Discover Us Newsletter January-March 2023

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

MEET THE TEAM Meet our Executive Council --just some of the friendly faces you'll encounter at Discover.

PAGE 2

KICKING THE YEAR OFF RIGHT: LEADERSHIP RETREAT RECAP PAGE 3

Us

DISCOVER IS ONE: GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY Find out how you can win a $50 gift card in honor of Discover's first anniversary.

PAGE 7

PAGE 7 | AMAZING FATHERS NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN!

PAGE 5 | SERVICE SUNDAY: GOT SNEAKERS? SHOE DRIVE

PAGE 6 | SERMON SERIES: THE NEW NORMAL AND MONEY AINT A THING

PAGE 8 | HOPE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES 5K

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

MEET THE TEAM Discover Community Church is committed to being a place of healing and we have a special place in our hearts for those who are disconnected, disinterested, and discontent with church as usual.

Reaching our community in impactful ways is a tall order and our Executive Council strategizes and collaborates to make it happen. The Council is made up of two arms: Executive Leadership and Executive Council. The Executive Leadership team members provide checks and balances for the council and finalize, approve and support the work and initiatives of the group. They are also responsible for oversight, governance and decisions for any legal and financial concerns. The Executive Council cannot do it all on their own. The team is backed by several amazing teams of Discover family members who execute our vision with excellence, compassion and so much love. = Executive Leadership

Senior Pastor Kevin Jones

First Lady Krissy Jones

Director of Administration/Creative Arts Director/ Director of Engagement (Acting)

Cornelius Berkeley

Aisha Berkeley

MD Campus Pastor Wesley Johnson

Executive Minister Marlon Wilson

First Lady Tarkia Johnson

Pastor of Education & Training Michael Richardson

Youth Pastor Jason Johnson

FAMILY MOMENTS Chief Technology Officer Michael Logan

Chief Financial Officer Ericka Price

Director of Communications Lanette Richardson

Executive Council Jamila Logan

Love God, Love People, Make a Difference.

2

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

KICKING THE YEAR OFF RIGHT: DISCOVER'S FIRST LEADERSHIP RETREAT The Discover Community Church Executive Council started the year off with a weekend leadership retreat in picturesque Bluemont, Virginia. The weekend was jam-packed with activities and sessions designed to inspire, teach, challenge, bring the team closer, and cast the vision for the upcoming year.

The leadership team on the last day of the retreat. They are still smiling!

The team arrived at the retreat location on Friday evening and enjoyed dinner and team building games lead by Tasha Johnson.

After a good night's sleep, the team hit the ground running on Saturday with a day full of sessions. Some of the highlights included: Knowing Your Why (Aisha Berkeley) - This session challenged the team to rediscover why they joined the effort to launch Discover Community Church. Knowing your why is especially important when things get difficult, and Aisha walked the team through the process of identifying and articulating their why.

2-Year Check In (Pastor Mike Richardson) - The team revisited Discover's pre-pandemic ministry plan and evaluated if the ministry is still on the right track after all the changes in the world over the past 2 years.

3

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

KICKING THE YEAR OFF RIGHT: DISCOVER'S FIRST LEADERSHIP RETREAT CONT. Flower Hour (Jamila Logan) - The retreat concluded on Sunday morning with a "Flower Hour" led by Jamila Logan. This was a chance for the team to share appreciation for all the unique gifts and invaluable contributions each leader makes to Discover. It was a productive and empowering weekend and the team left inspired to continue this great work.

2-Year Outlook (Pastor Wesley Johnson) - The leadership team participated in a visioning session for the next two years to imagine where they want Discover to be and planning how to get there.

Youth Vision (Pastor Jason Johnson) - This session explored how Discover can get our youth more involved and invested and mentor them to be the next leaders of Discover Community Church.

Hitting the Target (Cornelius Berkeley) - The discussion centered around how to attract our target audience of people who are disinterested, discontent, and disconnected from the church.

Conflict Resolution (Pastor Kevin Jones) - Pastor Kev walked the team through the ground rules and the process for conflict resolution as a team.

Where We Stand: Reproductive Justice and LGBTQIA+ (Pastor Mike Richardson) - Pastor Mike Rich led a thought provoking discussion on reproductive justice and its implications for women and helped the team articulate our stance on the matter. After a short break, he led the team in a discussion about LGBTQIA+ communities, how the church has harmed them, and challenged the team to create an environment at Discover that promotes inclusion and healing for our LGBTQIA+ family.

