SPBC - 2022 Annual Report

The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church | Dr. Lance D. Watson, Senior Pastor

Mission and Vision STATEMENT

Our Mission

We exist to empower people to grow into the persons that God created them to be.

Our Vision

We are “A Church for People on the Grow” touching the world with love by communicating the positive power of Jesus Christ to our generation; finding needs and meeting them, finding hurts and healing them, finding problems and solving them.

Greeting fromour Pastor and First Lady

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2021 was a year of progress in the midst of the pandemic. While many churches struggled to maintain ministry operations, as collectively we endured the second year of this global pandemic, by the grace of God: the Saint Paul’s Baptist Church thrived.

Our theme for 2021 was “Better Before Bigger.” Our prayer was that God would help us to become better as God continued to empower us to grow bigger. We believed and we saw God take our ministry to new dimensions and greater levels of effectiveness and efficiency. We learned how to do more with less. Even during the pandemic, our membership continued to expand and grow.

Adding members from several neighboring states and even ones from the continent of Africa, we worked to be intentional about making them feel connected, increasing our online volunteer ministry and activities.

As COVID-19 threatened our nation’s health, we utilized our resources to help where it was needed most. We partnered with Feedmore, MCV-VCU, Walmart, Walgreen’s, CVS and the Virginia Department of Health to provide testing at all our locations and thousands of tons of food.

Together we tested and vaccinated thousands of people and inspired others to embrace vaccinations as well. Additionally, our church continued to provide support to other regions and countries devastated by natural disasters.

As you review this Annual Report, it is our prayer that you will be inspired by the numerous examples of God’s work in us to make us better in 2021. We pray that your faith will be stirred as we look forward in 2022 to the “new thing” that God will yet do among us as we partner with God to accomplish even more for God’s glory. Stay prayerful, focused, and encouraged!

On the Grow With You, Lady Rose Watson

GOD IS DOING A NEW THING IN US!

After 2020 unfolded in a series of unprecedented challenges, we had no idea what awaited us in 2021. However, as we began the New Year, Pastor Watson encouraged us in his New Year’s Eve Message to look back and remember “How We Got Over” and trust God to continue to make us better.

2020 may have been a difficult and draining year, but by faith, we believed that God would continue to make us “better before bigger.” This theme put us on notice to expect and embrace a spectacular move of God.

With renewed hope and vigor, we were able to see ways in which God used the difficulties of the previous year to present us with new opportunities to innovate and minister.

After the pandemic forced us to pause “in-person” worship and ministry for three quarters of 2021: our shift to a virtual environment opened the door for ministry on a global scale. God enlarged our territory as we labored to improve our online presence through our website and social media.

By the end of 2021, we had received several new members, even ones from the nation of The Gambia and Sierra Leone. While it was still not safe to gather physically for several months, God presented creative new ways for us to serve members from various locales.

Members distributed food, helped to coordinate COVID testing and vaccines, and conducted “drive-by” parades of love for our seniors and sick and shut-in members. We visited persons in convalescent and senior facilities from “outside their windows” just to let them know they were not forgotten. We connected virtually in ways we couldn’t previously imagine and supported the many suffering families in our midst in their time of sorrow.

As COVID conditions improved and we resumed some in-person activities, we attempted to balance the needs of all of our members, whether they were nearby and ready to return to our buildings; local but still distancing themselves physically, or thousands of miles away and looking to stay connected.

We introduced a hybrid ministry model, working feverishly to outfit our facilities with the technology needed to conduct ministry activities “inperson,” while simultaneously growing our virtual participation.

As we stand on the precipice of this new ministry year, we are excited about “the new thing” we believe God will do. Throughout this report, you’ll find more illustrations of our 2021 theme, “Better Before Bigger.” We hope you share our excitement!

Saint Paul’s Online Campus—Saint Paul’s Everywhere 2020, Saint Paul’s Baptist Church welcomed our first non-local members with the official launch of our online campus, affectionately titled Saint Paul’s Everywhere. In 2021, more than 116 additional members connected with the church through our online campus. was quite a year member’s DNA Seminar for members around the country. The DNA Seminar that Saint Paul’s work of Paul’s

Monthly Life Stage Group Lead Meeting: Top Row-Dea. Paula Williams, LaDonne Lankster, Shawna Smith. Bottom Row-Cassandra Freeman, Valerie Hayes, Tiffany Owens Martina Jones sharing on SMB Wisdom Wednesday

Saint Paul’s COVID Response

At the start of 2021, our Senior Pastor, Dr. Lance Watson, declared that God was at work in us, even during the pandemic, and we have continued to see God’s hand, even while dealing with the effects of the global pandemic. We know and believe that regardless of the circumstances, God is in control.

While many of us have been looking forward to return to some sense of normalcy, we began to see a light at the end of the tunnel with the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines have saved the lives of millions of people around the world and the COVID-19 vaccine was created to do just that. As these vaccines became more widely available, there was not only hesitancy about receiving them (especially from communities of color), but also many barriers to fair and equitable access. We recognized that this was an opportunity to address both of these issues.

As a trusted voice in the community, we wanted to come to the aid of our members and surrounding community by establishing a place where people could feel safe receiving a test and/or a vaccine. Beginning early,

we established partnerships with the Virginia Department of Health, MCV/ VCU, CVS, Walgreens, Hope Pharmacy and Walmart at our facilities to provide access to the much-needed vaccines for many people. Our Senior Pastor, First Lady, and staff led the way in building trust and encouraging participation, taking the vaccines first.

Throughout the duration of these efforts, we served approximately 1,415 people and administered nearly thousands of tests and doses of the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. Providing a space for people to receive their vaccines and be a blessing to our members and community simultaneously was immensely rewarding.

We are grateful for the abiding support and participation of our partners, the many medical and non-medical professionals who signed up to volunteer and staff our events and ensured that we were getting “better before bigger.” As we continue to encourage people to get vaccinated, we recognize there is more work to be done. We hope to continue our partnerships in the future, laboring with others to improve fair and equitable access to medical care for all.

Saint Paul’s Reopening

After more than 18 months, we were so grateful to be able to reopen our campuses to “in-person” worship services. Throughout the pandemic, our goal has been to function in a responsible manner that demonstrates our love and care for one another by reducing the risk of infection as much as we can, especially to those in our fellowship who are most susceptible to severe complications related to COVID-19.

To that end, we implemented practices designed to help everyone in attendance manage their own risk of infection while at the same time allowing us to worship “in-person” together. We considered it vital that we approach these gatherings together with deep humility toward one another (Ephesians 4:2) and the discernment to listen to both Scripture and science. (2 Timothy 2:15). We encouraged everyone to extend grace to one another as we sought to navigate these trying times together. (Hebrews 4:16).

Our reopening strategy had five parts. We instructed people on 1) how they could attend, 2) what they should know, 3) what they should expect, 4) frequently asked questions, and 5) an acknowledgment of their

participation. Our protocol included initially only vaccinated persons being able to attend, masks for everyone, temperature checks, social distancing and strong encouragements to wash hands and utilize hand sanitizer. We encouraged waves instead of hugs, and forearm bumps instead of handshakes.

The CDC published a document titled “Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.” We followed their guidance in cleaning and disinfecting the building. An EPA-registered disinfectant was used on high-touch surfaces, and restrooms were sanitized before, during and after worship and monitored for capacity.

COVID-19 meant changes and by the grace of God, we have been able to make many of them. Join us as we pray our way forward! We’re praying for God’s protection (2 Thessalonians 3:3), that those in attendance (virtually and in-person) will “hear and see” the presence of God as God moves in our midst and hearts (Psalm 143:10), for our joyful gathering as a body of believers in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 5:4), and finally that the infection and hospitalization curve stays down, sparing lives and preventing misery for thousands of people every day.

Hybrid Holidays

First Lady Weekend

Organizational

Dr. Lance D. Watson, Pastor/Chief Executive Officer Lance.Watson@myspbc.org

Patrice Stokes, Chief Operating Officer Patrice.Stokes@myspc.org

Robert Kelly, Controller Bob.Kelly@myspbc.org

Min. Vernita Williams, imagiNATION Life Stage Pastor Vernita.Williams@myspbc.org

Min. Martina Jones Smith, SMB Life Stage Pastor Martina.Jones-Smith@myspbc.org

Rev. Juan Shackelford, Dreamchasers Life Stage Pastor Juan.Shackelford@myspbc.org

Rev. Lance Watson Jr., Aspire Life Stage Pastor Lance.WatsonJr@myspbc.org

Rev. Michelle Townsend, Fusion Life Stage Pastor Michelle.Townsend@myspbc.org

Rev. Jamie Duncan, Encore Life Stage Pastor Jamie.Duncan@myspbc.org

Dr. Maceo Freeman, Prime Time Life Stage Pastor Maceo.Freeman@myspbc.org

Rev. Roscoe Jones, Refiners Life Stage Pastor Roscoe.Jones@myspbc.org

LaDonne Lankster, Directional Leader for Groups LaDonne.Lankster@myspbc.org

Terri Goode, Directional Leader for Care Terri.Goode@myspbc.org

Greta Randolph, Directional Leader for Outreach Greta.Randolph@myspbc.org

LaMont Sledge, Directional Leader for Communications LaMont.Sledge@myspbc.org

Felecia Manson, Directional Leader for Events Felecia.Manson@myspbc.org

Patrick Newby, Directional Leader for Worship/Fine Arts Patrick.Newby@myspbc.org

Angela Miller, Directional Leader for Volunteer Services/HR Angela.Miller@myspbc.org

Steve Perky, Directional Leader for Technology Services Steve.Perky@myspbc.org

Holly Conrad-Jackson, Directional Leader for Transportation Holly.Jackson-Conrad@myspbc.org

Gregory Harris, Directional Leader for Facilities Gregory.Harris@myspbc.org

Jenny Gafford, Directional Leader for Charisma Books & Gifts Jenny.Gafford@myspbc.org

Linwood Byrd, Directional Leader for Security Linwood.Byrd@myspbc.org

Frances Buster, Member Services Coordinator Frances.Buster@myspbc.org

Deanie Hutcheson, Data Management Specialist Deanie.Hutcheson@myspbc.org

Cassandra Gray, Senior Accountant Cassandra.Simmons@myspbc.org

Chef Eddie Lemons, Lead Chef Eddie.Lemons@myspbc.org

Hybrid Highlights

Minister Vernita Williams, imagiNATION Life Stage Pastor

Ages Infant - 10

When I think about all that God has done within ImagiNATION during the 2020-2021 ministry year, I must give God praise for being so faithful and bless His name for the perseverance of our incredible group leaders and volunteers. ImagiNATION is the life stage for children from birth through elementary school. We exist to uphold Saint Paul’s Baptist Church’s vision, mission, and core values, ensuring that our children feel safe and secure as they embark on the humble beginnings of their spiritual formation and character-building journey. We do this by exposing children to the love of Jesus through our actions, teaching Scripture and Biblical fundamentals through small groups and classes, and allowing the children to explore and have fun through workshops and events.

