LOC AL OUT
Continuing the
REA CH
DECADE OF DESTINY
•R EGI ON AL OUT REA CH
•G LOB AL OUT REA CH
Volume One
| 2014-15
T ABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2013-14 STATISTICS LOCAL OUTREACH GREAT DAY OF SERVICE HFKIDZ HFSM - OUTREACH & EVENTS - 633 INTERN RESIDENCY LIFE CHANGE: Mary Schoch’s Testimony REGIONAL OUTREACH WISE CAMPUS LAUNCH NEW CAMPUS LAUNCH LIFE CHANGE: Karsun Thompson’s Testimony BAPTISMS GLOBAL OUTREACH G3 CONFERENCE #TBT (Throwback Thursday) LIFE CHANGE: One Love MY GIVING POTENTIAL VISION FOR THE FUTURE
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10 12 14 15 16 18 19 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
JUST ONE: CONTINUING THE DECADE OF DESTINY • VOL. 1 | 2014-15
Continuing the
DECADE OF DESTINY
Volume One
|2014-15
Contributors
Editors
DEBORAH WHITT LESA MORRISON Photographers
TIA THOMAS JR LINKOUS CODY HALL JASON BARNETTE NATHAN WAMPLER BRIANA MORRIS DALE MCKINNEY SUZANNE CHRISTIAN CHASE BUCHANAN
ALLEN JESSEE DEBORAH WHITT LESA MORRISON ELIZABETH RUSH AMANDA O’QUINN DANIEL THOMAS WINSTON JOHNSON LORA FULLER MIKE RUSH JR LINKOUS TIA THOMAS
Magazine Designer
Online
CAMPUS A
NATHAN WAMPLER
Watch... SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE SERVICE ON YOUR COMPUTER, PHONE OR TABLET. Connect... TALK WITH SOMEONE ONE-ON-ONE. REQUEST PRAYER. Interact... CHAT WITH OTHERS ALL AROUND THE GLOBE. FOLLOW ALONG AND TAKE NOTES.
s our culture continues to shift more and more to the internet for information and social connection, we believe that God has given us an opportunity to present the Gospel to the world in a digital format. On a weekly basis we have seen people come to Christ at our Online Campus and some even have showed up at a physical location to be baptized! As we approach 2015, we have plans to expand this campus by starting Online Small Groups and reaching out to those online who are alone and unable to connect with others in person.
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2,500
attended Online Campus in 2014.
TIM LEMONS
Online Campus Pastor
54 SALVATIONS
made through Online Campus in 2014.
2015 is going to be another great year of growth and progress for the ONLINE CAMPUS!
A letter from LEAD PASTOR
Dear Highlands Family, s I write this letter to you, our church is in the midst of an awakening of God. During the past few months, hundreds of people have come and they are hearing the word of God taught from the preschool to the adult services. Every weekend the Hope of the Gospel is eternally changing people’s lives. Our average attendance is up by over 20% from this time last year. Every campus is seeing growth in almost every ministry we offer. God is certainly on the move at Highlands, and I give him all the credit. When I look at our world, the witness of the church is needed now more than ever. Our generation is different from all the others. Our world is more interconnected than ever before. I see the opportunity to leverage these connections to change lives. I see that for the first time in history, we could very well bring the news of God’s freedom in Jesus to the ends of the earth. Peter tells us that Jesus has not returned yet because of God’s great patience, because “he does not want any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:1) Nearly 3 billion people—42% of the world’s population—have not heard the name of Jesus. Here at Highlands, we are poised to bring the gospel to your local neighborhood and literally to the world. This magazine gives you a clear picture of our JUST ONE-CONTINUING THE DECADE OF DESTINY initiatives. For many of us that have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams, Highlands wants to offer a challenge for you to pay it forward in His Kingdom business. From a small gift to a large gift, my promise is that every dollar will be invested in God’s work to see hearts captured by His love and grace!!! Would you pray and ask God if He wants you to be a part of this awesome endeavor? Let's change the world!!
