Christ Central Church Annual Report 2022

OUR TEAM

PASTORAL

Daniel Mason // Lead Pastor

Evan Marbury // Pastor

Timothy Price // Pastor

STAFF

Rose Abernethy // Associate Youth Ministry Director

Phabienne Anderson // Ministry Intern

Christie Bowman // Women’s Ministry Director

Charlie Densmore // Connections Director

Will Gray // Interim Executive Director

Emilio Hood // Youth Ministry Director

Meredith Miller // Operations Director

Bradley Moore // Communications Director

Jordan Reich // Children’s Ministry Director

Charles Sands // Worship and Arts Director

Holly Strawn // Administrative Assistant

Kristin Sullivan // Nursery Director

ELDERS AND WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Glen Berkel*, Mark Bowman, Sam Quaile, Zachary Rethorn*, Carson Rockett*, Richard Roberts, and Trevor Smith, Marnie Densmore

DEACON AND DEACON ASSISTANTS

Ryan Cronk*, Amanda Blosser, Katy Coleman*, Dane Barrett, Kristin Heery, Joon

Lee*, Travis Linton*, Jacob Martin*, Morgan McGowan, Carlos Oyaga*, Sue Pape*, and Jordy Prince *Leaders Installed in 2022

LETTER FROM DANIEL MASON

Dear Christ Central Church, Throughout Scripture, God calls us to remember.

“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness...” - Deuteronomy 8:2

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” - Isaiah 46:9

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.” - Psalm 143:5

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” - Psalm 77:11

Each year we want to give you a picture of all the Lord did in the past year at Christ Central; not so we can glory in numbers, events, or our efforts. Rather so we can remember that the Lord is faithful.

The Annual Report is our attempt to figure out where we have come from and where God is leading us. Remembering is an action that takes us to a place of quiet, to a place of observing and listening, to a posture of gratitude for how the Lord has faithfully led us through the ups and downs.

Remembering leads us to do what is right and good, which is to give God thanks and praise.

The past year is the first year since Covid began nearly three years ago in which we have been able to function and operate without any restrictions caused by the pandemic. This past year, we have sought to understand who Christ Central is, coming out of the pandemic. There has been a loss of people caused by moving or leaving the church, and many new people have been added to our church and our area. As a church, we have been trying to get our hearts, heads, and arms around who the body of Christ is at Christ Central.

We have re-established rhythms, patterns, and avenues of ministry. But, as you will learn in this report, God has been faithful to bless Christ Central.

One of the specific areas we are intentionally trying to address is how we mature as an organization, as God has blessed us with growth. The church leadership has been hard at work during 2022 addressing areas of need, and we are excited to implement many things in 2023 that will help us thrive and flourish.

We have been praying that God would revive us, would cause Christ Central Church to come alive by His Spirit with His life, and use us to be a blessing to our city and world.

I am so thankful for each member, regular attendee, new guest, and all connected to Christ Central in any way. The church is its people; not its programs, ministries, or buildings, but its people. And I love our people, I love who God has called into this church, and I love who He is making us to be in this city for His glory!

Grace and Peace, Rev. Daniel Mason Lead Pastor

LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Christ Central family,

I want to let you know how grateful I am for the privilege of working alongside you and your fellow leaders these last several months.

If my interim role is news to you, allow me to briefly catch you up: I’m Dr. Will Gray, a consultant who often works with growing churches. Last summer, I led a six-weeks-long consulting project designed to identify what Christ Central needed to put in place in order to continue its growth in as healthy a way as possible.

I identified six key projects, as well as a new role (Executive for Church Leadership), an administrative leader of the church that is appropriate for a church of this size. The Session greenlit all six projects, and also hired me to establish the Executive role, in an interim role. I began all of these in September 2022.

Although my time as your interim Executive is coming to an end soon, a great deal has been accomplished over the last several months, and I’d like to share some highlights:

• Your staff, Session, Women’s Leadership Council, and diaconate all took a Growth Checkup to identify which aspects of the church are strong, healthy, and ready for growth, and which aspects need strengthening or attention.

