2015 annual report - christ's church of joplin · women’s ministry our ministry to women at...

2015 Annual Report

Christ’s Church of Joplin 5200 E 32nd Street Joplin, MO 64804(417) 623-6268 http://christs-church.com

It is serious fun to read these reports of God’s astounding kindness to us! There is nothing in the world sweeter than the people of God unified in worshipful obedience, enjoying his favor, seeing grace bear its beautiful fruit. On behalf of the elders and our small group and ministry team leaders, I want to thank you for joining your hearts and hands with us. We’re living in the good of Christ’s finished work! The blessings overflowed last year. And as our confidence in the faithful generosity of God grows, so does our hopeful excitement about the year ahead. The bold and bountiful Champion is on the move! Let’s run after him and see what happens.

Christ’s Church enjoyed a wonderful year. We’ve seen growing numbers of folks come through membership. We continue to have a consistent flow of guests in our Sunday morning meetings. Story groups are full of people and full of life. We are, together, helping people love and obey Jesus.

This growth has presented some unique challenges. We need more story groups to host the growing number of folks who want to be part of a group. We’ve expanded the number of children’s classes we offer at both our 9 and 11 AM Sunday meetings. And as our meeting room fills up on Sundays, we want to be ever welcoming to newcomers and those looking in. We never want guests to feel like there isn’t room for them.

We expressed the love of God by serving Jesus and one another this year. The church was built up and strengthened. And we want to say, as Isaiah did, “of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.” Lord Jesus, build your church! And build us in as living stones, as parts of your body, with Christ as the head.

This year we have compiled summaries and stories of different aspects of who we are together. We hope you find the following reports encouraging. But better than encouraging, we want them to build faith. Faith in a God who will never let us go. As we reflect on 2015 and consider the future, come what may, let your heart be strengthened for the part God has for you to play in his grand plan.

WELCOME

!

"

#

This category includes building maintenance, office supplies, insurance, utilities, and general overhead.

Facilities/Building

These funds are invested in bringing people to maturity in Christ. The category includes leadership development and training, conferences and retreats, and special events. It also includes financial help to church families in crisis.

Pastoral Care

This represents wages, salaries, and benefits for pastors and support staff.

Staffing

EXPENSES

This figure represents money invested in the global progress of the Gospel. These dollars include our support of the Newfrontiers-USA apostolic team, church planting, global mission, and the strengthening of churches across the United States and around the world.

Outreach

$98,198.44

$73,885.20

$201,907.76

$70,072.21

This number includes weekly contributions of tithes and offerings. And, this year showed a 7.5% increase over 2014.

General Giving

This number includes special offerings like our Giving Together and specific mission efforts.

Designated Giving

This number was unusually high in 2015. This was due to a significant building insurance claim and reimbursements we received for expenses incurred in hosting Newday Camp.

Other Income

GIVING

$399,437.33

$46,423.00

$81.310.90

$527,171.23

$444,063.61

WORSHIP

“There have been about

serving our churchin worship in the last year”

The biggest change we saw in worship at Christ’s Church this year was the Nevins family leaving for their new church home in Colorado. Justin had been serving faithfully at Christ’s Church for many years and has been, in large part, responsible for shaping the wonderful, dynamic expression of worship that is so central to what we do as a family. Even after passing on the pastoral responsibilities of the worship teams to me more than a year ago, Justin continued to serve our teams in any way he could.

Before leaving, Justin helped Caleb Paxton transition into leadership of the worship team for which Justin had been primarily responsible. I am so excited and grateful to Caleb and his wife, Erin, for their gifts and willingness to serve us well. The love, time, and energy they are giving to the team is evident and is bringing a breath of fresh air to all of us. We have also been encouraged and inspired by the new songs they have been writing. In the last year, we have seen almost 10 new songs birthed from within our ranks, and this is in large part from the Paxtons.

