Annual Report for the Year 2020

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january

february

march

Disorientation

The Jesus Way

Pandemic Lockdown

Prophetic? Maybe. Led by the Holy Spirit? Definitely. Regardless, this series on Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount positioned us spiritually for the coming year in ways we could not have imagined at the time. The World Health Organization declared the novel 2019 coronavirus disease a public health emergency Jan. 31.

We all got to be part of NCC’s live album recording as they laid down tracks for The Jesus Way, their new album of songs written for our church. None of us had any idea that it’d be the last time we could be all together for a while. Those songs from The Jesus Way album— “Waiting,” “Fall into Kindness,” “Deep, Deep Well,” and others—have been truly prophetic, carrying us through the challenging months to come.

After careful socially-distanced services early in the month (remember the “elbow bump?”) we suspended in-person gatherings after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. We celebrated communion online, learned to type our greetings through online chat, and got accustomed to peering into a screen to see the faces of those we love. DC Dream Center immediately retooled to become a major hub of food distribution and community stability, partnering with local chefs and farms to serve more than 100 hot meals each day. NCC Local Missions set up a COVID relief fund for those with immediate needs, and began receiving and disbursing funds right away. NCC Kids instantly put together a wealth of online resources for parents through NCC Kids at Home, and Pastor Brooke and her team ministered to NCC Youth on Instagram Live.

july Phase 2 of COVID Reopening Lifts Some Restrictions As the District and Virginia entered “Phase 2” of their COVID reopening plans, NCCers began to meet in parks and backyards, in masks and socially distant—but in person at last. Also in July, Pastor Mark and Lora hosted an online Listen and Learn series on systemic injustice.

august

september

Happy Birthday, DC Dream Center

NCC Daily Disciplines

In August, DC Dream Center celebrated its third anniversary with an online concert. By August DC|DC had given away 146,443 TONS of food and supplies to District residents in need. NCCers continued a summer-long series on the book of Daniel, chapter by chapter, with NCC Kids designing a Daniel game board that was delivered to families.

A new crop of groups kicked off online in September, including several groups focused on racial unity. We launched our new podcast, NCC Daily, on our new NCC app. We began a verse-by verse, 13-week study of the book of Ephesians, Heaven on Earth. Most of our NCC kids and youth began a new school year with online learning from home.


april

may

june

Nothing Can Stop Easter

Pentecost, Prayer, and Upper Zoom

A Season of Lament and Action

A somber Good Friday online centered us back in the redemptive truth of Jesus’ sacrifice.

We saw record attendance at our May 31 Pentecost online service as people’s hunger for more of the Holy Spirit was again evident. That prayer meeting birthed our new Upper Zoom: beginning June 1-10, Pastor Mark called for 10 days of focused prayer for breakthrough. But Upper Zoom did not stop after the ten days: now into 2021, it's still going strong.

In the wake of acts of racial violence in our country this year, we renewed our resolve to be ambassadors of reconciliation and bringers of restorative justice. Pastor Mark’s June 7 message, “Awake, O Sleeper,” called NCCers to remember: “Racial unity is our apologetic to a world that is broken and divided—to a world that is polarized and racialized and politicized. . . . This is our responsibility as the body of Christ. Why? Because he has called you and called me to be a minister of reconciliation.” NCC formed a Multicultural Team, set up ncc.re/reconcile, and prayed for peace in our city on our Juneteenth Prayer Walk.

With the coming of Easter Sunday, we launched our new interactive online campus, live.national.cc. The District of Columbia began operating food distribution centers, and two of them were NCC’s: at DC Dream Center and Ebenezers Coffeehouse.

october

november

december

Worship and Prayer

Pandemic Thanksgiving

Advent, NCC Kids, and HOPE

As worldwide COVID cases spiked again and with a contentious presidential election looming, NCC Worship led a worship and prayer service each Sunday night. Upper Zoom continued to draw about 200 people to prayer three mornings a week.

Our annual Friendsgiving feasts for our friends experiencing homelessness lacked the usual beautiful table settings and community gathering this year, but we were still able to serve 130 Thanksgiving carry-out meals in DC and Virginia.

NCC Worship released The Jesus Way album on all streaming platforms.

We released our detailed Multicultural Vision statement.