In Him, Allen
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Four men standing on a dock. It wasn’t a holiday; it wasn’t a celebration of someone’s birthday or a child’s championship ball
game picnic. It didn’t even start out as a day that you would think needed to be marked on a calendar as a day that you heard God speak so clearly. But that is really where this story begins. Four men, standing on a dock discussing the future of the Highlands family. “How are we going to reach those far from God?” they wondered, until suddenly, it became clear. In a moment of silence, Allen spoke these two simple words: Just One. “We could change our schools, our community, even our region by each being responsible for just one person. It will take heart and it will take prayer, but I believe God will honor the endeavors of the people whose life was changed because someone committed to them being their Just One.” The men nodded in amazement. This was more than just an idea; this was a movement which would change the course of the Highlands story. Just like the early church that Paul wrote about in Acts, the church was called in the Greek language ekklésia. It meant brick and mortar wasn’t a requirement for church or a large building for people to gather in. Paul referred to the church in its purest form - a movement of people passionately coming together, believing and worshiping God. That’s why we believe that the church is the hope of the world. We would never want to miss our chance to be a movement in our communities.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9
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Just One is a simple name, but the vision behind this movement is the fuel that will bring thousands of people into a relationship with Jesus in the days ahead. Our prayer is that imperfect people come through the doors of Highlands and find a warm welcome, a safe place, and hope in a world that is so broken. Our challenge to the congregation is to never give up. Keep praying! Keep believing that we are in the midst of an ekklésia in our region and the world.
Let's never stop inviting and investing in our next
Just One .
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2013-2014 STATISTICS
955
SALVATIONS WERE MADE
5,382
541 BAPTIZED
PEOPLE WERE
PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN GLOBAL AND LOCAL MISSIONS IN THE LAST 2 YEARS
HIGHLANDSFELLOWSHIP.COM VIEWED BY
135 COUNTRIES
1,521
CONNECTED IN SMALL GROUPS
HIGHLANDSFELLOWSHIP.COM
431,603 VISITS STEPS 1,943 NEXT SESSIONS
TAKEN THROUGH 101-401 IN 2013-2014
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Then God answered,
“Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This -message is a witness pointing to what’s coming.” - Habakkuk 2:2 (The Message)
AN AVERAGE OF 3,579 PEOPLE ATTEND WEEKLY WORSHIP SERVICES
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Creating where imperfect PEOPLE
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to attend.
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Initiative: $25,000
G REAT DAY OF SERVICE
LOCAL OUTREACH H. Jackson Brown Jr. once said, “Remember the happiest
people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” His words may be profound to some and may be even simple to others, but they are a reminder of the vision behind a monumental day in the life of Highlands. The Great Day of Service was the ultimate outreach event that allowed each of us to make a positive impact right outside our back door. When we reminisce about 2014, our staff and volunteers think that April 12th, 2014 was one of those days that “will live in infamy” for the Highlands family. Over 500 people from our congregations served their communities from Johnson City, Tennessee to Marion, Virginia.
500+ people from
our congregation served their communities.
Some projects were as simple as raking leaves and painting sidewalk curbs, while others involved the re-working and cleaning up entire parks throughout Washington County. Over 100 HFKidz planted flowers in three towns and our fathers and sons pushed wheelbarrows for hours. We even had others who served water and waved with lots of smiles to people as they finished their first half-marathon! To each of you who served our community this past year, ‘THANK YOU” will never cover it. We are excited and expectant for all God has planned for the 2nd Annual Great Day of Service scheduled for Saturday, April 25th 2015. We would challenge you to prayerfully consider being a catalyst in your community this coming year. With every pair of hands that comes forward to serve and every dollar donated, it will directly go back into your community to help those in need. Always remember that we dream big because God does and these small acts of kindness will make one large God story!
We hope you join us in 2015!
