving they won’t soon forget!
With all that love being shared there was no room for Scrooge, although he did try to make himself at home on our stage. Believers’ Theater Team put on another outstanding show, Jamz Christmas Carol, for our community to kick-off Christmas in Harbour View. And, throughout the month of December, your generosity hit new levels!! Together, we crushed our annual end-of-year offering goal of $85,000 – instead, we brought in nearly $125,000, and were able to bless Suffolk Public Schools, pack thousands of meals for Rise Against Hunger, and send kids and students to an eternity-changing camp experience!
That’s just the mid-year point…
We kicked off the New Year with a House Party an learned all about Believers’ engagement strategy – our mission to make Jesus #1, one person at a time by reaching out to those in our neighborhood, welcoming them into our foyer (website, social media pages, outreach events), getting to know them in our living room (Discovery Experience, Sunday Gatherings), and sitting with them at our kitchen table (BeGroups, Impact TEAMs).
Next, we spent some time with the G.O.A.T. – the greatest of all time – Jesus (that’s like the biggest Jesus-juke ever, right?)! He redefined greatness as the one how serves the most – and we learned about Gratitude in Service, Others First, Action in Service, and Teamwork.
Leading up to Easter we focused on how to Pray. Whew, that was an incredible series, and we experienced God moving throughout our church family in a powerful way during that season. Do you remember? Many of you participated in our 24-hour prayer event that ushered in our Good Friday service where we reflected on the sacrifice of our Savior and King. Then, the celebration of Sunday did not disappoint! Wow – the beginning of Made for This was the PERFECT Easter message. If you missed it, stop reading, and go watch now…seriously, it’s that good! I can hardly wait for this coming Easter season! And that series, well…I think it’s one of my favorites!
From there, you helped us create our Family Issues series where we tackled so many topics that all of us face on a daily basis in our own families. Then we learned about how God’s holiness is dangerous, unmatched, and life-changing. Finally, we’ve spent the summer learning all about Extraordinary Nobodies and how God chooses to use the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary!
That’s not all that’s happened…
NextGen revamped their ministry model to more effectively come alongside families, and it’s working! We are getting ready to launch ANOTHER service time for Middle School Experience and the High School BeGroups and Rally Nights are a huge success!
80% of our adult attendees are engaged in BeGroups. That’s incredible! Marriages are being transformed through re|engage; people are finding support and comfort through GriefShare; and many, many more are growing in their walk with Jesus through the countless other groups that are offered throughout the year. Our BeGroups Leaders are committed to making sure every person at Believers has a true sense of belonging within our church family!
I saved the best news for last…are you ready?
74 people have trusted Jesus this year! Yessss!!!
This past Sunday was our largest adult attendance since May! Church, the Lord has BIG plans for us in the upcoming year – and our staff is believing God is going to grow our church by 1000 people in 1000 days. And those numbers are so important because every number has a NAME, and every name has a story, and every story matters to God. Every one of the 74 people that trusted Jesus this year have a story…a NEW story, and eternity-changed story!!
I am so glad you’re a part of Believers. I’m SO EXCITED you’re going to be a part of what God is up to around here! Aren’t you?! Let’s pray BOLDLY that He will help us reach our community with the irresistible message Jesus this fall – and let’s invite everyone we possibly can to come sit with us on Sundays. We got this!
~Heather
Don’t forget, ONE SERVICE at 10A this Sunday!