In this report, you will see a positive story of the life of our church last year. It was a year of forward progress. Compared to the previous year, we had increases in overall worship attendance, membership, number of children, number of youth, number of young adults, older adult activities, parent groups, men’s ministry, women’s ministry, financial giving, the number of small groups, and stories of changed lives.
Something special is happening in our church. We are a growing church in many ways, but what’s behind that growth is the real story. God is answering our prayers that we will be a church that is faithful to the Gospel and fruitful in our witness to the world. In a year with two hurricanes, a presidential election, the mainstreaming of artificial intelligence, and ongoing divisiveness, we have focused on the Gospel and doing all we can to bear much fruit for the kingdom of God.
In addition to the excellent ministries you will read about in this report, we made several moves last year that are important.
• We brought in new youth leadership. Seth Lail and Elaina Brausch have brought fresh wind and new faces into the student ministries. This ministry is growing in depth and breadth.
• Pastor Zac launched parent groups on Wednesday nights. The group has grown so much, they already launched one new group and others will follow. Two of my daughters and their husbands are in this group and love it.
• We brought back someone to lead discipleship ministry. We moved Josh Schweitzer from youth ministry and into this area. He has begun building a coordinated system of discipleship with a clear pathway to spiritual maturity.
• We hired Andrea Merritt to oversee finance and administration. She has done a marvelous job of learning, refining, and strengthening our work of human resources, finance, and property.
• We brought back a communications coordinator position. We had bare bones communications prior to hiring Michele Trice as our coordinator. Her work makes sure that our people understand accurately who we are and all we do.
In 2025, we seek to continue growing deep and wide as a church. We have outstanding staff leading. The elders are currently working on a vision refresh that continues to center on being a disciple-making church. We have a balanced budget, a generous congregation, and an abundance of love for one another. Forward progress continues in 2025.
Yours In Christ,
ELDERS
CLASS OF 2025
Jason Aylward
Gary Blitch
Rob Bolton
Stacey Clyne
Walt Engle
Gene Ginn
Darlene Jones
Nikki McConnell
CLASS OF 2026
John Attaway
Kerrie Hall
Katie Hamer
Hunt Ozmer
Andy Stone
Tyson Voigt
Howard Wiggs
Kim Williams
CLASS OF 2027
Jim Chastain
Ken Loar
Callie Neslund
Tracey Ritter
Jason Rodda
Brenda Sawyer
Kelsey Elmhorst Wesche
Mike Wynn
Our Family Outreach Ministries have never been stronger than in 2024, and we expect 2025 to be a continuation of that strength. We have added new staff and programs, and we are looking forward to making structural changes to accommodate continued growth.
Our Family Grow Groups are transforming whole generations from a variety of backgrounds, and while it is not always easy, it is always rewarding.
Praises
Anna Butler and Marion McDowell have done a fantastic job building on the initiatives we laid down in 2023, and as a result, our Children’s Ministry saw a 95% increase in Sunday attendance and a 31% increase in Wednesday attendance through the fall. We increased the number and variety of our volunteers and saw more than 220 kids engage the gospel at our annual VBS last June.
In our youth ministry, we were able to bring Seth Lail on as our new Student Ministry Director and Elaina Brausch as our intern. Since their arrival, they have added a Sunday morning program called “Secret Donuts” that regularly welcomes more than 20 students, and they have grown their Wednesday night attendance by 30%.
Our Parents’ Group has expanded from eight in October of 2023 to more than 30 at the start of the fall in 2024. This necessitated an expansion to a second group that regularly has 10 or more in attendance. This is a co-ed group that reviews and discusses the weekly sermons. We have laughed, cried, and celebrated together all while learning how to lead our families to follow Jesus.
Our Special Needs Ministry continues to be a beacon of joy in our congregation. Libby Chappell has navigated staffing changes and scheduling issues to create a model program. In addition to our Sunday morning inclusion and self-contained programs for children and Shine On, our Wednesday evening program for teens and adults (which regularly sees more than 50 in attendance), there are now a half dozen or more individuals with special needs and their families who worship with us in our Vine Modern worship service.
Our growth makes our Vine Modern worship service so valuable. The majority of our children, teens, and their families regularly attend a Christcentered, energetic, and authentic service led by Jennifer Voigt and her team in Loudon Hall. The impeccable technical direction from David Bailey and his team provides a seamless place for people to
FAMILY OUTREACH
focus on Jesus Christ. As a result, we have had some of our strongest Easter and Christmas Eve services at FPC with more than 500 in attendance at each.
