The Vine Church Annual Report 2017

THE VINE

2017

ANNUAL REPORT THE VINE CHURCH

CONTENTS OPENING ADDRESS FROM THE ELDERS GROWING BIG PEOPLE TWENTY STORY – B’ELANNA SATYA SERMON SERIES THE STORY OF JESUS THE VINE SURVEY 2017 SUNDAY SERVICE ATTENDANCE VOLUNTEERS BAPTISM COMMUNITY GROUPS STORY – BRAD AND JAMIE WEDDERBURN COMMUNITY GATHERINGS AND MINISTRIES COURSES STORY – KEN LUNG MISSIONS THE JUSTICE CONFERENCE ASIA OPERATIONAL EXPENSES INCOME BREAKDOWN THE VINE ONLINE

04 05 06 - 07 08 – 09 10 – 11 12 13 14 – 15 16 – 19 20 21 22 – 23 24 – 25 26 – 27 28 – 29 30 – 31 32 – 33 34 – 35 36 37 38

OPENING ADDRESS What another incredible year it has been at The Vine! At the beginning of this year we heard God speak clearly on two essential things – ‘Let My People Go’ and ‘from Crowd to Community’.

Both of these mark new culture shifts for us as a church in our vision to Grow Big People in the years ahead. We must continue to press into the season of healing, transformation, and restoration that God has called us to, and at the same time deepen our community with one another.

2017 has been witness to many powerful moves of God amongst us. I think specifically of our recent Re:Think series that helped many of us deal with faulty core beliefs and mindsets, the launch and development of many new organic Community Groups and core leaders across our ministries, the incredible generosity you all showed to help turn our finances around at the beginning of the year, our deepening hunger for missions, and the spirit-led dynamic of The Justice Conference Asia. God is at work growing big people at The Vine and I can’t wait for what He has in store for us in 2018!

Andrew Gardener Senior Pastor

FROM THE ELDERS On the 26 May 1940 during World War II, the Allied forces were losing. They retreated to Dunkirk beach and were trapped between the sea and the enemy, awaiting death. A miracle appeared on the horizon as hundreds of civilian boats arrived to ferry them to safety.

This battle was one of the turning points in the war, when the entire nation moved from a crowd of strangers to a community of people who loved, helped, and saved those around them.

As we have journeyed together in 2017, we have seen and heard the call of Jesus to us. The Story of Jesus, and the theme of The Justice Conference – Love Thy Neighbour – all point to the destination to which we are called. 2017 is The Vine’s Dunkirk moment, Jesus calls us to move from crowd to community, 2018 is our opportunity to respond to this call. Will you be in the boat with us?

Sean Seah Chairman of Elders

GROWING BIG PEOPLE When Andrew stepped into the position of Senior Pastor four years ago God said to him, ‘I don’t want you to grow a big church; I want you grow big people.’ We’re not interested in your mere attendance at The Vine, we’re interested in your spiritual growth as a believer. It’s easy to attend church. It’s another matter to let God re-fashion your life after His Son, Jesus. That’s what we care about at The Vine.

It’s the stories of repentance, renewal, sacrifice, faith, and obedience that tell us whether people are growing or not.

How have you grown in God in the last year? What did Jesus reveal to you about Himself in the Story of Jesus series?

What core beliefs of yours are more aligned with God’s truth?

What healing words of love has He spoken to you? We, and God, want you to grow!

On Sunday, 6 November 2016 we joined together as one church from across all our services at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai for a one-off celebration service marking our 20th anniversary. What a moment it was to experience a stadium packed with worshippers celebrating the history of the church and praying into the next twenty years ahead of us. It was a day of lifting up Jesus and thanking Him for all that He has done in our lives and the life of our community. It was not just a time for us to look back but also a time for us to intentionally look forward.

We declared together that the church we want to build over the next twenty years is one of supernatural power, unparalleled grace, unprecedented unity, kingdom authority, unstoppable justice, and one dedicated to growing big people. We are so grateful for our past and so expectant for our future. The best is yet to come!

TWENTY

SERMON SERIES Restoration Sep 16 – Nov 16

The Story of Jesus Nov 16 – Apr 17

Stories and Signs May 17 – Aug 17

RE:THINK Sep 17 – Oct 17

THE STORY OF JESUS We embarked on our most ambitious sermon series as a church, a six-month journey through the gospel of Luke. The Story of Jesus was designed with one key thought in mind: do we really know who Jesus is? Over 25 weeks we explored this question in depth, taking a look at the historical and socio-economic realities of His day through creative short films shot throughout the Holy Land that were embedded into our weekly teachings. The series united the whole church as we journeyed in ‘real time’ through Jesus’ life from birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. We came out of the series with an expanded view of Him and inspired by a Jesus we never knew as a church.

