Grace Bible Church 2022 Annual Report

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH

ANNUAL REPORT

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

A LETTER FROM PASTOR PHIL

While for most of the world the focus for 2022 was getting back to “normal,” we believed that God had a much bigger goal for the family at Grace Bible Church, and that included investing in future generations through the construction of a new building to accommodate our growing children’s ministry and staff team. This was the heart behind the “Enduring Faithfulness” initiative, and 2022 will be remembered as the year we broke ground on that dream.

Thanks to the faithfulness and generosity of over 130 families and individuals, we saw commitments come in at over 3 million dollars to begin work on this future expansion. This, however, was only one aspect of the work the Lord called us to in 2022. As you will read in this annual report, 2022 was filled with the reaching and equipping of disciples of Jesus. We saw disciples made in our youth ministry, children’s ministry, Bible studies, counseling ministry, community groups, and so much more! The Lord was so faithful to us this past year, as we saw new believers baptized, leaders raised up, marriages healed and restored, and so many people (young and old) growing in their love and faithfulness to the Lord.

There are so many stories we could share from the past year, and I encourage you to take time and give thanks to the Lord as you read some of them in this annual report. Thanks for your faithfulness and partnership with us in being the family of God, on the mission of God, for the glory of God in Bend and around the world. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in 2023.

OUR PRAYER FOR THE FAMILY OF GRACE BIBLE IN 2023:

The elders’ prayer for this year is that we would all be able to take our eyes off of the turbulent circumstances that we find in our culture, and put them back on the author and finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ; praying that not only would we know him more, but that we would enjoy him more, and for that joy to impact every area of our lives! Our hope is to see us all grow in our relationship with the Lord and to experience a greater joy, peace, care for one another, and love for our community. Would you join us in praying for these things?

CULTIVATING A CULTURE OF JOY

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (ESV)

CULTIVATING A PURSUIT OF PEACE

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Romans 14:19 (ESV)

CULTIVATING A COMMUNITY OF CARE

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Romans 12:15–16 (ESV)

CULTIVATING A LOVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV)

MEMBERS 244

NEW MEMBERS ADDED IN 2022 32

BAPTISMS 11

2022 BUDGET BREAKDOWN

ENDURING FAITHFULNESS BUILDING PROJECT

ESTIMATED COST: $8,156,000

PLEDGES RECEIVED: $3,294,773

FUNDS RECEIVED: $2,059,379

RESERVE SAVINGS: $680,541

BASE CAMP

FALL 2021

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

SPRING 2022

CONSTRUCTION

FALL 2022

SCHEMATIC DESIGN WINTER 2022

CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

SUMMER 2022

COMPLETION

FALL 2023

GRACE KIDS

Our goal in Children’s Ministry is to partner with parents as they disciple their children. In 2022, we brought Junior Ulit on to lead in our Sunday morning Grace Kids program, where he has helped to bring vision and enthusiasm for serving our families. 2022 marked 7 years of ministry for the Sullivans, so Grace sent us on a 3-month Sabbatical for rest and reconnection as a family, and we are incredibly thankful for that. Our team of staff and volunteers did an amazing job leading our biggest VBS ever, with 150 kids, several of whom do not regularly attend church. In the fall, our Children’s and Youth Ministries joined forces to throw our annual Barn Bash, which was open to the entire church community for the first time. As we look to the new year, we look forward to growing our volunteer staff team so we can be fully prepared to open our new children’s building! ANDREW SULLIVAN

“My kids love going to Sunday school! They love their teachers and their friends, and I appreciate having other trustworthy adults building on the Bible teaching we do at home. It is so important to us for our kids to see and hear the gospel from other adults, and I am so thankful that that is what is happening in Grace Kids each week.” GRACE KIDS PARENT

COMMUNITY GROUPS

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). This is what happens in community groups at Grace. We meet once a week to discuss and apply the Word of God in our lives, love and care for one another, share food, and pray together.

Community groups also do life together in recreational activities, mission efforts, and service opportunities. We will add three new community groups this January bringing our total to 21 groups in Bend, Sisters, and Redmond. If you’re not connected to a community group yet, please see our website for more information. You can contact the leaders and let them know you’d like to visit.

DAVE ROBINSON

If you’d like help finding a community group please contact Dave Robinson at dave@gracebibleofbend.org.

As Laura, Zach, and Josie mention on the following page, “you’ll find a place to belong, people to lean on, and a new family to be a part of.”

306 ADULTS IN COMMUNITY GROUPS

“My community group welcomed me warmly and made me feel as if I had been a part of the group for a while. I’d been hoping and praying for a place to belong, and at GBC I found it!”

LAURA HILDEBRANDT

“It means so much to have a group of fellow believers to lean on throughout all seasons of life. Before we found our CG, we were lonely and isolated from any source of community. Our group has become like family to us.”