NCCers celebrated Advent with a new kind of anticipation in 2020 as we embarked on a series called “Hope.” NCC Kids put on a wildly successful online Christmas show. We all celebrated Christmas Eve services online, complete with a retelling of the Christmas story by NCC Kids—and if you haven’t seen it, you really should. COVID vaccines started to become more available in the region, and families celebrated a quieter Christmas and looked forward with hope to a new year.


ONLINE CAMPUS In the space of one week this past March, we went from having seven campuses to having thousands of campuses: in homes, in coffee shops, and on phones. NCCers began praying, worshiping, connecting, and ministering anywhere and everywhere online. On Easter Sunday, we launched our new, interactive online campus, live.national.cc. This new campus enables people to worship online, interact in the live chat, and receive prayer. Through live.national.cc, we are reaching NCCers locally and welcoming new NCCers across the globe into our church family.

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PEOPLE MADE A DECISION TO FOLLOW JESUS

COUNTRIES TUNED IN

316 INDIVIDUALS FILLED OUT CONNECTION FORM TO GET INVOLVED ONLINE

84 VOLUNTEERS SERVING ON OUR ONLINE TEAM

,

hmidgall from Pastor Robb ScPa our Online Campus stor:

We prayed with a woman from Argentina—for her financial struggles in her small business in cruise ship port city that has been closed because of COVID. We prayed for creativity in their endeavors and she wrote back a month later to let us know that they added a second stream of products that has allowed them to start meeting their financial obligations! 8

1,200 PEOPLE PRAYED FOR DURING NCC SERVICES AT LIVE.NATIONAL.CC


,

from Pastor Robb Schmidgall our On line Campus Pastor:

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At our online campus we pr fear doubt insecurity pareay for healings depression and salvations on a regular nts marriages loneliness basis.

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ASL ONLINE We strive to be a fully integrated Deaf and hearing church that extends to every expression of ministry at NCC. God provided an incredible Deaf leadership team and a gifted team of ASL interpreters to create a record number of discipleship opportunities in 2020. Weekend services and worship events are now available on ncc.re/asl. We also have ongoing ASL interpretation provided for Upper Zoom and our Deep Dive studies where our Deaf community continues to demonstrate they are an invaluable part of NCC.

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GLOBAL MISSIONS Even though our mission teams were unable to travel this year, Mission Team Leaders pivoted quickly to coordinate 10 Home Teams who met to pray with, encourage, and give towards our global partners. One of our global partners, Champions in Action Guatemala, changed their sports-focused ministry to meet the immediate needs of the kids they’ve been mentoring and their families. They are now the primary source of food for 93% of the families they serve. Through NCC giving, Champions has been able to feed 205 families each month. It’s an honor to get to closely partner with Champions as they tangibly meet the needs of their community.

$62,126.96 SENT TO OUR MISSION TEAM PARTNERS IN 2020

$44,000 RAISED FOR 20 NCC GLOBAL MISSIONS PARTNERS FOR COVID-RELATED EMERGENCY AID

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In April severe flooding impacted Uvira DR Congo. Our partners there Congo Centre for Christ leveraged funds from NCC to provide food funds and critical supplies to help residents there. Pastor Jeremiah also joyfully reports "We thank God to see our first kid graduate from university. . . . may God bless you all for standing with Ramazani and other kids from the ministry!"

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LOCAL MISSIONS NCC was able to respond and mobilize extremely quickly in response to the pandemic, setting up a COVID Relief fund which NCCers immediately funded with their financial generosity. NCC was also able to partner with the DC government to distribute daily meals to people experiencing homelessness and in need through Ebenezers Coffeehouse. From March to June, dedicated NCC volunteers were able to provide 12,300 meals. NCCers also were extremely flexible in responding to the needs of refugee families in our community, switching to virtual volunteering and tutoring to make sure kids were still getting access to education.

$717,469

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RAISED WITH THE COVID RELIEF FUND

7,639 PEOPLE WERE ASSISTED IN 1622 HOUSEHOLDS WITH IMMEDIATE COVID-RELATED NEEDS

SEVEN CHURCHES AND LOCAL MISSIONS PARTNERS SUPPORTED WITH COVID FUNDS

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We love DC!