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HF Kidz Environments and Day Camps Initiative: $200,000
K IDZ ENVIRONMENTS
D AY CAMP od is doing amazing things in the children’s ministry at Highlands Fellowship. This year Highlands will roll out their own summer camp which will allow each campus to host a oneday camp in their community. The percentage of unchurched kids in the Highlands’ service region is astounding. To reach these children, we will offer a day of fun that will leave kids begging their parents to bring them back. At camp, kids will get the opportunity to explore their interests - choosing from tons of activities while engaging in hands-on biblical teaching and deep relationship building. The possibilities are endless!!!
LOCAL OUTREACH n October 2014, HFKidz rolled out a brand new curriculum that promises relevant biblical teaching with hands-on application. We are so excited about what God is doing in the lives of our children through this new curriculum! We are so appreciative of our wonderful volunteers who have helped us take HFKidz to the next level. Thanks to our volunteers, we now have drama teams that are bringing God’s word to the stage at our
campuses. Through our new initiative, “Fellowship Fridays”, we have outfitted a ton of little disciples who will hopefully start conversations that lead others to Him!!! Children have been given t-shirts that say “Follow Me to HFKidz” and are challenged to wear shirts on Fridays, inviting friends to church. We are excited about all that God is doing in HFKidz and know that life-changing seeds are being planted!!! At Highlands we firmly believe that kids can learn about God while having fun. We want to make sure our environments create an atmosphere where this can happen. In 2015, HFKidz will undergo a physical makeover that will leave children saying church is the coolest place on Earth. Our new environments promise to engage the imagination of children, celebrating the splendor of our Creator.
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Initiative: $120,000
Initiative: $25,000
H FSM OUTREACH & EVENTS
I NTERN RESIDENCY
LOCAL OUTREACH
he Highlands Fellowship Residency is a two-year leadership training program designed to equip men and women who know that God has called them to lead in a pastoral role of the local church. Residents gain hands on experience with one of the staff teams of the church, personal mentoring and leadership training to equip them as emerging church leaders for a lifetime of ministry significance. Highlands Fellowship Residency program is a perfect place for emerging leaders to understand their long-term ministry potential, which enables the local church to reach their redemptive purpose. The Highlands Fellowship Summer Internship Program is an awesome opportunity for College students to experience hands-on training in a fun, fast-paced and God-honoring church leadership environment. This eight-week volunteer based program is designed for students who have a heart to make a difference in the lives of others through the local church. The purpose is to equip students to excel in their skills, knowledge, and passion in making disciples within the local church. While not all students feel the call to vocational ministry, some students have sensed God confirm their calling into ministry via the HFSI.
It’s about reaching a generation.
633 is our high
school minis tr y at Highlands Fellowship and it meets at 6:33 ever y Wednesday night at each campus. 633 was birthed out of a desire to reach high school students, and for Highlands Fellowship to be a healthy, multi-generational church. It’s more than a weekly event with bands and speakers. It’s about a generation. It’s a movement and an atmosphere where students feel loved, inspired, and informed.
MARK ESTEPP Student Pastor
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We want 633 students to become a generation who knows that God’s unfailing love through Jesus is better than anything else. The way we accomplish this goal is to be attractive, sticky, and relational. 633 is an attractive venue for students with live bands at each campus, creative elements, age-relevant, engaging messages, and a high-energy atmosphere. Our small groups provide students with opportunities to stick as they experience deeper relationships, biblical teaching, and acceptance. The thing that makes all of this come together is the value we place on relationships. We create opportunities for students to build lasting relationships with one another and adult leaders. The pastors, coordinators, and volunteer leaders of 633 all value students, and want to build relationships with them that go beyond a weekly venue. Our team attempts to build these types of relationships with students in the schools and communities surrounding our campuses through events and simply by being present. We’ve seen the research that describes how difficult it is to reach high school students, keep them engaged, and help them “stick” beyond graduation. Rather than becoming discouraged, we are determined. Through being attractive, sticky, and relational, 633 will continue to help students develop their own faith in Jesus, ability to make better decisions, positive friendships, and growth that will prepare them for the rest of their lives.