As Life Stage Pastor for ImagiNATION, I’m responsible for everything designed to impact the children on all campuses. I’m privileged to partner with key stakeholders (staff, leaders, volunteers, parents, etc.) and provide support to implement children’s programming. We trusted God’s guidance during the pandemic as we shifted to virtual and drive-through experiences while the building remained closed. We were able to:

• Dedicate 11 babies virtually

• Host virtual Children’s DNA classes and a virtual Life Stage Summer Reception

• Host a virtual Stop, Drop and Read Challenge; Black History Edition, to promote literacy by reading books to our children while schools and libraries were closed

• Host a virtual STEM Camp called Camp Invention, in which our Camp was selected by the National Inventors Hall of Fame to be fully sponsored. (30+ scholarships)

• Partner with Cross Pointe Drama Ministry of SPN to host our first-ever Young Actors Workshop for children and students (10+)

• Partner with David Marion of Liberated Flow for our first virtual Easter Paint Night

• Provide 300+ children and students in Henrico, Richmond, and Petersburg with drawstring bags filled with booklets teaching the Easter story, candy, and goodies through Easter Eggstravaganza Bagged Up

• Partner with SMB and Outreach to prepare 126 children and students to return to school through our Back-to-School Blast at SPN

God has blown our minds!

None of this could have happened without the leadership, time, and service of our steadfast group leaders and dedicated volunteers. It’s been an honor to provide hope and love to our children and families during this historical time frame. I’m looking forward to what God has in store.

• Provide a safe and fun environment to 1,200 children and students through Drive Thru Trunk or Treat on all campuses

• Partner with SMB and Outreach to distribute Christmas gifts to children and students through our Christmas Distribution.

• Partner with SMB to celebrate graduates through our first Drive-Thru Graduate Celebration

• Partner with Young Engineers & Scientists small group to host our first National Engineers Week Celebration

• Support Ayinde’ 2 Liturgical Dancers, Young Engineers & Scientists, Bridge Kids Bible Study, Girl Scouts, and our Joy Choir small groups in shifting to virtual meetings and rehearsals

• Host virtual Vacation Bible School providing classes for our Planet Kids (Pre-K), Ignite (1st & 2nd), and The Edge (3rd-5th) groups

• Birth Kids Worship is an online worship service for children that includes music, Scripture lesson, and a “FAM” moment for family participation every Sunday

Minister Martina Jones, SMB Life Stage Pastor martina.jones-smith@myspbc.org • 804.326.2401

As a volunteer for our SMB Student Ministry for over twenty years, it’s a pleasure to serve as the Life Stage Pastor for our SMB Student Ministry that supports our middle, high, and college students. The SMB Leadership Team has truly worked hard to provide: a safe place for our students to have heartfilled courageous conversations, be honest about their struggles, and feel comfortable using our Christ base resources to heal them from their pain and hurts, without feeling judged. SMB Student Ministry endeavors to be a beacon of light and life that guides our young people towards a prosperous path led by Christ and illuminated by His love. Our students will continue to do outreach in and outside our church community. We will care, connect, contribute, cultivate, and celebrate our students. We will empower them to be group leaders in our church and our community using resources given that will empower them to continue being confident and courageous about knowing who they are and who God had created them to be. Especially in these challenging times, they navigate and use the tools given to become young adults and graduate to their next life stage as Dreamchasers.

As I journeyed through this past year, we had some challenges, but God conquered and grew me in a way I never imagined. I always knew that I was called to ministry as a little girl. However, I didn’t know that I would be a preacher. I preached my first initial sermon, “Level Up.” Moving from a very engaging in-person SMB Student Ministry to a Hybrid online community was challenging. Several of the students were overwhelmed with school being online. It was tough for them to do Sunday School and other activities online. I also had to create a team of teachers that would facilitate and feel comfortable being online—learning a whole new approach to tap into the students. However, we made it with about twenty students and sometimes a little over ten students, who wanted to still connect with us weekly online. Our teachers and leadership never stopped working through the pandemic, and for that, I am truly grateful. I also was tasked with creating engaging activities on social media. Our SMB Media Team was formed, and Marquis Massenburg, Imani Blair, Sanaa Sledge, and Noora Lee put on their thinking caps, and our journey took off with creative ideas. I never knew I would write scripts, record them, and learn how to work with the media team in editing videos before sending them out for the congregation and all to see on our social media platforms. I get a lot of compliments on the energy I bring while

recording, and I am learning to slow down when I speak because I have always been a fast talker. It is pretty fun and exciting, and the students and I took ministry to another level. We also upgraded our space in our education wing for our students. The area is colorful, student-friendly, and meets the needs of our students. We are Saint Paul’s Baptist Church Everywhere, and here are some of our highlights:

1. Motivational Monday: Student-friendly engaging recording that includes Scripture and brief announcements for our SMB Life Stage.

2. Wisdom WED: Student-friendly theme Bible study recording that includes inviting a student to engage in a conversation and answer questions related to those scriptures, along with True or Nah and a Bible trivia game.

SMB Events

1. Computer Tech Workshop 1 and 2 (8-10 students)

2. ImagiNATION & SMB Computer Hardware Design Session. 24 participated

3. Illuminate Light Show Meadow Event Park

4. Imagination, SMB & Crosspoint Drama Ministry virtual Black History Program

5. SMB DA-HYPE Youth Choir Virtual Video @ The Black History Museum

6. ImagiNATION and SMB paint event w/ SPBC visual artist David Marion

7. The Buzz Summit Substance: Hosted by: Blueprint student Noora Lee HCPD - Chief English, Henrico Mental Health - Winifred Williams, and Jacquelyn Smith-White, Richmond Behavioral Health Authority – Shenee McCray - 103 participants on Teams

8. The Buzz Summit - Police Community and Engagement w/ Boys Bound for Success Mentoring Group, HCPD - Lt. Jermaine Alley and Sgt. Damon Allen - 20 participants

9. Easter Extravaganza - Served 200 families w/ treats and Biblical activities

10. Easter Visual Arts w/ David Marion

11. VBS 2021: I’ve Got This w/ Jesus - SMB served 18 Students

12. SMB Mother’s Day Honors - Care Lead Rev. Jeanetta Lee, Event Lead Renada Lewis, and Minister Martina Jones went to the homes of our 80+ years old mothers of the church, gave them Mother’s Day bags, and showered them with love from Pastor Watson, First Lady Rose, and SPBC

13. Mother’s Day Brunch Service 2021 w/ guest artist Corey El, Carl Lester & SPBC Band

14. SMB Group Graduation Celebration - we served over 50 students with Christian books and medals for graduating to the next Life Stage in SMB groups

15. The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church Drive By Graduation - North Campus gave spiritual devotions, cross necklaces, and cupcakes to celebrate over 50 graduates of SPBC EVERYWHERE

16. Jump Start B2SB 2021 – served/school supplies, backpacks, and vendors

17. B2SB SMB Teen Vaccine Party Giveaway: SMB donated and gave away two gift cards and a Roku TV

17. SMB Community Give Away: We gave over 200 bags of toiletries and candy to our partnering schools

18. Graduation Sunday w/ guest speaker Disney actress and Overcomer actress Aryn Wright-Thompson

19. SMB and Culinary blessed Cristo Rey High School, Fairfield Middle School, and Highland Springs High School w/breakfast for their teachers

20. SMB partners w/Refiners and sent them Christmas cards

21. Men’s Talk donates a $1,000 computer to a faithful mentoring student Amari Mccray that contributed over 75 hours in community service, group meetings, and outreach during the pandemic.

22. Huntington Learning Center/KaTanya Miles assisted several students w/ Testing for College

23. Virginia Department of Education (Charlene Fox and Rose Giles) blessed ten students with ten luggage sets full of bedding, toiletries, and supplies

24. Nia Inc. of Greater Richmond provided SMB 20 college students with several sessions of HIV Training and Gift Cards

25. VCU Department of Psychology partners with two students, two parents, and Minister Martina Jones in a study about tween/middle school emotions.

26. College Send-Off at The Armour House: Served over 50 students with gift cards and toiletries for the upcoming school year.

27. HBCUish Virtual College and Career Fair 2021 in partnership with Radio One Partners. A scholarship for a college student was given away.

