2022 Annual Report

Called to

IMPACT UPPC Annual Meeting 2022 Sunday June 12

MEETING AGENDA OPENING PRAYER CALL TO ORDER PASTOR’S REPORT & MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS INSTALLATION & ORDINATION FINANCE REPORT HR REPORT HONORING THOSE WHO HAVE DIED ADJOURN CLOSING PRAYER

Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

Psalm 103:2

A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR AARON As I look back on the ten years I’ve been a pastor at UPPC, I find myself identifying more and more with Paul’s words to the church of Ephesus: “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that you may know him better… that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

(Ephesians 1:16-19) This Annual Report is one of the ways we can rejoice in all that God continues to do in and through our church. You continue to amaze me as we strive to embody the love of Jesus as we anchor our lives in the hope of Jesus and the power of his kingdom. While ministry and mission has had to look a little different over the last 24 months, our vision remains the same: To know, experience and embody the love of Jesus; locally, intentionally, spontaneously, and tangibly.

We hope that this report and more importantly these stories of transformation will truly encourage you as we continue to pursue that vision together. I am so excited for the future of UPPC as we invite more people to find God’s immeasurable love in the person of Jesus.

In the journey with you,

Aaron Stewart Senior Pastor

Care Ministry UPPC’s Care Ministry has a rich history of caring for our community through Divorce Recovery. Divorce also has a big impact on the children stuck in the middle. This past year we worked with Candice Brandenburg to develop a kid’s program for children to attend while their parents are attending Divorce Recovery. The inaugural run of this new ministry took place during our fall Divorce Recovery with great success! The ministry helped the kids work through feelings in ways that don’t often come naturally, aiding them in their healing process. You know it’s a success when the kids are asking to come every week! We are so grateful to UPPC’s support of this ministry. You helped provide a place for kids to feel safe and comfortable so they could heal!

This year, our deacons launched Friendship in the Wayside, a fresh take on our former Friendship Lunch.

In our many gatherings over a light lunch and coffee from The Wayside café, we heard about people reconnecting with old friends following COVID isolation and new friendships beginning, including a gathering of women who recently lost their husbands. We look forward to hearing more stories of the Holy Spirit guiding relationships at our gatherings!

Welcome & Connect UPPC can seem big and overwhelming to a new person coming for the first time. It can seem daunting to figure out how to meet pastors and staff when there are so many people. That’s where our Welcome & Connect Ministry comes into play with our Meet the Pastors opportunity. This past year Welcome & Connect hosted seven Meet the Pastors, providing new people the opportunity to get to know, and be known by, pastors and staff over a casual cup of coffee from The Wayside. This personal touch has made a difference! We have seen many of the people who attended Meet the Pastors become regular attenders in Sunday Worship and participate in many other ministries at UPPC.

Meet the Pastors will pick back up in September. We look forward to meeting you!

Outreach

This past year has been one of the busiest for our Safe Haven Refugee Ministry. Since 2019, over nine million people have fled their home country due to war, violence, and persecution making the global refugee population now around 34 million, more than double from what it was ten years ago. While most of these refugees register with the UN and wait to be resettled in a new country, the growing number of refugees spending 5-10 years (or more) waiting to be resettled is prompting many to risk the difficult journey to the U.S. (or another country) and claim asylum at the border. Because Tacoma houses the fourth largest immigration detention center in the country, many of these refugees end up spending a day or two in Tacoma before they can reunite with their friends and family in other parts of the country.

Through our partnership with World Relief, this past year Safe Haven’s Weekend Team provided a welcoming face, warm meal, and a bed to 20 refugees (four times as many as the previous year!) who had no place to go during the 1-2 days immediately following their release from the detention center. The team was blessed to meet people from all over the world, hear their stories, and learn more about what they each left behind.

Luis Gazon, a refugee released from the Detention Center

This year, we were also blessed by being able to help two refugee families resettle in the Tacoma area. One family, the Vielievs, are relatives of the Amelin family who we helped resettle from Ukraine in 2019. Some of the Good Neighbor Team members who worked with the Amelin family have been helping the Vielievs get settled too.

The other family, Khalil and Safia, is a couple who fled the war in Sudan 18 years ago and only recently were granted resettlement in the United States. A new Good Neighbor Team, led by Ted and Kathy Nussbaum, was formed earlier in the year and they are currently busy helping Khalil and Safia learn English, gain employment, and find an apartment they can afford.

Khalil and Safia, refugees from Sudan

Amidst the busyness of our Safe Haven ministry, we also managed to help over 200 kids in Meru, Kenya, go to school this past year through our Cherish Meru ministry, child sponsors, and volunteer support. We also joined with other churches last summer to help Families Unlimited Network deliver 6,900 meals to low-income families in UP; we provided school supplies to over 140 kids; and we delivered gift cards and food to 181 families for Christmas. All of this was possible because people were willing to give of their time, talent, and money. Thank you for making a difference in our community.