JARED CARTER
GABBY PROVENZANO Highlands First Resident
Highlands Intern
NATHAN MAGSTADT Highlands Intern
THE FOUNDRY: Housing for Interns (We had 10 interns this year!)
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1 % of people over the age Less than
“I went to church when I was a young age but then I just got out of it. Back then, you had to dress up and act like you was from New York. You had to dress up and I don’t like dressing up. My nieces told me I could wear jeans at Highlands and I like to wear jeans.”
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Mary was born and raised in Virginia and spent most of her life in our region except for a little while she lived in Maryland. She went to high school through the ninth grade and then left school to join the workforce. She worked for several years at Hardwood, a local sewing factory and then worked making
cabinetry in Marion. She left the factory jobs and went into Home Health; she worked in the healthcare field until she retired around the age of 75 when she had to have a knee operation. When Mary was young, she enjoyed playing softball with her two brothers. There was a train that ran through Glade Spring where she grew up and she and her brothers would ‘hobo’ the train down to Saltville. She married her late husband in 1972 and they had two sons. She also has a two-year old granddaughter and three nieces that she spends a lot of her time with. It was
wh RIO e re N C Ma AM ry a PU tte S, n ds .
SAVED & BAPTIZED AT AGE 82
Mary told us that she “knew there was a God, to me that was normal. It’s just the unknowns I was afraid of. I was worried that it would be strict and everything and that maybe they would think I wasn’t good enough, that they were better than I was.” But after her first couple of visits at Highlands, she felt very comfortable and says that now she “really loves that place.”
MA
of 80 will accept Christ.
ary Schoch is one in a million! Not that she’s any different than any one of her neighbors, relatives or fellow-church attendees. She accepted Christ and was baptized at the age of 82. That is almost unheard of in the world in which we live today.
“I’m sorta bashful about stuff at the church. I didn’t even know who the preacher was, I didn’t know who anybody was. We were sitting at the table and one of my nieces told the preacher that I wanted to be saved and baptized. He comes over, stoops down and asks me if I want to get saved and baptized. I said ‘Yes, I do!’. He said that was awesome. I guess it’s cause of my age and that I’d never been saved or baptized.”
Since Mary was baptized, she tells us that she is happier than she has ever been. By accepting Christ and being baptized, Mary has a peace in her life that she never had before. It had been on her mind for a while and she “got to thinking that I don’t wanna go down there, I wanna go up there” and now she has assurance that she indeed has a place in heaven.
“I REALLY
Love that place.”
."
LIFE CHANGE
Mary tells us that her nieces kept asking her to go to church with them and she finally said “‘well, it’s worth a try’ and so I went with them. I really liked it so I just kept going.”
“They said I could wear jeans at Highlands. And I like to wear jeans.”
Mary’s story is one that many of us can relate to. She went to church as a young girl then got busy with life and simply stopped going to church. The need to make a living drives all of us and as we get older we get set in our ways. But as we see from Mary’s life, there comes a time when we all wonder about what’s next.
“I d on’t I wa wann nna a go go dow up n t her th e, er e
M ARY SCHOCH’S TESTIMONY
her three nieces that brought her to Highlands Fellowship for the first time.