B’Elanna Satya Being planted at The Vine has been one of the primary things that helped me grow in my walk with God and as an individual. Learning to walk with others in community released me from my bubble of ‘I don’t need people, I’ve got Jesus’ into a space of experiencing tangible love. It’s a love that builds each other up. It spurs one another to truly follow Jesus and be the people God has made and called us to be.

As I started getting involved and being known by others, they began to call out the gifts that are in me. These encouragements boosted my confidence to use and grow in them. Being encouraged like that makes me truly want to encourage others and call out the gifts that they have – to pass on the love I’ve experienced. I was also made to feel supported through being given chances to explore and use the gifts that God has put in me; it gives me great joy when people are blessed through me exercising these gifts.

Overall, I’ve grown more into being my true self. This is about more than my gifts and very much includes facing my brokenness and allowing God to speak His truth over me. I am grateful for courses like Cleansing Stream, and sermon series like RE:THINK that address and encourage us, as a church, to face these things. Not having to go through it alone but walking through it together affirms that even in my brokenness, I am accepted and loved.

THE VINE SURVEY 2017

81%

Have grown in their faith in the past year

83%

Call The Vine their home church

62%

Have been at The Vine fewer than 2 years

57%

Have lived in HK for more than 11 years

65%

Have been a Christian for more than 11 years

45%

Are first generation Christians

10%

Came to Christ at The Vine

76%

Give financially to The Vine

We have seen consistent growth in our Sunday service attendance over the past few years. In order to gain a deeper understanding of our congregation’s demographics, we conducted a church-wide survey that gave us a snapshot of our current population’s trends and changes since 2013.

Included are some of the noteworthy results from the survey which will be implemented into future church planning and strategy. The growing and changing population of The Vine presents us with challenges but also helps us to see where God is leading us and how to better serve our congregation.

We give our sincere thanks to Nathan De Lyster, who spearheaded this survey.

2,223 sunday attendance peak 10 Sep 2017

2,160 average monthly attendance peak Sep 2017

SUNDAY SERVICE ATTENDANCE

Vision Sunday

Christmas

Easter 2000

1500

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

FEB

sunday attendance by monthly averages f ig u re s o n ly reflect atten dan ce of adults i n s er vi ce

MAR

APR

MAY

Typhoon Pakhar Typhoon Roke avg. monthly sunday attendance

1,978 avg. monthly new visitor

213 sunday attendance growth O c t 2 01 6 - S e p 2 0 1 7

16 JUN

JUL

2015 – 2016

AUG

2016 – 2017

SEP

%

VOLUNTEERS

442 avg . m o nt hly vo l u nte e rs

1 8 2 Champions Serving at The Vine is like having a backstage pass into God’s work.

You get to experience and better appreciate all the small things.

– Christopher Yuen

6 5 Prayer Team 9 7 Kidz 4 Christ 5 5 Worship Team 4 3 Production Team

BAPTISMS

73 b a ptis ed

4

bapt i sm sun days

COMMUNITY GROUPS

443

54

87

at tend ee s

grou ps

l e a de rs

1

Tuen Mun

1

Tung Chung

2

Discovery Bay

2

Tai Po

3

Shatin

1

West Kowloon

2

1

Kowloon

5

West Island

East Kowloon

32

Central Island

3

East Island

1

South Island

Brad and Jamie Wedderburn How have you been involved at The Vine this year?

J: I’ve been helping to lead Women at The Vine with Luise.

B: For the last few months, I’ve been leading Men at The Vine.

How has serving encouraged you?

J: One of my passions is to connect women with others so they can have pockets of community, outside of the church, where they live and walk authentically together. The desire of many of the women attending these events is to unpack the depths of their heart and to seek God. In a time of personal need, I felt the love from the Women’s community in so many ways and the creative ways they all supported me and others in our community.

B: We have been working on building a community with the Anchor Nights and providing ways for men to connect with other men who are in similar walks of life. This sense of belonging is there to help men lift and hold each other up in their struggles and victories. I have gotten to know some of their stories just by being available to them. It’s been encouraging to see this community grow in intentionality and authenticity.

How have you personally grown this year?

J: The opportunity to lead Tribe Nights and empower other women to lead in their personal capacities at different events enabled me to grow in my personal life and in my faith. The constant encouragement from the community to lead in their gifting has inspired me to use the gifts that God has given me. I continue to learn how to lead others well and to have meaningful connections.