We have had several successful community outreach events in 2024. Our Spring Festival and Easter Egg Hunt in March which welcomed over 500 people to our campus inviting them to our Easter services and created great opportunities to experience the hospitality of our family ministries. We also saw more than 800 come out to our Costumes and Candy in October where more than 100 volunteers provided a fun, safe, and welcoming event for families in our area to enjoy our campus and meet members. These fed directly into children’s, youth, and special needs ministries, as well as all our worship services.
Anticipations
Growth requires change, and our hope in 2025 is to see our Children’s and Youth ministries move into a new and revitalized space that accommodates growth and looks to the future. These spaces would make everything from worship to crafts, games, and small groups more engaging for these generations of kids. We are hopeful for a secure space where kids of all abilities can encounter the gospel and volunteers can be enriched in their service for the Lord.
Prayers
We pray that God would guide the plans and decisions regarding how we can continually reach and care for generations of kids, teenagers, and parents who are increasingly alien to the Gospel of Jesus.
B Pastor Zac McGowen Outreach Pastor
CHILDREN'S MINISTRY
Children’s Ministry had an amazing 2024! We started the year with lots of training and feedback meetings as I adjusted to the role of Director of Children’s Ministry. We did a lot of behind-the-scenes work including refreshing the emergency policies, implementing Planning Center for volunteer scheduling, adding new signage to our space, adding volunteer shirts for our Wednesday night team, creating welcome bags for all of our new friends, and refreshing Room 115.
We started Summer Fun Days to encourage community amongst our kids, extended First Kids Club to match the school calendar, all while continuing our annual Third Grade Bible class, Easter Egg Hunt, Vacation Bible School, Vine performances, Christmas Workshop, First Kids 10:30, First Kids 45, and First Kids Club.
Praises
Our Vacation Bible School was amazing! We had 253 kids hearing the gospel throughout the week. From those children, 103 families did not have a church home. The week wouldn’t have have been possible without the 94 volunteers and FPC’s support staff.
We had nine Third Grade Bible participants, averaged 58 children on Wednesday nights, and 38 on Sunday mornings.
None of this would be possible without the 40+ volunteers we have helping regularly.
Anticipations
As we kick off 2025, we are excited for what the Lord has in store for our Children’s Ministry. We look forward to more growth, along with a deeper understanding of the gospel for all of our kiddos, at age-appropriate levels. We are beginning a new curriculum on Sunday mornings that is a three-year cycle rooted in the gospel, going through four core truths. Those truths are: God knows me, Jesus loves me, the Holy Spirit leads me, and I am a child of God.
We look forward to how the kids will discover those truths. We are looking forward to the way our First Kids Club will grow and how we can use that as an outreach opportunity for those families. We are also excited to see how God uses our different outreach events to bring new families to our church family.
Prayer
Our prayer for 2025 is that our kiddos leave our ministry with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a full knowledge of the gospel, and an understanding of the four truths.
B Anna Butler Director of Children’s Ministry
Other Staff Members
Marion McDowell, Children’s Ministry Assistant Frances Acevedo
Brianna Bushong Sadie Campbell
Kaelynn Crowder
Isabelle Hathaway
Kimberly Hillman
The purpose of the Care Ministry - coordinated by the Care Committee - is to make sure members who have particular needs are being remembered and cared for by their congregation. The primary emphases are hospital visitation and ministry to those who are homebound or living in nursing homes and similar facilities. The Older Adult Ministry also falls under the Care Ministry umbrella.
The hospital ministry provides visits, prayer, and prayer shawls. We also make follow-up contacts when people return home, to remind them their church cares for them.
For our homebound members, we make calls and visits as well as sending special mailings and offering Home Communion. Every member is a valued part of FPC even if they are not able to attend in person.
Praises
In 2024, we visited more than 100 members in the hospital, many of whom were admitted multiple times and for extended stays. The Visitation Team - comprised of three ministers and three volunteers - made more than 400 hospital visits.
We averaged 46 homebound members in 2024, and our goal is to connect with each of these members at least quarterly. Special thanks to the other ministers and the 16 volunteers who assist. We keep in touch through electronic means and regular mail. We provide Home Communion to approximately a dozen members on a regular basis.