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Highlands at Wise Permanent Building Initiative: $250,000
W ISE CAMPUS LAUNCH - 2014
REGIONAL OUTREACH
“We started a satellite church anticipating 20-30 people at first, but we started with 170 and and we are still seeing well over 100 people in weekly attendance... just five weeks in!" - Jeff Rolen, Maturity Pastor
he Wise Campus may seem like the wildcard to our 2014 story, but it is a dream that has been years in the making. Many of you might not have known that we had over 400 people in our congregation that had traveled from Wise to one of our regional campuses over the last several years.. Many sent prayer requests, others stopped staff members in the mall areas on Sundays, and some even wrote letters, all saying,, “When are you going to bring Highlands to Wise?” The funny thing about a question like that is that the answer is simple: “When God says so.” With that request in our prayers, he opened doors, he opened windows, and most importantly, he provided a leader. When Jeff Rolen said yes
ROBBIE GAINES Campus Pastor
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JEFF ROLEN Maturity Pastor
to being the Maturity Pastor and Robbie Gaines committed to three years in Wise, VA as the Campus Pastor, we knew God was about to write an incredible story in the lives of the people of Wise County. Overnight, after launching on Sunday, October 5th, Highlands at Wise became the largest church in the county. Before opening, Jeff Rolen and his team went straight to work, inviting people in the community and answering dozens of skeptic’s questions about the “new church” at Camp Bethel. Now, with over five weeks under their belt, they continue to have well over 100 people in weekly attendance. In 2015, we feel like God wants to expand on His story in Wise. As the 7th largest unchurched county in Virginia, it is time for God to seep into the hearts of thousands both young and old. That is why we believe He is leading us to put down roots and establish ministry opportunities for a permanent location. We know this isn’t an easy task – but we believe it is the next step in establishing campuses and extension sites up and down the Appalachian Corridor. If you have a heart for the local church and believe that it is the hope of the world, we challenge you to consider being part of this movement in Wise. Every dollar given to this mission directly affects the people of Wise County. We know whole-heartedly that God’s work never ends, and as our 5th campus, Highlands at Wise will continue to faithfully let God use them in mighty ways to reach those far from God!
New Campus Launch in 2015 Initiative: $150,000
f you sit silently before the Lord, he will speak in unexpected ways. The clouds might not open up and He audibly speak, but hearts are prompted by just the simple feeling of the Holy Spirit. It’s that moment that fuels the vision we feel like God has made clear to the family of Highlands. Launching new campuses and extension sites up and down the Appalachian Corridor has become the blood that runs through our veins. We believe it to our core, believing He honors it - and with every step – someone’s life is changed forever, because someone didn’t give up on their Just One. In Hebrews 8:10, God speaks saying these incredible words: “This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on
the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people.” (The Message) We are the church. We will always be His people who God chose for this generation, in this moment, to have an impact to change the world. He is carving His promises into the lining of our hearts. It is why we believe God is beginning the pathway for the next campus or extension site in 2015. The three signs you see above are the regions we believe God could be calling the Highlands family to next. We pray with expectancy that in the coming year he will open the right doors and continue the right conversations at the perfect time. We ask you to prayerfully consider championing the way by giving financially to make this investment in another town or city a reality!
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K ARSUN THOMPSON’S TESTIMONY
LIFE CHANGE he Edge is the middle school ministry at Highlands Fellowship. We want students to have fun, be challenged, feel accepted, and find answers to life’s questions. It’s most definitely the place middle school students want to be on Sunday mornings with games, food, and messages just for them. Our hope is that not only are student’s lives changed but families and generations of families are changed because of what’s happening in the Edge. Karsun Thompson, a 9th grader at Abingdon High School, is one of those lives changed. He started attending Highlands in the 3rd grade but his attendance was sporadic for most of that time. His family life wasn’t that great and he said he was making some bad choices by the time he got to middle school. Then something happened at the beginning of his 8th grade year. Karsun met Tyler, the Edge Coordinator at the Abingdon Campus. Karsun said, “Tyler greeted me, he kept inviting me back, he talked to me every time he saw me. I felt like he related to me. He made me feel like someone cared. Near the end of my 8th grade year I was coming to the Edge every week because Tyler was someone I could talk to.”
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Karsun attended Amplify, student ministry’s summer camp during the summer of that same year. He was listening to
KARSUN THOMPSON a message by Mark Estepp, the student pastor, when he said he begin to cry. “Mark was talking about family and I started thinking about my family and all the things I had gone through.” Soon those sad tears turned to joyful tears. “For the first time, it really clicked and I accepted Jesus. I was baptized at midnight!”