• Pastor Daniel Mason completed a six-week Vocationality pathway, to identify how God has designed him to do his best work.

• I’m nearly finished with an HR upgrade called The Good Fit Team Member Journey. It’s a set of 20 playbooks and 30 tools that enables anyone in the church’s leadership to take the lead in any stage of a staff team member’s relationship with Christ Central, from the creation of a new role, through interviewing and onboarding, and into proactive leadership and responding well to challenges as they arise.

• The pastors and I have made major progress in clarifying the church’s Identity, listening for a more specific sense of God’s calling on Christ Central in particular.

•I’ll work with the Session to create the church’s first active Plan in February.

• By the end of February, I’ll have led four Executive Coaching sessions for Daniel, Timothy, Evan, and Emilio on how to take healthy leadership in advanced relationship situations.

• We’ll have improved Role & Lane clarity for each staff team role and each leadership group, which will also make it clearer in advance what becoming a leader at Christ Central means.

• I’m leading each staff team member to create a Playbook of an important process, to capture the way we do things around here.

I’m grateful for Christ Central, for the passionate ways you all are seeking to live in Durham, for Durham. I’m grateful for your leaders, who have become dear friends. It’s been an honor to work alongside you, and I’ll continue to remember and pray for you the rest of my life.

With love and best wishes to you,

Will Gray Interim Executive Director

23 CITY GROUPS

522

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP AVERAGE

314 CITY GROUP PARTICIPANTS

439 TOTAL MEMBERS

140 YOUTUBE VIEWS PER WEEK

VISION AND PRIORITIES

On September 10th, leaders from all the different ministries within our church gathered for Vision Day. Each year we take one day to dream for the year to come, and all unite behind one vision. This year our three priorities were that we would rejoice in God, receive God’s love, and implement Become.

REJOICE IN GOD

Revival is always preceded by a people who turn and return to God, finding life with God to be their greatest joy. Within scripture and history, when God’s people turn to Him in prayer and worship Him as their chief joy, God moves in powerful ways, bringing about His salvation. So, this year we want to re-center ourselves on finding our happiness in God –rejoicing in God. We believe that we can accomplish this as a church through prayer, worship, and celebration.

RECEIVE GOD’S LOVE

The love of God is the formative power by which our hearts and lives are changed. Receiving and resting in the abounding love of God revealed in Jesus is what bears spiritual fruit that will last. Therefore, we want to offer avenues of formation that we pray will make the love of God more real for each of you.

IMPLEMENT BECOME

In 2019 we launched a two-year fundraising campaign called BECOME. By the goodness and grace of God, over two million dollars was given on top of our operating budget. The leadership of the church laid out four aspects of the campaign that the church prayed would be strengthened because of our BECOME Initiative:

1. Long Term Home—God provided

2. Church Planting

3. Leadership Development (specifically investing in minority leadership)

4. Mercy and Justice

Over the next year, we want to focus specifically on investing and implementing the Leadership Development and Mercy and Justice priorities of BECOME. One of the ways we’ll live into Leadership Development is by hiring full-time ministry interns that will work within the church while working on their master’s degrees. We are excited that Phabienne Anderson is our first Ministry Intern. Phabienne joined our team in late August and is already a tremendous gift to our church. We are excited to hire more interns over the years to enable us to do ministry that glorifies God and does good in Durham. Learn more about our Vision and Priorities for 2023 using the QR code below!

At the end of 2021, we concluded the two-year fundraising portion of our five-year Become Initiative. Our goal for Become was to raise $3M in addition to our operational budget, for a total of $5.5M. In the end, through the generosity of our church, we raised $5.2M ($2M on top of our operating budget), which will enable us to become the church God has called us to be for His glory and the good of Durham.

In 2022, our Leadership Development flourished with the addition of Phabienne Anderson as our inaugural Ministry Intern. Phabienne has been an invaluable asset to our team and church, lending her expertise to Pastor Evan in coordinating impactful events like the RENEW conference, and enhancing our formation through the observance of Advent, Black History Month, and Lent. Phabienne's contributions also extend to the women's ministry, where she partners with Christie Bowman to spearhead the Women's Bible Study, delivering insightful teachings, podcasts, and guiding small group leaders.