The Care Ministry serves in a wide array of other ways, including: managing and distributing the weekly Prayer Team Prayer List; mailing birthday cards to every member during the year; the annual Faithful Fifties Luncheon; and a grief ministry.
CARE MINISTRY
Our Grief Ministry maintains contact with those who have lost loved ones, assists with funeral receptions, and coordinates the monthly Widow’s Journey gatherings.
Anticipations
We hope to work with our congregation to receive notices when members and family are in the hospital. Communication about hospitalizations is vital to our ability to visit and provide support.
We hope to train more volunteers to minister to our homebound members. Additional volunteers will allow us to expand our contacts with these important members. We find our volunteers grow in their own discipleship while they are ministering to others.
Within the grief ministry, we share information about the Widow’s Journey group to those who have lost a loved one. We also work to remember these individuals on the anniversary of their loss.
We are working toward incorporating the entire congregation in the Faithful Fifties Luncheon, so that we can celebrate and honor this special group.
Prayers
This ministry serves the dual purpose of reaching members to assess and assist with any special needs and to let them know they are still an important part of the church. Many of our homebound group are long-time members who have given their time, talents, and resources to the church. Now, we as a congregation, have the opportunity to return that love to these individuals through prayer, visits, and inclusion.
B Rev. Richard Phillips Care Ministry Coordinator
DISCIPLESHIP
My first directive in my new role was to assess our classes, groups, and events. From my analysis, I identified three key discipleship gaps. Those three include: families struggling to connect, a need for multi-generational groups, and the absence of a replicable discipleship model.
This led to the creation of our Grow Groupsmen’s, women’s, co-ed, and newlywed. All of these groups are self-sustaining and focused on deeper connection and spiritual growth. We also launched bridge-building events like the Fall Women’s Brunch, men’s meet-ups, a three-week Relational Evangelism course for older adults, and continued crowd favorites, such as the Chili Cook-Off.
Praises
We created four self-sustaining Grow Groups.
We helped train two new Young Adult ministry leaders.
We designed and executed a Facilitator’s Training with six participants.
We helped manage and improve the Church Center app and design.
Anticipations
We are building two new ministry teams under the Discipleship umbrella: a men’s and a women’s ministry team, both dedicated to creating spiritually enriching events. The Men’s Ministry is preparing for a weekend retreat, a time for fellowship, growth, and encouragement. We are planning a women’s version to follow.
We are planning a Fall Marriage Campaign, including a sermon series and a Saturday event aimed at strengthening Christ-centered marriages. These initiatives will continue fostering deeper faith connections across our church.
Prayers
Pray that God would continue to awaken our congregants’ hearts to use their God-given talents and callings to build up the church and to be the aroma of Christ to our community.
The more individuals who are involved in discipleship whether through Grow groups, classes or volunteering in our ministries, the more unified we become in Christ and the more the Holy Spirit shapes us to His likeness.
B Josh Schweitzer Director of Discipleship
The Classic Fine Arts Ministry experienced a busy yet successful and fulfilling year. Our ministry offers a variety of musical opportunities for all age groups, including choirs and handbell ensembles.
Praises
We introduced a new post-worship beginning guitar class under the skilled direction of Jon Freed, expanding our musical offerings.
The adult music ministries saw growth, with six new members joining, including four in the Chancel Choir and two in the Festival Ringers.
Our youth actively participated in enriching events, with seven students attending the annual Montreat Worship and Music Conference.
A significant highlight of the year was the lovely worship service provided by Surrender Youth during the Youth Classic Worship Sunday in November, showcasing the dedication and talent of our younger members.
We are so proud of our wonderful Kids Choir kids who have shown dedication and willingness to grow as musicians. We also want to give a big shout out to those parents who get their children to practices.
CLASSIC WORSHIP ARTS
Another major milestone was the Glory of Christmas program, which received an overwhelmingly positive response, attracting over 600 attendees in person and more than 1,000 online viewers. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Audio/Visual, Shine-On, and Music Ministries for their support in making this event a resounding success.
Anticipations
Looking ahead, we are excited to attend the Montreat 2025 Conference, themed "Clothed in Love," with plans to bring an even larger group of students and adults. Additionally, we are hopeful to complete the Glory to God hymnal project by early 2025.
Prayers
We seek your prayers for continued growth, more spirit-filled worship, and further expansion of our ministry offerings as we strive to enrich worship through the gift of music. Please pray for more boys to have an interest in joining kids choir.