Vieliev and Amelin Families

Human Resources & Finance Our HR and Finance teams have been busy at work supporting our staff and adjusting as church has fluctuated over the past two years. They paid particular attention to the well-being of our staff and church financial health – especially as it related to the challenges of COVID and the realities of constant pivoting during the last two years.

Recently, attention has focused on the impact of rapid inflation on our church and preschool staffs.

The teams have worked on addressing the need for increased compensation in light of overall giving and stewardship responsibilities.

We’re so grateful for these lay teams and their wisdom. Our staff leadership has been able to lean on them and their knowledge and experience as they manage our staff through changes, resignations, family leaves, personal challenges, and job growth and promotion opportunities.

UPPC & SCP Staff

Worship Our music and worship ensembles have returned after a long hiatus of COVID restrictions – it is a season of joy for us! Our teams are so pleased to be back worshipping with you.

The UPPC Choir Ensemble and the Contemporary Worship Team have led and blessed us in their respective services - sometimes even joining together - with grace, dedication, love and joy through this year of pivots, adjustments, restrictions and mandates. Our worship is creative and innovative, working in tandem with each sermon series, building upon Biblical truths to share the gospel.

Recently, the Alleluia Singers and UPPC Youth Chorus, accompanied by the UPPC Orchestra, led our church in a full musical worship experience, teaching the gospel through retelling the life of Christ. These two choirs also joined Symphony Tacoma and Tacoma Symphony Voices to lead our community in a concert of light and hope held at UPPC. Our Music & Arts Institute currently has 70 students of all ages receiving personal music lessons. In addition to teaching, MAI provides opportunities for students to perform. We are blessed that many of our Music & Arts Institute students have joined with our UPPC Orchestra to lead worship this past year, and we look forward to being blessed by their gifts in the future.

Youth & Children It has been an incredible year for Youth and Children’s Ministries. The Holy Spirit is doing new and exciting things through our ministries at the church. Here are some highlights: • Mid-week youth and children’s programs have drawn many new kids from all over the community.

Each Wednesday, we get to interact with roughly 120 kids as they hear about the love of Jesus.

• Confirmation this year saw fifteen kids affirming their faith in Jesus along with seven baptisms!

• Our Sunday morning Sunday Schools have grown as new families have come into our church. We are currently averaging 70 kids on Sunday mornings.

• Last summer, we returned to in-person Day Camp and summer camps, and look forward to going again this summer.

Numbers are one way to see God moving, and we love to see that our students are coming back to in-person gatherings. In the midst of the noise and the crowds, we also look for stories of how God is reaching these kids. Here are two ways we have seen God on the move: 1. One of the unique things this year has been new kids who have never been around the church before are entering our programs. These kids weren’t invited by friends or others in the community—they just showed up. As they’ve become acquainted with our ministry, they have felt welcome, and their lives are impacted. Here is a message we received on social media from a 10th grader who lives in Tacoma: “Hi, I’m really new to Cornerstone but it’s been really nice for me to be there this week and last week. I haven’t always been around people my age who believe in God and who will talk about it. Thank you and everyone else for running Cornerstone cause at least to me Cornerstone has already helped me a lot.”

2. One major focus for the youth and children’s team this year was to incorporate our kids into the larger worshiping body at UPPC. One way we’ve done this is by having kids attend worship with their families, and then be dismissed to Sunday School midway through. Our kids are now experiencing intergenerational worship each week! We believe this is essential to their faith development – both now and for the future.

Confirmation & Baptisms

Family Sacraments Experience

Discipleship New Growth, Deeper Roots

The newly-minted “Discipleship Journey” continued to take shape in the 2021-22 year. This year, the Discipleship Journey consisted of three primary experiences: Alpha, Equipping, and Rooted.

Karl Sachs came to UPPC in 2020 and after experiencing Alpha, Equipping, and Rooted, this spring he helped lead an Alpha small group to walk alongside several others in their journeys with Jesus!

Alpha is an opportunity for people to “Get Acquainted” with Christian basics in a group dinner experience. It’s a growing ministry from which we are seeing fruit. This past year we took seven people to the Alpha National Confrence in January, and this next year we anticipate an even larger team attending. These individuals are helping create an Alpha experience that is meaningful and impactful for those learning about Christianity.

The next step in the Discipleship Journey is Equipping, where Christians “Get Equipped” with the Four Fundamentals of Discipleship in a small group with Pastor Mike. Attendees learn tools to help them on their spiritual journey with Jesus.

