Multiply Q2 Report

MULTIPLY

2022 | SECOND UPDATE

SO THE CHURCH… HAD PEACE AND WAS BEING BUILT UP. AND WALKING IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD AND THE COMFORT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, IT MULTIPLIED. ACTS 9:31

Dear Church,

In August we had the privilege of doing a prayer walk around the Columbia Heights neighborhood as we prayed for God to open the door for us to have a permanent location. We divided into smaller groups and went in multiple directions along 16th Street and the surrounding area. District Church, as one of your pastors, you inspired my faith! To see each of you, young and old, kids included, praying along the streets over the people, the homes and businesses, engaging in conversations with those who were curious about what we were doing, filled my heart to overflowing. We prayed for and proclaimed the good news to those who do not come to our church.

Twelve years ago we were called to be a church for the city, impacting our city for Christ, one neighborhood at a time. The prayer walk served as a great reminder about who God has called us to be. This has also inspired Lucy and I to pray intentionally for our neighbors in Maryland and Northeast DC. Instead of complaining about our neighbors as we can be tempted to do, we are learning to pray for them and build relationships!

I believe this is not just my testimony but that of many others in this community. Together we can make a huge impact in each other’s lives and the best place to start our impact is in our prayers.

To care so much about the people in our neighborhoods and cities is something that is rare tofind in our world today, and you, District Church, are a rare find. As we celebrate 12 years of ministry, I am grateful to God for what He is doing in each of us, and what He has already begun doing through all of us. We are excited to see this impact go beyond DC, into Maryland and Virginia. I see our neighborhoods changing for the better as we see more and more people being affected by the life that we live as true followers of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your continued generosity as it allows us to be the church for the city.

Kevin Nderitu Executive Pastor

MULTIPLY Our Mission

$5 Million

will fuel our ongoing discipleship ministries including the work we are doing on becoming a multicultural church.

4 People were baptized in September

“I was baptized as an infant but over the past 10 years of being a disciple of Jesus, being baptized again has been put on my heart. As I’ve learned more about the Holy Spirit at The District Church, it was clear it was guiding me to take this step. It was something that came with fear as well since I have been leading in the church and in ministries for almost a decade. I wasn’t sure what people would think or say about seeing me get baptized like this. For me,

this choice was an act of obedience to this calling to join more closely with Him and to take a public and personal step of faith to join more intimately with Jesus and to combat fear itself.” Willie Hollingsworth

Andreas Jr Roberson

was so excited to give a portion of his birthday money the first week that a giving box was posted in the Kids’ City hallway. Andreas Jr and his sister Giselle have been giving a portion of their allowance money every other week. Their mom, Taylor says, “We love when they remind us Sunday morning, ‘Mom and Dad, we can’t forget our gifts to God!’” The kids both said they give money to the church because God heals them and gives money to them.

MULTIPLY Our Locations

$4 Million

to begin saving and searching for a permanent Sunday home in NW DC and opening locations in DC and Maryland.

At the end of August we participated in a church-wide prayer walk around the neighborhood we gather in every week, Columbia Heights. One of our main objectives was to pray for God to open the door to a permanent Sunday home for us in the neighborhood.

There was an awesome time of worship together and then the whole congregation split up into groups to walk through the neighborhood equipped with prayer points and strategic stops along multiple routes. Groups stopped in front of local businesses, schools, other places of worship, and main hubs of the neighborhood like Columbia Heights Plaza and Meridian Hill Park. People came out of their apartments or off the street to ask what was going on, ask for prayer, and even join in song. Many in our congregation were moved by really experiencing the needs of the neighborhood for the first time. It was a beautiful expression of our identity as a church for the city.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

Psalm 127:1

16th Street - Did You Know?

There are dozens of world religions, societies, churches, synagogues, and houses ofworship represented along 16th Street. What does it look like for us to be a light along 16th Street?

are a few of the prominent ones:

St. John’s Episcopal Church

First Church of Christ Scientist

Founding Church of Scientology

Scottish Rite Temple

Washington Family Church National Cathedral

All Souls Unitarian

Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints

Chùa Giác Hoàng Buddhist Temple

Washington Ethical Society

Baha’i Center of Washington

St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

Tifereth Israel Synagogue

MULTIPLY

Our Generosity $2 Million

PLANT CHURCHES · ALLEVIATE

POVERTY PURSUE JUSTICE IN THE NAME OF JESUS

We believe God is calling us to greatly expand our generosity to others. We currently give about $500,000 a year to outreach causes - which include our signature ministries DC127 and Just Homes, to benevolence, but also to all of our local and global partners through our Advent Offering.