B Sam Carlton Classic Worship Arts Director
Other Staff Members
Tom Ingui, Organist Emily Hammell, Children's Choir Coordinator
MODERN WORSHIP ARTS
Our modern worship arts ministry at FPC was active and thriving this year. We added an additional singer weekly in vine service and onboarded four new worship team members.
Praises
Our services were additionally enhanced by the participation of our two exuberant worship interns, Philip Mumford and Ariel Schwartz, who have made great strides as leaders and who brought fresh energy to Sunday mornings. This was amplified by having our first Vine choir for Easter Sunday service.
Our Wednesday night youth band has added five singers this year, now rotating every other week. They are learning how to lead and harmonize, and they wrote their first song. We also re-launched the summer fine arts camp to help build the basic musical skills of our middle and high school congregants.
Anticipations
As we move forward into 2025, I am hopeful that we will be able to add more opportunities for our choir to sing in service, expand our fine arts camp, expand the instruments in our youth band, and find more worship night opportunities.
Prayers
We ask for prayers for vision, more time for fellowship, and growth.
B Jennifer Voigt Modern Worship Arts Director
The2024 year was an interesting time for Surrender, as Josh Schweitzer led the first half of the year, and I led the second half, along with assistance from Elaina Brausch, intern. It’s been great to see how God has moved in the lives of the students this year.
We’ve taken students on trips, held small group nights for them to build bonds with each other and their small group leaders, and held some great events at the church as well (Christmas Movie Night, Surrender Christmas party, Halloween party). We spent the fall semester looking at the compassion of Jesus, including stories such as the Widow of Nain, the adulteress at the party, the Prodigal Son parable, and the Good Samaritan parable.
Praises
We held three major get-togethers… a boy’s hangout at The Joinery; a girl’s movie/ice cream night at the church; and the annual Back to School pool party… as ways to bring students together and build bonds.
We began the Secret Donuts gathering as a way to get students together in service on Sunday mornings, as well as building community with each other. This has been our greatest success, as we are averaging 25 students on any given Sunday morning. It’s been really cool to have a whole student section sitting together in Vine each week.
We held our first Share Night, and it was great seeing students share their faith and talk about the impact their small group leaders are having on their lives.
SURRENDER YOUTH
Anticipations
We are looking forward to taking students to Real Life Camp in Vero Beach in June. We are looking forward to seeing how God uses it to change the lives of our students.
We are looking forward to our annual Confirmation class and seeing students become more confident and knowledgeable in their faith. After the eight-week class, they will become full members of the church.
We are excited about the Senior Sunday Celebration when we are able to celebrate the amazing group of seniors we have this year. We can’t wait to share their post-high school plans with the congregation and celebrate their hard work.
We will be leading in Vine on Youth Sunday in April. We look forward to having the youth band (led by Jennifer Voigt) lead in worship that day as well as other students leading with announcements and ushers.
Prayers
We pray that our parents will be relentless in discipling their students, that they would read the Bible and pray together. We pray the work being done on Wednesdays and Sundays would be continued throughout the rest of the week.
B Seth Lail Director of Student Life Ministries
Other Staff Members
Elaina Brausch, Intern
OLDER ADULT MINISTRY
Last year was a wonderful year for the Older Adult Ministry. We had a variety of events and activities for those 50 and older to remain active and engaged with other members and non-members outside of church services.
Praises
Our Wednesday afternoon Bible study, “Get You Home Before Dark,” meets at 4 pm so attendees can make it home before dark each week, especially during the winter months. Dr. Paul Suich, Parish Counselor, leads the group and has added a Zoom option for those who aren’t able to attend in person.
We continued our regular programs, such as monthly game days and Spirit of Service (SOS) meetings, and we also sponsored unique programs geared toward the OAM group, such as a Fall Prevention Class. We also worked with LKLDNow, Lakeland Vision, and Age-Friendly Lakeland to present a Candid Conversation on Aging in Lakeland.
The annual Community Senior Adult Health & Resource Fair had 70 venders and more than 100 attendees. Our Big Band to Rock ’n Roll, Westminster Lakeland Autumn Reception, Caroling, and Be a Santa to a Senior were all well-attended and enjoyed.
Thank you to all of the volunteers who make our programs and outings go smoothly. OAM could not function without you.