TYLER WHITT
After he went home he knew he had to make some changes. “Before Amplify, I argued every night with my parents. They wouldn’t let me do what I wanted. After Amplify, it changed. I didn’t have the temptations to do anything like that. I got new friends. My relationship with my parents is much better.” One of Karsun’s favorite things to do is serve in the Edge. “I’ve been serving in the Edge for four months. I really like to be there. It’s really fun.” He’s passing on what made him feel welcomed when he first came. “Today, I saw this new student coming into the room and I found him and started talking to him before Martha (Edge Coordinator) even told me to. Martha said go but I was already there. We talked and when he left he promised he’d be back next weekend. I love that I can make students feel welcomed and wanted.” Karsun’s story is what the Edge is all about, helping students feel accepted and challenged to make life change. Then giving them opportunities to serve so they can pass on what they’ve learned. Karsun wanted to end his story with this statement, “I want people to know Highlands is a family. They support you, won’t judge you for what you’ve done. They accept you for who you are and then you can help others feel the same way.”
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BAPTISM urrounded by the love and support of friends, family, and volunteers from across our Highlands campuses, people young and old were cheered and celebrated as they took their next step in their faith journey. Baptism is one of the greatest moments we celebrate as a church. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we told that “those who belong to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” In the past two years, from lakes in surrounding counties to blow-up swimming pools at youth camps to the baptism pools at all of our locations, we have gathered together with 541 people making their faith public through baptism! We raised our hands in applause and embraced each other as we celebrated the lives that were changed for eternity.
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celebration!
We believe no matter how young or old you are, as followers of Christ you can act in audacious faith, show love and honor to others, and lead the way in changing a generation. It starts here – each journey has a story – and we confidently know that God has a plan and purpose for each of their lives!
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NEARLY 100 COUNTRIES REACHED
GLOBAL OUTREACH
COUNTRIES REACHED COUTRIES REMAINING
List of Countries Remaining - Fulfilling The Great Commission
he G3 Conference is designed to train and equip leaders from every country in the world. Equipping these leaders in all forms of church leadership, establishing relationships, and bringing awareness of unreached people groups allows Highlands Fellowship to be an active part of fulfilling The Great Commission. Currently, we have trained thousands of leaders from almost 100 countries and we will continue until we have trained leaders from every country in the world.
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Initiative: $75,000
Afghanistan Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brunei Burkina Faso Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile Comoros Cote d’lvoire
Cuba Cyprus Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea East Timor Fiji Finland Gabon Gambia Georgia Greece Grenada Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Indonesia Iran Ireland Kiribati Korea, North Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Libya Liechtenstein
Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Micronesia Monaco Montenego Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Burma Namibia Naura New Zealand Niger Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Qatar Samoa
San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Singapore Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Tonga & Tobago Trinidad Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Ukraine Uruguay Vaitcan City Vanuatu Vietnam Yemen
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realize that there was hope for him. She asked him to go to church with her that Easter Sunday and he said yes. He went even though he had a hangover from the night before. “I was tired of it, but it was the only thing I knew so I did it. I got back with the people that I knew, we went to the bar and we drank all night. I went in to church hungover.”
say all the time that my husband is my testimony be caus e we were not supposed to be here…we met at a bar, we lived together before we got married. I always had it stirring in me to lead Chris somewhere but I didn’t know where. I just knew something had to be better for him because I could see he was angry and I could see that he needed something but I didn’t know what that was.” Chris needed Christ and Selina needed to see a miracle to renew her faith. She had grown up in church, raised in a Christian family and had accepted Christ at an early age but she was in a spiritual valley. “Sometimes you need that confirmation from God that He hears you.” After years of being in and out of bad relationships, she had found her faith beginning to fade. “My friends used to say, ‘Selina doesn’t want a boyfriend, Selina wants a cause.’” Then, she met Chris. She says that a couple of months into their relationship she prayed that he wasn’t another cause.
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though. He had to reach his lowest point first. He had to be broken.