I have also been inspired by Levi Brown and his leadership of our children’s worship teams over the last year. Levi Brown and Phillip Bailey have been working with me to help develop new team dynamics and a better foundation for the way we serve our children and lead them in worshiping our God in a way that is both accessible and meaningful.

I tried to do a head count and to my knowledge there have been about 30 different people serving our church in worship in the last year. Most of those folks serve as regular members of a team. This is by far the largest consistent group we have ever had, and I expect it to grow over the next year, as well. New people, new songs, fresh change...This is an exciting time to be worshiping at Christ’s Church. My prayer is for us all to become even more enamored and awestruck by God as we worship him together in the coming year.

- James Marcum

MEMBERSHIP

We saw a significant increase in the number of people committing to membership with us at Christ’s Church in 2015. There were 31 adults who joined us in our mission to help people love and obey Jesus – about four times the number who did so the previous year. Although some of this increase can be attributed to the larger numbers of people attending our meetings regularly, we discovered that 35% of those coming through membership had been with us for more than two years. Many of these were already doing the things members do – like consistently participating in a small group and serving in the church. It’s encouraging to see brothers and sisters happily clarifying their commitment not just to the church and the mission, but to the truths and values at the heart of the community. So we send out a big thank you to all of you who have said to the pastors of Christ’s Church, “We want you to lead and care for us.”

- Tim Chambers

At this time in my life, I am realizing more the importance of God’s grace after being shown mercy by God, family, and friends. Meeting and worshiping with the people of Christ’s Church, we saw examples of God’s mercy for all expressed through teaching, attitudes, and lifestyle. We feel Christ’s Church is a place our family can learn more about God’s grace toward us and how to extend that grace to other people. - Jason Arnall

“31 adultswho joined us

in our mission.”

WOMEN’S MINISTRY

Our ministry to women at Christ’s Church grew in 2015. This past spring, we held an overnight retreat at New Life Ranch in Colcord, OK. Women worshipped Jesus, grew in our confidence in Him, and got to know each other a little better. The retreat laid a solid foundation for meetings this fall, where we shared stories of God’s grace and restoration in our lives and prayed for more of those stories among us. We rounded the year out with a Christmas celebration that included copious amounts of dessert and maybe a little interpretive dancing. In 2015, we’ve been able to reach more women, draw them to Jesus, and give them a jumping off point for building relationships.

As we look to 2016, we’re planning another retreat, a weekend seminar on grace, and a 6-week study on the Book of Ruth. We’re praying that women will grow into the full knowledge of God’s love for them, that we’ll be transformed by that knowledge, and that we’ll be equipped and compelled to build up the body of Christ in love. It’s our hope that these events will bolster God’s work in each woman’s heart and unite us in our common goal as members of Christ’s Church to help people love and obey Jesus.

- Lynn Fleshman

“Women’s ministry is important to me because spending time with other women who love God really challenges me to check my perspective - to look outside of myself - and to look to Jesus like Mary did. In the busyness of life, making time to commit to a study, event, or even an evening just getting coffee can be hard, but it’s worthwhile. Being in fellowship with other women who love Jesus and speak His truth reminds me to loosen my grip on my calendar and lists and to chose again (and again and again) the good portion which will not be taken away from me (Luke 10:42). There is nothing empty about women coming together who love Jesus and want to know Him more. I’ve never walked away from a gathering regretting time I spent with sisters I’ll have for eternity”. –Bailey Stehm

“We’ve been able to reach more women,draw them to Jesus

CHRIST’S KIDS

2015 was a big year for Christ’s Kids. We saw our programs grow in depth, in numbers, and in activities. In mid-year 2014, we had an average of 47 kids in our programs on Sunday mornings. By mid-year 2015, that number had jumped to 82! On several recent Sundays, we’ve served over 100 kids. In order to respond to this exciting growth in the numbers and diversity of kids attending Christ’s Church, we’ve continued to develop the team that serves them. Last year, we added six new teaching positions to our Sunday morning schedule. We also took action to better serve our elementary-aged kids by splitting their group into two classes: Grades 1-3 and Grades 4 & 5. Upper Elementary teachers have reported that the kids are more engaged and excited now that they have a class of their own.