Anticipations
We look forward to another wonderful year of SOS meetings, game days, Bible studies, and trips. We invite everyone to participate.
Prayers
We continue to pray that people will participate with OAM and enjoy the fellowship with one another and the Lord. The Older Adult Ministry will continue to help people live life to the fullest spiritually, mentally, and physically here at FPC.
B Sandie McRory Older Adult Ministry Coordinator
The St. Andrew Ministry was established to ensure that Individual and Family Counseling as well as teaching and supportive groups are available to our congregation. To that end, there are three components to the ministry: Counseling, Teaching, and Restoration. Counseling includes family and individual, and premarital counseling as well as referral services.
Praises
In 2024, we offered 720 hours of counseling sessions and groups.
Preventative care uses teaching and skill development to prepare people for life’s challenges before the crisis arrives. In 2024 we had a Bible study (The Life of David and the Epistle of 1 John) on Wednesday afternoons and Premarital counseling on Wednesday evenings.
ST. ANDREW MINISTRY
Our counseling, teaching, and group ministries use both face-to-face meetings and online versions such as Zoom meetings, FaceTime, and telephone contact.
Anticipations
In 2025, our hope is to establish plans for a seminar on the prevalence of anxiety in our culture.
Prayers
Please be in prayer for those who are facing profound challenges and difficult choices.
B Dr. Paul Suich
Parish Counselor
LITTLE SHEPHERDS
Little Shepherds, in its 27th year of operation, celebrated another successful year. The program that began with just a handful of children and teachers in 1997 now serves more than 150 children and 24 teachers. Six of these teachers have been at Little Shepherds for more than 20 years.
We are proud to be able to offer part-time childcare for the Lakeland community. This wouldn’t be possible without the support and guidance of our pastors, church administration, and session.
Praises
Each day at Little Shepherds is filled with new things to learn and discover. Our teachers work with a curriculum to plan fun activities that are conducive to each child’s individual growth and development.
Some of the ways teachers enhanced their teaching this year were with visits from community helpers, a real airplane and a planetarium to explore, the petting zoo, weekly cooking activities, international day, and yoga.
Anticipations
In the upcoming school year, we will be adding a new component to our existing software program to enhance our family engagement. This will allow parents even more ways to be connected to the preschool.
We would also like to add more technology to our classrooms with the addition of smart boards. This would help us provide a more interactive and engaging learning experience for our children. We will begin fundraising for the project this year.
Prayer
We pray that God would continue to bless us with many children and their families in the upcoming year.
B Carrie Joyner Director of Little Shepherds Preschool
Other Staff Members
Tami Trent, Assistant Director
Allie Aaron
Lauren Barlow
Tracy Barter
Cindy Benedict
Jennifer Campbell
Jill Craig
Patty Crum
Sarah Diaz
Caylyn Gilbert
Mariah Gomez
Heather Lankster
Michelle Mason
Ashley McHugh
Kimberly McLaughlin
Sandy Purdy
Janet Sharpe
Autumn Shirk
Diane Thompson
Soldely Torres
Jackie Turgeon
Kerrie Waldorf
Gina Wegman
SPECIAL NEEDS MINISTRY
Our Special Needs Ministry includes Mini Miracles, Big Miracles, Shine On, Night to Shine, and Buddy Break. Families attended worship services while their children were led in Bible lessons and activities. Inclusion support in the many Children’s Ministry activities was provided throughout the year including Vacation Bible School.
Praises
Buddy Break was held one Saturday a month. Children with special needs and their siblings had fun with trained buddies while parents/ caregivers enjoyed a much-needed time of respite.
Once again, we enjoyed our inclusion time at the Children’s Christmas Workshop in December. We were blessed with enough one-on-one buddies to be able to take all VIPs registered.
Shine On classes were held most Wednesday evenings. Older teens and adults with different abilities met for Bible study, activities, and fellowship. Our friends shared their gifts as disciples of Christ through volunteering and participating in several church events such as performing in the Easter story; greeting for the
Glory of Christmas concert; gathering and sorting items for the VBS Food Drive; and performing in Glory of Christmas by using ASL to sign the song “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
We were happy to host Night to Shine 2024, an unforgettable prom centered on God’s love for people with different abilities. The evening is always a blessing to our many hundreds of guests and volunteers. A Night to Shine Advisory Board was formed and has been a great resource this year in preparing for NTS 2025.
