Vienna Presbyterian Church 2024ANNUALREPORT
A Year of Momentum
Philippians 3:14 God designed us for momentum -
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
LETTERFROMPASTOR HOPELEE
REV. DR. HOPE LEE LEAD PASTOR
During the last Session meeting of 2024, I asked our elders to reflect on the year about to end and share a word or phrase that captured the year. “Momentum.” “Transformative.” “Energy.” There is an overwhelming sense that God is “on the move” here at VPC in creative and life-giving ways.
This annual report will share with you so many glimpses of the movement of God’s Spirit in this place. It covers the breadth of the church family, the community around us, and our worldwide outreach.
Some of the Spirit-led energy of the last year came in big, visible ways - think the Church-wide Retreat and the End-of-School BBQ. It also came in worshipful ways as evidenced by our World Communion Sunday service and by receiving an offering of hula that spoke to God’s faithfulness among us.
There was energy that bore fruit in relationship-building through discipleship, as God’s people gathered around the Word with one another. And there was a quiet, vital energy that guided and surrounded the hearts of so many involved in our pastoral care ministries. It is very clear that our congregation is alive in Christ!
All of this energy, inspired by the breath of God, came flowing out of the hearts and hands of so many in our congregation. What happens in this place is not possible without a dedicated, creative, and faith-filled staff, in partnership with Spirit-led, joyful, and generous volunteers. Together, WE are the Church!
$80M
As we celebrate and give thanks for 2024, we enter 2025 with great expectation that God has yet more for us to do and be! That is my prayer for each and every person and corner of Vienna Presbyterian Churchmore joy, more life, more love, more Jesus – lots more Jesus in 2025!
Achieving a total revenue
So many of you talked about your “Star Words” in 2024. I thought you might be interested to know about the word that God gave me that Epiphany Sunday in January 2024. The word was - ENERGY!
To God be the Glory,
FELLOWSHIPMINISTRY
VPC continues to show itself as a caring fellowship bringing Christ into our diverse community. On Easter Sunday, we hosted a community-wide Easter Egg Hunt on the Town Green, distributing over 5,000 filled Easter eggs. We also provided breakfast and held a praise and worship session in the Pavilion. It was a wonderful celebration with people of all ages joining in the fun.
In June we hosted a delicious Summer Kick-Off BBQ complete with cotton candy, street hockey, volleyball and a DJ. One guest sought out a volunteer to share that the welcoming atmosphere resonated with her entire family, especially the younger members who found easy ways to engage. Her family had been visiting various congregations in search of a church home, and no other place had connected with her children as easily—a deal-maker for her family.
In October, we organized Trunk-or-Treat, where we “shined God’s light” and welcomed over 500 guests from our community. All enjoyed music, games, activities, and food trucks in our parking lot while we distributed a mountain of candy from beautifully decorated cars.
We ushered in the Advent season by joining the Town of Vienna’s Church Street Stroll. We welcomed the community with a range of activities, including crafts, music, entertainment, and a delightful hot chocolate bar paired with warm cookies. We were delighted to share:
1000 bags of popcorn
10 gallons of apple cider
15 gallons of hot chocolate
700 decorated cookies
900 light wands
968 warm cookies
1000 candy canes
VPC truly embodied the spirit of the Church Street Stroll.
Additionally, our VPC Fellowship Team hosted a festive Christmas BINGO night, which drew a wonderful crowd. One participant remarked, “I love how active our church is. Thank you for creating so many opportunities for our family to connect with our church family and the community.”
WORSHIPMINISTRY
“A year ago I was a couple of months in and now a full year’s cycle has passed. And what a year it’s been!”
Pastor Robert
2024 was a year to focus on worship! During an extended sermon series on the meaning and purpose of worship, the Session formed a worship transformation team. The team engaged a substantial part of the congregation through listening sessions and an all-church survey. Out of that came several clear value and preference priorities: dedicated fellowship time, a more condensed Sunday morning schedule to benefit families with young children and volunteers, and a more desirable worship time for the traditional service. With all of this in mind, we began a new Sunday morning schedule in September and have seen these priorities bear fruit.
While all of this was going on, the congregation flexed for summer worship in the Fellowship Hall as the Sanctuary underwent muchneeded renovations including upgraded lights, fresh paint, and new carpet. The congregation’s flexibility and enthusiasm were exemplary as we squeezed into the smaller setting and enjoyed first-hand the “community” nature of worship!
The children’s choir has been adapting to the new schedule, and has enjoyed the new involvement of rotating youth leadership each week alongside Tara Fredericks and Christine and Kaitlyn McCarley.