This year was full of activities and events. We held Stations of the Cross on Easter; Christ’s Church hosted VBS for the first time in July; teachers gathered for the second annual Teacher Appreciation Brunch in July; we launched a new curriculum series, The Gospel Project for Kids, in August; and we ended the year with a celebration of Jesus’ birth. Most importantly, we saw kids grow in knowledge and love of their Creator; and we saw adults lay down their busy schedules and serve Christ’s Bride, as we are all called to do. The coming year looks bright, as we eagerly expect God to reveal himself to the kids of Christ’s Church and we continue to faithfully serve Him.

- Sarah Chambers

I serve every other month in Tiny Town with toddlers, so my highlights are a little more slobbery than other age groups. One of my favorite parts of being in that classroom is seeing the change in kids even over just a few weeks. Sometimes, Sunday mornings are one of the first times children are separated from their parents and put in the care of strangers. That’s just rough - for the kids and the parents. But soon, the tears dry up. A toy distracts from the sadness. Smiles from parents become more trusting as they sneak out of the classroom and into the auditorium. Snack is served and most little ones can handle 1.5 hours with minimal waterworks after a few weeks. When we stick with it, it gets better.

That’s my favorite part. The stories about God are great, the songs are dance-worthy, the snacks are solid, but the trust and community are the best. We don’t always know each other or have much in common, but what we have in common REALLY matters. We can put our trust in that and it overflows in a way that helps us trust and love each other in small and big ways. Parents, children, volunteers, leaders, church. When we push through the hard stuff, it gets better for all of us. - Brooke LeMasters

“In 2014, we had an average of 47 kids......in 2015, that number had jumped to 82!”

MEN’S GROUP

Men meet on Wednesday mornings at 6 AM for a time of challenge and discussion. Clayton Paul leads this initiative. Here is his story:

In 2014, I attended a study from Men’s Fraternity. This material really helped me focus in on what God has called me to represent as a man. I believed that this would be beneficial for the men of Christ’s Church, I met with leadership, and they gave me the keys to the building! 33: The Series kicked off in January 2015 with 15 men. The studies are six weeks in length and we look at how Jesus lived and how we can apply this to different aspects of our lives.

Each session has a short video, followed by small group discussion. This has been a great way to deepen relationships within the community of the church. We started a new study that meets on Wednesdays at 6 AM at the church building, called A Man and His Marriage, and we hope you’ll come join us!

- Clayton Paul

The men’s group is a good context for allowing guys to talk genuinely about real life practical issues; it has encouraged community through praying for and learning from each other on how to battle those issues as we look to Jesus and the Bible for answers. The group has been good for me personally in that it has stretched me out of my comfort zone in verbalizing my thoughts, feelings, and weaknesses with other guys, which I am normally not inclined to do, trusting by faith that it is going to be beneficial in building and strengthening the church. –Scott Thomas

“..really helped me focus in onwhat God has called me

to represent as a man.”

GLOBAL MISSION

One of the joys of being a part of Newfrontiers is knowing that every year, our investment in the kingdom goes well beyond the borders of the USA. This year, we gave money to support work around the world. This included Turkey, Jordan, Haiti, Kosova, Africa and many other places. We gave to two specific service teams that went to Haiti in February and November. Over $45,000 was given in 2015 to support God’s work outside the city of Joplin, and that is worth celebrating.

- Lane Clevenger

CONNECTION TEAM

During 2015, the leadership of Christ’s Church started to plan and put into place an initiative for connecting new guests to our community. We recognize that God has been sending many new people our way, and we need to be better stewards of that blessing. During 2016, we are planning to reinvigorate our greeters and ushers teams by adding new members, along with possibly merging them into one coherent team to better enable them to provide guests and members with a warm welcome and any assistance they need. We also aim to create a “welcome area” for guests, giving both guests and existing members a spot where they can get to know one another. Along with that, we are also creating a new connection team that will be responsible for making sure our guests are contacted and given every opportunity to become a part of Christ’s Church. Our goal will be to infuse our entire community with a welcoming spirit. Please pray and ask God how He might use you in this effort to see more people come to Jesus and be part of what we’re experiencing together.