Anticipations
As we move into the new year, we hope to have more volunteers in all of our special needs programming.
Prayers
Pray for staff and volunteers to support the growing needs of this ministry.
B Libby Chappell Special Needs
Coordinator
MISSIONS
The Missions Ministry continues to pursue the concept of hands-on ministry in the Lakeland community and around the globe.
Praises
In November, we held our 9th annual Thanksgiving in a Bag project which distributes food to Jesse Keen and Philip O’Brien Elementary Schools, Anchor House, Salvation Army, VISTE, and Wilson House.
We continue to reach out to the farmworker communities by volunteering at Beth-El in Wimauma and RCMA in Mulberry.
We began our fifth year of working with the Polk County School System through kidsPACK, providing weekend meals to more than 400 children.
Our newest, local outreach program is Celebrate Recovery, which is two years old. This weekly program reaches approximately 70 individuals who are recovering from hurts, hang-ups, and habits.
We are also focused internationally by supporting five missionaries serving in Taiwan, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, and Peru. We also took our annual adult mission trip to Merida, Mexico where we helped build new church plants.
Anticipations
Our goal, as always, is to reach the disadvantaged and lost amongst us.
Prayers
Our prayer is for God to give us humility and a servant’s heart.
B Nancy Bertram Missions Ministry Coordinator
Our Young Adult ministry experienced big growth in 2024. Adding more opportunities for discipleship, community, and service made all the difference in the world.
Praises
Discipleship - We took discipleship to a deeper level in 2024. In addition to the culturally relevant and Biblically strong weekly teachings and rich small group offerings, we moved away from the ‘passive learner’ mindset and put tools in their hands to help them grow their faith through spiritual disciplines.
Community - We spent a lot of time last year building community and relationships with our group. We created opportunities for forging new friendships, strengthening existing bonds, and built a village within our group.
Volunteer Service - One of the goals of FPCYA is serving others. Members of our group played in both the Vine and Youth worship bands; volunteered with the annual Night to Shine event; participated in multiple OAM events; and served as small group leaders in Surrender Youth Ministry.
FPCYA | YOUNG ADULT
Anticipations
We are hoping to build upon the growth we saw last year. We had nine young adults - and their families - join FPC last year and averaged 60 young adults attending our different opportunities each month. We are looking forward to continuing to work with Monica Schweitzer and Juan Martinez as young adult leaders. Most importantly, we are hoping to continue to inspire young adults to rededicate their lives and to receive Christ for the first time.
Prayers
Our prayer for 2025 is that young adults in Lakeland would set down the tools of distraction and become skilled at spending time with God in prayer and Bible study. We are praying these action steps will lead them to influence the ones God has placed around them.
B Tim Timmes Director of College & Young Adult Ministries
TECH TEAM
AtFPC, almost every gathering or event uses some sort of AV (audio visual) solution to enhance their presentations and make them more memorable. AV equipment is widely used and, in most cases, expected. In addition to Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday church services, the Technology Team also provides weekly support to individual group meetings as well as outside events.
Praises
The online streaming of both the Classic and Vine Modern services attracts approximately 1,100 views per week.
One of our highlights was streaming the Glory of Christmas concert. This event was new to online streaming and has attracted more than 1,000 online views. One view could be one or many people watching from one device, such as a television.
Anticipations
The Tech Team consists of five part-time tech professionals and five tech volunteers. Balancing the human tech resources available with the demands of the equipment as well as the users will be a challenge we look forward to navigating.
Prayers
Please pray for the wisdom and talent required to maintain a high level of reliability for our guests and church members.
B David Bailey Technical Director
Other Staff Members
Jim Kunkle
John Lowery
Brian Primm
Jim Shulnes
FACILITY SUPPORT
Ona daily basis, the Facilities Support Staff takes care of FPC and our congregation through the cleaning of all areas as well as setting up for events and classes.
Praises
In 2024, a sampling of events held at FPC included: the Lakeland High School Football Banquet, Options for Women, Salvation Army Banquet, Flight to Honor, Vine in the Round, Camillia Show, Cotillion, Good Shepherd Hospice Breakfast, and Night to Shine.
The staff also handles an array of services for special events such as: concerts, funerals, graduation, camps (including VBS and Summer Fine Arts Camp), and holiday set-up and decorating.