28. Community Foundation and SPBC contributed 25 scholarships for members and community students

29. Two SMB students, Jayla Wilder and Malik Grant, participated in a virtual thank you to The Community Foundation and SPBC for their continued college support of scholarships on behalf of all college students

30. Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat we served hundreds of treats and Christian journals to the community

31. SMB and Prime Time Life Stage partnered with The Young Women’s Christian League, and they dropped off over 100 toiletry bags at Autumn Care Nursing Home

32. Thanksgiving Distribution 2021 served thousands of families

33. SMB Students donated over 100 hours total in Community Service w/ Outreach and other services

34. Christmas Joy Food - Toy/Gift Card and Vaccination 2021 - Served thousands of families across our campus and provided vaccinations and boosters

35. SMB Christmas Gathering at Fairfield Library celebrating participating group members. Met with 50 faithful, consistent leaders and students

36. WOW Creative spaces for our SMB students starting on our North and South locations

SMB students and leaders have genuinely been faithful during the pandemic, and we believe in John 15:7. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

As SMB continues to Dream Big, we are praying that God will continue blessing us with: creating our SMB space with educational books for our library that will assist us with studying for our ACT and SAT Prep material, as well as history books, biographies of inspirational people, spiritual devotionals, self-help devotionals, and books written by authors that look like them. They would also like: a teen play area where they can exercise, swing, play basketball, and do other sports like soccer, flag football, and lacrosse in their safe space at church, a sitting area outside for them to have courageous conversations at picnic tables. They would like more board games, card games to put in their game room, legos for their lego wall, and magnets for their magnet wall. They would enjoy age-appropriate video games for their Xbox and age-appropriate movies for their theatre.

A school bus for our students to go out into the community to do outreach for families that may not have transportation. When the students in the community see the bus, they will feel safe and know that SPBC is there to support them with resources. Outreach would include snack bags in the summer, providing school supplies and other needs to them in their community. The bus will also be used for transporting our students to college fairs, sporting events, tours, and different educational experiences. I believe that God will continue to bless our ministry and our young people as we continue to bless and uplift the kingdom of God.

. A big thank you to Pastor Watson and Patrice Stokes for supporting SMB and keeping us safe. A heart-filled thank you to our SMB group leaders that served faithfully through the pandemic. A big thank you to all of our Ministry Team, Operational Team, and Diaconate Team for all of your ongoing support. A huge thank you to the parents and students that faithfully supported our SMB Student Ministry. I could not do ministry without the grace of God and any of you. If you have a passion for our students in middle, high, or college, please reach out to support us at Martina.jones@myspbc.org.

Ages 20-29

Rev. Juan Shackelford, Dreamchasers Stage Pastor Juan.Shackelford@myspbc.org • 804.362.6550

The vision for Saint Paul’s Baptist Church is that we are “A Church for People on the Grow” where we find needs and meet them, find hurts and heal them and find problems and solve them. This vision is the core purpose of the Dreamchasers Life Stage while our 20–29-year-old members are going through the most transitional time in their lives. We accomplish this goal by meeting them where they are, whether that’s through social media, Pursuit Bible Study, or our Relationship chat sessions. We cannot be effective in ministry if we’re not willing to go outside the walls of the building.

I was hired as Life Stage Pastor for Dreamchasers in September, and it has been a journey of growth in my ministry. As someone that subscribes to being better than we are the day before, I love the transition of this life stage. I have a responsibility to be transparent in my own life experiences to provide ministry through truth, love, understanding, and patience. During this term, we were able to do the following:

• Established Birthday calls to our Dreamchasers and provided them with a celebratory message from the Life Stage and provided a personal experience with the Life Stage Pastor.

• Maintained our building of relationships and teaching a right now Christ through Pursuit Bible Study.

• Created a safe space for the Dreamchasers to receive guidance around relationships during this transitional stage of their lives.

• Created a plan of action to provide insight into the top key areas within this age group: Financial Literacy, Mental Health, Spiritual Growth, Professional Development, and Relationships.

• Partnered with SMB for the We Care Campaign to provide needed goods to multiple groups within the Richmond area.

• Created a plan for in-person events to grow our Dreamchaser community further.

• Built bridges with consistent communication through our Care team efforts by committing to 15 contacts per quarter as we work to build their support system.

Going forward, this is our vision:

• We will work towards an increase in Dreamchaser presence and participation through continued relationship building interactions.

• We will work towards building out all of our life stage teams to be able to provide full-scale coverage for the needs of the life stage.

• We will continue to focus on how to assist within the space of mental health, as we see a continued increase in the need within this demographic.

• We would love to see Dreamchasers actively participating in in-person worship through different spaces to share their gifts with SPBC Everywhere.

The new normal has created spaces for us to function in different and creative ways. This has allowed us to expand our reach to Dreamchasers in Virginia and beyond. SPBC Everywhere is an essential piece to fulfilling our core purpose. If you would like to assist in this journey with us, please don’t hesitate to contact dreamchasers@myspbc.org. We would love to have you on board!!!

Ages 30-39

Lance Watson, Jr.

Rev. Lance Watson, Jr., Aspire Life Stage Pastor Lance.WatsonJr@myspbc.org • 804.463.2348

The focus of the Aspire Life Stage is to cultivate faith community which fosters relationships - with God, Christ and each other. We continue to strive to help one another become all that God has created us to be. For the last eighteen months, we have endeavored to support Aspire members through the use of hybrid modes of communication and connection.

As the Life Stage Pastor of Aspire, my goal has been to leverage the connectivity of this generation - namely social media platforms and telecommunications - to encourage the 30-somethings of Saint Paul’s through Pastoral Care calls, Email Correspondence, Video Conferences, and even podcast content. For almost two years, we have witnessed the grace of God in consistent attendance at our Virtual Pursuit Bible Study - designed by Aspirers.

It is our pleasure and praise to report that we have seen the following:

• Consecutive & consistent Pursuit Bible Study attendance weekly (online)

• Intergenerational engagement at our “Joyful Noise” Music gathering (online)

• Improved non-verbal connection by music establishing “Community Playlists” (based entirely from membership recommendations) using popular streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify

• Growth & active participation of our Directional Leadership Team

• Established M2M (Marriage 2 The Max) Millennial Team for Couples Support Developed RPM (Reveal, Pray & Move) Bible Study guide for Aspirers to take a deeper dive into Biblical and theological understandings

• Convened “UpperZoom” (A monthly shared wisdom gathering) for best practices sharing and fellowship to improve cohesion in our Lead Team

• Surveyed 200+ Aspirers to determine unique needs and ministry opportunities in our life stage

We invite you to pray with us for perseverance to realize the following goals:

• Establish Small Groups for Men, Women, Singles, Couples, and Families (married with kids)

• Establish regular E-Newsletter circulation and improve social media engagement for Aspire

• Establish health & wellness initiatives and partnerships to cultivate awareness for improved overall health in our life stage membership

• Launch “CODE RED” campaign life stage-wide to treat challenges of physical, financial, and relational issues with urgent care throughout every ministry/small group

• Launch “MOST MONDAYS” weekly podcast with special guests & keynotes to provide uplifting, encouraging digital content for young adults

• Establish partnerships with community and service-oriented organizations like members of D9 (National Pan-Hellenic Council), Peter Paul Community Center, Boys & Girls Club, VCU/VUU/VSU Alumnae Chaptersto further extend our outreach efforts across the Greater Richmond Area

It is my sincere hope that we will be able to support the vision of this year - “Every member in a group, Every group on mission” using guidance from God by the Holy Spirit. And we thank you for your continuous prayer and commitment to SPBC and our Aspire Life Stage.

Ages 40-49

The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church Mission is to empower people to grow into the persons that God created them to be. Fusion is committed to partnering to fulfill this mission. The underlying goal and purpose behind every group, every initiative, and every event is to help our members grow closer in their relationship with Christ and their relationship with the body of Christ. This focus has helped members discover and grow into the persons God created them to be. We accomplish this mission by identifying gifted and called servant leaders to build a core lead team(s) committed to caring, connecting, and engaging with our members, regardless of the specified area of service with this focus in mind.

As the Life Stage Pastor for Fusion, I am charged to be an extension of our Senior Pastor by pastoring/caring for the members; seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance on how to lead and implement the God given vision and mission into Fusion; educating, equipping, and empowering servant leaders to be all God created them, so they can help me help others be all that God created them to be; partnering, supporting, and serving alongside my co-laborers.

During the 2021-2022 Ministry Year, we identified and established a core leadership team and consistent meeting cadence; we created and implemented a standard of care by which we are actively caring, touching and connecting with all Fusion members. Developed and established a reporting structure to measure our effectiveness in caring and connecting with our Fusion family. Through these initiatives, we are consistent, on a quarterly basis, making over 1,100 contacts and volunteering over 250 hours of our time. Hosted life stage community events; acknowledged and celebrated life stage members birthdays; hosted meet and greet events for new Fusion members; adopted 40 children/youth for our Christmas Holiday Outreach; launched several new small groups; partnered with Diaconate to host Fusion Caravan of Love Drive by; hosted Fusion Sunday in which Fusion members wore blue and we socially distanced greeted each other; partnered and served with other life stages and outreach initiatives; implemented follow up care and touches to our bereaved members; responded to over a hundred prayer request; provided numerous hours of counseling.

As we look forward and strategically plan for the remainder of 2022-2023, our goals are: to build small groups around each of our core lead areas to ensure balance and growth amongst our leaders; recruit and onboard five to ten new facilitators/co-facilitators to host small groups; launch five new small groups per quarter; we will host and collaborate with the other life stages in outreach initiatives; build small group initiatives around the top three areas of identified needs within Fusion(prayer, spiritual growth, support groups); host bi-annually life stage community events; host a Fusion open house to engage, recruit and empower new servants; host quarterly new members meet and greet events for members new to Fusion Life Stage; launch Fusion Bible Study utilizing Pastor’s lessons, that focuses on practical ways of application, accountability, and support, establish intentional methods/strategies to reach the unsaved.

Encore, what an incredible season of life to be a part of! You’re doing an amazing job navigating the changes, challenges, and glorious celebrations of the midlife experience! The blessings, favor, and grace of God is so amazing! You’ve made it to the center stage of life, and “Fifty Something” looks good on you! So go ahead, take a bow! You deserve an Encore!