- Steve Lett

“Over $45,000was given in 2015

to support God’s workoutside the city of Joplin.”

WOMEN’S MINISTRY

Our ministry to women at Christ’s Church grew in 2015. This past spring, we held an overnight retreat at New Life Ranch in Colcord, OK. Women worshipped Jesus, grew in our confidence in Him, and got to know each other a little better. The retreat laid a solid foundation for meetings this fall, where we shared stories of God’s grace and restoration in our lives and prayed for more of those stories among us. We rounded the year out with a Christmas celebration that included copious amounts of dessert and maybe a little interpretive dancing. In 2015, we’ve been able to reach more women, draw them to Jesus, and give them a jumping off point for building relationships.

As we look to 2016, we’re planning another retreat, a weekend seminar on grace, and a 6-week study on the Book of Ruth. We’re praying that women will grow into the full knowledge of God’s love for them, that we’ll be transformed by that knowledge, and that we’ll be equipped and compelled to build up the body of Christ in love. It’s our hope that these events will bolster God’s work in each woman’s heart and unite us in our common goal as members of Christ’s Church to help people love and obey Jesus.

- Lynn Fleshman

“Women’s ministry is important to me because spending time with other women who love God really challenges me to check my perspective - to look outside of myself - and to look to Jesus like Mary did. In the busyness of life, making time to commit to a study, event, or even an evening just getting coffee can be hard, but it’s worthwhile. Being in fellowship with other women who love Jesus and speak His truth reminds me to loosen my grip on my calendar and lists and to chose again (and again and again) the good portion which will not be taken away from me (Luke 10:42). There is nothing empty about women coming together who love Jesus and want to know Him more. I’ve never walked away from a gathering regretting time I spent with sisters I’ll have for eternity”. –Bailey Stehm

“We’ve been able to reach more women,draw them to Jesus

CHRIST’S KIDS

2015 was a big year for Christ’s Kids. We saw our programs grow in depth, in numbers, and in activities. In mid-year 2014, we had an average of 47 kids in our programs on Sunday mornings. By mid-year 2015, that number had jumped to 82! On several recent Sundays, we’ve served over 100 kids. In order to respond to this exciting growth in the numbers and diversity of kids attending Christ’s Church, we’ve continued to develop the team that serves them. Last year, we added six new teaching positions to our Sunday morning schedule. We also took action to better serve our elementary-aged kids by splitting their group into two classes: Grades 1-3 and Grades 4 & 5. Upper Elementary teachers have reported that the kids are more engaged and excited now that they have a class of their own.

This year was full of activities and events. We held Stations of the Cross on Easter; Christ’s Church hosted VBS for the first time in July; teachers gathered for the second annual Teacher Appreciation Brunch in July; we launched a new curriculum series, The Gospel Project for Kids, in August; and we ended the year with a celebration of Jesus’ birth. Most importantly, we saw kids grow in knowledge and love of their Creator; and we saw adults lay down their busy schedules and serve Christ’s Bride, as we are all called to do. The coming year looks bright, as we eagerly expect God to reveal himself to the kids of Christ’s Church and we continue to faithfully serve Him.

- Sarah Chambers

I serve every other month in Tiny Town with toddlers, so my highlights are a little more slobbery than other age groups. One of my favorite parts of being in that classroom is seeing the change in kids even over just a few weeks. Sometimes, Sunday mornings are one of the first times children are separated from their parents and put in the care of strangers. That’s just rough - for the kids and the parents. But soon, the tears dry up. A toy distracts from the sadness. Smiles from parents become more trusting as they sneak out of the classroom and into the auditorium. Snack is served and most little ones can handle 1.5 hours with minimal waterworks after a few weeks. When we stick with it, it gets better.

