An Early Fall Ministry Update

Hey City Church Friends!

The calendar might read October 5th but the SoCal Temperatures these days sure don’t scream “Fall” to me. For that reason, I’m calling this an “early” fall update. I’ll break it down into a few main categories: 1. Great news about our parking lot. 2. The switch back to two services. 3. A look at the numbers. 4. A look ahead at the rest of the year.

Let’s start with the great news: our parking lot is completely finished and 100% funded.

It was quite faith-stretching when our leadership board set a goal at the end of 2021 to rip out and re-do the parking lot. My presumption was that we might raise 60-70% of the funds needed and we’d have to eat the rest out of somewhere else. Then a $20k matching gift came in. The church met it. Over the next few months, 100% of the funds came in. It was astonishing. However, we still had one last part: the final seal coat. This shouldn’t surprise me given how good God has been but yet another gift came in that funded it. As of the end of September, the parking lot is 100% funded, finished, sealed, and striped. God is so good. I am so blessed to be part of a church like this.

The switch back to two services.

Moving back to two services was a tough decision but it was one we had to make. Simply put, we were out of room to grow. Last Sunday was our fourth week officially back at two services. Overall, I would say the transition is going well. That being said, change is always challenging and there are always growing pains. In terms of attendance, the first service is currently quite a bit larger than the second. Pre-Covid times, it was the other way around so that has been a mental adjustment for our team. The way forward for our church is the same as it has been since Christ ascended to be back with the Father: disciples making disciples. To that extent, I pray we all continue to invite/bring unchurched friends into our community. In terms of volunteer levels, we are definitely building this plane as it is flying so if you aren’t serving: WE NEED YOU! Reach out and let us know.

A look at the numbers.

Numbers aren’t everything but they paint an undeniably helpful picture when it comes to health and growth. Let’s break it down in terms of attendance and giving.

In terms of attendance, our in-person attendance has been averaging around 220 people since the move back to two services. By frame of reference, we probably were around 230-265 before the pandemic. Astonishingly though, we now ALSO have a strong online attendance. When you combine the views between live services and sermon replays, we literally have hundreds more that watch weekly. A good “rule of thumb” from church experts to figure out how many people truly come to a church regularly is to multiply the weekly in-person attendance average by 1.5. For us, that would put us around 330 people (+ a whole contingent online that has only grown since the Pandemic). Combining the online builds a case that we are actually healthier and stronger today than we were before the pandemic.

Financially, this church has stepped up to the plate in unprecedented ways this past year. We projected a $12k loss by the end of August 2022 because we entered into the budget with a bit of faith for the year ahead. That deficit didn’t even include the parking lot by the way! I am happy to report that as of the end of August 2022, we are ahead of our budget projection by almost $15k year-to-date! Granted, things can always change but for now I take this as a reflection of growing discipleship in our church evidenced through sacrifice. Let’s keep up the good work City Church!

A look ahead.

Internally, our team has been focused on making this the best Fall/Winter yet. Specifically, we are re-tooling our “Discovering City Church” class right now. The plan is to offer it more frequently (every other month) to allow a better on-ramp for folks who are newer to our congregation to connect and become devoted members. We are looking forward to our Anaheim Halloween Parade outreach coming up on Saturday October 29th. It’s a tangible way we can be ambassadors for Christ in our community. Additionally, we are also very excited for our Christmas services that will be happening. Stay tuned for more info in the weeks/months ahead.

The bottom line is that we’re in a very good/healthy season as a church. I pray that you experience God’s goodness in this season of your life. Let me know if I can personally pray for you in any way.

In Christ

Pastor Kyle