DC DREAM CENTER On March 16, 2020, the DC Dream Center paused all their normal programming and transformed into a much-needed food distribution center, serving up hot meals daily. DC Dream Center was the only organization east of the river in the District providing free meals to anyone during COVID. We served meals and gave out non-perishable and hygiene items 7 days a week from March 16-July 4, and have continued to do so two days a week since then. We are deeply grateful for our partnership with NCCer Meredith Jacobs, owner of Granny’s Kitchen Food Truck, who assumed oversight of the DC|DC kitchen and has poured hundreds of hours of love and expertise into this ministry. She and several other local business owners and organizations such as World Central Kitchen have enabled us to minister during COVID beyond anything we could have imagined.

54,619 MEALS

65,000+ NON PERISHABLE AND HYGIENE ITEMS

559,366 LBS OF FRESH PRODUCE, MEAT AND DAIRY ITEMS



GROUPS NCC Groups paused semesters and moved online during the pandemic to provide a consistent and stable space for community. Groups continued to serve the community together (letter-writing to those in jails, donating money for sleeping bags and long underwear for those experiencing homelessness), communicating with one another more frequently throughout the week (group texts, Marco Polo), meeting safely in-person (socially distant in parks), and creatively celebrating members’ birthdays and milestones together over Zoom.

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289 UNIQUE GROUPS IN 2020

29 RACIAL UNITY GROUPS

11 POP-UP GROUPS

395 LEADERS


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NCC DAILY PODCAST NCC’s newest podcast offers an opportunity to practice daily spiritual disciplines Monday through Friday. Launched through our brand-new NCC app, NCC Daily mirrors our weekend teaching, offering five-minute thoughts and devotions from NCCers, NCC staff, NCC Kids, and other trusted voices.

3,187 SUBSCRIBED TO DAILY EMAIL

56,065 TOTAL PLAYS (AS OF 12/16/20)

3,900 AVERAGE LISTENS PER WEEK

NCC APP If you haven’t yet, you’ll probably want to download NCC’s new app right now. You can attend church online there as well as listen to the NCC Daily podcast; browse weekend messages; read relevant articles, find a small group, join a mission, and find all NCC Kids preschool and elementary teachings in one place!

3,387 APP DOWNLOADS

68,403 MEDIA PLAYS THROUGH THE APP Available in app stores

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“The only ceiling on our intimacy with God and our impact on the world is daily spiritual disciplines.” -Pastor Mark


NCC PRAYER NCC Prayer kicked into an even higher gear with the onset of the pandemic, interceding for our world and our city; ministering to people in their individual needs; and training more people called to prayer. Our new online campus, live.national.cc, offers a live prayer button, and during each service, our NCC Prayer team types and prays individual prayers for everyone who requests them. In March, we embarked together on the 40-Day Prayer Challenge as Pastor Mark encouraged us to press in and pray through the pandemic. In June, NCC Prayer spearheaded our Juneteenth Prayer Walk and NCCers gathered together to cover the city in prayer for racial healing, unity, restoration, and love.

669 HOURS OF SOZO INNER HEALING PRAYER

1,200 PRAYERS BY ONLINE PRAYER TEAM THROUGH LIVE.NATIONAL.CC

3,434 PEOPLE SIGNED UP FOR THE 40-DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE

2,455 DOWNLOADS OF OUR COVID PRAYER GUIDE

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“When the day of Pen tecost came, they all gathered together in one place . . .” Acts 2:1

UPPER ZOOM 101

Just as the disciples gathered in the Upper Room to pray, NCCers continued to gather to pray as the pandemic hit—in the Upper Zoom. After record attendance at our online Pentecost Sunday prayer service, we invited people to join us in our new “Upper Zoom” for daily prayer at 7:14am. We thought this virtual prayer gathering might last for ten days—but it has not stopped! More than 200 NCCers regularly gather mornings at 7:14 am to pray for an end to the pandemic, for racial reconciliation, for healings, for peace, for revival—in other words, for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done! Upper Zoom continues unabated and all are welcome.