The purpose of The Encore Life Stage is to successfully navigate the midlife journey’s intricacies. At this stage of life, many have experienced extraordinary accomplishments; therefore, it’s time to make plans and focus on the second half of life. Several vital areas include spotlights on Faith, Finances, Family, Physical and Emotional Wellbeing, Relationships, and Ministry and Missions through Group Life.

As the Life Stage Pastor of the Encore Life Stage, I have the privilege and responsibility to serve, engage, encourage, and extend pastoral care to 1,631 members of the “Fifty Something” Generation.

During the 2021-2022 ministry year, both the Life Stage Ministry Lead Team and I have been richly blessed to serve the members of the Encore Life Stage. The Team and I embarked upon a life stage engagement initiative to call and contact members throughout the life stage. We celebrated together through our virtual Life Stage Sunday, Homecoming, and New Year’s Eve celebrations. We studied together through our virtual Vacation Bible Study. We communicated together through the “Center Stage” inspiration and email newsletters. We served together through numerous outreach opportunities throughout all SPBC locations and beyond. We prayed together through the Encore Intercessory Prayer team. We extended wise counsel through our counseling team. Yes, even through social media platforms, we attempted to open weekly moments of encouragement called the “Midlife Mix” Encouragement Moment.

Encore, the future looks amazing! Through the Lead Team Areas of Care, Events, Outreach, Groups, Volunteers, Fine Arts, Communications, and the grace of God, Encore will attain its next level of ministry engagement. Yes— “Every Member in a Group, Every Group on a Mission! I’ve had the absolute privilege of speaking with many of you personally. But, amidst it all, never forget God is faithful, and the best is yet to come! Jamie Duncan, Encore Life Stage Pastor • 804.463.2348

Great is the Lord and greatly to be Praise!!!

I am Rev. Dr. Maceo E. Freeman, Jr., and I serve as the Prime Time Life Stage Pastor. I have been on staff and served in various roles over the last 19 years. But serving as a Life Stage Pastor is very challenging and exciting. I am committed to helping people grow in their relationship with God, their relationships with family, and their relationships with friends and others. We attempt to achieve this primarily by informing people of our groups. We are a church made up of small groups to help people connect and grow in grace and use their giftedness to assist one another and the community through service.

During our journey through the pandemic, we have endeavored to contact every member in Prime Time, whether active, inactive, or candidate. First, we began wishing people a Happy Birthday on the Prime Time Facebook and Instagram pages. Then after nearly a year, I switched to calling people on their birthdays. Finally, the formulation of the Care Team came about that helped tremendously increase the number of calls made when the Team composed of Deacons and Ministers in Prime Time began calling members and sending cards or emails when phone numbers were not available. We are seeking member engagement and feedback as well.

My dream for Prime Time is to get 40% of our over 800 active members to join a group of some kind within the next year where they can grow and share what God is doing and has done over the past two years of this time of separation from in-person ministry. I am optimistic that we can do this together and look forward to connecting with everyone. In addition, there are things we can share with other generations as a life stage because of how God has kept us. I solicit your prayers and participation in moving our life stage and church forward using the tools we currently employ to stay connected and include some in-person activities yet to come. Join me in achieving our engagement goals by responding to a request for suggestions and invitations to our initiatives. Please fill out the My Fit assessment at www. myspbc.info/MyFit to begin this journey if you have not done so already. As we strategically settle into our sixties, let’s not forsake the assembling of ourselves.

God bless you and keep you. 804.655.2313

Ages 70+

Rev. Roscoe H. Jones, Jr., Refiner’s Life Stage Pastor Roscoe.Jones@myspbc.org • 804.362.6570

The Refiners Life Stage is engaged in potential hybrid gatherings to foster dynamic fellowship and relationship building among all 800-900 participants in our Life Stage for persons who are 70 years old and above. The engagements are designed to be intergenerationally friendly and hosted by servant-leaders who are Refiners. The engagements are targeting all aspects of the Core Needs initiatives of Every Member in a Group, Every Group on a Mission.

The Core Needs initiatives are Care, Communications, Events, Fine/ Arts-Worship, Groups, Outreach, and Volunteers. The objectives of these initiatives are to strengthen participants in areas such as empowerment, enlightenment, and entertainment. The small group engagement used at this time is: Male Chorus Bible Study, Male Chorus Rehearsals, Man Talk 4, Women of Faith, God Chasers, Intergenerational Group, and Comfort Carriers. In addition, four new small groups will be launched by the end of the third quarter of 2022: Single and Single Again, Married Couples Alpha and Married Couples Omega, and Prostate Cancer Survivors.

During the Pandemic of 2021-2022 The Refiners Life Stage was able to sustain regular virtual meetings on the 2nd Saturday of every month for 2 hours of interactions that focused on health, safety, physical fitness, spiritual enrichment, and wholesome senior fellowship. The Care Lead Team has made over 250 hours of calls and sent over 825 cards to Refiners in the 1st quarter of 2022. The diaconate and care team began making Caravan of Love Drive Byes in April of this year and will continue these touches of love throughout the 2022-2023 fiscal year. And finally, we’ve launched a campaign to recruit shepherd staff, diaconate, and lay servants to complete volunteer/onboarding requirements to become servant-leaders within the Refiners Life Stage.

As the Refiners Life Stage Pastor, I am responsible for under shepherding the senior community of SPBC 70 years old and above. My role as undershepherd requires me to provide holistic care for the servants, whom the senior pastor entrusted to my leadership. Laboring to attend to

the needs, finding solutions to the problems, and ministering to the hurts of the saints is the task laid at my charge. The results of the Refiners Life Stage Pastor’s responsibilities are to guide the senior community on the path of growth in the Grace and the Knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our future goal is to have every member of the Refiners Life Stage in a group and have every group of the Refiners Life Stage actively engaged in a mission. We will encourage everyone 70 years old and above to submit to the volunteer and onboarding procedures to enable every senior eligible to serve and potentially become servant leaders. In addition, we will promote creative interaction within all small groups that foster invigorating fellowship amongst all participants. Ultimately, we desired to maintain and sustain a steady flow of spiritual empowerment, senior-specific health, and physical fitness awareness and engaged in activities that will enhance opportunities to build on strong Christian relationships that advance the Kingdom of God in Jesus Name.

Groups

Purpose: Groups at Saint Paul’s are based on the belief that God created you and me for community, and we grow best in small groups. The purpose of our small groups is to provide connection, care, communication, consistency, Bible Study, laughter, and fun. And we emphasize fun.

My Role: My role is to support group leaders in direction, clear and effective communication, encouragement, training, and counsel through our Life Stage Group Leads and directly to group leaders when needed.

The Journey: The COVID-19 pandemic has enabled our small groups to soar. Initially, in 2020, some leaders, overwhelmed and tired, needed to take a break from leading groups. Hearing our leaders, we welcomed them to take a break and recruited new people to lead. In 2021, we shortened our semesters to 6 weeks—Fall, Holiday, Winter, Lent, Spring, and Summer- so that people had more time between semesters to break and rest.

All of our groups met virtually, which allowed people from far away to receive the connection, care, and personal communication that is vital during these times.

The pandemic has allowed us to make disciples in many nations, expanding our ministry and reach, via technology to what we now call Saint Paul’s Everywhere.

God is doing a new thing!

In 2021, we had small group members and leaders from many places, including Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Guinea (West Africa), and more. Whereas, before the pandemic, we only had leaders in the Greater Richmond Area.

How We Offered Support: We were able to support our growing people in a collaborative way—via Life Stage Pastors, Life Stage Group Leads, as well as through our Care, Outreach, Events, Volunteer and Communication Directional Leaders.

Our Life Stage Pastors identified one or two people to work directly with me to check on, encourage, train, and recruit leaders of each life stage. We called these designees Life Stage Group Leads. The Life Stage Group Leads and I met monthly to share Bible Study, updates, strategic ways to

LaDonne C. Lankster Directional Leader for Small Groups

LaDonne.Lankster@myspbc.org • 804.463.2403

encourage, support, and recruit leaders, as well as praise reports and prayer requests.

Active Small Groups

60 small groups | 89 small group leaders | 642 small group members

New Way of Support: At the pandemic’s beginning, we started Area Check-Ins, a virtual way to check in twice a month, with our Saint Paul’s family, who lived near each other. In 2021, we expanded this effort to Saint Paul’s Everywhere by enlarging these check-ins to areas, regions, countries, and continents, including Henrico, Richmond, Chesterfield, Chester, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Delaware, Gambia (West Africa), and Sierra Leone (West Africa).

In 2021, we reduced the number to a once-a-month check-in and allowed members to choose whether they would prefer a personal check-in from their Area Check-In Host via a Teams/Zoom virtual meeting, telephone call, email, or text.

Our Area Check-Ins were led by Check-In Hosts, willing, committed, consistent, and caring leaders, who went out of their way to make sure everyone in their area felt God’s love and care. I met with the Check-In hosts quarterly.

Area Check-Ins

16 Area Check-Ins | 19 Area Check-In Hosts | 181 Area Check-In Members

Dream: Saint Paul’s Everywhere is The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) NOW! Because of the gift of technology, we can take the transforming message of God’s love and care to those beyond our campuses. We can take it everywhere!

Our dream is to launch new small groups for people all over the globe! With our wonderful and exciting collaborative team, we pray to provide: loving, living, interactive experiences with people around the world, providing a hub for people to connect, consistent leaders to care for others, and outreach opportunities for everyone everywhere to serve in their communities, and exceptional leadership training and events for people to partake and enjoy.

We cannot do this alone. We need you.

If you are not in a group, would you please:

1. Pray about joining a group and wait for God’s answer,

2. Try a group,

3. Try a different group if you don’t like the first, second, or third,

4. Tell someone else about your wonderful group experience.

If you are in a small group, would you please:

1. Ask God is it time for you to lead,

2. If he says, “NOW IS THE TIME,” email grouplife@myspbc.org. Remember, you don’t have to lead alone. You will have a co-leader for your group. Or one of your current group leaders may just need a break.