Phabienne is working towards her master’s in biblical studies and will complete her degree in the spring of 2024. We are excited to hire more interns over the years to enable us to do ministry that glorifies God and does good in Durham.

When Become began, we believed God would move us out of the church-plant phase into more of an established church in Durham. Our prayer is that God would continue His gracious work of forming and shaping us to be His people in Durham; that we would become a faithful church in this city that continues to minister to Durham long after all of us have passed into glory.

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP ATTENDANCE 2022

WORSHIP TEAM HIGHLIGHT

In 2022, our choir and worship team continued to flourish. With a growing number of participants, the choir became not just a musical ensemble but also a tight-knit worship community. Our worship team expanded to include a diverse mix of members and non-members rotating in to bring fresh perspectives and talent to our services.

The highlight of the year was August's Worship Workshop, where the choir learned nine new, dynamic selections, further diversifying their repertoire. Additionally, our Next Generation Choir made great strides, as the number of children and youth participants nearly reached the point where they could be separated into distinct groups.

To further deepen their spiritual growth, the Worship Team has been delving into the book Refocus: 52-Week Devotional for Worship Leaders & Teams by Aaron Bucy, seeking to bring a renewed focus to their ministry and relationship with God. All in all, it was a year of growth, learning, and renewal for our church's music ministry.

Families are important to all of us at Christ Central. The goal of Central Kids is to partner with parents, equipping them so that the word of the Lord would grow in the hearts of their children. We are thrilled to share with you the highlights of our children's ministry from the past year.

The Treehouse, our kid-friendly service, was successfully launched in the fall of 2022 and has been a hit among our younger members. Our Central Kids made a positive impact in the community by helping over 40 of our neighbors in need through the creation of blessing bags. We were so excited to see over 70 kids jump “On the Case” for faith during our Vacation Bible School. Additionally, we were excited to kick off "Central Littles" with a variety of fun and engaging activities for children three and under, including Bubbles and Chalk, Notasium, and Duke Park Play. New and expectant mothers also had the opportunity to come together and support one another through events organized just for them. We were overjoyed to welcome 15 new babies into our church family.

We are grateful for the continued growth and impact of our children's ministry and look forward to all that is to come!

As we reflect on the past year, we are excited to share the many achievements and experiences of Central Youth.

One of the biggest highlights of the year was the hiring of Rose Abernethy and Emilio Hood. Emilio serves as our Youth Ministry Director, and Rose as our Associate Youth Ministry Director. Having them be a part of our team has been a huge blessing!

From bowling night at AMF to our Not-So-Silent-Night Christmas Party, Central Youth was able to offer a variety of activities that promoted fun, friendship, and growth.

One of the most exciting events was our Fall Retreat, which provided a unique opportunity for our youth to deepen their relationships with each other and with God. Our Youth also enjoyed Friendsgiving, another memorable occasion, filled with delicious food and games.

Central Youth was able to make a positive impact in our community through various fundraising efforts, including a bake sale that supported Durham Plunge. This week-long local mission trip allowed our youth to serve our city, and even enjoy a thrilling water rafting trip down the Neuse River.

We are proud of the growth and development of Central Youth and are grateful for your support and commitment to this important ministry. We look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for our youth in the coming year.

MINISTRIES

All of our ministries experienced growth during 2022 and we’re excited to share a few highlights from each below! We also wanted to draw special attention to our newly introduced Spiritual Practices that we hope each of you will use in order to experience personal spiritual growth this year.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

In 2022, we introduced eight Spiritual Practices. Spiritual Practices are how we cultivate and grow our individual faiths and relationships with God in our daily life. As a church, we emphasize spiritual, social, and cultural renewal. In seeking spiritual renewal, we hope to see individual lives changed and communities formed by individuals believing the gospel, belonging to community, and becoming more like Christ. We believe that will be accomplished by participating in eight spiritual practices: Word, Rule of Life, Songs, Sabbath and Solitude, Emotional Health, Prayer, Fellowship, and Mission.