Toward the end of the year we saw collaborations between children, youth, and adult choirs, particularly at the Glorious Sounds of Christmas Concert. And we capped off the year with the announcement of Patrick Sobolik and Andrew Schmidt as our new Traditional and Contemporary Music Directors.
During the year we saw the youth choir almost double in size under the direction of Amanda Vest.
ADULTDISCIPLESHIPMINISTRY
VPC classes and small groups continuously provide welcoming communities to grow as a follower of Christ.
In the area of adult discipleship, our many classes and groups offered a wide range of topics and studies from the large Monday Night Men’s group to Sunday morning classes to small discipleship groups. In the Spring we enjoyed an invigorating overview of the New Testament with part two of “Casket Empty” and guest teacher, Dr. David Palmer. In the Fall, we introduced two new initiatives: 1) Several groups and classes formed using the “After Party” curriculum, to help folks navigate issues and topics around the election season from a perspective of Christian unity and dialogue, 2) We piloted a spiritual disciplines curriculum that will be shared with the congregation in February of 2025, called “Practicing the Way.” Feedback from the pilot participants was very positive and we look forward to offering a fresh look at incorporating regular spiritual practices into daily life as a means to strengthen and mature one’s personal life of faith.
Lent & Advent Devotionals
The Lent and Advent devotionals reached new heights in 2024! The inaugural “Worship out of the Box” activities for Lent were a huge success, flying off the shelves, while the stories of “Emmanuel God With Us,” penned by our congregation members, were enjoyed by many.
Discipleship Outdoors events brought various people together for refreshing expressions of prayer and praise in God’s beautiful creation.
Worship Out of the Box
Emmanuel God With Us
Our annual Women’s Brunch took on a different look last year. Building on the theme of care, we hosted a unique brunch experience in partnership with our missions, fellowship, and discipleship ministries. We were inspired to care about justice for women who were at risk, and explored a local mission’s ministry that is radically changing women’s lives in Christ’s name.
YOUTHMINISTRY
We kicked off the year with weekly visits from some of our global and local mission partners culminating in an inspiring presentation by The Chalk Guy, Ben Glenn. Ben shared his experiences with Youth Conference Ministries (YCM) and the profound impact of attending a Christian summer camp during his youth. Our youth thoroughly enjoyed connecting with Ben and YCM, especially since Ben had been the speaker at The Great Escape the previous summer.
In the spring, we journeyed alongside the confirmation class as they wrestled with their beliefs and boldly professed their faith in Jesus Christ on Confirmation Sunday. Our high schoolers took charge of Youth Sunday, planning and leading worship services around the theme of being rooted in Christ. It was a blessing to see our entire VPCYouth ministry come together in worship and service.
To foster relationships and build community, we hosted monthly outings early in the year, including ice skating, bowling, volunteering, and a pool party. These gatherings provided opportunities for our youth to bring friends and connect with their church family beyond Sundays. In April, a group of 6th-12th graders embarked on a weekend retreat in North East, MD, where they explored the theme of fearlessness in Christ through Bible study, worship, ziplining, and giant swings—all within a vibrant Christian community.
When summer arrived, we shifted to weekly gatherings that included movie nights, pool parties, concerts, service opportunities, camps, and trips. One highlight was our unforgettable day trip to Hershey Park!
In the fall, we embraced a new Sunday morning schedule in alignment with the broader congregation. Youth spent time in fellowship with the church family between worship services before diving into one of five offerings during the second hour: Morning Meetup, Diving Deeper, Youth Choir, volunteering in childcare or kids ministry, or traditional worship.
Sunday evenings brought continued fellowship with event nights during Youth Group. In October, our sixth through eighth graders enjoyed a night of games at VPC, while our high schoolers bonded around a campfire, roasting s'mores. November featured our own Friendsgiving celebration, and December kicked off the Christmas season with parties and caroling visits to several of our homebound church members
KID’SMINISTRY
Our summer was spent under the sea learning about God and building relationships. We welcomed back VBS with a splash! Kids made friends, connected with youth and adult volunteers, and grew in their faith. Even after the week was over kids were reading their copy of the Gospel of John at bedtime, praying out loud for the first time, praying for others by name, and asking questions about God.
In Music & Drama camp, our upper elementary and middle schoolers shared about trusting God on their undersea adventure. We had lots of fun, worked hard, and put on a performance that was truly an act of worship. Our underwater escapades and Bible Olympic adventures wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing summer interns, Jon, Macy and Cole.