God created us for community! To join a group or an Area Check-In, email me at grouplife@myspbc. org. And you don’t have to be a member of Saint Paul’s to be a group member or an Area Check-In member.

In God’s AMAZING Love, LaDonne

Felecia

The purpose of the SPBC Events Team is to provide event coordination for all church-sponsored and/or hosted activities, including but not limited to worship celebrations, funerals, weddings, conferences, and signature events. In addition to monitoring and managing the master church calendar. The goal of the Events Team is to: coordinate service support with other appropriate staff for all events, including but not limited to accommodations, transportation for participants, facilities, catering, sponsorships, registration support, media, signage, displays, special needs requirements, printing, and event security, while supporting SPBC mission and vision in accordance to “Every Member in a Group, and Every Group on a Mission.” We accomplished this through a team of dynamic volunteers, Team Leaders, Coaches, and Staff.

As the Directional Leader for Events, I have the opportunity to recruit, train, schedule, develop, and supervise the Life Stage Event Teams as they host regular and special events. In addition, I serve as the principal liaison between event organizers, contractors, and service ministries (i.e., Culinary Arts, Facilities, and Media) to ensure successful logistical and operational support for events. As well as meet with staff and external clients to address plan specifics and format of events and review administrative and logistical procedures and event progress. Also, I collaborate with the Life Stage Pastors, Directional Leaders, and Diaconate Team Leads to support communion, baptism, funerals, right hand of fellowship, and baby dedications.

What’s New

Since September 2021, we have utilized and organized groups who are involved in the work and ministry of hospitality in our church into one Host Team. As the Host Team, we operate more uniformly and with greater intentionality, clarifying how we are organized, how we operate, what to expect, and how to get support when needed. As the Host Team, we understand that those first few minutes are critical to how people may form an opinion about Saint Paul’s. That’s why it’s imperative, starting from the parking lot, that we create a warm and welcoming environment so that our members and guests can grow and are receptive to receiving God’s Word.

I continue to recruit, train, schedule, develop, and supervise all Host Team groups (i.e., ushers, parking, security, greeters, welcome center, first impressions, nurses, funerals, and weddings)

Future Goals:

1. Continue to recruit, train, and develop Host Team Groups

2. Continue to build the Host Team by recruiting a Funeral Host Team Coach and support team

3. Develop an Event Planning Manual to guide the workflow process for internal and external event planning.

If you’re interested in serving with one of the Host Team Groups or the Life Stage Events Teams, contact me at: felecia.manson@myspbc.org for details.

When I think about all the things that God has done in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, my soul says, “yesss.” As the prior Directional Leader for Human Resources and now having the opportunity to serve as the Directional Leader of Volunteer Services, I can truly say God is faithful. We did a lot last year, and the staff was exhausted, but I’m proud to report that it was a very productive year. One of the biggest goals we worked on last year was the fourth organization goal of Better Communication and Team Collaboration. Communication was vital in supporting this initiative while working in a virtual space. Meeting after meetings, lots of one-on-one time with colleagues, staff, and volunteers in Microsoft Teams, the realignment of departments, development of new positions, sharing and combining job responsibilities, creation of new systems and better processes, I can truly say the team went above and beyond to achieve this goal.

From the Human Resource lens, I assisted the Senior Management Team with developing new policies, reopening strategies, reviewed and proposed new staffing structures and new position considerations. In addition, I helped establish clear communication amongst staff members about new policies and procedures, helped realign departments, and created new positions for better team collaboration. Unfortunately, our turnover increased about .8% last year due to some great opportunities in the pandemic for staff. Still, we were able to hire additional staff to replace the majority of those positions and create new opportunities for others to fulfill those roles. With the new realignment of departments and new positions, we did a lot of recruiting and filling position vacancies. Current departments realigned to accommodate staffing needs include Media and Communications and Facilities and Fleet Services; we are still developing and hiring for new positions if you’re interested.

I also helped revise the employee handbook and assisted with creating new policies such as the whistleblower policy, telework policy, and vaccination policy. We changed the allowance of time accruals in the employee-paid time off policy. We continue to do great things and do what’s best for our employees. Last year during open enrollment, we expanded our benefits package to include a 529 plan with our MetLife 403B. We added a plan to have a telehealth program through HealthiestYou. In November and December, we celebrated staff and provided gifts to recognize their continued service during the pandemic. The Senior Management Team and I also developed a plan to revise the administrative office space and repurpose rooms to utilize the current workspace better to accommodate our existing staff in this hybrid environment. We anticipate a growth in staffing needs. We are very proud of the work being done and look forward to continued success.

Shifting Gears: At the beginning of this year, I transitioned, and I am excited to report that I now serve as the Directional Leader for Volunteer Services. You can think of me as the Orientation Leader of the group. My Team and I help guide servant leaders through the onboarding process; we help manage the systems

Angela Miller Directional Leader for Volunteer Services, Human Resources Angela.Miller@myspbc.org

that get members connected to a group, provide development training, and recognize them for their dedication and commitment.

In this role, I help with the rebuilding of volunteer teams and systems. The purpose of my team is to: help members see the importance of small group connections and community with others, help the ministries recruit and train volunteers, engage in the development of leaders in varied ministries, and facilitate the systems and programs that help call people into their gift-based ministry.

The goal of the Volunteer Lead Team is to provide continuous learning that builds on the foundation that “leaders are learners.” We look forward to helping members/leaders develop their spiritual growth through tools and training as we provide them with the steps and resources to be successful in their leadership roles.

As we continue to adjust to this new hybrid environment, here is a list of projects that I’ve helped develop with Volunteer Services and will continue to work on to help achieve our overall goal of “Better Communication and Team Collaboration.”

• Servewire implementation and the merging of CCB and Servewire Created and maintained organization chart for volunteers/groups

Development of leadership onboarding process

• Identify, connect, develop and train leaders and team members through our software systems Servewire, CCB, Ministry Grid, and AssessMe

Our team ensures written position descriptions are developed for diverse positions, match gifts to serving opportunities, and administer the systems to include the responsibilities of tracking recruitment, background screening, interviewing, placement, and follow-up. Therefore, I am looking for people that have the ability to: Encourage, motivate and inspire others to lead and guide people in their faith

• Coordinate and connect people into groups and serving opportunities

• Flexibility to change direction as needed

• Open to meeting new people frequently, recruiting new leaders, and equipping people for ministry

• Individuals with computer proficiency in Microsoft Office, using web-based tools for administration, and have an understanding of the website as it’s our primary communication vehicle

Work with a team of volunteer leaders to formulate and effectively implement strategies to monitor, measure, and grow the spiritual health of small groups with action plans and a way to demonstrate that this primary focus is being fulfilled

• Build and maintain a team of volunteer leaders and provide care for your small group

• Ensure that volunteer leaders and small group hosts receive the training necessary to support and lead healthy small groups

If this describes you and you fit any of the above bullet points, I would love to have you a part of my team. You can reach me at angela.miller@myspbc.org or volunteer@myspbc.org

At Saint Paul’s Baptist church, we are passionate about providing care through meeting needs, healing hurts and solving problems now and for future generations. The mission of the Care ministry is to cultivate an environment where members feel cared for and offer care to one another.

To achieve this mission, each care team ministry works together to create a “We Care” compassionate community. This goal will be accomplished through intentional member engagement and support. The care team activities of the Diaconate, Shepherd staff, Care Leads, Counselors, Intercessors, and Stephen Ministers together help grow a caring community.

As the Directional Leader for Care, I am charged with meeting the care needs for prayer, care counseling, and human services within the congregation. During the 2020 – 2021 Ministry Year, we were able to meet the needs of many who reached out for help. Our emergency assistance team responded to those in financial crisis via technology when the church building was forced to close. During the pandemic, we could still distribute $38K to 56 families to prevent evictions and disconnection of utility services. The team also provided 112 hours of support via Zoom through our weekly Encouragement Groups. It was a challenge to meet the needs of many experiencing loss during the pandemic. Our Unload it All grief support team started serving right away on Zoom. They have ministered to over 100 people from across the globe each Saturday between 10 am – 12 pm without fail. Each week they care for and support individuals as they travel the journey through grief toward recovery.

God is truly doing a new thing amid the pandemic. Though our buildings were closed, we adapted our prayer, counseling, and support groups by shifting to virtual platforms to meet the care needs. The Intercessors responded to 256 prayer requests submitted via website and email. In

addition, the Worldwide Prayer team answered over 115 live incoming calls via the dedicated prayer line. During virtual worship services, a team of counselors, intercessors, and Diaconate used Microsoft Teams to meet one-on-one with individuals in breakout rooms. In addition, the host team members provided private care sessions for all who entered the Sunday Prayer room.

The mental stress of isolation, anxiety, and grief required us to find new ways to connect, provide counseling and show care. The life stage counselors switched to complete virtual counseling and were able to respond to 88 requests for services via website, telephone, and email. They provided one-on-one virtual sessions through Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and various platforms to meet needs here and across the nation. Additionally, to connect the Diaconate extended care outside of the building by caravan driving & stopping by our sick, shut-in, and bereaved members for a monthly “Drive-By of Love .” This new exhibition of care in action has been a powerful witness to show love and support to the SPBC family by taking it directly to their doors.

The future of care calls for us to be creative, adaptable, and fluid in this environment, compelling us to use all available channels. My dream is to cultivate care in the Kingdom by exhibiting the love of Christ at every human encounter, effectively changing us from the inside out. Join me on the journey to create a space where each member, group member, leader, and visitor feels cared for and offers care to each other. I seek to train, orient, and coach all who have a passion for demonstrating care in action. If you are someone with a similar dream, desire, and compassion for others. I invite you to be part of a national meeting needs, healing hurts, and solving problems Care Team. Please email: terri.goode@myspbc.org.

