2022 Ministry Report

AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY 2022 MINISTRY REPORT

TO O U R C H U R C H FA M I LY : Jennie and I continue to be blessed and honored that God called us to walk alongside each of you. We could not be more excited about what we’ve seen this year at ALC and are excited to share it with you through this ministry report.

We’ve broken it down into 3 sections focused on our mission as a church:

1. REGULAR PEOPLE 2. LIVING OUT GOD’S STORY 3. THE WAY JESUS SHOWED US As you read it, join me in giving God the glory for all we’ve accomplished as a church family this past year: more lives given to Jesus, the development of a discipleship pathway to help people grow in their faith, investment in our ministries to kids and youth and a continued emphasis that we are becoming a church who reaches out to neighborhoods and nations.

As we look ahead with grateful hearts to the joy of the Christmas season and the close of 2022, allow me to challenge you to consider a special year-end gift to ALC to help financially resource all we believe God can do through us in the next season. Our year-end offering is dedicated to helping ALC live out God’s story the way Jesus showed us.

We believe the church, Abundant Life Church, has much work to do in the region and around the world, and we’re committed more than ever to “seeing the fame and deeds of God renewed in our time.” (Habakkuk 3:2) I invite you to take some time over the next few weeks to pray and ask God how He would have you be involved by giving and joining your church family to see God’s story become a reality through ALC. In Him, Lead Pastor

Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness... You’ll tell them stories of the signs... so that you’ll all know that I am God. - EXODUS 10:2 MSG GN UP O

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PRAYING At the center of ALC’s heartbeat is a legacy of prayer. From early “Prayer and Praise” gatherings over thirty years ago in homes before the church was planted, to our Pursuit Nights today, you can see the power of prayer as ALC continually leans into God’s favor and faithfulness.

Did you know? This past ministry year ALC responded to 700 prayer requests with notes of encouragement, prayer and in many cases follow-up calls!

“Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”

EPHESIANS 6:13-18 MSG

SERVING You’re not alone if you are a volunteer at ALC! This past ministry year 457 different individuals have served at our Happy Valley and Sandy Campuses. Each week we have over 100 active volunteers working together to make ministry happen.

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In September we celebrated volunteers at Team Night. It was called “The Game Show” and featured great food, laughter, and some special surprises. We also debuted “The ACEY Awards”.

ACEY stands for “Abundant Life Celebrates Excellence in You.” To watch, click the QR code and see who won this year’s awards!

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But there’s always room for more regular people to step up and join the fun. The adage, “many hands make light work” is so true at church. If you’re not currently serving, we’d love to invite you to join one of our amazing ministry teams. This fall we rolled out “First Serve.” It’s an easy, fun onramp to joining the ALC volunteer community happening each month.

KIDS & YOUTH

T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N I S T H E F U T U R E O F A LC Each weekend over 50 volunteers serve 180 kids and lead them as they discover the big story of the gospel and how to live that out.

TREK this summer was a highlight for both our kids and volunteers.

Between our 2 campuses 450 kids and 250 volunteers shared four nights of fun. Our kids had a blast and learned about the power of a relationship with Jesus. Over 30 kids made the decision to follow Jesus!

ST U D E N T M I N I ST RY ( M I D D L E S C H O O L & H I G H S C H O O L )

BY THE NUMBERS:

300+ with a weekly average of 85!

75 3 6

students attended at least one of our programs this year, students attended camp

made first time decisions for Jesus students were baptized this year

MINISTRY HIGHLIGHT M I N I ST RY TO WO M E N

“My favorite story from this year was a senior who hadn’t been involved in a youth group who finally came for the first time in January. The first time he came he didn’t want to get out of the car. His parents encouraged him to give it a try just three times. By the end of the third week, he told us he finally felt like he belonged somewhere! He’s been attending the men’s golf life group this summer and I’ve learned he has found a church to attend when he goes to college!”

- L A U R A H A L L, A LC ST U D E N T PASTO R

On September 30th ALC held an amazing Women’s Night focused on prayer, fellowship, and worship. Two hundred women heard from our guest speaker Jerushah Tanner about standing on the faithfulness of God and enjoyed tasty desserts while connecting with one another. It was wonderful watching women grow in their relationship with God and each other.

LIVING OUT GOD’S STORY W H AT ’ S T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N A N OCEAN LINER AND A CRUISE SHIP?

Ocean Liners move you from one point to another. They’re a vehicle to get you to a destination. Cruise Ships... they’re all about entertainment.

This fall Pastor Gareth challenged us that ALC should look more like an Ocean Liner than a Cruise Ship. ALC, as a ship should be able to withstand rough seas and have a crew that pulls together. Like an Ocean Liner, we know our destination and head straight for it to deliver our cargo – the hope of Jesus Christ – to a world so desperately in need of the Good News.

Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. - PSALM 145:7

TAKING YOUR NEXT STEP D JESUS,

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Groups are the core of our church family, and this year over 60% of our church connected with a group! We launched 12 new women’s groups this past Spring, with over 100 women taking the opportunity to connect and grow.

New men’s groups started over the summer, including a weekly men’s golf group.