That’s my favorite part. The stories about God are great, the songs are dance-worthy, the snacks are solid, but the trust and community are the best. We don’t always know each other or have much in common, but what we have in common REALLY matters. We can put our trust in that and it overflows in a way that helps us trust and love each other in small and big ways. Parents, children, volunteers, leaders, church. When we push through the hard stuff, it gets better for all of us. - Brooke LeMasters

“In 2014, we had an average of 47 kids......in 2015, that number had jumped to 82!”

MEN’S GROUP

Men meet on Wednesday mornings at 6 AM for a time of challenge and discussion. Clayton Paul leads this initiative. Here is his story:

In 2014, I attended a study from Men’s Fraternity. This material really helped me focus in on what God has called me to represent as a man. I believed that this would be beneficial for the men of Christ’s Church, I met with leadership, and they gave me the keys to the building! 33: The Series kicked off in January 2015 with 15 men. The studies are six weeks in length and we look at how Jesus lived and how we can apply this to different aspects of our lives.

Each session has a short video, followed by small group discussion. This has been a great way to deepen relationships within the community of the church. We started a new study that meets on Wednesdays at 6 AM at the church building, called A Man and His Marriage, and we hope you’ll come join us!

- Clayton Paul

The men’s group is a good context for allowing guys to talk genuinely about real life practical issues; it has encouraged community through praying for and learning from each other on how to battle those issues as we look to Jesus and the Bible for answers. The group has been good for me personally in that it has stretched me out of my comfort zone in verbalizing my thoughts, feelings, and weaknesses with other guys, which I am normally not inclined to do, trusting by faith that it is going to be beneficial in building and strengthening the church. –Scott Thomas

“..really helped me focus in onwhat God has called me

to represent as a man.”

GLOBAL MISSION

One of the joys of being a part of Newfrontiers is knowing that every year, our investment in the kingdom goes well beyond the borders of the USA. This year, we gave money to support work around the world. This included Turkey, Jordan, Haiti, Kosova, Africa and many other places. We gave to two specific service teams that went to Haiti in February and November. Over $45,000 was given in 2015 to support God’s work outside the city of Joplin, and that is worth celebrating.

- Lane Clevenger

CONNECTION TEAM

During 2015, the leadership of Christ’s Church started to plan and put into place an initiative for connecting new guests to our community. We recognize that God has been sending many new people our way, and we need to be better stewards of that blessing. During 2016, we are planning to reinvigorate our greeters and ushers teams by adding new members, along with possibly merging them into one coherent team to better enable them to provide guests and members with a warm welcome and any assistance they need. We also aim to create a “welcome area” for guests, giving both guests and existing members a spot where they can get to know one another. Along with that, we are also creating a new connection team that will be responsible for making sure our guests are contacted and given every opportunity to become a part of Christ’s Church. Our goal will be to infuse our entire community with a welcoming spirit. Please pray and ask God how He might use you in this effort to see more people come to Jesus and be part of what we’re experiencing together.

- Steve Lett

“Over $45,000was given in 2015

to support God’s workoutside the city of Joplin.”

STORY GROUPS

Our Story Groups had a great year at Christ’s Church. One of the highlights was the development of the stories we are currently using. When we started using Bible Storying in our groups three and a half years ago, the story tracks had been prepared and used by other churches, both in the United States and globally. However, we used the final set of those prepared stories last year, so as we began to plan for this year, we assembled a team of guys to develop a new set of stories. This team met regularly through the spring and summer and developed the story list, discussion questions, and other tools that our leaders are currently using. Now we have a year of stories that our groups can use, and it’s a set we can share with other churches, as well.

Our groups have experienced significant growth this year. When compared to last year, we have seen a 33% growth in group participation! This year, we had seven past leaders continue to lead groups and we had five new leaders come through training and start new groups. We also have a number of leaders in the process of being trained to lead and start new groups soon.

