HELLOAnnual Report | 2012

Our mission is

withinto a

TO LEAD PEOPLE

RELATIONSHIPGROWING

JESUS CHRIST

Sean Seay • Lead Pastor

When I read the book of Acts I get the picture of a church movement that made a significant impact in their community. And yet when I look over the landscape of the churches in America I get a very different picture. It actually makes me sad when I see the lack of energy and life-change. As we reflect on year 8 of Athens Church we recognize that our story is highly unique. I am humbled and thrilled that I get to be a small part

of what God is doing in this city. This booklet was compiled to help you celebrate the amazing things God has done this year. This is a picture of our 2012 staff team. Each of these people have given their heart and abilities to help accomplish our mission. Thank you so very much for joining us in this adventure. Greater things are still to be done in this city!

Jonathan CliffJonathan Cliff and his wife Starr arrived at Athens Church this August, after serving for many years at churches in Texas. Jonathan has worked in the areas of college ministry, student ministry, and children’s ministry over the past 10 years. He is a huge champion for the family and for equipping parents to lead their children with confidence. He is a graduate of Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, and he and Starr will have been married for 15 years this summer. They have three children: Ryan (11), Dylan (9), and Lauryn (7).

Justin HalleckJustin Halleck and his wife Keri landed at Athens Church this September, after serving at churches in Florida and Kentucky. Justin has worked in student ministry for over a decade and is passionate about seeing teenager’s lives changed for Christ. He is a graduate of Florida Christian College and Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. He and Keri have been married 12 years and they have three children:Emma (8), Weston (6), and Ethan (4).

Athens Church | FAMILY MINISTRIES

Waumba Land

2011 AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

2012 AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

“My preschooler wakes up every morning asking if it’s Sunday and time to go to Waumba Land- then he cries if it’s not. Thank you for making Sunday the BEST day of our week!”

— a Waumba Land Parent

143

194OUR PEAK ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR FOR WAUMBA LAND WAS 213 CHILDREN

THIS IS 36% GROWTH!

UpStreet“My kids love going to UpStreet! My daughter is always disappointed when we go out of town and have to miss. She routinely asks, ‘Is it almost Sunday?’”

—an UpStreet Parent

OUR PEAK ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR FOR UPSTREET WAS 365 CHILDREN

2182011 AVERAGEATTENDANCE

2012 AVERAGEATTENDANCE 294

THIS IS 35% GROWTH!

Student Ministries“When I attended Vertical Reality this year with my small group, I felt that God was really working through me. I real-ized that He had a plan for my life, and it involved putting God in the center of it. Now I can start to work on becoming all that God has planned for me.”

— a 6th Grade Student

OUR PEAK ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR FOR TRANSIT WAS 202 STUDENTS

OUR PEAK ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR FOR INSIDEOUT WAS 137 STUDENTS

119

7786

1622011

2011

2012

2012

36%GROWTH

12%GROWTH

Athens Church | ADULTS

Adult Worship Services“Thank you for being a safe place to land. A church for someone as broken as me! Some friends of mine who attend Athens Church enthusiastically invited me to come here, so I eventually gave it a try. When I showed up my world was a mess. There was so much pain, some days I didn’t want to face the day. I thought about giving up. But thanks to the influence of my friends and Athens Church I’m in the middle of a significant change. I want you to know you ARE making a difference here in Athens: in this one business, in this one family, in this one life.”

THIS IS 28% GROWTH!OUR PEAK ATTENDANCE THIS YEAR FOR OUR ADULT SERVICE WAS 2,768

2011 AVERAGE

ATTENDANCE

2012AVERAGE

ATTENDANCE

1,5782,024

“Our experience with Starting Point has been great. I quickly went from slightly dreading it before we started to looking forward to meeting each Sunday. The people and discussions are great, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. This is

an experience that everyone can get something out of, and we continue to

each week.”

GroupsGroups are the lifeblood of Athens Church. Community Groups meet throughout the week in homes all throughout the city where people eat, pray, discuss, and do life together. Starting Point groups offer a safe environment for anyone looking to begin a relationship with God or who may be returning for the first time in a while, and Financial Peace groups help anyone get their money matters back on track.

10056

79 THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO JOINED STARTING POINT GROUPS IN 2012.

REPRESENTS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLEINVOLVED IN GROUPS.

THE NUMBER OF ADULTCOMMUNITY GROUPS WE HAVEMEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS.

THE NUMBER OF COLLEGECOMMUNITY GROUPS WE HAVEMEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS.

1,531

On September 30th, we kicked off our 20 Seconds of Courage series with one of the most memorable days in Athens Church history as 280 people decided to be bold and be baptized… on the spot. These courageous men, women, and students represent families forever changed by 20 seconds of insane courage to go public with what matters most to them. As a church, it was the lasting image from fall 2012.

Athens Church | FINANCES

GIVING

$2,400K

$1,960K

EXPENSES

INCOME

$2,940K

$2,030K

BUDGETED

BUDGETED

ACTUAL

ACTUAL

DIGITAL

TRADITIONAL

E-CHECK • ONLINE • MOBILE

CHECK • BUCKETS • CASH

58%42%

Room to GrowOne year after moving into our new facility we beganrunning out of room for children at certain hours. It broke our hearts to turn away children from our incredible environments. So, we new we had to make some room to grow. Specifically we decided to build more small group rooms for kids birth–high school. Fortunately we still had unfinished space in our building to do just that. These spaces became ready for activity at the beginning of 2013. So, thank you for helping us create more room for more kids and better spaces for bigger impact!

337 FAMILY UNITS GAVE TO ROOM TO GROW

Cost: $1.8 millionIncome: $367,OOO given + $1.45 million savings

More Waumba LandSmall Group Rooms

5O%

6O%

1OO%

More UpStreetSmall Group Rooms

and Bathrooms

More TransitSmall Group Roomsand Bathrooms

This past November we began Be Rich 2012 - our holiday giving and serving initiative. Together with our 5 Atlanta area North Point churches and strategic partners across the country, we asked you to “do more” and “give more” by being rich toward others. Our motivation came from 1 Timothy 6:18: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” Over the next 4 weeks we offered you specific opportunities to give time, money, gifts, and food to benefit others. It was our hope that while participating in Be Rich, though you were doing and giving to benefit others, you were be changed by the power of generosity too. Generosity releases us from the hold that our time and money can have over us.

We wanted to be good stewards of the Be Rich campaign, so we carefully chose our partner organizations. These nonprofits are already doing great work here in Athens and have excellent leadership, financial health, and service history. One hundred percent of all donations went to help others, no administrative costs were subtracted, and all financial donations are tax deductible.

We were amazed at your generosity and thankful to see God move our hearts to respond and help our city. We wanted to make sure you knew of the generosity you exhibited as we celebrate what God is doing in Athens. To find out more visit: howtoberich.org

PartnershiP OrganizatiOns

We gave

• Downtown Ministries• Mercy Health Center• Athens Pregnancy Center• Clarke County Mentoring/

Cleveland Road Elementary• Crosstrainers

• Action Ministries (Our Daily Bread)• Athens Area Homeless Shelter• ALCES• Clarke Mentoring• Food Bank of Northeast Georgia

1500 hours

5,000 pounds

1,500 shoeboxes

$100,000

9,216pounds

1,512shoeboxes

$145,000

600 hours

gOaL gOaLgOaL gOaLaCtUaL aCtUaLaCtUaL aCtUaL

. 10 Huntington Road • Athens, GA • 306068 www.AthensChurch.com % 706.310.9300