How Are We Doing? (Cornelius Berkeley) - After a long day of learning, stretching, and brainstorming the future, it was time for the team to look back on the past. Since its inception, Discover has accomplished a lot and Cornelius highlighted some of those wins and the impact Discover has made as a ministry.

4

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

SERVICE SUNDAY: GOT SNEAKERS? SNEAKER DRIVE

Did you know that an estimated 600 million pair of shoes go into America's landfills every year? Sneakers take decades to decompose and emit harmful chemicals into the soil and air in the process.

Discover took action and started the year off by hosting a sneaker drive as our January 29th Service Sunday event in collaboration with Got Sneakers?. Got Sneakers? helps impact the environment with its sneaker recycling program and offers payment for each pair of shoes donated to be recycled.

Helping the environment and raising funds in the process was a win-win for us. Discover collected over 300 pair of shoes at locations in Maryland and Virginia for this effort. We collected more shoes than anticipated and had to order more Got Sneakers? bags to hold them all! The funds received were donated to one of our community partners, My Girlfriend's House, Inc.

Discover's Director of Administration, Cornelius Berkeley presenting a check to My Girlfriend's House, Inc.

WHAT IS SERVICE SUNDAY?

My Girlfriend's House, Inc. is a non-profit organization that "empowers girls to lead, innovate, and serve." One of the organization's annual events is a spring break college tour that provides young ladies the opportunity to visit top colleges and universities to get a glimpse of life on campus and prepare for the college application process. The profits from the sneaker drive went toward Discover's $1,000 donation to My Girlfriend's House Inc. to help defray the costs for students attending the college tour.

We cleaned our closets, helped the environment, and supported some special young ladies in process. Excellent work Discover family and friends!

Service is one of Discover's core values and a key component to how we do church. Every 5th Sunday, Discover gets together to complete a community service project together. We have had the opportunity to partner with some great local and national organizations to make an impact with our time, talent, and dollars and we always have a fun time in the process. Be on the lookout for details on our next Service Sunday project coming up in July.

5

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

SERMON SERIES: THE NEW NORMAL & MONEY AINT A THING If you missed either of these series, you can click the images to view them on our YouTube channel.

Our Pastors inspired us with two amazing sermon series in January and February. As usual, they knocked it out of the park and sparked some healthy self-reflection and conversation.

The New Normal Pastor Kev started things off in January 2023 with "The New Normal" series. We were challenged to evaluate our response when things happen that change our lives temporarily or even permanently. If we live long enough, we may have to deal with difficulties like financial issues, illness, divorce, losing loved ones, and caring for aging parents.

What do you do when you can't stop life from happening? How do you respond when you've been taught to serve a God that is able, and now God doesn't seem willing to help?

This series helped us to rethink some of the theology we've been taught for our comfort rather than our development.

Key Points Shared: 1. Don't confuse God's apparent absence with apathy.

2. Don't view unanswered prayer as God being uninterested.

3. God is hoping that you develop through the difficulty.

Money Aint a Thing In February, Pastor Wes began a new series, "Money Aint a Thing." This insightful series on financial health encouraged listeners to notice their attitudes and habits around finances, helped us prioritize where and how to give, and challenged us to view and utilize money as a tool and not a treasure.

The series was timely, practical and provided some great insight on the systemic issues and lack of information that contribute to the financial disparities in African American communities. Each week, Pastor Wes dug in a little more and gave invaluable tools, tips, and key principles to help anyone get on the road to improving their financial state. Pastor Wes was also very clear about protecting ourselves from coercion and pressure from the church to give. The series also encouraged some great follow on conversations at The Hang Out. Key Principles Shared: 1. Before every opportunity to give, you should have already decided in our heart with God what to give (no coercion!).

2. God wants you to have the ability at all times to help every good work.

3. God expects you to manage and grow the resources provided to you (Investor vs.

Consumer) 4. Your giving should result in thanksgiving to God. 6

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

ANNOUNCEMENTS DISCOVER IS TURNING ONE: GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY! Discover's one year anniversary is coming up on May 15th. To commemorate this special milestone in ministry, we are giving away seven $50 gift cards to celebrate our first year of ministry. Check out our social media pages from May 15th - 21st and answer the question of the day about "firsts" at Discover for a chance to win!