The SPBC Communication Team (CT) aims to inform, connect, and spread the gospel at The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church. The goal of the CT is to design a dynamic and engaging branded marketing strategy that amplifies SPBC’s mission, vision, priorities, and passions. We accomplish this through our creative services team of volunteers, freelancers, part-time and full-time staff to capture, design, and produce compelling graphic designs that are delivered through: our weekend worship, social media channels, website, apps, special events, and email marketing to name a few of our communication vehicles.

I’m LaMont Sledge, the Creative Service Manager, have led the CT for over 18 years. My main goal is to ensure that SPBC brand standards are followed throughout all the design processing points in communications and collaborations with the Media, IT, and Social Media Teams. The CT continued working diligently as “God Did a NEW Thing” in 2021-22; included are a few highlights: Continued to adjust all printed material to a digital format to engage better with our new online platforms, which included our weekly bulletin and this annual report

• Assisted the Media Team in increasing its viewership on all social and broadcasted platforms

Greta Randolph Leader for Outreach 804.463.2441

God is Doing a NEW thing!

At The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church, we believe that we are called to connect with and compassionately care for those in need. This is accomplished through Outreach small groups by humbly seeking to serve God and others, as we commit to communicating the positive power of Jesus Christ by finding needs and meeting them, finding problems and solving them, finding hurts and healing them while touching the world with LOVE

As the Directional Leader for Outreach, I am honored to have the privilege and responsibility of making sure that Outreach groups and Life Stages

• Assisted in promoting and launching new digital platforms like Apple Tv, Roku, and our SPBC app

• Implemented QR codes to better engage the online viewer to have easier access to registering or finding more information about an event or initiative.

• Increased the CT by helping the Life Stage Pastors find a designated communications person

• Implemented with the IT team the online design application, Canva, to all of the staff that wanted it and CT Lead and Designers. Canva will allow for a more significant design footprint through drag and drop design and premade templates

Future goals are to continue to build out the designated Life Stage Communication Team:

• Adding Team Leader, Assistant Team Leader, 2 - Graphic Designers, 2 - Copywriters, 2 - Photographers, 2 - Videographers, and 2 - Social Media Marketers

• Implement online group training in Canva

If you feel led to join our team to help spread the most crucial message in the world, please email LaMont.sledge@myspbc.org

Outreach

continue to meet the needs of the community and our members, recruit and train Outreach volunteers, work alongside Saint Paul’s staff, members, and community partners while touching the world with LOVE.

During the 2021-2022 Ministry Year the Outreach team continued to adjust and pivot quickly to meet needs during the COVID-19 pandemic as things continued to change. This was possible with the support of the Saint Paul’s staff, members, friends, and community partners. Because of your prayers, partnerships, time, talent, treasures, and commitment to CARING for others were able to: the community

• Community Fresh Food Distributions at Saint Paul’s North (SPN) and South (SPS), Petersburg Dream Center (PDC), and MLK Jr. Middle School

• The Mobile Food Pantry at the PDC

• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) Senior Food Distribution

• The Emergency Food Assistance Program Hot Meals CARITAS, The Healing

•

• Hot Meals delivered to Seniors

• In addition to distributing food we provided informational resources along with our community partners in reference to Health Care, Medicaid Open Enrollment, Domestic Violence, Rent Relief, Grief and Care Groups. Blood Pressure Screening, COVID Testing, COVID Vaccinations, and Voter Registration

Assisted 1,415 people with receiving COVID19 vaccinations

Assisted over 400 people with getting tested for COVID19 Blood Pressure Loaner Cuff Program and Screening

• The Caring Hearts Medical Ministry (CHMM) provided Blood Pressure Screening to 100 people and the American Heart Association (AHA) provided information on the BP Loaner Cuff Program, hypertension, stroke, and heart attack resource information to 300 people during a community food distribution

• The CHMM and AHA started the Blood Pressure Loaner Cuff Program at Saint Paul’s and provided Blood Pressure Screening to over 30 people since the church reopened Distributed over 55,000 diapers to individuals, families, and local agencies in need of diapers to avoid reuse or wearing diapers for extended periods causing rashes, infections, and other health issues.

Back to School - supported over 1,432 students after 15 months of in person, hybrid, and/or virtual learning.

• Back to School Blast (Saint Paul’s North) - served 435 students and families with back packs, school supply kits, prizes, give-a-ways, academic stations, vendors, movement, Voter Registration, COVID vaccinations, STEM activities, diapers, Clothed by Love Mobile Boutique, and more

• Back to School Kickoff (Petersburg) - Partnership with Petersburg City Public Schools and Nia, Inc. - served over 1,000 students and families with COVID vaccinations & testing, required immunization shots, school supplies, toiletries, lunch, Technology Support, DJ & stage performances, meet your school Principal & team, vendors, prizes, and more

School Partnerships - supported needs of local school partners

• Grab and Go Moving Up Bags provided 65 backpacks filled with snacks and school supplies to celebrate Ratcliffe Elementary School students moving up to middle school

• Provided diapers, supplies, and other items needed for the Henrico County Family and Community Engagement team and Homeless Children and Youth McKinney Vento team

• Fall Festival – donated 300 hot dogs, hot dog buns and jump ropes for Elko Middle School’s Fall Festival

• Spring Break Food Care Packages provided 256 care packages to students identified by the Petersburg City Public School District as needing food during Spring Break

• Adopted Pleasants Lane Elementary School provided catered lunch via a food truck for staff appreciation

• Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School – partnership includes monthly community food distribution at the school, celebrated staff appreciation, provided a Basic Money 101 Financial Workshop done by our CARE team, our Male Chorus works with and donate to the Young Kings in Action Mentoring program, and SMB partners with MLK’s STEM club

• Additional school partnerships are also done via ImagiNation and SMB

Volunteer Appreciation - celebrated over 245 volunteers for their commitment to serving Icare Homeless Collection – led by the Outreach team, SMB and PrimeTime Life Stages we supported 6 local shelters that serve people experiencing homelessness.

• Over 2,000 items were donated. $1,700. cash and gift card donations were used to purchase additional items

• The winning Life Stage with the most donations was the Refiners

Thanksgiving Food Distribution

• Served over 2,000 families

• Partnered with 40 community partners and over 250 volunteers

• Delivered hot cooked meals to 90 seniors Christmas Joy Food and Toys Distribution

• Served 660 children and families

• 125 volunteers served

Partnered with CVS and Assisting Families of Inmates to assist with providing Christmas for 60 children whose parents are incarcerated. The Life Stage spreading the most Christmas Joy with their donations was Fusion

We Care Campaign – collection of items needed for local Re-entry and Homeless Agencies, Nursing Home, Juvenile Correctional Center, and Children and Families who have Incarcerated loved ones led by SMB and DreamChasers Life Stages

• Collected 480 items

• Received $600 in Scripp cards to purchase additional items needed

• ImagiNation received $500 in donations during Easter Eggstravaganza to purchase additional items needed

Support Life Stage Outreach initiatives – The Outreach team supports and help to resource Outreach being done via the Life Stages. These are listed under the Life Stages

Community Donors / Partners

We are grateful for our members, friends, volunteers, and Community Donors/Partners serving alongside us as God continues to DO a NEW THING! We are grateful for the opportunity to serve with you as we touch the world with LOVE. It would not be possible without you!

Fine Arts

Patrick Newby, Director of Worship Patrick.Newby@myspbc.org • 804.463.2355

The SPBC Fine Arts Ministry leverages the Creative Arts to craft a weekly worship experience that cultivates moments where God’s glory is released to provide opportunities for physical and spiritual encounters with Christ. Our mission is to praise, edify, glorify and uplift God through song, music, movement, and dramatic expression. We are fully committing ourselves to be vessels, led by God to embrace the vision and direction God has given our Pastor, Dr. Lance D. Watson.

I have the privilege to serve as the Director of Worship, and it is my specific goal to lead a department to aid in setting a spiritual pace and tone for all Worship Services that invokes the Spirit of God, which illustrates the Glory of God and inspires the people of God. We do this through weekly rehearsals, training, and development of talented members of the Fine Arts ministry.

The Fine Arts department continued serving throughout 2020-’21 and 2021-’22, as God unequivocally did a NEW thing within our ministry. Included below are a few highlights and challenges:

HIGHLIGHTS:

MUSIC MINISTRY

Formed a 9-member Praise Team to meet weekly (virtually and in-person) to record Audio/Video content to be used for all Virtual Worship services, Revivals, Conferences, etc.

• Band met weekly to Record, Mix, and Edit full instrumentals for a variety of uses including:

Backing tracks for virtual worship components

Instrumental support for virtual music video content

• Weekly Recording Schedule for Praise Team and Band included (but not limited to):

Instrumental Recording – Live & Pre-Recorded (SPBC Band)

Instrumental Mixing & Editing (Alvin Spratley, Brandon Taylor, Mark McCutchen)

Audio/Vocal Recording (Patrick Newby)

Audio/Vocal Editing (Patrick Newby)

Video Recording (Patrick Newby & Frankie James)

Video Editing (Patrick Newby & Frankie James)

• Choirs continued meeting weekly through Zoom/Teams meetings.

MOVEMENT MINISTRY

Continued to meet regularly through Zoom/Teams for teaching, choreographed training exercises, etc

• Planned, Scripted, Choreographed and pre-recorded visual movement content for Virtual Worship Services

CHALLENGES:

The sudden culture shift created a few challenges in presenting Worship presentations. Unfortunately, a lack of proper mobile recording resources created challenging situations that were met with diligent solutions by our dedicated staff in Fine Arts.

• Personally purchased Media/Videography Equipment (2 Cameras, Lighting, Fabric Backdrops, etc.)

Purchased Hardware (Apple iMac) and Software (Final Cut Pro, Motion, Logic Pro)

• Purchased Studio Hardware for vocal recording (Mics, Filters, Cables, Recording Console)

• Took training courses to learn Videography shooting/editing protocols and techniques.