Rooted is where you can “Get Experience” developing daily rhythms of Discipleship in this member-led small group. Attendees go deeper and have accountability as they implement the tools learned in Equipping.

We have found that this Discipleship Journey bears the fruit of spiritual growth: five people became Rooted facilitators, twenty finished Alpha, and seventeen finished Rooted. We have celebrated several new members, baptisms, and testimonies of God’s ongoing work in people’s lives. Your giving and time has helped us grow our impact on the community around us, sharing God’s love and helping people grow deeper in their walk with God. Have you participated in the Discipleship Journey? We offer workshops throughout the year, so keep an eye out for the next Alpha, Equipping or Rooted this fall!

Espy recently renewed her relationship with Jesus after the Alpha course. She loves coming to volleyball Tuesdays, helping with UPPC youth, and following Jesus alongside other young adults!

FACILITIES & CAMPUS CARE Sometimes we get so used to seeing updates around our facility, we forget that they were recent improvements! One example of this is our parking lot. It was just last summer that we repaved and striped the parking lot, as well as landscaped the new islands. What a blessing it has been – especially to the many preschool families as they traverse our pedestrian-friendly parking lot every day! We also refinished the gym floor, installed a gazebo on the playground, and refreshed paint throughout the facility.

There has been some behind-the-scenes work on our campus, too. We are in the middle of updating our facilities infrastructure, particularly replacing our older HVAC units and water heaters. We’ve also been staying on top of Safe Haven House maintenance, including repairs, updates, and renovations.

Our team is working on assessing the needs and priorities for possible future facilities improvements.

While much was improved and updated with Opening Doors, there are still many spaces in our facility that haven’t been updated in decades. We’re excited for what is to come!

Marty Sanbeck and Dan Small at work at Safe Haven House.

Chuck Benedict at work on the new Playground gazebo.

Landscaping in the updated parking lot.

OPENING DOORS FINANCE UPDATE TOTAL AMOUNT PLEDGED $4,439,829

CURRENT MORTGAGE LOAN BALANCE $3,677,797

GIVEN TO OPENING DOORS TO DATE THIS FISCAL YEAR $180,089

INTEREST RATE: 3.7%

PLEDGE INCOME RECEIVED SO FAR $3,637,257 (81.9%)

MONTHLY PAYMENT: $25,000/month $23,662 required payment The $1,338 above the required payment pays down the principal amount.

MATURITY DATE: February 1, 2030 at which time we need to either pay off the loan or re-finance the remaining balance.

IMPACT

THROUGH GENEROSITY THE MANY MINISTRIES OF UPPC ARE FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS: 1. Ministries which are primarily supported by our giving (contributions) to the Ministry Fund, and 2. Ministries which are primarily self-supported through Designated Fund giving and other income sources (tuition, grants, registrations, bequests, etc.)

Combined, nearly $4 million has been received and spent through our ministries this last fiscal year – within the church, locally, nationally, and internationally.

SUMMARY OF THE CURRENT MINISTRY FUND BUDGET FOR THE JULY 2021 – JUNE 2022 FISCAL YEAR: • Contributions are the main source of Ministry Fund income. For the current 2021-22 fiscal year, Contributions received through the month of May are at 97% of the targeted budgeted amount.

• Ministry Fund Expenses through the month of May are almost exactly on target (100.6%) of the projected budget.

• With all our ministries combined, we anticipate the Total Income received in this 2021-22 fiscal year will be greater than the Total Expenses for the year.

DEVELOPING THE MINISTRY FUND BUDGET FOR THE UPCOMING 2022-23 FISCAL YEAR: In developing the annual budget, the Finance Team and Session take stewardship very seriously. We strive to be prudent and at the same time recognize UPPC has an important calling. We are keenly aware that there are increasing ministry needs and opportunities around us. During the budget development process for this year there was a strong conviction that this is not a time to step back. We believe this coming year is a time to re-energize our ministry focus.

Thus, the 2022-23 Ministry Fund budget approved by Session calls for a 4.5% increase.

• With this most ministry departments will receive a 2% increase over this year’s budget number.

• The areas of special focus, and as a result increased budget funds, are: o Generous pay increases for our directors, admin and custodial staff o Investing more in the Alpha Conference and Alpha groups in Discipleship o Increased funds for trips, conferences, and church engagement o Increased tech support

BASED ON THE FINANCE TEAM’S RECOMMENDATION, SESSION HAS APPROVED A MINISTRY FUND BUDGET OF $2,542,000 FOR THE UPCOMING 2022-23 FISCAL YEAR.