ZACH AND JOSIE AVIS

WORSHIP

I am so thankful for the team of musicians, sound, and media techs that together make up the Sunday Worship Ministry at Grace Bible. Their commitment and service help support the Word being faithfully proclaimed through song, so that the church might rejoice in and be strengthened by the gospel. This past year we hosted our second worship/tech intern, who helped immensely behind the scenes with making sure that our worship and tech teams were set up well to serve each week. We introduced 6 new songs in 2022, several of which were centered around the Psalms and gave us language to sing both praise and lament. In addition to new songs, we also saw several new musicians join the team, which helped strengthen the depth of our instrument rosters. At the end of the year, we released our first recorded single (O Come O Come Emmanuel) across all major streaming platforms. As we head into 2023, my prayer is that God would continue to shape us to be a people that think rightly, feel deeply, and sing wholeheartedly to him in our worship through song.

CALVIN HEMPHILL

COUNSELING & DISCIPLESHIP

Compassionate biblical counselors at Grace help people find biblical answers to the issues of life and help them grow in their relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Counselors are trained to help with marriage and family problems, addictions (alcohol, drugs, pornography, etc.), emotional issues (depression, anxiety, anger, fear, bitterness, etc.) and relational difficulties.

This last year the counseling team grew to 16 well-trained men and women. One more counselor, Jackie Starling, completed the rigorous requirements necessary for ACBC (Association of Biblical Counselors) certification in December. She joins four other certified counselors for a total of five. 25-30 people weekly receive formal counseling at Grace. The number of community members receiving counseling is also growing. Currently about one third of the counselees are from outside of Grace.

DAVE ROBINSON

If you’re interested in receiving counseling or being trained as a counselor, please visit our website or contact Dave Robinson at dave@gracebibleofbend.org.

“Since starting biblical counseling, we have learned how to work out the issues in our marriage by using the Word of God. We’ve received priceless tools about how to communicate better, ask for forgiveness, and study scripture together. We’ve become better followers of Christ, a better husband and wife, and better parents. We are so grateful for the GBC counseling team!”

MARRIED COUPLE AT GRACE

“Biblical counseling provided me with a great resource to sort through a family situation and get to the root of the problem – my own sin nature – surprise! Being connected with someone who could skillfully guide me through the Scriptures to reveal God’s truth and the path he has for me, gave me clarity to deal with my family and move forward.”

SINGLE WOMAN AT GRACE

“Biblical Counseling was by far the biggest blessing in our marriage this year. Our wonderful counselors led us to refocus the aim and purpose of our marriage on Christ, which naturally grew our love, intention, and affection for each other.”

MARRIED COUPLE AT GRACE

WOMEN

Women’s ministry at Grace continues to be grounded in the growth of women in their relationship with God through His Word and with other women in fellowship. This year our women took a deep dive into God’s Word in Joshua (spring) and Matthew (fall). We also offered our first summer study called Remember Your Joy, based on salvation stories of the Old Testament. Time spent together with the ladies of Grace is always rich and joy-filled. This year we enjoyed fellowship in our bi-annual brunches (where we were enriched by a panel discussing hospitality and through wonderful teaching by Kelly Johnson around Joy from Psalm 98) and getting more acquainted at Ladies’ Nights Out at the Barn. We were thrilled to once again join with other Acts 29 churches from the northwest at our Fall Retreat at Washington Family Ranch, where we came together to worship, received sound teaching on the prayers of Paul, and welcomed undistracted time with the Lord and each other. It is a blessing to see the work of the Lord in the lives of women at Grace as they pursue growing deeper in their knowledge and love of the Lord and spread that joy amongst one another!

HEIDI KOOISTRA

It’s wonderful to see the programs and information offered for the women. It’s so necessary that we become biblically literate. The young moms especially need reliable biblical teachings to impart in their young families to successfully meet the cultural challenges in front of them. I so appreciate the several young women and moms I’ve met and talked with in the last two Bible studies. Their questions and insight truly warmed my older heart.

BONNIE MAYS

“I have been going to GBC Youth Group for 3 years now and have been able to grow so much deeper in my knowledge of the Lord. My walk with God has definitely strengthened throughout these years and a lot of that has to do with youth group and what it has to offer. I am so excited to continue to grow, learn, and experience God’s great love.” HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT

YOUTH

Our goal in youth ministry is to partner with parents as they disciple their teenagers, and we have never been in a better position to achieve that goal. We welcomed several new volunteer staff members in 2022, bringing our staff team to 22 leaders - our biggest team ever. These youth leaders invest in students both inside and outside of youth group, they continually point students to Jesus, and we have a ton of fun along the way. During the summer, Austin Farley and Alli Womack did an excellent job leading the program while I was on Sabbatical. We saw 3 students give their lives to Jesus at summer camp, and in the fall we brought 11 students onto a Student Leadership Team, where they have an opportunity to take ownership over the shape of the youth group and grow in ministry leadership. I’m excited to see these young leaders be used for the Kingdom!

ANDREW SULLIVAN

“Serving in GBC’s Youth Ministry is both an honor and a great responsibility as I am intimately involved in the lives of other people’s children. It is such a joy to walk alongside these amazing young people and to make a positive impact in their lives as they explore and grow their relationship with Jesus. Every week we laugh, cry, and get to experience the love of our Lord and Savior. I am truly blessed to be a part of this ministry.”

HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH LEADER

YOUNG ADULTS

Young adults ministry has continued to thrive this year and we have seen higher numbers of young adults attending, which is very exciting. My wife, Erica, joined me in helping with young adults in January of last year, and that has really been key for us growing. Last summer we did our first annual camping trip, and this year we have 14 young adults signed up for our winter retreat! We are currently studying Revelation, and just wrapped up going through the book Habits of Grace. I’m looking forward to seeing what God does with these great young people in the future!

HARRISON WOMACK

“It’s very encouraging to be around others who are in a similar life situation as yourself. Most of us are young and still trying to figure out what we want to make of our lives, and being able to meet with others who can help you through this by pushing you towards Christ is amazing.”

BRIAN

“YAM helped me flourish into the young, Christian woman that I was seeking to become. The opportunity to study the Bible separate from a church service gave me confidence in being able to study the Bible when I was home alone.”

ALEXIS

“I felt so accepted and at home, I knew these were people I can do life with and mature with in the local body of Christ. Finding this group was one of the biggest blessings of my year.”

ISABELLA

RESPITE

Respite continues to give parents of children with special needs and their siblings a “Friday Night Out” once a month. It is a joy to see the smiling faces of the parents, kids and volunteers on these special nights. God continues to provide just the right number and mix of volunteers to take care of His Kingdom fun.

GREG GROSHONG

“We love respite nights because they truly care for our whole family. The time respite gives us to reconnect as a couple is priceless. We love all the welcoming faces we see when we go, and have made valuable relationships with the volunteers we’ve met. We feel cared for and are so thankful to be part of such a caring community.”

“It is so wonderful to be able to actually rest in the assurance that our children are safe, secure and properly cared for, while my wife and I enjoy a night out together where we can take our time. We look forward to it every month, and the kids do too!”

WINNINGHAMS

SHEAHANS

HETTEMAS ROSSES

TURNERS RANIERI

HARRISONS

CHAPPELLS HUNTS RAJUS

PRINGLES

PUENTE-NAVARRO

MORNEAUS FORJANS WICKS

REIMERS

MCCLAINS TAYLOR

BOEHMS

SMITHS

ORPHANGES OF KENYA

CHURCH PLANTERS SUPPORTED

MISSIONARIES SUPPORTED

153,516

GIVEN TO MISSIONS AND THOSE IN NEED

Church Planting: 53,747

Overseas Missions: 75,235

Local Ministries: 13,405

Benevolence: 11,129

MEET OUR NEW MISSIONARIES

SEBASTIAN AND GLORIA FORJAN Radovljica, Slovenia

Sebastian, raised Catholic, attended church as almost every Slovene did but didn’t believe in God. In 1995, he put his faith in Christ. While he served in the army for nine months, God put a burden on his heart for the youth of his country. After two years of growing in his faith, he became involved in youth work in his local church in Ljubljana. In 1998, he began dating Gloria, and in 2002 they were married. Sebastian spent one year as the first full-time youth pastor in Slovenian history working with his local church and Josiah Venture. The following year, he went to Belfast Bible College and studied there for two years. After finishing college in 2005, he and Gloria continued doing youth work in their local church. In December of 2006, they moved to a new town, Radovljica, to start a youth ministry there. It was a privilege for them to start a new youth ministry. Out of this group they planted an evangelical church in an area where there were no newborn believers. The Lord is opening doors in their region and his church is still growing. Their vision is to see the northwest part of Slovenia reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a joy and privilege for them to be a part of God’s work as they witness people coming to know the Lord and are growing in their daily walk with him.

DAVID & MONICA TAYLOR Fethiye, Turkey

David & Monica Taylor moved to Fethiye, Turkey in late 2012. They have served the Lord there for the last 10 years, and planted a church in their city where there were few believers, almost no gospel witness, and no churches. By God’s grace, not only is there now a church in their city, but also four others in the region. Their continued conviction is to strengthen their local church by sharing the gospel with all, gathering those who believe, and making disciples in the context of the local church, while also seeking to strengthen regional churches and planting where there are no churches or witness at this time.

ALBERTO

& ASHLEY PUENTE NAVARRO Seville, Spain

Alberto & Ashley Puente Navarro, along with their brother and sister-in-law, Francisco & Rebekah, began the Faith Baptist Church (Nervión) of Seville in 2012, and then opened a new ministry of La Macarena in 2016. Alberto and Francisco are currently helping to consolidate and redevelop the La Macarena ministry after the pandemic. They’re encouraged to see that discipleship is taking place at a membership level, and that healthy church planting from their church seems more realistic than ever, as they began a pastoral internship in September with three brothers that have a desire to see churches planted. God is bringing together a brotherhood of pastors and church planters that are excited about planting more churches. They hope to see more people come to Christ and more disciples being made, to continue training more leaders for the local church, and to bless more church planters all around Spain with encouragement and fellowship.