2021
ANNUAL REPORT
HE IS OUR ROCK! Marco Presbyterian Church www.marcochurch.com | 875 W Elkcam Cir | (239) 394-8186
TABLE OF CONTENTS OPENING THOUGHTS
PAGE 2
CELEBRATING GOD'S WORK | STAFF REPORTS
PAGE 3
MARCO LIFE GROUPS
PAGE 4
MARCO KIDS
PAGE 5
CONGREGATIONAL CARE
PAGE 8
MARCO STUDENTS
PAGE 9
SERVE MARCO
PAGE 11
MARCO MISSIONS
PAGE 12
2021 ADVENT SEASON
PAGE 13
AUDIO/VISUAL TEAM
PAGE 14
WORSHIP CENTER RENOVATION | GRAND REOPENING
PAGE 15
DIGITAL MEDIA
PAGE 17
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
PAGE 18
SECOND SUNDAY CONCERT SERIES
PAGE 19
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
PAGE 20
PASTORAL REFLECTION
PAGE 21
Over the last year, we have seen God remain faithful in the midst of global uncertainty. He has proven to be our rock, the One in whom we can place our trust. Psalm 46 says: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling… Even while our culture has shifted so swiftly and our politics have proven so pernicious, God remains steadfast. Sometimes it seems as though the ground beneath our feet has given way, but God remains steadfast. He is our refuge and strength. No matter what, He is faithful. Our church also experienced the blessing of being a family during 2021 and 2022. We celebrated 17 new adult members and their children. We grieved together the deaths of several members, including two beloved longtime elders Tony Castillo and Loren Roberts. God proved to be a gracious Father as we worshiped Him through the highs and lows of this life. I look forward to seeing and hugging Loren again. Finally, as we know Him we make Him known. We bring hope to people with the truth of Jesus on Marco Island and around the world! Enjoy this brief glimpse of the last year – all that He has done! He is our Rock!
Lead Pastor 02 | Openi ng Refl ecti on
Join us in celebrating what God has done in 2021!
Staff Reports
03 | Staff Reports
God has increased the number of groups and the number of His people involved across Marco Island and East Naples. The Elders of the church, under the direction of Pastor Scott and Steve, created a booklet that these Life Groups use to study the Book of Romans. Our knowledge of Christ is growing, as our hearts are being drawn closer together by hearing, reading and studying the Word. The Wednesday Men’s Bible Study has outgrown room F1 and have now divided into two groups meeting Tuesday and Wednesday. This allows for more individual participation. The Friday Women’s group is diving deep into a study of Romans 8. Chris Sheriff has joined Blaine Fluth in helping to plan exciting things for now and next year. Our goal is to see about 80 percent of the Marco Church family growing together in a Life Group or Bible Study.
04 | Life Groups
05 | Marco Kids
Over the past year Marco Kids has relaunched in a post-Covid world. We have seen many blessings as we have gone through this process. Last
July
we
hosted
Vacation
Bible
School for over 45 children from Marco and the surrounding areas. It became apparent from that event that there was a need for a children's ministry, and Kaydee Nantz stepped into the role of Children’s Events Director. From the start of the school year Marco Kids
has
hosted
Coast
Kids
on
Wednesday nights, multiple family Movie Nights and will continue on through the rest of the school year.
EVENTS HOSTED BY MARCO KIDS
Nerf Wars Family Night November 1, 2021 Family Movie Night | The Grinch December 1, 2021 Family Movie Night | Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe January 19, 2022 Parents Night Out | Family Night Fundraiser February 14, 2022
06 | Marco Ki ds
07 | Marco Kids
CONGREGATIONAL CARE
In
the
Fall/Winter were
Programs
two
GriefShare
new
the
Surviving
introduced:
Holidays and Loss of a Spouse. The 13-week GriefShare
Program
started
January
in
–
March, 2022. With the Pandemic still being a concern, hospital/nursing home visits were completed when allowed by the facility. Prayer
Shawls
were
Hand-made
given
to
those
convalescing in a facility or at home. The point person for any congregational care needs is Marissa Polanco, Office Manager. She, in turn, connects with the appropriate team member or Deacon to follow-through with the request.
BY THE NUMBERS
Meals distributed | 262 (avg. 24 per month) Ladies attending Joy Connection Luncheons | 210 GriefShare Programs attendees in fall/winter | 6 per week Ladies attending Pilates Exercise Program | 18 per week Care Visits to Hospitals/Homes | 25 per month Visits to Discovery Village | 2 visits per month
08 | Congregati onal Care
09 | Marco Students
God is with us to see us through every season. Whatever this coming year brings, I am confident that this will remain true. Even though 2021 continues to be a season of uncertainty this constant remains: God is and always will be good. MARCO STUDENTS EVENTS
Coast Students (Wednesday evenings): We have had anywhere between 5-15 students. Our average attendance is lower than we would like, but we are hopeful that our outreach will expand as schedules continue to stabilize. Donuts and the Word (Sunday mornings): We continue to have attendance similar to Wednesday nights and are grateful for our dedicated and gifted volunteers! Summer Retreat (Mineral Bluff, GA): 7 students and 4 volunteers enjoyed the beauty of mountains and rivers, and we grew deeper in our relationship with our Lord by seeing that God teaches us new things and gives us strength to follow Jesus. Suncoast Student Retreat (Lake Placid, FL): 19 students and 7 volunteers were blessed to join with other churches in South Florida in a retreat for students centered around the gospel and relationships. Whatever the journey ahead may bring, know that God walks alongside us, and invites us to humble ourselves to trust the ways of Jesus Christ, wherever He might lead. May we always seek to do God's work wherever we are.