2022-23

Ministry Fund Budget 2021-22 Budget

2021-22 Projected Expense

2022-23 Ministry Fund Expense Budget

23,000 6,000 6,000 25,000 30,000

21,600 4,300 6,600 19,800 26,500

33,000 6,000 7,000 25,500 30,500

96,000 20,000 57,000 205,000 105,000

92,800 19,300 70,600 228,500 124,000

98,000 30,000 59,000 209,000 126,000

Finance

60,000

33,000

45,000

Session/Leadership Per Capita Communications

25,000 40,000 12,000

38,800 40,000 10,000

40,000 40,000 13,000

1,570,000

1,570,400

1,630,000

150,000

150,000

150,000

$2,430,000

$2,456,200

$2,542,000

Department

Discipleship Care Welcome & Connect Children Youth Ministry Partners Outreach Worship Facilities (building, grounds & utilities) Office Tech (supplies, printing, tech/support)

Human Resources

(benefits & payroll taxes)

Opening Doors Loan Payments

ADEQUACY OF PASTORAL SALARIES FOR MEMBER REVIEW Rev. Aaron Stewart, Senior Pastor:

$133,824

Rev. Mike Moffitt, Associate Pastor:

$81,600

All staff compensation is reviewed annually by HR and leadership.

Our fiscal year is July 1 - June 30; the figures above are budgeted for the period July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023.

Full financials are available upon request, contact mbates@uppc.org.

Did you know:

40% of all funds at UPPC

over

are found outside the Ministry Fund?

OUTREACH GIVING AT UPPC YEAR TO DATE JULY 2021-MAY 2022 Ministry Fund Budget Support Ministry Partner Support Additional Support

92,800 10,747

(Meru, Kenya & World Relief)

SELF-SUPPORTING MINISTRIES Sunset Christian Preschool Opening Doors Moms & Dads Day Out Music & Arts Institute Cherish Ministry (Meru, Kenya) Safe Haven (Refugee) Ministry The Wayside Café

These vital UPPC ministries are supported primarily by means other than Ministry Fund contributions for their direct expenses. In some cases, the Ministry Fund supplements the direct giving to the ministry.

Every one of these ministries is led by or receives significant involvement from a UPPC staff person. Additionally, in most cases these ministries use our facilities. These critical staff and facilities resources are reliant upon giving to the Ministry Fund.

$103,567

Designated Funds Support Back to School Drive Cherish Ministry (Meru, Kenya) Community Christmas Day Camp Offering: Jiangsu, China F.U.N./Food Bank Safe Haven Refugee Ministry Ukrainian Relief

8,771 124,221 24,555 2,996 3,575 13,500 6,430 $184,048

MONETARY SUPPORT TO OUTREACH

$287,615

Gifts-in-Kind Rent-free use of house by F.U.N. 24,000 Safe Haven House (below-market rent & utilities) 14,400 Community Christmas gifts 900 Safe Haven (refugee furnishings) 500 Weekly Food Bank donations uncalculated Gifts-in-Kind Estimated Giving $39,800 Additional outreach efforts by other ministry departments uncalculated TOTAL SUPPORT FOR OUTREACH & MISSIONS

(without quantifying all gifts-in-kind/ministry outreach)

$327,415 UPPC MINISTRY PARTNERS Coffee Oasis Pierce County • Families Unlimited Network • Family Renewal Shelter • Habitat for Humanity • Hope International Ministry Trust • Kingdom Story • Olive Crest • The Outreach Foundation • REACH Ministries • Telos • UPNT Young Life • World Relief • Wycliffe

IMPACT

THROUGH LEADERSHIP Incoming Elders, Deacons & Nominating Committee Members

Pam Alexander Deacon

Debbie Bates Deacon

Guy Berry Discipleship Elder

Kahy Goertz Nominating Comm.

To be part of an amazing team that lives into that vision, that prays for that vision...

We are working to discern what God wants not only for our church but for our community.

- Sara Lee O’Donnell, Former Youth & Children Elder

Michelle Gray Deacon

Nancy Loverin Deacon

Jim Maxwell HR Elder

Ian Priestley Deacon

IMPACT

THOSE WHO IMPACTED US Mitch Washburn, Sharon Bennett, Mary Jean Hopland, BJ Wiebusch, Ken Hardy, Forrest Hayne, Ray Robertson, Jim Tweedie, Mardell Buffington, Tom Hjembo, Jack Baker, Jim Zevenbergen, Diane Banks, Dean Lowe, Jackie Kearney, Debi Bleecker, George Jacoby, Joan Brown, Steve Forbes, Beverly Macomber, Peggy Cooper, Jim Anderson, Jean Graves, Joan Nelson, Millard Bates, Jim Van Beek

I WILL LIFT UP THE CUP OF SALVATION AND CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD ....

PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS. PSALM 115:13, 15