2024 was full of faith, family, friends, and fellowship for VPCKids. We celebrated Easter with bubbles, feasted over tacos, caught a game at the ballpark, and gathered for Friendsgiving. We learned about God’s big story and how we fit during Sunday School and grew in community at CLUB.
Thisyearwecontinuedto welcome new families who came with friends and neighbors, or who found us walking by. Repeatedly, families have shared that they attend becausetheir kids ask to come to church! What a witness to what God is doinginVPCKids.
We closed out the year with our first ever PJs & Pancakes. We couldn’t wait to wear our Christmas jammies to church, eat yummy pancakes, and celebrate Jesus with friends. And isn’t that what it’s all about? Experiencing the love of Jesus in community.
EARLYCHILDHOODMINISTRY
This year our early childhood ministry brought the joy of song and fellowship into the wing through Wee Worship. This program offers parents and their children pre-K and under an opportunity to enjoy worshiping the Lord together through instruments, song, and dance. Wee Worship has allowed families to fellowship with other families who have children of similar ages. Often parents see each other briefly at drop-off and pick-up and this allows for an extended time together. We closed out 2024 with a Christmas edition to Wee Worship, where families joyfully sang classic Christian Christmas songs together.
In the summer, we offered 3, 4, 5 Camp for the second year in a row. Our theme was When I am Afraid, I will put my Trust in God! Our interns and youth brought the Bible stories to life with props, costumes, and our puppet, Lumen the Firefly!
VPC’s Playground Playdates continue to be a thriving ministry for families with young children. We often have families who come Sundays, families who have children attending the preschool, and families from the community.
In the fall, we launched a new curriculum using The Beginner’s Bible, which is also the Bible found in the Sanctuary pews. Our toddlers through pre-k classes get to hear simple Bible stories each week starting their circle time with singing Jesus Loves Me. It is a joyful sound to hear so many small children singing about Jesus’ love for them.
VPC Preschool is in its 38th year of weekday ministry serving children ages 2.5 to 5 years old. We are rooted in the joy of Jesus. Our welcoming, Christ-centered, early childhood educational program is dedicated to serving our diverse community.
The early childhood pedagogy is research-based and dynamic. Our classrooms provide our youngest learners creative opportunities to explore the wonders of the arts, faith, language, literacy, and mathematics, nurturing growth and confidence through curiosity.
Our best practices are balanced, emergent and developmentally appropriate. Hallmarks include our focus on the spiritual, social, cognitive, physical and emotional needs of the preschool child. In addition we support young families with our active parent community.
CAREMINISTRY
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
2 Corinthians 1:4
This verse encapsulates our CARE ministries. Whether through our growing number of “official” CARE ministries, or in the unseen, quieter, hundreds if not thousands of smaller interactions, we aim to congregation that is known as “a caring fellowship.”
Our Park St. Fellowship is reaching a growing number of those living with dementia and their caregivers, with over 100 turning out for the riveting “The Dementia Man” performance.
Our extraordinary Deacons joyously imitate Jesus as they ceaselessly care for, feed, serve, transport, help, and come alongside our entire congregation.
Our crucial DivorceCare ministry continued moving full speed ahead and we offered childcare for the first time ever.
Our GriefShare ministry tenderly provided both in-person as well as virtual groups offering solace and hope in the midst of crushing grief.
Our ever-faithful, highly trained Stephen Ministry volunteers log hundreds of hours every month caring for dozens within and beyond our church family.
Our 60s+ Ministry happily gathered for monthly fellowship, education, and, of course, delicious potlucks or catered meals. We also took a field trip to The Museum of the Bible!
Our Mental Health Ministry provided an ever-widening circle of outreach and impact for those whose loved ones suffer across the spectrum with diagnoses ranging from depression to schizoaffective disorder.
MISSIONSMINISTRY
Hypothermia Prevention Program
Nightly Guests
Meals Served
Since 2014, VPC has opened our hearts and our facility to welcome unhoused individuals from our community, providing shelter from the cold along with food and hospitality. We've encountered many remarkable men and women who have made a lasting impact on us, facing significant challenges while demonstrating incredible faith in Christ. Our youth, Friendship Class, and small family and class groups care deeply for our guests—from the 5:00 am breakfast shift to lights out at 9:00 pm. Our new friends feel the warmth of our love, reflecting the love we have first received from Him!
Our second annual Be Our Guest Prom, designed for individuals with developmental differences, was a tremendous success! While our special guests danced joyfully with their friends, their parents enjoyed a delightful dinner, the opportunity to connect, and much-needed respite for the evening, reassured that their children were cherished and well cared-for nearby.