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Labs were introduced this fall as environments for interactive and practical learning around important topics such as marriage, parenting, finances and beginning a new relationship with Jesus.

Rooted was re-introduced this fall as the first step into discipleship at ALC, providing a space for people to learn and practice healthy rhythms for their own lives and relationships with others.

A LOOK BACK ON H GOD’S STORY TH

NOVEMBER ‘21

DECEMBER ‘21

JANUARY ‘22

FEBRUARY ‘22

MARCH ‘22

APRIL ‘22

Foster Parents’ Night Out gave a much-needed break to foster parents. Adopt-A-Family connected ALC families with 200 families needing a helping hand to provide Christmas for their kids.

The Christmas Tree Lighting at the Happy Valley Campus saw 750 people from our community enjoying a night of Christmas fun. Over 2000 people attended one of our eight Christmas Services.

The new year began with prayer and fasting, and we introduced Pursuit Nights as a chance each month to gather for an extended time of prayer and worship.

Playgroups are a huge success at both Happy Valley and Sandy, with over 30 parents and their kids connecting each week. Many of the parents are now engaged in Life Groups and serving with kids.

Staff and volunteers pulled together for a fun clean-up day to work side-by-side to get our campuses ready for Easter.

We held our first Egg Hunt with carnival games, eggs, and the Easter Bunny! Over 1000 people enjoyed the fun, and new families discovered ALC for the first time joining over 2500 people for Easter services.

HOW WE LIVED OUT HIS PAST YEAR

MAY ‘22

JUNE ‘22

JULY ‘22

AUGUST ‘22

SEPTEMBER ‘22 OCTOBER ‘22

ALC hosted our first Compassion Clinic, providing free medical care to those in need.

Local doctors, dentists, and chiropractors set up shop at ALC to care for those who can’t typically afford care.

Kids…457 of them…from our church and neighborhoods in Sandy and Happy Valley attended TREK to learn about Jesus in a fun, creative way.

Thirty kids made a first-time decision for Jesus!

We combined all services on July 4th, followed by food, fun, and games. Seventy-five students attended middle school and high school camps, and three made firsttime decisions for Jesus!

We wrapped up the summer by inviting our neighbors to an outdoor concert in our Happy Valley amphitheater. What could be more fun than hanging with your friends on a warm summer night?

Fall kicked off with Team Night, Rooted returned, and Labs were introduced. The Sandy Campus held a Backpack School Outreach that was a huge blessing to kids and families in Sandy.

Trunk-or-Treat was a huge hit, as ALC families decorated their cars and shared smiles and candy with neighborhood kids dressed up for fall fun and invited to come back to church.

THE WAY JESUS SHOWED US This past ministry year we sent members from our church on Global outreach trips to rebuild hurricane-damaged roofs in Puerto Rico, serve vulnerable kids in Kenya, and refugee families living in Jordan, and discovered the hard journey of peacemaking in Israel and Palestine.

We hosted our first ever Compassion Connect Health Clinic to provide free medical services to community families in need. We also started a new ministry to support community foster parents by starting Foster Parent Night. This monthly ministry gives a much-needed break to foster families for a special night out.

Because of your generous participation, AdoptA-Family served nearly 200 community families with Christmas presents!

We continued giving compassionate care to ALC and community families in need through our Care Network Team and our partnership with Catalyst NW.

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in the work they are doing at home and around the world, including caring for the homeless through Portland Rescue Mission and serving Foster Families through Every Child Oregon.

We helped launch a new ministry site in Kenya to rescue street children through Agape Children’s Ministry and are providing support for children and families experiencing poverty in Ecuador through Compassion International.

We are partnering with Rapha-International to rescue girls who are at-risk or being trafficked for sex and caring for those hit by a disaster through Convoy of Hope & Forward Edge.

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W E SU PPO R T O UR LOCAL AND G LO BA L PA RT NERS

We had a visit over the summer from one of our missionary families, Jeff & Channy Rasmussen, and their son Caleb. They raised enough funds through the generosity of ALC to fully fund their Mighty Girls and Mighty Boys soccer and ministry work for at risk youth for years to come.

STEWARDSHIP & GENEROSITY

AT T H E B E G I N N I N G O F T H E M I N I ST RY Y E A R , Pastor Gareth and the elder board implemented new stewardship values which are guiding us in our financial decision making. Key elements of this plan focus on living within our means as a church, eliminating debt, giving with generosity to outreach and missions and investing in our staff and staff families.

The 2021-22 Ministry Year saw ALC contributions come in at 102% of budget, and we held our spending within budgeted limits to end the year in the black.

The church generously invested nearly $300,000 (over 12% of the previous ministry year’s contributions) to Missions & Outreach.

The Leadership Team is working diligently to steward the resources God entrusts us with, so that we can live generously towards others and advance the Gospel.

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HOW TO MAKE YOUR YEAR END GIFT Use the QR code above Online at alcpnw.com/give Use the enclosed envelope All donations dated by December 31, 2022 will appear on your 2022 giving statement.

ABUNDANT LIFE CHURCH WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF GOD’S EXTRAORDINARY STORY 00:00

REGULAR PEOPLE THE WAY JESUS

LIVING OUT SHOWED US 20:22