On a recurring basis, they handle set-ups for: Vine Modern Worship, Bible Study Fellowship and Person of Jesus study groups, Lift Family Gatherings, Celebrate Recovery, Buddy Break, Spirit of Service, Bone Builders, and Session meetings.
Maintenance is a huge responsibility. Our staff is responsible for painting, plumbing, electrical, and pressure washing sidewalks, as well as maintenance of the church’s vehicles, clean up after storms, putting out sandbags in preparation for storms, building of special projects used for events, and maintenance of all custodial machines.
Anticipations
I’m very proud of our team. We work hard to accomplish the many tasks we are given as a team. We look forward to another busy year and the opportunity to work with the many amazing people in our congregation.
Prayers
Please be in prayer for the safety of our team and for our ability to provide a safe and enjoyable atmosphere around the FPC facilities.
B Lori Lewis Head Custodian
Other Staff Members
Mark Blanchard
Shawn Clark
Eric Hathaway
Sloan Isacson
Brian McCant
Hampton McKee
NEW HIRES
AsPastor John mentioned in his message (inside front cover), we hired new staff in several key roles in 2024. They have been hard at work for some time now, but if you have not spent any time with them, please do. You will be delighted with who they are and the work they are doing.
Seth Lail, Director of Student Life Ministries
has been part of FPC for more than five years. Seth has been a passionate member of the FPCYA group, a regular volunteer with Surrender prior to coming on staff, a facilitator of Person of Jesus studies, and a volunteer with our Sunday First Kids.
UNDER CARE OF FPC SESSION FOR ORDINATION
Emily Russell
Maggie Ruthven
Josh Schweitzer
2024 MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Total Membership 2024: 1043
Total Membership 2023: 963
Andrea Merritt, Director of Finance and Administration filled the role previously held by Elena Nicholas and Interim Jerre Wilson. Andrea comes to FPC with great experience in leadership, finance, human resources, project management, technology, training, management, and marketing. She comes to the role with outstanding references, great faith, all of the skills for the work, strong education and work background, and a desire to serve her Lord here. Andrea’s husband, Kyle, and children are active in the church as well.
Josh Schweitzer, Director of Discipleship moved to his new role in July, leaving the Surrender Student Ministries position. Josh is responsible for developing and implementing effective discipleship ministries that foster spiritual growth and maturity amongst FPC’s adult members.
Pastor John said, “Josh has the drive, passion, and vision for helping people reach maturity in Christ.”
Michele Trice, Communications Coordinator will be a familiar face to many of you as she held this same role from 2016 until 2020. Working with our graphic designer, Julie Ward, Michele manages weekly communications. She is also leading our communications strategy, writing blog posts that share the good news of our congregation, and working with our ministry heads to share the important information with our church and community. Michele uses her storytelling gifts to share the story of our church.
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
FPC’s revenue in 2024 was $2,947,424, which was 10 percent more than we expected to receive in the budgeted year. The largest increase was in our general giving (not commitments), so we believe this increase is due to newcomers to FPC, as our overall attendance and membership numbers have increased throughout the year.
Expenses came in approximately $20,000 under budget at $2,602,664, resulting in a net gain of $344,759.
Thank you for your generous contributions. As expenses continue to increase, we strive to continue this level of revenue in 2025.
When We Give
January is our most popular month for giving, as it makes up 21 percent of our overall giving for the year. December accounts for 12 percent of 2024 giving, with March being the third highest giving month. The remainder of the months ranged between 5-8 percent of our total giving.
How We Give
In addition to general giving & commitments, our top funds for 2024 were as follows:
College & Young Adult
$39,459.00
Night to Shine
$34,454.50
Good Samaritan
$30,101.82
Classic Fine Arts
Oasis
$28,310.00
$29,620.18
Special Needs Ministry $25,025.50
Surrender Youth
$19,102.97
Stewardship of Gifts
The elders, ministry teams, and staff diligently strive to be good stewards of the financial gifts given to FPC. The chart below provides an estimate of how these gifts were used in 2024.
Our highest costs were staff compensation and property & administration. Insurance and utilities made up 17 percent of the total property costs.
$1,259,404.00
$1,096,596.00
Fun Facts
Did you know these facts?
On average, FPC hosts 97 different events and activities each week.
In 2024, FPC printed and/or copied more than 200,000 sheets of paper.
We have 35 air handling units on property. Repair, replacement, and maintenance on them this year alone cost the church $80,723.62.
B Andrea Merritt Director of Finance and Administration