As we look to the new year, we expect to launch a number of new groups as well as see some of our current groups multiply. In order to accommodate this growth, we are training coaches to oversee clusters of story group leaders. These coaches will help carry leadership responsibilities and oversee pastoral care within their clusters.

- Jeremiah Anderson

In groups this year so far, I’ve seen prophetic words that led to intense personal growth. I’ve seen broken people take early steps toward being healed by the Lord. I’ve seen a group of people grow close together despite having very little in common. Except, the little thing is Jesus, so never mind, they have everything in common. Some of the people in group are experiencing Jesus and his church primarily by being the church on Wednesday night, instead of only on Sunday mornings. I’ve seen and experienced all this by merely saying which night of the week we should meet. I’ve been blessed by a group that is pressing in to Jesus together. I hope I get to lead a group for the rest of my life. – Cody VanVactor

“...we have seen a33% growth in

group participation.”

YOUTH & NEW DAY

2015 was a transitional year for our youth group. We had a number of older students graduate and saw an influx of younger students. It felt like we went from a group of primarily high school students to a group of middle schoolers and freshmen overnight. Although this changed the dynamic of the group, we had a good year and saw growth in many of the students.

One of the successes we saw was an increase in the number of volunteers helping run meetings and plan events. This year, I was able to engage a number of college-age volunteers and parents who have begun investing in the youth. The addition of extra help has resulted in better meetings and events for our youth.

For many of the teens in our church, one of the events they look forward to is NewDay, a week long NewFrontiers-USA teen conference that we have been hosting here in Joplin for the past few years. Once again, this year was a great success. We had 160 teens attend from 12 different NewFrontiers churches in the Midwest. These teens not only heard solid teaching and experienced great times of worship, they also served our community. Many helped run our VBS program during the day. Service teams were also sent out to bless Watered Gardens and Joplin Schools. Other groups went door-to-door throughout the city offering to pray for people.

Over the course of the week, there were a number of first-time commitments to follow Jesus, many teens were filled with the Spirit or heard from God for the first time, and a few were even healed. Overall, it was a great week of seeing God move in and through the lives of teens, we are looking forward to what God will do as we host this event again in 2016.

- Jeremiah Anderson

“We had 160 teens

NewFrontiers churchesin the Midwest.”

WORSHIP

“There have been about

serving our churchin worship in the last year”

The biggest change we saw in worship at Christ’s Church this year was the Nevins family leaving for their new church home in Colorado. Justin had been serving faithfully at Christ’s Church for many years and has been, in large part, responsible for shaping the wonderful, dynamic expression of worship that is so central to what we do as a family. Even after passing on the pastoral responsibilities of the worship teams to me more than a year ago, Justin continued to serve our teams in any way he could.

Before leaving, Justin helped Caleb Paxton transition into leadership of the worship team for which Justin had been primarily responsible. I am so excited and grateful to Caleb and his wife, Erin, for their gifts and willingness to serve us well. The love, time, and energy they are giving to the team is evident and is bringing a breath of fresh air to all of us. We have also been encouraged and inspired by the new songs they have been writing. In the last year, we have seen almost 10 new songs birthed from within our ranks, and this is in large part from the Paxtons.

I have also been inspired by Levi Brown and his leadership of our children’s worship teams over the last year. Levi Brown and Phillip Bailey have been working with me to help develop new team dynamics and a better foundation for the way we serve our children and lead them in worshiping our God in a way that is both accessible and meaningful.

I tried to do a head count and to my knowledge there have been about 30 different people serving our church in worship in the last year. Most of those folks serve as regular members of a team. This is by far the largest consistent group we have ever had, and I expect it to grow over the next year, as well. New people, new songs, fresh change...This is an exciting time to be worshiping at Christ’s Church. My prayer is for us all to become even more enamored and awestruck by God as we worship him together in the coming year.