MISSIONSMINISTRY
Homestretch holds a special place in our hearts as a mission partner. As we celebrate our 10th year as a Homestretch Sacred Homes partner, we have witnessed many of our sponsored families graduate, transforming from a state of homelessness and despair to self-sufficiency and the confidence to embrace a hopeful future. VPC’s generosity has once again demonstrated Christ’s love by providing essential 'extras' – such as school supplies, Christmas gifts, clothing, and through our Good Nights=Good Days campaign, brand new pajamas and other items to ensure these children can enjoy a restful night’s sleep! Many children arrive at Homestretch after spending nights in cars, local shelters, or on the streets, so the idea of reading a bedtime story in a safe, clean environment while wearing new pajamas was once just a dream for them. We extend our heartfelt thanks to VPC for your unwavering support of Homestretch as we continue to transform lives together!
Hypothermia Prevention Program
Our Afghan refugee families actively worked to rebuild their lives following their challenging exit from Afghanistan. This year, the families have grown - Jabar welcomed twin girls on Christmas Eve, Mohammed's wife is expecting in January 2025, and the longawaited reunion of the Alizada family has finally taken place! Khadija and Mujtaba were overjoyed to be reunited with their parents and two siblings who were unable to leave the Kabul airport in August 2021. Their happiness was boundless as God overcame significant bureaucratic and policy obstacles to bring this family back together!
Nightly Guest
45 Meals Served 945
VPC values all individuals and is pleased to welcome special education students from Madison High School for the third year. These students bring joy and appreciation for developmental differences by assisting staff with various tasks, such as stuffing Easter eggs, shredding documents, and preparing children’s worship packages. In return, VPC has increased appreciation for their work ethic and diverse contributions.
OPERATIONS& FACILITIESMINISTRY
God calls us to steward all of our resources well including our beautiful campus in the heart of Vienna. 2024 was a year of renewal and modernization for our building and grounds. We took the opportunity to make significant updates, ensuring that our facilities will meet the needs of our congregation and community for years to come. While many of these improvements involved behind-the-scenes infrastructure, they transformed how we worship and serve.
Security and Connectivity Upgrades
Early in the year we completed a security system upgrade, adding new cameras and electronic access for enhanced safety and accessibility. We overhauled our WiFi system for improved online worship, hybrid meetings, and group activities, and a new Guest Network now provides reliable internet access for visitors and congregants.
Fellowship Hall and Sanctuary Improvements
Ahead of major Sanctuary renovations, we upgraded speakers in the Fellowship Hall to support summer worship, conferences, and group events. In June, worship temporarily moved to the Fellowship Hall as the Sanctuary underwent the first comprehensive update since 2007. The lighting system was modernized giving our Worship team powerful tools to enrich the worship experience. Other updates included fresh paint, refinished woodwork, deep-cleaned pews, polished tile floors and new carpeting. In September, we joyfully returned to a refreshed space, celebrating a renewed setting for worship.
Building and Grounds Maintenance
Key maintenance projects included replacing the final flat roof above the Narthex, shingled roofs over the Sanctuary and Ministry Center, and installing an energy-efficient hot water heater. We also enhanced our grounds with new Red Bud trees along Park Street and additional perennials throughout the campus.
These upgrades position us to better serve our community, offering a welcoming and safe space to share Christ’s love with our community.
STEWARDSHIP MINISTRY
Because of God’s overflowing grace and our congregation’s joyful giving, we finished 2024 on a high note! We exceeded our giving goal by over $117,000, creating great momentum as we enter the New Year. While our expenses were $200,000 below our $4.3M budget for 2024, that is attributed to budgeted staff positions that were not filled before the year ended - chief among them, our brand-new Associate Pastor. We are excited for what lies ahead in 2025 and we are deeply grateful for your ongoing support. Thank you for choosing to live a life of abundant generosity, allowing God’s kingdom to flourish at VPC.
2025 SESSION APPROVED BUDGET
Executive Leadership
$312,815
Facility Management
$839,153
Per Capita
$78,085
$4,706,107
Worship/Adult Discipleship
$898,288
Ministry Oversight/Support
$814,832
4,706,107
Congregational Care/Fellowship
$451,151
Outreach/Missions/Next Gen
$1,311,784
Completefinancialreportsanddetailedbudgetinformationarealwaysavailabletomembers. ContactNinaGravesatnina.graves@viennapres.orgor703.937.1887or KellieOwensatkellie.owens@viennapres.orgor703.937.1894.