PRAYER MEETINGS

273 AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

74 hours 37 minutes, 1 second OF PRAYER ON UPPER ZOOM IN 2020

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MULTICULTURAL TEAM

Over this past year, anger, lament, prayer, and repentance led NCC leadership to establish a Multicultural Team. The team, which includes Lora Batterson, Pastor Marion Mason, Joel Buckner, and Pastor Dave Schmidgall, will evaluate, design, and implement a vision to move the church from diversity to unity to becoming a beloved community where people of all nations, tongues, tribes, and languages belong together. We are dedicated to becoming a racially and culturally unified church, valuing everyone without exception. With faith, a commitment to peacemaking, and strategic partnerships, we pursue God’s heart for reconciliation. Any form of racism, individual or systemic, breaks the heart of God and should break the heart of the Church. Strategically we are engaged in three initiatives: continue to focus on awareness and learning in community, leadership training for staff through BridgeLeader Network, and strategic planning goals for our organization and congregation.

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NCC WORSHIP AND PRODUCTION: THE JESUS WAY Our Worship and Production teams expertly managed a massive shift in processes and structures to move our weekend worship completely online. In just a few weeks this March and April, they shifted from filming one shot at the Miracle Theatre during Saturday evening services, to filming multiple shots at the Capital Turnaround and recording Thursday nights. The Holy Spirit moved through camera lens and TV screens to lead us, once again, to the feet of Jesus in worship.

500,000+ SPOTIFY STREAMS OF THE JESUS WAY ALBUM ACROSS 90 COUNTRIES

55,000 MONTHLY SPOTIFY LISTENERS

120,000+ STREAMS: “DEEP DEEP WELL” AND “WAITING”

NCC Worship’s album of 11 original songs written for our church, The Jesus Way, led us through 2020 with words of hope, poetry, and prophecy. They followed with an original remake of a traditional Christmas carol, “Bleak Midwinter.”

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NCC KIDS NCC Kids provided on-demand weekly lessons and created at-home experiences such as the Book of Daniel family kit. Starting in the fall, we launched NCC Kids Connect: weekly online small groups as well as monthly mailing kits with lesson resources, alignment activities, and fun surprises for the kids.

424 KIDS PARTICIPATED IN MONTHLY ACTIVITIES

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Kids Online, C C N n o t u p “As soon as I . This was n w o d d n a p u ed our son jump ee firsthand s o t t o g I e He the first tim my own son. n o d a h it t c the impa ver heard e n d I’ s g n o s was singing ng. Since then o l a t h ig r g in and yell eos nonstop. id v r o f g in k s he’s been a n teers for u l o v e h t l l a d Thank you an it really has , o d s y u g u o y everything g for us!” in s s e l b e g u h been a hool paren t c s e r P s id K C C -N

FAMILIES RECEIVED MONTHLY MAILINGS

1,078 PACKETS MAILED HOME

16 DIFFERENT STATES

518 VOLUNTEER HOURS INVESTED

245 FAMILIES PARTICIPATED IN PARENTING WEBINARS

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e r a e w the ch chur NCC YOUTH As our students were forced to leave school and be educated at home, we worked harder than ever to stay connected. We began a LiveStream ministry and YouTube channel, digitally reaching over 1,200 young people since September alone. NCC Youth provided online small groups every week, pivoted to provide a highly successful One Day Mission Camp experience that was incredibly successful (in place of our annual week-long summer camp). We also provided mailings and personal deliveries from small group leaders to their students to keep up personal connection and relationship.

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30 SMALL GROUPS MEETING WEEKLY

160 STUDENTS AT WINTER ESCAPE (LARGEST TURNOUT EVER!)

26 GRADUATING SENIORS (LARGEST CLASS TO DATE!)

131 INCOMING 6TH GRADERS THIS FALL

30+ SMALL GROUPS OF 6TH-12TH GRADERS ONLINE


THE ALPHA COURSE ONLINE NCC’s Alpha Course ran three times in 2020. The online format enabled people from 19 states as well as people from the UK, Chile, Brazil, and Hong Kong to take our Alpha course. Of those who registered, 38 people had never set foot in an NCC physical or online campus—so their first connection to NCC was a small group about exploring faith! As always, we’re hopeful and prayerful about how the seeds planted in Alpha continue to grow faith in every person who comes.

290 PEOPLE REGISTERED FOR ALPHA ONLINE

“I was so grateful for the words of life spoken into me during Alpha—I sat with it and went over the different things mentioned and each one added a piece to the puzzle. I have not had an encounter like this in I do not know how long but it is a great reminder that you are never too far gone which was one of my questions I asked in the first meeting in Alpha. Wild. God answers prayers in some wild ways.”