- James Marcum

MEMBERSHIP

We saw a significant increase in the number of people committing to membership with us at Christ’s Church in 2015. There were 31 adults who joined us in our mission to help people love and obey Jesus – about four times the number who did so the previous year. Although some of this increase can be attributed to the larger numbers of people attending our meetings regularly, we discovered that 35% of those coming through membership had been with us for more than two years. Many of these were already doing the things members do – like consistently participating in a small group and serving in the church. It’s encouraging to see brothers and sisters happily clarifying their commitment not just to the church and the mission, but to the truths and values at the heart of the community. So we send out a big thank you to all of you who have said to the pastors of Christ’s Church, “We want you to lead and care for us.”

- Tim Chambers

At this time in my life, I am realizing more the importance of God’s grace after being shown mercy by God, family, and friends. Meeting and worshiping with the people of Christ’s Church, we saw examples of God’s mercy for all expressed through teaching, attitudes, and lifestyle. We feel Christ’s Church is a place our family can learn more about God’s grace toward us and how to extend that grace to other people. - Jason Arnall

“31 adultswho joined us

in our mission.”

Christ’s Church enjoyed a wonderful year. We’ve seen growing numbers of folks come through membership. We continue to have a consistent flow of guests in our Sunday morning meetings. Story groups are full of people and full of life. We are, together, helping people love and obey Jesus.

This growth has presented some unique challenges. We need more story groups to host the growing number of folks who want to be part of a group. We’ve expanded the number of children’s classes we offer at both our 9 and 11 AM Sunday meetings. And as our meeting room fills up on Sundays, we want to be ever welcoming to newcomers and those looking in. We never want guests to feel like there isn’t room for them.

We expressed the love of God by serving Jesus and one another this year. The church was built up and strengthened. And we want to say, as Isaiah did, “of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.” Lord Jesus, build your church! And build us in as living stones, as parts of your body, with Christ as the head.

This year we have compiled summaries and stories of different aspects of who we are together. We hope you find the following reports encouraging. But better than encouraging, we want them to build faith. Faith in a God who will never let us go. As we reflect on 2015 and consider the future, come what may, let your heart be strengthened for the part God has for you to play in his grand plan.

WELCOME

This category includes building maintenance, office supplies, insurance, utilities, and general overhead.

Facilities/Building

These funds are invested in bringing people to maturity in Christ. The category includes leadership development and training, conferences and retreats, and special events. It also includes financial help to church families in crisis.

Pastoral Care

This represents wages, salaries, and benefits for pastors and support staff.

Staffing

EXPENSES

This figure represents money invested in the global progress of the Gospel. These dollars include our support of the Newfrontiers-USA apostolic team, church planting, global mission, and the strengthening of churches across the United States and around the world.

Outreach

$98,198.44

$73,885.20

$201,907.76

$70,072.21

This number includes weekly contributions of tithes and offerings. And, this year showed a 7.5% increase over 2014.

General Giving

This number includes special offerings like our Giving Together and specific mission efforts.

Designated Giving

This number was unusually high in 2015. This was due to a significant building insurance claim and reimbursements we received for expenses incurred in hosting Newday Camp.

Other Income

GIVING

$399,437.33

$46,423.00

$81.310.90

$527,171.23

$444,063.61

2015 Annual Report

Christ’s Church of Joplin 5200 E 32nd Street Joplin, MO 64804(417) 623-6268 http://christs-church.com

It is serious fun to read these reports of God’s astounding kindness to us! There is nothing in the world sweeter than the people of God unified in worshipful obedience, enjoying his favor, seeing grace bear its beautiful fruit. On behalf of the elders and our small group and ministry team leaders, I want to thank you for joining your hearts and hands with us. We’re living in the good of Christ’s finished work! The blessings overflowed last year. And as our confidence in the faithful generosity of God grows, so does our hopeful excitement about the year ahead. The bold and bountiful Champion is on the move! Let’s run after him and see what happens.

2015 annual report - christ's church of joplin · women’s ministry our ministry to women at...

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