Annual Report - Southside Church

ANNUAL RE PORT 2022-23

A Note from the Church Board

Dear Southside Family,

God is good! He is at work in ways we can see and many more ways that we cannot. This year has been a year of seeing God at work and the surprises where we hadn’t recognized him at work until the answer was long passed.

As we reflect on the past church year, we are celebrating all the ways God has been at work through your ministry participation and your sacrificial financial giving through Southside Church. Because of you, the many ministries we have are able to reach into our community. In this Annual Report, you will see some of the highlights from the year; know these are just a few of the many celebration points. Throughout our worship services, we celebrate the ways we see God at work. Join with us as a church board in praise as you read these stories, celebrating God’s goodness and the ways He allows us to join in on the work He is doing.

Starting the 4th quarter of the fiscal year in January, we spent a week of Audacious Prayer at 6am each day. Out of that week of prayer, we spent 40 days praying Audacious Prayers, asking God to work in us and through us. We have continued with this posture of prayer, spending each Thursday morning joining together as the Body of Christ at Southside Church in times of prayer. You wrote 2 names on a card and placed it on our prayer walls during the 40 days leading up to Easter. We joined together and prayed over these envelopes, asking God to move in the lives of each of the people written on the card. There have been many celebrations of how God is working in the lives of those you are praying for. Keep praying. Keep trusting.

As we wrap up the 2022-23 fiscal year, we are celebrating all God has done and looking forward to the ways He will work in this next year. It has encouraged and challenged us to see God’s people crying out to Him in prayer for our families, community, and world. Let’s continue to seek to fulfill His plan for Southside Church.

The Board of Southside Church

130 salvations

It is such a joy to experience life changes in our friends, family, loved ones, co-workers, and complete strangers. God is at work in those who are impacted each week by the ministries of Southside Church. This year, we are celebrating 130 lives changed who have accepted God’s gift of salvation! Praise the Lord!. We are also celebrating the 49 individuals who proclaimed their public testimony of faith through baptism. It is a joy and a privilege to hear the testimonies of changed lives and to celebrate their new life in Christ!

49 baptisms

“...whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

In the Fall, we looked at the life of Nathanael and Jesus’ promise to work through believers to do Greater Things. We prayed for God to show us His Greater Things for our lives and His work through us to reach our community and Make Disciples. We closed each week’s message with a prayer of surrendering our will and ways to Him, asking the Father to lead and guide us. We committed to trusting Him for the Greater Things to come.

In this teaching, we committed to supporting projects, staffing, and future vision for reaching our community. One project replaced the cracking tile in the Lobby. On Christmas Eve we were welcomed to a freshly laid Lobby flooring. The current project is improving the Life Center technology to enhance our worship and arts programs.

I can say now that, in many ways, God has changed my life dramatically. I was in a place of darkness before I came to God, and it was then, when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, that I finally started to run to God. I wasn’t angry at God, but I was confused about why out of all people, my mom had to be the one to get that sickness. I carried anxiety with me for months and months on my journey to God, and over time my relationship grew stronger with Jesus. I then gave my life to Christ and stopped many of the sins I had been committing. I prayed, and my prayers were always answered. I knew that God was the one and only God. God proceeded to get my mom through breast cancer, and I can say now that she is cancer free because of my Lord and Savior. My Lord who said he’d never leave me or forsake me. My God, who always stuck his hand out for me. My God who never persecuted me. My God who died for me and rose again on the third day. My God who saved my mom, who he created. I will always be grateful to have an amazing God, and I’m blessed to say that after one more surgery, my mom will be done. After 1 year, I am who I am now because of my Great God, and I am glad to say that I am now saved and have found salvation through Christ, my Lord and Savior.

-Cabell Shield 10th Grader

Student Ministry

Children’s Ministry

Southside and Guardian Christian Academy kids and their friends are invited to participate in several age-specific special events throughout the year. One of those events is the Pier45 Lock-In, exclusively for 4th and 5th graders. The activities change but have included things like trampoline parks, laser tag, and this year, bowling and arcade fun!

This overnighter is packed with activities and the attempt by at least one group of kids to stay up all night! I love how kids from church, our school, and the community all pile into buses together and spend the night competing and hanging out! Something fantastic happens when you get groups of kids together, and they jump right in to working together to accomplish something. While at the bowling alley, one particular lane that included boys from Southside, GCA, and invited friends began to work together to carefully get the perfect shot. They got on the floor and “measured” the trajectory, the precise aim it would take to get the ball lined up and make a strike. The catch-they were doing all these calculations to use the kiddie training rack! And when they succeeded, shouts of triumph and celebratory jumping all around filled the space.

It was a joy to see, and it was a reflection of God’s desire for each of us. That we would come together and, rather than focus on the obvious differences between us, would jump in and focus on success in the moment.

Our Mosby Court Ministry, led by Mickey and Susan Moore, has their big focus in November and December for their Angel Tree to bring a special Christmas for the children in Mosby Court.  The Angel Tree went up in the Atrium in the middle of November with lots of tags representing a child in Mosby Court, and families in the church and GCA responded generously!

On Sunday, December 18th, Our team rocked the neighborhood! We had 26 volunteers and 75 families join us for caroling, visits with Santa, and snacks.  Our volunteer team was multi-faceted, composed of members from KidzKamp and Mosby Court ministry, church worship choir, Young Adults Sunday group, Teens and cookies donated from their cookie blowout, and many more!  Woodville Nazarene Church volunteers also attended.

The families were so joyous and appreciative for the entire outreach event.  Football fun entertained many of the kids.  The children were lined up for their visit with Santa, then on to the treats table. J.D. Washington, aka Santa, was the hit of the day as gifts were distributed to 70 families and 175 children!  It was a joyous day celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Mosby Court

Senior Ministry

What an exciting time for our Senior Ministry! The Senior Ministry Christmas Concert was catered by Missions BBQ and led by faithful church member and phenomenal leader Robin Pulkkinen. As people ate delicious food, they enjoyed a special treat by three of our very talented church leaders, Dan Foldenauer, Wendy Bruce, and Janelle Auguste. There was laughter, smiles, and lots of fellowship. A variety of attenders came, and everyone walked out feeling full of joy. Friends were invited, and new people were able to experience the love of Jesus through Southside Church. The seniors of Southside Church felt loved, and there was a great sense of unity within the group. This event was successful in many ways, mainly because it celebrated our excellent and extremely valuable seniors.

If you have any questions regarding the financial report, contact Mark Bass businessoffice@southsidechurchva.org.

Southside Church

6851 Courthouse Road Chesterfield, VA 23832 804.778.7800 | southsidechurchva.org