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- Alpha participant

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artist credit: @theletterjane


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artist credit: @emsletocq


GROUPS

PROTEGE

SEU

CHURCH PLANTER

NCC U // PROTÉGÉ PROGAM This year, NCC U launched a new program, Church Planter in Residence, designed to train and equip future pastors and church planters. We welcomed a new protégé class in the fall and extended our reach by including online learning opportunities. We also worked on re-designing student life and expanding practicum partnerships for Southeastern University (SEU) at NCC, preparing to welcome our new class next year.

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5 PEOPLE COMPLETED THE 20192020 PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM

7 NEW PEOPLE STARTED THE PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM


30,734 POUNDS OF STEEL REBAR PLACED IN THE FOUNDATIONS

28 TONS OF STRUCTURAL STEEL DELIVERED

109 MICROPILES EMBEDDED INTO THE FOUNDATIONS

20 TRUCKLOADS OF CONCRETE POURED

20,000 SQUARE FEET OF KIDS MINISTRY SPACE

YES & AMEN: PHASE 2 Because of the generosity of NCCers, we are well on our way to building out Phase 2 of Yes & Amen debt-free! This spacious kids ministry facility will double as a child development center during the week. This year we planned for the future by reinforcing the foundation of this venerable old building so that we’re positioned to build up and add a second floor. The kids ministry space provides plenty of space for kids to learn and play while honoring the Turnaround’s history. The indoor “train yard” playground, complete with 3-D streetcar, is the largest indoor playground in the District. We’ll also have a kids theater, classrooms, and much more.

1

turn around lives

RENDERING OF THE M STREET PASSAGEWAY

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2

bless the city

3

reimagine the church


200 CHILDREN WILL RECEIVE DAYCARE AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

40 STAFF MEMBERS

More info: PHASE.CENTER/DC

PHASE FAMILY DC CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER Opening early summer 2021, the child development center operated by our partner, Phase Family Learning Centers, will offer a full-service preschool for children 6 months to 5 years. Phase Family Learning has been a longtime partner of NCC Family Ministry, providing many of the discipleship resources used in NCC Kids.

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NCC is partnering with Phase Family Learning Centers in a couple of other ways to bless our community: • •

A brand-new playground at the Virginia Avenue Park at 9th and L Streets. We hired a consultant on economic inclusion to explore the most effective ways we can provide child care through the Center for those in need in our community.


SERMON SERIES

January 5 February 9

State of the Church: February 1

February 23 April 12

April 19 May 31

Awake, O Sleeper: June 7 “During this COVID Crisis we have been preaching to an empty room, but we printed out pictures of your faces and put them on our auditorium chairs! We have felt such a unique anointing during this season. We’re trusting the Holy Spirit like never before, and His anointing knows no time or space limitations! The fact that more than 400 people raised a hand to follow Christ at our online campus is evidence of that anointing. We’re also cognizant of the fact that you’re letting us into your living rooms, into your commute, into your workout. We can’t wait to gather again, and we’ll never take it for granted again! But God has proven, once again, that the church is not a building. You can’t go to church because you are the church. NCC is wherever you are!”

June 14 August 30

September 6November 29

December 6-24

Pastor Mark

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lettering by @theletterjane


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EBENEZERS COFFEEHOUSE In 2020 Ebenezers kept its doors open to serve as a vital connecting point for our community. We retained our employees, made in-roads online, and functioned as one of DC’s only food distribution locations in the early days of this global crisis. We continuously adapted to the changing requirements to keep our customers safe and continue our mission. Our staff evolved health and safety standards to exceed DC standards. We adapted our dining room to accommodate social distancing needs. We sought opportunities to care for others in evolving ways by making Ebenezers a place to serve those most in-need.

9,088 CUPS OF COFFEE SERVED IN SUPPORT OF COVID FOOD DISTRIBUTION

763% INCREASE IN ONLINE SALES AT EBENEZERSCOFFEEHOUSE.COM IN 2020

MIRACLE THEATRE Even though The Miracle was required to remain closed to any in-person business for the majority of 2020, that didn’t stop it from finding new ways to “Be the Miracle” to the neighborhood. The Miracle launched a Virtual Cinema, which allowed it to provide a variety of new release, independent films that its customer base could stream from home, sold Curbside Concessions and launched an online store for its Miracle swag. It also kept its growing Boogie Babes program alive by hosting virtual Boogie Babe concerts for the toddlers at home.