We sense God is calling us to expand this dramatically because the pandemic has shown us that the need is so great. Over the next two years, we are trusting God with the resources to be able to give away a record amount to the cause of Christ.

“I have been attending The District Church since October 2018 when my friend and brother Abe Kim introduced me to the Church. In 2019, I went back home to Zambia for about a year and came back in 2020 for graduate school at American University. Initially I had a job on campus, and everything was going very well l but during the summer of 2021, I got an email from my supervisor that I wasn’t going to continue working with them because of lack of funding. Being a firstgeneration and an international student, the job I had on campus was my only source of income. So, when I lost the job, I was so devastated because I didn’t know where I would get money for the next rent or to buy food. I was so depressed that I couldn’t even sleep for about 3 days straight. I was almost giving up on life and school.

But I decided to do one of the most difficult things for me, reaching out to others for help. I started reaching out to friends. When I reached out to Abe, he told me about the church Benevolence Fund. I also decided to reach out to Pastor Amy Graham for counseling. Pastor Amy’s counseling sessions really helped me: I was able to sleep well again, eat, find joy in every little thing again, and I have never felt depressed again. Thanks to the support I have been receiving via Benevolence Fund: my faith has been made stronger, I was able to graduate in June 2022 with a master’s degree, and I got my first job offer starting in September 2022!

My encouragement to everyone who might be going through a hard time is to reach out to others, it saved my life and career. Thank you so much Pastor Amy, Abe, Benevolence Fund Team, everyone who has been praying for me, everyone who has been giving to TDC, and above all thanks be to God.”

Sharpy Maluba

Since our inception, The District Church has been instrumental in the growth and expansion of DC127. DC127 serves well over 90 families each year through our Communities for Families program and we touch an additional 50 households with our Trauma Informed Care workshops, and Foster Care Information sessions. They recently shared a story in their newsletter of one of their families. A teen mom, Jessica, who, lacking support and resources was considering giving her two young children up for adoption. By getting into DC127’s programs Jessica was able to find stability, a job, and keep her family together. Jessica said, “I can say if it wasn’t for DC127 I don’t know where I would be today.”

GIVING UPDATE 558 households giving to Multiply MARCH 2022 - MARCH 2024 Mission Advancement Our DC 127

goal was $11 Million and because of your generosity and faith we are already seeing that God wants us to do more than we can ask or imagine!

Committed & Expected: $12,447,300 Total Given to Date: $3,626,757

“This Multiply season has created opportunities for God to challenge our faith and reveal His outrageous generosity towards us. We wanted to share two ways God moved in our finances when we made commitments to give to His church.

The first was when we made our Multiply commitment in February. We leaned heavily on the passage in Malachi 3, where God says to Israel, “Test me in this (giving a tithe) and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” In response to that promise, we had some challenging conversations and difficult prayer sessions but ultimately decided to significantly increase our giving to a point that made us uncomfortable.

Looking at our budget, we were somewhat unsure about whether we’d be able to cover some known expenses for this year. God responded in an amazing way. The NEXT DAY, David was unexpectedly promoted at work, with a salary increase that fully covered the increase in our giving that we’d committed to the night before!

The second one took place over the summer. Amanda was laid off from her job in June due to her company’s financial struggles. She was granted three months’ severance, which was due to expire in September, during TDC’s week of prayer and fasting. As the time approached for her severance to run out, we decided to maintain our Multiply tithe at the same level we had committed in February, despite the loss of income and no new job offers in sight. We fasted and prayed God would give Amanda multiple job offers before the end of the week. We didn’t know how it would work out but trusted that God had a plan to provide.

Once again, God responded with perfect timing. On the very day that Amanda received her final severance check, Amanda received a job offer! And the following day, she received a second!

These two situations have completely blown us away, demonstrating God’s outrageous timing, His desire to provide, and His responsiveness to our trust in Him. We hope these two situations encourage you and challenge you to lean into God’s provision even more than you already are.”

Amanda and David Forsey

A CHURCH FOR THE CITY districtchurch.org/multiply