AMAZING FATHERS: FATHER'S DAY CELEBRATION Do you know an amazing father in the community that goes above and beyond for his family? Discover wants to honor an amazing dad in your life with a special treat.

Dads in Maryland and Virginia will have a chance to win a gift card to a local black-owned restaurant, Ruby's Southern Comfort Kitchen (Bowie, Maryland) or Orleans Bistro & Grill (Fredericksburg, VA).

To nominate an amazing dad to win a gift card, go to the following link or use the QR code and tell us why the dad you are nominating is so wonderful. We love our dads at Discover, but we want to nominate great fathers outside of the DCC family. Think about fathers in the community that deserve to be celebrated and nominate an amazing dad today!

Nominations must be submitted no later than June 5th.

7

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

BLACK AND MISSING: HOPE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES 5K Discover is participating as a sponsor and a team in the Hope Without Boundaries 5K Run/Walk. The 5K is largest fundraising event held by the Black and Missing Foundation to help bring awareness and exposure to the hundreds of thousands of reported missing persons of color across the country. Proceeds from the event will go towards: funding for families of the missing, flyer distribution, financial support, victim recovery, and burial service assistnce.

The 5K will be held on Saturday, June 3rd at 8:00 a.m. at the National Harbor. Registration is $35 for adults and $25 for children.

If you’d like to join Team Discover, you can visit comediscover.org or use the QR code shown to register.

WHat's next May May 7th Watch Party: "Choose Wisely" sermon series May 8th - 12th Discover's Teacher's Appreciation Week goodie boxes will be distributed to teachers in Maryland and Virginia.

May 14th Mother's Day May 15th Discover's 1 Year Anniversary!

May 21st Watch Party: "Choose Wisely" sermon series & Discover's Anniversary observed.

May 29th Memorial Day

June June 3rd Black & Missing: Hope Without Boundaries 5K June 4th Watch Party: "Discover Core Values" sermon series.

June 18th Father's Day & Watch Party: "Discover Core Values" sermon series

June 19th Juneteenth

July July 2nd Watch Party (ONLINE ONLY): "Discover Core Values" sermon series July 4th Independence Day

august August 6th Watch Party August 20th Family Reunion in Virginia: Both campuses will come together for an in-person joint Sunday service, food, and fun!

July 16th Watch Party July 30th No Watch Party (online or in person). Service Sunday individual project: Community Cleanup.

8

VOL 2 | ISSUE 1

JANUARY - MARCH 2023

DISCOVER SOMETHING DIFFERENT: HOW WE DO CHURCH Watch Parties - 1st and 3rd Sundays A Watch Party is an in-person gathering to view the stream of Discover's Sunday service with other Discover family and friends. Gatherings are hosted in Maryland and Virginia on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and are followed by The Hang Out. Light refreshments are served.

The Hang Out - 1st and 3rd Sundays The Hang Out is an open forum for Watch Party attendees to discuss the sermon, current events, and hear from each other. These discussions are often very lively, informative, and insightful. It's a great addition to the Sunday experience.

Self-Care Sunday - 2nd and 4th Sundays Self-Care Sundays allow us a chance to decompress, unwind and refuel. We take a break from service and encourage everyone to hang out with family & friends, do brunch, catch a movie, relax, and more.

The goal is to take a day off and spend time doing whatever fills your cup.

Service Sunday - 5th Sundays The Discover family collaborates on community service projects every 5th Sunday to give back and make an impact in our surrounding communities. We also have a lot of fun in the process.

Participating students can earn community service hours on Service Sundays.

Stay Connected We hope you enjoyed the first issue of our quarterly newsletter series and the opportunities to connect with Discover Community Church through our Watch Parties and outreach events.

We encourage you to stay connected to hear more about where we are headed and how you can be a part of it. There are several ways you can stay in touch:

Digital Connection Form If you want to stay connected, this is the first move you should make. Completing this form ensures you are in our database and part of our mailing list for updates, future newsletters and Discover news and events.

YouTube Visit our YouTube page to watch our past services and other special content.

Our Website This is the hub for Discover Community Church. Join our live stream, register for Watch Parties, give online, find registration links, view past services, and find out more about our story here.

Social Media Get connected for photos, videos, upcoming events, and more!

9