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A NEW NETWORK AND CAMPUS STRATEGY As any possibility of in-person, physical community melted away this past March. NCCs seven campuses didn’t miss a beat, but continued to gather—either virtually or outdoors in socially-distanced environments. Together, our campus pastors developed a robust digital discipleship strategy, and they are all over the Internet with Sunday morning campus Zoom meet-ups, campus prayer meetings, online watch parties, midweek worship gatherings; and even a few online baby dedications. Our campus pastors continue to be on the phone and over Zoom counseling, praying, and encouraging people in any and every way that they can. 2020 was also the catalyst for a significant shift in our campus strategy. Believing that God was guiding us to a “new wineskin,” our Executive Leadership Team had already begun to cast vision for a move from our theater locations late last year. The pandemic brought the limitations of some of our theater locations into even sharper focus, as did the announcement by Regal Theaters that they would be closing their Potomac Yard location permanently. A robust new campus and network strategy is now in the works, with some of our campuses making significant shifts to enable more growth in 2020 and 2021:

Thursday Night Service Our Barracks Row-Saturday campus will be transitioning to our Capitol Hill campus. Many of those NCCers have committed to taking the lead as our new Thursday night congregation led by Pastor Lyle Tard, worshiping live as we record weekend services each week at the Capital Turnaround. NoVa Campus With the closing of Potomac Yard and the continued significant storage and logistical issues experienced by many of our Regal Theater campuses, Potomac Yard, Kingstowne, and Ballston campuses have merged together and are actively seeking a permanent meeting space in Northern Virginia. This campus is now led by a team of pastors: Marion Mason, Jon Vaughan, and Jenni Clayville. Online Campus Our online campus continues to grow and has its own congregation, with committed NCCers across the country and around the world. Even after the pandemic, our online campus will continue to expand so that we can reach people all over the world. Pastor Robb Schmidgall is our new online campus pastor. Capitol Hill Campus Our Capitol Hill campus at the Turnaround will add a service on Thursday nights, when we’ll record weekend services. Pastor Joel Schmidgall continues to lead this campus. Lincoln Theatre Campus Our Lincoln campus will continue to meet in the U Street corridor. Pastor Dave Schmidgall and his campus leadership team are praying into God’s vision for this campus in the coming year, including the challenge of finding new facilities for Kids Ministries. A Network Church Launched out of our Gainesville Campus A substantial number of our Gainesville NCCers have committed to helping launch a brand-new network church, New Season Community Church. This new, independent network church will launch early May 2021.

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NCC NETWORK CHURCHES Bridges NASHVILLE

This house church movement led by Pastor Kurtis Parks in Nashville, TN, made a huge shift into an online house church movement with a vision of seeing a “Jesus Home in every Neighborhood.” This year, they doubled their YouTube subscribers, released music videos and new songs that united people from different locations on screen, and continued to minister to the city of Nashville. bridgesnashville.com

Blu-Print / Hope:Baltimore BALTIMORE

In addition to their Blu-Print ministry, which provides resources and support to teachers and school leaders to help close the achievement gap in Baltimore, Pastor Joshua and Ericka Symonette announced this year the launch of their new church plant, Hope: Baltimore. They desire to create a space of intersection where people with differences in age, race, gender, education, and socioeconomic status can grow together in Jesus’ name. wearehopebaltimore.com

New City Church CHICAGO

Pastored by Steve Andres, New City Church serves neighborhoods in downtown Chicago. One of their significant initiatives is the Chicago PEACE plan which seeks to collaborate with neighborhood leaders to effect positive change in communities such as Garfield Park, working to restore it to the thriving business and cultural hub of Chicago it once was. newcity.life

New Season Community Church VIRGINIA

Set to launch Easter Sunday 2021, NCC’s newest network church will minister to the Gainesville/Haymarket community in Northern Virginia. Pastor Rick Sarmiento has an exciting vision for the church and community to cross paths, hoping to open a marketplace expression as well as a church while they live out the Great Commandment and carry out the Great Commission. newseason.life

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