“I am an advocate of saying that when someone becomes a poison in your life, you gotta cut your ties. But, in this instance, I knew that there was something different with Chris. But I also knew that I couldn’t come full force at him with ‘You need Jesus!’. Instead, I started planting seeds. I wasn’t always thinking, ‘It’s time to plant a seed’ but God was planting the seeds through me.”
“I was sick and tired and beat down. I had gotten a DUI and I was still driving on a revoked license. I had gone to pick up my son for our weekend visit and I got pulled over. I rode in the back of the cop car beside my son. That was my breaking point. I still didn’t know what I needed but I knew that I was tired of living that life. My son had been growing up seeing me party and drink. He was right in the middle of all of it. For him to have to sit in the back of the cop car at 10 years old because I had went out and got a DUI – that was my breaking point.” At that point, he still wasn’t aware that he needed God. “I actually didn’t believe in God and at a point and time in life, I thought that IF there was a God, I was very angry at Him because of things that had happened in my life. My mom and my grandmother took me to some churches when I was really young but I was extremely bored and that made me resist it even more. They were never youth-oriented and I never connected with it. I think that started a lot of my resentment and anger toward God.”
By the time that Chris and Selina met, he had been living a destructive lifestyle since he was 15 years old. Chris says, “Before Christ, I partied and drank and did drugs and lived a very sinful life.” He was in an out-of-control downward spiral that seemed to have no escape. God had an escape plan that He had already set into action. Chris couldn’t see it yet
“If I had never invited him to church,” says Selina, “no one else was going to.” They were going to her parents house in Richlands, VA for Easter weekend. She knew that an old high school friend who had been on the same destructive path as Chris now pastored a church in Richlands. She thought that if Chris could see the change in his friend, maybe he would
Selina didn’t expect what happened next. “I don’t want to mislead people and say that this is how it happens for everybody, but I went in with a very angry, miserable person and I left with a happy person who I could see take a deep breath for the first time.” Chris says that God was whispering to him for such a long time, but he didn’t know it because he was so wrapped up in himself and the life that he was leading. But that day, he surrendered it all. He realized that he was the one who had to take the step and say, “I do want you. I want you to take it all. I want you in my life. I am willing to surrender everything and I’m willing to walk with you every day of my life.” They were living in Abingdon and although they continued to go to church regularly, the drive to Richlands every Sunday began to wear on them. They started visiting other churches that were closer. Selina says, “We would get up on Sundays and just randomly pick a church. We had some really bad experiences, we could tell immediately when we would walk into a church whether or not we would ever be back. We actually lived close to Highlands and would complain about the traffic on Sundays. We were determined that we would never go to ‘Six Flags Over Jesus’.”
One Saturday night, Selina was googling churches in the area and she came across some videos online from Highlands’ youth camp, Amplify. After watching for a little while, she said, “Ok, Chris, tomorrow morning, we’re going to ‘Six Flags’. We’re doing it.” They both knew immediately that they would be back. “I don’t remember what the message was that day, I just remember
that people were nice and people were not coming at us with a judgemental attitude. Nobody was looking at Chris’ tattoos and thinking ‘This guy must be a troublemaker.’”
The next Sunday, Stacey Whitt asked Chris if he would greet people or hand out bulletins. He said yes and they have been at Highlands serving wherever needed ever since. Selina says that seeing Chris serving on Sundays makes her love him more and more. “Every Sunday we are here, we are serving and it does strengthen our marriage and it renews us and we need that renewal. When I see him doing something that is completely selfless just because – just because somebody asked him to, just because it needs done, just because it’s serving God, just because it’s serving a purpose that really doesn’t have anything to do with his needs, it’s serving someone else’s, it makes me love him that much more to see him eager to do that. It makes all the difference in everything – in your worship, in your relationship with God, to be able to serve. That’s been a huge blessing and a huge part of our marriage.” Selina says, “We’ve had challenges, it hasn’t been perfect and we’ll have more,” but seeing him happy has allowed her to be happy and sharing that happiness that they have found in Christ has become the foundation of their marriage. “We don’t live an exciting life by any means, but I’m so thankful that Chris doesn’t need that. People look at Chris and see the tattoos and think “Oh, they must really have some kind of life!” Selina says that now, if they go out, it is usually to thrift stores and flea markets. Her grandmother used to tell her, “I don’t know when people started thinking that contentment was boredom.” She says, “I can remember praying to be content because where there is contentment there is peace. Now, I am completely at peace in my life.”