• Band also purchased and utilized personal recording equipment to accommodate “remote” instrumental recording

The future goals of the Fine Arts Department: Advanced worship service development and procedures

• Cohesive integration of worship development and creative/ communications/media development

• Push Technology to the forefront of Fine Arts creative communications and execution

To join SPBC Fine Arts (Choir/Movement/Drama), please email Patrick.Newby@ myspbc.org

Patrice R. Stokes, Chief Operating Officer

Patrice.Stokes@myspbc.org • 804.643.1894

Alesia Gibbs, Operations Assistant

Alesia.Gibbs@myspbc.org • 804-463-2454

It is an honor and pleasure to serve as the church’s Chief Operating Officer. In my role, I am responsible for the general management of the church subject to the authority of the Senior Pastor. I provide oversight for the following areas: Charisma Books & Gifts, Culinary Arts, Data Management, Facilities and Grounds, Human Resources, Member Services, Safety and Security, Technology Services, and Transportation Services. Together, we resource the mission and ministry of the church.

Several of my listed job responsibilities include:

• Participate with members of the executive team to direct and manage strategic planning and implementation activities that further the mission and vision of the church.

• Ensure staffing, facilities and other operational resources are appropriately and effectively aligned to best meet strategic goals and objectives.

• Lead, direct and guide an operations team to manage the operational resources of the church and implement a system of continuous process and service improvements.

During 2021, with God’s grace and with Lisa Gibbs keeping everyone on track, we achieved the following NEW THINGS in our hybrid work environment:

We not only survived a second year of a pandemic; we thrived in it.

o We modeled small group life, meeting weekly, studying together, caring for one another and engaging each other in ways in which honors the gifts and skills we each possess. And we did that primarily online.

o We upped our collaboration skills using Microsoft Teams, trying out new apps. We met on campus with each other and with contractors, as needed, to get the work done.

• We successfully reopened Saint Paul’s North for in-person worship.

My dreams for church operations:

• Every member who has a passion for any area of operations is participating in a small group in which they are discipled, cared for, and engaged in gifts-based ministry.

o Love landscaping? We have a group for you. Love I.T.? We have a group for you, too. Tell us your interest and we’ll help you get started with group life.

• All campuses will be accessible to people with physical disabilities.

• We are fully staffed to support the work of the church.

• We have sufficient funds to maintain the assets of the church. Support our Legacy Fund.

Charisma Books & Gifts 804.463.2451

Earlene Eley,

Charisma Books & Gifts has the unique opportunity of supporting the church’s mission of empowering people to GROW into the persons that God created them to be by offering resources specifically geared to equip members, guests (and even the curious) on their faith walk.

As the manager, Jenny Gafford is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the bookstore. A few of her key duties are to:

• Purchase, stock and sell merchandise

• Provide excellent customer service

• Facilitate closing sales activities and complete sales reports

• Establish and maintain good relationships with suppliers

During 2021, the Bookstore Team was blessed to accomplish the following NEW THINGS:

• Served people near and abroad for a second year in a row in a pandemic by offering curbside, contact-free pickup for local orders and shipping orders all over the country, as well as to service members oversees

• Assisted with the design, purchase, and distribution of shirts for the new Host Team who began serving in-person worshippers when Saint Paul’s North reopened

• Learned new (and better!) ways to resource groups during the planning of events such as Easter Eggstravaganza, Trunk or Treat and Graduation Sundays

What’s next for Charisma?

Scripture reminds us often that God uses challenges to make us stronger and we have continued to see that manifest while navigating the challenges of the pandemic. Social distancing was not a roadblock for our online store. We see an opportunity to be much more intentional about developing online services.

We started a partnership with Florist One to offer an online flower shop that enables members to celebrate and encourage loved ones all over the country with flowers, plants, baskets, balloons – all hand delivered by a local florist. Even better, each purchase yields a 20% commission to Saint Paul’s! That’s more money for ministry. We plan to further develop this relationship to see where it goes.

We’re also super excited about offering an online print-on-demand shop. Utilizing print-on-demand services will enable us to offer a vast selection of merchandise not limited by space (or store hours). Want a cell phone cover that shows off your Life Stage color? Need Saint Paul’s socks for stocking stuffers? We have some fun ideas in store for you!

With excitement and anticipation, we look forward to everything NEW that God has in store for Charisma. We’ll continue to discern God’s will for the bookstore and embrace it. In the meanwhile, we’d love to hear from you.

Culinary Arts

Lawrence “Eddie” Lemons, Lead Chef, Eddie.Lemons@mspbc.org • 804.463.2396 LaDonte Cooper, Pat Leake, Deborah Morris and Volunteers

The purpose for a Culinary Arts team is to serve “people on the grow” with excellent, healthy, quality foods delivered with world class customer service. As the lead chef, Eddie Lemons has the overall responsibility for all church food service operations. A few of his duties are to:

• Budget, plan, and order food for the preparation of healthy meals

• Supervise and schedule kitchen personnel and ensure they comply with generally accepted standards for work in the food service industry

• Maintain all church kitchens in compliance with local government regulations

During 2021, the Culinary Arts Team remained flexible, took risks and was able to do the following NEW THINGS to the glory of God and the supportive nature of so many people.

• Offered the first-ever MLK Celebration meal via online ordering and curbside pickup. The meal included some of Dr. King’s favorite foods. The fried chicken was a treat and surprisingly, we sold over 100 meals in one day!

• Became adept at providing food for drive-thru ministry events such as Volunteer Appreciation, Trunk or Treat and Veterans Appreciation

• Stepped up our outreach by accepting monetary donations online so that we could provide FREE meals to those in need

Our desire for the future?

We’re open for change! We want to remain flexible and adapt our service delivery model to the changing environment while holding firm to our mission, vision, and values. Values? Yes, we have them.

We believe all persons should have access to meals that will furnish healthy, nutritional foods required for optimal health, growth, development, and success.

We believe open lines of communication should be maintained between the Culinary Arts Department and the staff, members, leaders, and organizations of the Saint Paul’s Community.

We believe fiscal responsibility must be practiced by the Culinary Arts Department.

We believe the Culinary Arts Department should provide support for nutritional education throughout the church and its constituent communities.

We believe the Culinary Arts Department should support the ministries and ancillary organizations of the Saint Paul’s Baptist Church by providing world class food service for events.

We believe the Culinary Arts Department should provide and support professional growth and training opportunities.

What changes would YOU like to see? Let us hear from you by emailing Eddie.Lemons@myspbc.org.

Data Manageent

Mildred “Deanie” Hutcheson, Data Management Specialist • 804.463.2451

The Data Management Team serves the church by maintaining pertinent information on members and guests for use by the staff to meet needs, heal hurts and solve problems.

As the Data Management Specialist, Deanie Hutcheson, is responsible for ensuring that the data in our church management system, Church Community Builder, is as complete and accurate as possible. A few of her duties include:

• Performing data entry, creating new profiles, and updating existing ones in the Church Community Builder platform.

• Coordinating and staffing for registration and check-in at ministry events.

• Preparing reports and providing data for the Annual Report and as requested.

• Communicating with guests, candidates for members and members and recording the interaction in member database.

During 2021, the Data Management Team was able to accomplish some NEW THINGS through diligence and patience

• Reviewed over 3,000 COVID-19 vaccination cards!

• Formed and trained volunteers to serve as Check-In Attendants as we implemented a registration process that served us well when we reopened Saint Paul’s North for worship and held ordination services for diaconal and ministerial candidates.

• Learned and managed a new seat reservation system, assisting those who had challenges navigating the system with reserving a seat. Our wishes for the future

• Every able member of the church will become proficient using Church Community Builder to update contact information, upload a profile picture, join a group, give to the church and much more.

Joyce Black and Alberta Smith Facility

Gregory Harris, Manager • 804.463.2451

Frank Green, Custodian and Rev. Terence Davis, Volunteer

The Facilities Team is committed to maintaining and enhancing church campuses as safe, warm, and welcoming places for prayer, worship, study, hope, refuge, and possibility.

As the manager of the team, Gregory Harris has the overall responsibility for the maintenance, housekeeping, and security of all church buildings and building equipment. A few key job duties follow:

• Manages preventive maintenance programs for buildings, furniture, fixtures, equipment, and systems to maximize the expected life of those assets.

• Manages a scheduled program of housekeeping to ensure that all church buildings are kept clean and safe and feel warm and inviting to the community.

• Troubleshoots problems with building structures, equipment, and systems, determining if they can be corrected by staff or require the use of an outside service.

While we love seeing buildings filled with people, having them closed during the pandemic gave us opportunities to do some much needed work in them. During 2021, the Facilities Team was able to accomplish some NEW THINGS through the grace of God, generosity of God’s people and, yes, EMPTY buildings! Here are some:

• Completed much needed repairs to the steps at the front entrance into the Atrium at Saint Paul’s North.

• Worked with a contractor to construct a handicapaccessible restroom and robing room in the Worship Center at Saint Paul’s South.

• Participated in creating a dream space for children and students by having a student café created, walls repainted, and new flooring installed in the education wing at Saint Paul’s North.

• Coordinated the installation of two 16’ x 9’ video walls in the Cathedral at Saint Paul’s North for enhanced image projection.

• Worked with a designer to have custom window treatments made and installed in the Chapel.

• Remodeled the men and women’s restrooms near the gym at Saint Paul’s South making them handicap accessible.

What are our plans?

• Continue remodeling restrooms at Saint Paul’s South.

• Replace HVAC control systems across the campuses.

• Renovate the Commons at Saint Paul’s North.

• Remodel offices to create new hybrid workplace environments.

Human Resources

Angela Miller, Directional Leader

Angela.Miller@mspbc.org • 804.463.2405

The role of the Human Resources department is to promote a healthy workplace environment through the management of the employee life cycle and the administration of compensation and benefits.