MEN’S MINISTRY

•Our Men’s Ministry Team established a clear vision for the Men’s Ministry.

•10 men committed to that vision serving on the Men’s Ministry Team.

•50 men attended the fall retreat, some new to the church.

•50 men participated in a study of Galatians, many new to the church.

WOMEN’S MINISTRY

•Over 100 women participated in Hebrews Bible study.

•50 women met God in the silence of our Alone Together Women’s Retreat.

•Several women stepped up to lead Women’s Bible Study small groups.

•Completed a two-semester study of Genesis in the spring of 2022.

•Women’s events were well attended as our community grew.

20s & 30s

•Huge turnout for the 20s & 30s Christmas Team Trivia Party.

•Hosted a Financial Workshop to better equip 20s & 30s to steward their finances well.

•20s & 30s and 50ish Hangout was a highlight for many in the church.

•Hosted our 2nd Annual 5k/10k Run benefiting Durham Nativity School.

•Organic hangouts became more regular through our 20s & 30s GroupMe.

50ish

•Completed a Sunday School Class on the Lord’s Supper.

•Hosted socials with one another, and the 20s & 30s ministry.

FORMATION

•Had about 40 people participate in the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Course.

•Hosted three City Fellowships that covered various mental health topics. About 100 people attended each!

•15 people participated in a Fall Formation module on Faith and Work.

•About 40 people attended the Embrace Seminar.

•The pastors led a module on the Dynamics of the Spiritual Life at the beginning of the year.

Rose Abernethy Associate Youth Ministry Director

Phabienne Anderson Ministry Intern

Emilio Hood Youth Ministry Director

COMMUNITY CARE

Educational Partnership

In 2022, our Educational Partnership made a strong impact on the community through various initiatives. We partnered with Central Kids to donate shoes and socks to the C.C. Spaulding Elementary (CCS) Closet, helped beautify CCS with local volunteer groups, provided treats and meals for teachers and staff at Durham Nativity School (DNS) and CCS, supported DNS's annual gala, donated thousands of dollars in school supplies, participated in a Fall Fun Run, and provided holiday meal kits for families at CCS and DNS. Throughout the year, we also showed our appreciation for teachers and staff with a prayer box, treats, and active participation in community partner meetings. We’re excited to continue to partner with local schools in 2023!

REPAIR

Our REPAIR ministry is being relaunched in 2023 with a renewed partnership with Habitat that will focus on new builds. Our team already has a number of builds scheduled for 2023!

FAMILY ADVOCACY MINISTRY

In 2022, we made a significant impact in supporting foster and adoptive families. We successfully paired five adoptive/foster families with a Care Community, which provided them with a support system. Over 50 volunteers received training and are now offering weekly care to these families. In addition, we hosted an Introduction to Foster Care panel which featured Kia Carter, Director of Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention at Agape of NC, and three families from Christ Central who have experience in foster care and adoption. We also spread holiday cheer by sending Christmas care packages to all adoptive and foster families. We also achieved a milestone by launching and approving our first adoption grant. We’re excited to continue to grow our ministry and partner with families in 2023!

MISSIONS

LOCAL AND GLOBAL MISSIONS

The missions team at Christ Central Church had a productive year in 2022, marked by several notable accomplishments.

The missions team made a concerted effort to support new members working in ministry both locally and around the world. They also focused on implementing more systems and clarifying the onboarding process to improve organizational efficiency.

The team also met with various missions agency structures to learn about global partnerships and entered into a unique partnership with a South African church plant, aiming to go deeper in one or two geographic areas and try a different model from traditional global missions.

The missions team also took a closer look at equity in their missions giving and added new partners, particularly members of our church. Our team also increased regular communication with local and global mission partners to strengthen the bonds and keep our congregation informed on how they can support and pray for our partners through Congregational Prayer.

Our seventh annual Christmas Market was a huge success. Thanks to the nearly 30 volunteers that helped and everyone that donated gifts, we were able to serve more than 30 Durham families. We received over 400 toys that made their way under Christmas trees throughout Durham on Christmas Day.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

Hebrews 11:16

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.