f. Eric Channing’s tireless walking alongside many for whom the challenges of the year have been crushing goes largely unseen to the church as a whole, but not to the God we serve. g. Erik Dewar’s creativity and his worshipful theology shaped services that worked virtually and in-person. h. Julie Clemens’s determined, yet safe, ministering to all our STARS families through Zoom classes, in driveways or garage visits, online music, videos, porch portraits, phone calls, tunnel pictures and so much more helped both protect and encourage STARS and their families. i. Mindy Rynbrandt lifted up ministry to women—WBS, Mom2Mom, Monthly Gatherings, personal care/ counsel—in many unexpected and innovative ways. j. Josh Stringer’s ability to befriend everyone he meets lifted us closer to Jesus. He will be missed! Men’s ministry, small groups, Adult Communities, Discipleship Committee, baptisms (remember our wonderful outdoor baptism services!) and many more ministries flourished during the pandemic. k. Wil Triggs’ irrepressible capacity for communicating to a vastly disparate congregation continues to draw us together for the gospel, which he helps us proclaim every day. l. Zach Fallon grew high school ministry through Sunday Night Live, Rooted and the Bridge Fellowship. His love and care for our highschoolers should prepare them well for next steps in their walk with Christ. Now, he’s laying the groundwork for planting a church in Georgia where
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he can bring some College Church roots to that red Georgia soil. I close with a special thank you to dear fellow believers who will be serving the Lord in new venues now or in the coming year— Josh Stringer, Zach Fallon and Diane Jordan. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22-26)
Nancy Singer Director of Administration and Finance When I start to write this letter each year, I always think, “Well, this has been an unusual year.” Usually, it’s because we experienced heavier snowfall than normal, or there’s been a major building project or perhaps we’ve purchased an adjoining property. In the case of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, all those things happened, and they occurred during the worst pandemic the world has seen in a century. On March 13, 2020, just six weeks before the end of the prior fiscal year, the Centers for Disease Control ordered everything shut down, including churches. By God’s grace, we had been livestreaming our services since 2016 because we could no longer broadcast by radio. We immediately changed from an in-person service, which was also broadcast live over the internet, to a fully virtual service. While we always had missionaries and others tune in from around the world, the pandemic shutdown