In her role as the Directional Leader for HR, Angela Miller, is responsible for managing the HR office with its related functions. More specifically, she is responsible for:

• Recruiting and hiring

• Compensation and benefits

• Training and development

• Employer and employee relations

• Workplace safety

During the 2021 calendar year, the following NEW THINGS were accomplished by the Directional Leader with the grace of God and the support of others:

• Revised and distributed Employee Handbook that includes new policies (Whistleblower, Telework and Vaccination).

• Expanded employee benefits to include a 529 savings plan and a telehealth program.

• Restated the church’s 403(b) plan to meet new IRS requirements.

What we’re thinking about..

• Reshaping campus work environments as COVID-19 changed the way we work.

• Consolidating departments for operational efficiencies.

Member Services

Frances Buster, Team Leader • Frances.Buster@myspbc.org • 804.463.2451 Annie Kendrick, Receptionist and Sterling Stokes, Receptionist

Our Member Services Team is committed to providing a positive impression of the church as they respond professionally and caringly to phone calls, emails, letters, and visitors to campus offices.

As the Team Leader, “Mrs. Frances” has been responsibility of overseeing the daily operations of all campus offices. Several of her duties include:

• Provides supervision, guidance, and direction to staff and volunteers serving in / for campus offices.

• Responds to telephone calls and emails requesting information and/or services from the church.

• Serves as Secretary to the Executive Council and for the church.

During the 2021 calendar year, the Member Services Team was able to accomplish the following NEW THINGS through many prayers and much patience.

• Coordinated the commissioning and installation of a stained-glass panel commemorating Rev. Isaiah Hines, the third pastor of Saint Paul’s Baptist Church.

• Managed NEW process queues created to support how the church greets, invites, and meets the needs of members and guests.

• Completed over 700 calls to people in the church’s database!

What are the plans for Member Services?

• Increase on-campus presence as our COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

• Complete our project that tells the church’s history through stained-glass panels. The panel commemorating the church’s founders is near completion. Two other panels are yet to be started.

• Continue to provide excellent customer service while streamlining our processes.

Safety and Security Services

Linwood Byrd, Security and Loss Prevention Coordinator • 804.463.2451

Mary Jackson, Security and Loss Prevention Coordinator, Police Officers and Volunteers John 17:12 – While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe

The Safety and Security Team is responsible for ensuring that visitors, members, and staff are safe while on campus or attending offsite church events. They accomplish this by assessing the needs of all ministries and responding accordingly.

As the leader of Safety and Security Services, Linwood Byrd, is responsible for the health, safety and wellbeing of all visitors, staff, and guests of Saint Paul’s Baptist Church. Some key duties include:

• Recruit, train, and coordinate security ministry servants to provide unarmed security presence on church properties and CCTV monitoring during weekend worship services and other events as requested.

• Establish and implement processes and procedures to ensure the assets of the church are protected.

• Coordinate scheduling and assignment of local law enforcement officers that are employed by the church for security and traffic-control purposes.

During 2021, the Team provided safety and security services for events that were done in a NEW WAY. Those events included: Food distributions, Trunk or Treat, Easter Eggstravaganza, Back to School Blast and other events.

Plans and Dreams

• Research and create a Special Conservator role. With certification, police powers on the property can be enforced.

• Dream of seeing the Safety and Security team grow. Dream of creating an Emergency Response Team for the City of Possibility. Dream of becoming the place where the community can get training on safety and security topics – personal protection, basic crime prevention, season crime prevention alerts, fire safety and prevention, etc.

• The goal for the Technology Services Team is to empower Saint Paul’s Baptist Church to BE the church everyday and everywhere in this digital age by leveraging 21st century innovation and best practices.

Technology Services

Steve Perky, Directional Leader • 804.463.2447

2021 Team: Rev. Hawk Hawkins and Taurus Satterwhite, Training Specialist

As the Tech Team leader, Steve Perky is responsible for providing leadership, guidance, and direction in the area of technology.

A few key responsibilities include:

• Researching, identifying, procuring, and implementing software applications that support the church’s mission, vision, and goals.

• Developing and administering technology use policies and procedures.

• Troubleshooting network and computer problems and resolving them.

During the 2021 calendar year, the Tech Services Team was able to accomplish the following NEW THINGS:

• Purchased and installed new TVs, gaming equipment and digital signage in the upgraded children and student spaces.

• Upgraded and expanded Wi-Fi services at the campuses.

What are the BIG PLANS for Tech Services?

Form life stage Tech Teams who will expand the knowledge and use of the technology tools available to members and friends of Saint Paul’s Baptist Church.

• Expand our online leader resources to further equip leaders for ministry in our new, hybrid culture.

Implement hybrid spaces for ministry, connection, and collaboration such as creating Teams rooms on campus where a group could meet both in-person and with other group members remotely.

39God is Doing a NEW Thing! | Isaiah 43:19

Transportation Services

Holly Jackson-Conrad, Directional Leader • Holly.Jackson-Conrad@myspbc.org • 804.463.2429

Drivers: Antoine Buckner, Chantice Burnette, Fred China, Cynthia Davis, Robert Goff, Floyd Marable, Richard Smith, Carrie Warwick, Donald Williams, Stacey Williamson, and Tracy Wright

Transportation Services exists to transport people who are not able to drive themselves to and from worship and other activities and events of the church. As the leader for Transportation Services, Holly Jackson-Conrad, is responsible for its safe and efficient operations. Some of her duties include:

Training and supervising drivers.

• Responding to requests for transportation.

• Ensuring all vehicles are kept cleaned, inspected annually, maintained according to the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule, and repaired as needed.

During 2021, the Transportation Team continued to assist with the church’s outreach ministry weekly by delivering food to senior members. In September, they began doing a NEW THING:

Saint Paul’s North was reopened for worship and the team began transporting passengers on a weekly basis while adhering to a strict COVID-19 safety protocol.

Dreams for Transportation

• Purchase two new buses with wheelchair lifts.

• Construct dwelling to store vehicles.

Donald Chambers, Chair

Melvin Poacher, 2nd Vice Chair Pam Hill, Recording Secretary Williams, Assistant Recording Assistant Financial

Executive Council

Jonathan Tinsley, Sargent At Arms

Charlie Pruden, Jr., Chaplain

Robert Thornhill, Historian

Deborah Moore Gardner, Corresponding Secretary Patrese A. Pruden, Assistant Corresponding

Rev. Paul Nichols Executive Council Lead Director

Pamela Hill Executive Council Member

Monica Jefferson Executive Council Member

Teresa Olson Executive Council Member Curtis Jennings Executive Council Member

Liza Simmons Executive Council Member

Dr. Lance D. Watson

Pastor/CEO

Patrice Stokes COO

Bob Kelly CFO

Frances Buster Secretary

YuVonda

Nia Community Development Corporation is committed to empowering people and transforming communities. We exist to provide opportunities for people to help themselves and in turn, help others improve their quality of life and find wellness. Since its inception, Nia has worked tirelessly to meet the needs of the communities we serve, by addressing factors that significantly affect the health and the quality of life of our people. Those factors include, poverty, healthcare access and race.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Confederate monuments, systemic racism, social injustice, and health inequities have taken center stage, exposing that while we have come a long way, there is still much more to be done. Over the past year, the board and staff members of Nia found peace in knowing, God is doing a NEW thing! and as such, approached our work in a new way. Choosing to focus on identify the barriers that our clients face and with the client, work to overcome them. During the 2021-22 ministry year:

• Ninety-five individuals received case management services and were connected to identified social service agencies including housing assistance, job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling and much more

• In partnership with SPBC, Nia supported over 1,000 families in Central Virginia with food insecurities by providing monthly

food boxes. Recognizing that it is not only important to make sure every person has access to food, but also equally important that all families have access to healthy food. Each Nia food box included a meat, starch, fresh fruit/vegetables, and a dairy item

• Co-hosted a virtual conference to support millennials and GenZers during post pandemic with offering healthy, safe tips on relationship and online dating

Hosted a weekly online support group for young black men. This group was created to provide a safe space in which Black men can share, discuss and support each other around issues affecting them, including mental health, race, policing, relationships and identity

• We helped five local ministries establish health and AIDS ministries in their church

Actively participated on numerous coalitions, and community organizing groups to address health care access, social injustice, and gun violence Dream Center Street of

Petersburg Dream Center

2019 marked our 10th year serving in the Petersburg community! In response to the gift of the facility we received from the Elm Street Baptist Church, we have labored to be faithful in bringing the “positive power of Jesus Christ” to that community. We are grateful for all that God has done!

Marshall Street

We’re building a city! That’s our hope and dream. We’re building a city called POSSIBILITY. In 2018, with the assistance and support of ministry leaders, staff, and our planning partners at Clark Nexsen, we completed a Master Planning Exercise for the 336+ acres of land that God has given us surrounding our Creighton Campus. Of course, the advent of the COVID crisis presented an ideal time to review those plans for relevance, and we did. Our review and adjustment process is currently underway, and we solicit your prayerful support as we continue to look forward in the hope of seeing that city called POSSIBILITY. “All things are possible to those who believe.”

— Jesus (Mark 10:27)

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, in prayer, we recognized this as a moment to assess and reassess our efforts and decided to shift our approach from offering a “traditional church” to serving as a social service hub for that community under the name: the Petersburg Dream Center. Although our efforts have yet to bring forth the fruit we hoped for; we have successfully established contact with several potential community partners as we “pray our way forward.”

Our Marshall Street properties have been dormant for over 20 years. Moved in prayer after several congregation-wide discussions regarding their disposition, we decided to explore the possibility of developing those properties on our own. Towards this end, we are presently exploring the requirements to build single-family homes on the lots we own and to transform the parish house and sanctuary into apartments (with some being listed as affordable housing). Please pray for our efforts as we continue to move forward.