10 | Marco Students
11 | ServeMarco
This past year we were excited to be able to hold two Mission Celebrations. On October 24, 2021, we hosted David Lawrence, missionary to Iraq, during both Sunday morning services. We also kicked off our Annual Operation Christmas Child event, and celebrated it all with freshly cooked waffles! February 11-13, 2022 was more of a traditional Mission Celebration. Mike and Chrissy Cosner, from Oak River PCA, were the speakers for the women's luncheon (Friday) and men's breakfast (Saturday). Courtney Brackin from Young Life, Lucas and Bobbie Lee Tanner from Reformed University Fellowship were with us for Sunday morning services.
ACROSS THE ISLAND, BRIDGE AND SEA
Marco Church members and attenders participated in two Habitat Builds on September 18th, 2021 and February 19th, 2022 in Naples, FL. We were able to donate $10,000 to Oak River PCA to help them purchase playground equipment to reach their neighbors, and Funds were also given to help replace a plane damaged by a
MARCO MISSIONS
hurricane for our missionaries to Peru, Craig and Heather Gahagen. The Holy Spirit is moving us to bring hope to people with the truth of Jesus here on the island and around the world! 12 | Marco Missions
13
AUDIO/VISUAL TEAM
Through the past year the Audio/Visual Team has spent a lot of time trying to provide the Members of this church with a seamless worship experience. We have updated much of the equipment and software that we use each Sunday and throughout the week to produce a better quality product in both the in-person and online worship services. Last June we had the unfortunate event of a small fire in the worship center, resulting in part of the technical area in the balcony being drenched with water, when the Marco Island Fire Department extinguished the flames. As God always does, He showed His faithfulness! What the enemy meant for evil, God brought us through for good. The blessing of the fire was a renewed and restored technical area in the balcony allowing for better use of the space and better placement of the 5 team members it takes to run each service. We are able to communicate better and function well together.
14 | Audio/Visual Team
15 | Worship Center Renovations
Sunday, November 7, 2021 9:00 and 10:30am Worship Center
16
DIGITAL MEDIA
2021 was a very active year for our digital media needs. With a continuing and growing presence online, our website, social media platforms, and mobile app required almost daily updates. Throughout the year we heard from many inperson visitors that they learned of Marco Presbyterian from these online platforms and in some cases we have received new members to our growing church through these digital “front doors.” As we focused on the functionality and effectiveness of our online tools, Jean Rowles provided the graphic art that brings beauty to the screen. Without the graphics, we would not be able to attract the positive attention and traction that we have received online. Additionally, the Audio/Visual team has done the consistent and diligent work of ensuring that our Sunday morning worship services are optimized to allow for a high-quality video and audio feed for our viewers online. Working together like this has, and will continue to enable us to showcase how God is using Marco Presbyterian Church to bring hope to people with the truth of Jesus online throughout the world! 17 | Digital Media
MATT PAPA - ARTIST IN RESIDENCE IN HIS OWN WORDS
Overall, my family and I have been delighted to be here at Marco Presbyterian and on Marco Island. We’ve been thankful to get to know the people here at this church. The hospitality has been amazing. There are just so many interesting people with interesting stories, people, who love the Lord and have loved on us, and made us feel so welcome. There’s a beautiful symbiotic relationship and mutual respect between myself and the church related to song writing. I’m here and want to be as helpful as I can to the church in using my musical abilities to serve the church. At the same time, I feel that the church wants to be a ministry to me and my writing. Having the office space, time and ability to continue to work hard at that is such a blessing. I'm grateful for it. Grateful for the staff, such an amazing group of people. A definite highlight for me were the concerts that we were able to do. It’s been a lot of fun for me to have my friends come down and be able to make music together. To have them get to know Marco Island and Marco Presbyterian. It has been a huge highlight, and I look forward to doing more in the future. Overall, we are just so grateful to be here. 18 | Artist in Residence
SECOND
SUNDAY CONCERT SERIES
19 | Second Sunday
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
ELDERS
DEACONS
MARCO CHURCH VISION
Marco Presbyterian Church longs to be a multicultural and cross-generational community of faith, unified in our commitment to seek those who do not know Jesus. 20 | Church Leadershi p
PASTORAL REFLECTION
Through
the
course
of
2021
and
the
beginning of 2022 God has been our refuge and strength. He has been our help in times of trouble. There are many reasons to allow fear to control our hearts and minds as we move forward through this chaotic world, but Psalm
46
ends
with
a
command
and
promise that brings peace in the midst of turmoil: "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our fortress." Instead of fear, we are encouraged by the way God is working in our midst in the many things that you have seen in this report. He is being made known among the nations. He is being exalted in all the earth! From our Sunday morning services alive with the voices of God's children rising in song to our faithful God to Wednesday evening Family Nights, where we are watching people of all ages dive deep into the Word, we are seeing God be known deeper by His people so that they can turn around and make Him known on the island, in Naples, and wherever they happen to go. He is being made known through partnerships on the island, such as the Marco Island Community Prayer Breakfast. He is being made known through our digital media with our Marco Church app being used by our members and attenders to connect with God through sermon notes and archived sermons. He is being made known every Sunday in the beautiful Worship Center that was renovated this past summer to help create a warm and friendly place for people to draw closer to God, as we worship Him together. The Lord of hosts is with us. We move forward together with hope!
21 | Pastoral Refl ecti on
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:15
BRINGING HOPE TO PEOPLE WITH THE TRUTH OF JESUS