A Word FROM Michael
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
Just to be clear, I didn’t write that sentence. It’s actually a 2000-year-old sentence written by Jesus’ brother, James, and you can find it in James 1:2 in the Bible.
It would be an understatement to say that we had troubles in 2020. There’s no need to list them out because I think we’re all acutely aware of them. As you look back on 2020, do you see the troubles or do you see joy? It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Troubles being an opportunity for great joy? Really, James? How?
According to James, troubles of any kind - big, small and everything in-between - are an opportunity for great joy because they remind us of the unshakeable truth that Jesus is King, and of His commitment to advancing His perfect Kingdom in our midst.
GENESIS, 2020 was not easy, but it WAS an opportunity for great joy. Jesus worked in many lives to reconcile, redeem, and restore relationship with God. We were all reminded that what we need more than anything or anyone else is Jesus – plain and simple. We need His unfailing love, His unconditional grace, and His unmatched power in our lives. He lavished all of that on us…and more! Despite the troubles, 2020 gave us all fresh stories of Jesus’ unwavering and uncompromising commitment to building His church and growing His Kingdom!
As you read this annual report, which includes the narrative of God’s work in and through transformed lives, please look for the great joy that marked every opportunity we had to help ALL people walk with God in 2020!
OUR Mission: Helping All People Walk With God
OUR VISION: That we would have fresh stories of all God is doing in and through our lives
NEW LIFE353 baptisms in 2018
My name is Kevin Murphy. I have been an active member of GENESIS Church since June 2021. A year ago at this time I was a completely different person. On the surface I might have appeared that I had it all together, but inwardly is a whole different story. To put it simply, I was lost, devoid of hope and even the will to live. I had felt empty my entire adult life and was always searching for a way to fill that void of loneliness and emptiness. A life fueled by alcohol became my coping mechanism. Getting sober and trying to turn my life around has not been an easy task. I didn’t grow up in a religious home and I rarely went to church, but I always had a feeling that God was real. I remember the first time I ever read the Bible. I was in Basic Training and found it comforting during a very stressful time. I continued to look for comfort in my Bible whenever life seemed too much to bear over the next several years of my life. A year ago, I started reading my Bible more frequently as well as books such as “A Purpose Driven Life” and “Wild at Heart.” I believed in God, but these books were telling me that I had to believe in and follow Jesus too. To be honest, I always got hung up on this, because I just didn’t know how. This past May when I started treatment for my alcoholism and depression, I finally surrendered my life to God. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing, or honestly, if I really believed that giving my life to Jesus would change anything, but I knew I had to surrender. One night, I laid in bed and confessed "Jesus I believe in you! I believe you are the Son of God that came to earth and was crucified for me and rose on the third day and now sits at the right hand of the Father.” As soon as I said that, I felt frozen in place as I felt God’s grace wash over me and the Holy Spirit comfort me. For the first time, I felt the presence of God and I could hear him say, "Kevin, I’m here for you. I’ve always been here for you and I always will be here for you.” Shortly after I gave my life to Jesus I knew I needed to be in a community where I could grow in my walk with God. I reached out to a friend from high school who I remembered as having strong faith. When I told him what had happened, he recommended that I look for a non-denominational church and gave me a list of options. I don’t know what made me pick GENESIS off the list, but I do know that I love it here. I feel loved and accepted by this family. I am learning so much about God and how to follow Jesus. I decided in September to publicly confess my faith and was baptized at GENESIS. Serving on the parking lot team has helped me get to know people and given me a sense of belonging and what it means to serve others. I now attend GROUP on Wednesday night and this continues to strengthen my faith. I still have a lot to learn about what it means to walk with God, but for the first time in my life I know I’m going in the right direction, following Jesus.
273 adults committed to living out Hope Church's mission
This includes brand new members and newly committed members alike!
74 baby dedications
27 foster or adoptive children & teens
Which is 20 licensed foster families serving 27 kids.
182 couples completed re|engage
And 55 couples went through pre-marital coaching.
Food Pantry
We put food on the tables of 2,240 families, serving 5,749 individuals total
Benevolence
$46,005 was spread over 292 families, meeting various needs
Garage
145 families were served, with a total of $39,900 in help
Boots on the Ground
217 families were helped by 15 partner churches and 36 partner agencies
We put on 17 events!
Local Outreach
30,500 fliers were handed out around the neighborhood for local events
Night to Shine
302 Serve Team members helped 57 students with special needs have a night to remember!
A CHRISTMAS OPPORTUNITY
This Christmas, GENESIS is partnering with DCF (Department of Children and Families) in order to bless and serve the many families that DCF is working with. The majority of families with whom DCF is involved are living in poverty and cannot...
Missions
1 in 13 church people went on a short-term trip in 2018
This is a free form section where you can plug anything unique to your church! If you want to push users to a Mission Trip, link out to our snazzy Missions Layout (below). Or maybe you want to add a contact form here, so you can hear from members about which part of this annual report surprised them. You could simply add a thank you message, for everyone who served, and contributed to, your church's work in the last year.
Attendance4,979 average weekly attendance
Which is a 3.5% increase from 2018 - and a 24.26% increase in the last 6 years! We have been intentionally engaging neighborhoods through our Small Group outreach nights, and we've loved seeing the response. Attendance isn't everything, but we think it's a helpful tool to see how our engagement is growing!
320
average weekly online campus users/devices
874
kids (birth - 5th grade) ministered to weekly
305
students (birth - 12th grade) ministered to during Wednesday evening activities
236
enrolled in Kids' Club After School Ministry
784
enrolled in Kids’ Club Summer Program