Story written by: Tia Thomas
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M Y GIVING POTENTIAL fter four years of trying to handle my finances on my own and working three jobs just to make ends meet, I finally cried out to God to help me. I began tithing on the income I had at the time and He in turn gave me a great job with excellent benefits. I continue to tithe and am able to not just pay my bills but am able to pay down my debt. Letting go and trusting God with my finances is the best decision I have ever made.
Diana Smith - Bristol Dear Highlands Family,
f I can trust him with my money, I can trust him with anything. One of my worst fears was letting go of my money... but I don’t have to be afraid...not with God...he comes through on his promises and he will bless you over and over again...It’s all about trusting the Lord. I have faith in knowing that he will always provide everything that I need.
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Tina Love - Abingdon
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V ISION FOR THE FUTURE
P rayerfully consider what God would have you give...
LOCAL OUTREACH
• GREAT DAY OF SERVICE - Highlands volunteers serving to meet community needs. INITIATIVE: $25,000 • HFKIDZ - Creating environments that kids will love to attend and a camp event at every campus. INITIATIVE: $200,000 • HF STUDENT MINISTRIES - Create attractional events, build meaningful, lasting relationships with students and develop disciples. INITIATIVE: $120,000 • INTERNS & RESIDENTS - Leadership development to prepare young adults to serve in ministry. INITIATIVE: $25,000
REGIONAL OUTREACH Continuing the ear Highlands Family, Where did this year go? It feels like only yesterday that we saw hundreds of you out in your communities volunteering on the Great Day of Service, students signing up for summer camps, and weather warm enough for lake baptisms! Looking back, 2014 was an incredible year for the Highlands family. As your staff, we wanted to simply say thank you to each and every one of you who took time to read this magazine. Blood, sweat, tears, and honestly, so much joy went into the compiling and creating of this presentation of Highlands’ God story. When you read these pages, our hope is that you look at someone close by and say, “Only God could have done that.”
three nieces kept inviting their “Just One.” That’s why we do what we do – for those stories, for those moments, for those people, and that is what we have documented for you here. Each one of you matters to each of us. We are passionate about serving this congregation, no matter what it takes. Whether in person or online, individually or in groups, within our church walls or around the world, we are focused on supporting and engaging in relationships that provide hope and restoration to a hurting world.
“When you read these pages, our hope is that you look at someone close to you and say, “only God could have done that.”
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We know that the heartbeat of this church is fueled by great faith. We’ve seen God change thousands of lives – from a family who feels like they have no hope, to a student trying to figure out how to be an example to his generation, and even to an 82-year-old woman accepting Christ because her
We as a staff are honored to serve you and the people in your families and towns that you will invite as your “Just One” in the days ahead. May this magazine stir in you the trust and excitement for what God has planned for the future of Highlands Fellowship. With Love,
The Highlands Staff
DECADE OF DESTINY
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV)
• HIGHLANDS WISE CAMPUS FACILITY - Provide a permanent location for the new Wise Campus. INITIATIVE: $250,000 • EXTENSIONS SITES - Explore opportunities in other communities, with potential locations in Wytheville, Bluefield or Gate City. INITIATIVE: $150,000
GLOBAL OUTREACH
• G3 CONFERENCE - Hosting Pastors and Leaders from around the globe to teach Purpose Driven Church and reach the unreached people groups with the Gospel of Christ. INITIATIVE: $75,000
FACILITIES
• JC PARKING LOT - Provide parking space for the Johnson City campus for the growing attendance. • OTHER CAMPUS UPGRADES - Improvements to meet our campus needs. INITIATIVE: $100,000 Grand Total:
$945,000