B: We did a Strengthsfinders training for our core team and this training has helped me discover my own strengths and the strengths of other core members. As I continue to grow in my strengths, I am also learning how to utilise the strengths of other core members. Since going through the training, I see the potential of how this training could be beneficial in growing big men at The Vine.

COMMUNITY GATHERINGS/MINISTRIES Women at The Vine Men at The Vine Kidz 4 Christ (ages 0 – 12) Flight (ages 13 – 18) Oneighty (ages 18 – 30) Chinese Community African & South Asian Filipino Community

87 volu nte e r le ade rs

555 avg. me et i n g at te n dan ce

187

220

A lp ha

Praye r

81

58

66

Ma nna

Ma rria g e Prep

C le an si n g St re am

COURSES

number of total participants

During the Alpha Course, I rediscovered the importance of community and God’s word. Now, I am more open to sharing my experiences, stories, and my life with people, with no fear of being judged by others. – Brina Tan

Ken Lung The Vine’s vision, ‘Growing Big People’, has impacted my spiritual development more than anything else. In the past year, I was set on a new growth trajectory. In spite of my limitations and weaknesses, God entrusted me with opportunities to serve across different areas in church including K4C, Cleansing Stream, Missions, Men’s ministry, and co-leading a Community Group.

In 2017, God gave me the burden of a vision for the marketplace. After months of prayer and by His provision, Alpha launched in my workplace for the first time. I was also humbled to have accepted advisory roles at VCSL and another NGO that He led me to.

Amidst all these callings, I am truly grateful for how The Vine has provided me a nurturing and supportive environment through the authenticity of its leadership, the pastoral care and their vulnerability. It is a place that deepens my understanding of the Bible and my faith.

Jackie Pullinger once said, ‘God wants us to have soft hearts and hard feet.

The trouble with so many of us is that we have hard hearts and soft feet’ I know that when we present a willing mind and a joyful heart to Him, there is no limit to our growth in the Spirit.

When God’s people grow, everything grows – this is the beauty and promise of God and my church.

MISSIONS International Partners AIDSLink – Zambia Agape International Missions – Cambodia Father’s Hand Ministry – Philippines International Care Ministries – Philippines International China Concern – Sanmenxia Living Stone Village – Shenzhen Nepal Church – Thomas Shrestha Operation Mobilization (HK) Ltd USA Church – Dinesh Rinault

Local Partners Christian Solidarity Worldwide Christian Action Home of Loving Faithfulness Hub & Spokes International Ltd Inner City Ministries Ltd St. Stephen’s Society

I got to experience God’s love in new depths and heights while we were with the poor and the sick. God’s heart for them and for every one of us was overwhelmingly beautiful.

– Bomi Kim

7 total mission trips Macau: 2 trips Collaborated with University of Macau to provide leadership development and mentorship to key student leaders.

Philippines: 4 trips Provided help to the ultrapoor through relief work, feeding programmes, school supplies distribution, and evangelism.

Cambodia: 1 trip Helped human trafficking victims through relief work and community engagement.

667

59 %

delegates

first-time delegates

19

140

countries represented

churches & NGOs

18 %

overseas delegates

42

speakers & moderators

THE JUSTICE CONFERENCE ASIA With delegates from all over Asia joining us here in Hong Kong and a cast of international and local speakers, this year’s Justice Conference Asia was truly a gathering to be remembered. It was not just the breadth of experience brought to such a wide range of issues that was remarkable, but the depth of impact which made you stop, reflect and re-assess what you thought was basic knowledge. Wave after wave of new perspectives, radical challenges, and dramatic impact, took us to a new realisation that ‘loving our neighbour’ was not some simple command to be easily mastered. We left the conference grateful that we had experienced the heart and passion of God for those who are suffering injustice.

OPERATI ONAL EXPENSES Oct 2016 - Sep 2017

6

%

general admin

4%

event expense

3%

repairs & maintenance

16%

tithes

HK$31.5M

30%

rent & utilities

41%

salaries & benefits

INCOME DISTRIBUTION Oct 2016 - Sep 2017

2%

event income

3%

income for services rendered

2%

pcc income

1%

vc rental income

92%

tithe/offering

HK$40.5M

THE VINE ONLINE 5 ,7 62 fac eb ook fol l ow ers 2,650 newsletter subscribers 1 ,7 7 8 instag r am fol l ow ers 1 1 9 ,0 0 0 vimeo al l - time p l ays 1 ,4 5 2 ,1 7 7 website all-time views