Month: January 2021

2020 Ministry Stories & Global Outreach

Even amidst the challeges of 2020, God showed His presence, goodness, and provision in so many ways. Not only did God provide for ministry to continue, but ministry actually expanded in many ways. All of you made that expansion possible through joining God in His work through your prayers, volunteering, and generosity. Thank you for showing that “the church” is not restricted to a building — it’s each of us living out the Gospel of Jesus, no matter our circumstances.

A few 2020 ministry highlights:

• 84 people were cared for by CTR-trained volunteer Lay Counselors, who found creative ways to meet while adhering to Covid restrictions.
• Despite Covid, 34 people went through the membership class and made a membership commitment to Christ The Rock in 2020.
• We expanded ministry by launching the much-needed Fresh Hope support group in September 2020. Fresh Hope is a biblically-based support group for those who struggle with mental health issues, and for family or friends who care about them.
• Starting Point, DivorceCare and other groups met online for the first time in our history.

  

• Our Children’s Ministry families participated in a special Thanksgiving Blessing project for the Appleton Police Department. We purchased 165 paracord bracelets with the inscription “Be Courageous” on them and then attached cards made by CTR children. It was so fun to see the kids’ drawings and the encouraging words that they wrote. What a great way to support those who support and serve our community!
• Our Children’s Ministry and Student Ministry sponsored 83 children through Project Angel Tree this Christmas! This program serves local kids whose parents are incarcerated with a Christmas gift, encouragement and connection. Our original goal was to sponsor 50 children . . . but more and more families kept asking to sponsor, and Project Angel Tree connected us with more local children in need. Thank you!

  

• In partnership with Calumet County, the Wisconsin National Guard and ThedaCare, our parking lot was a drive-through Covid testing site in October, November, and December and beyond.

GLOBAL OUTREACH

India feeding program: India’s abrupt lockdown left many of its most vulnerable people without transportation, without work, and without food. Through our partnership with Impact International, CTR helped provide 3,150 meals to vulnerable children, adults and widows. The portion was generous enough that many ate half for lunch and the other half for dinner.

Peru internet access: Because of Covid, transportation on Peru’s Ucayali River was shut down. RiverWind, our ministry partner, was cut off from the indigenous pastors and church planters they train and support. Your generosity allowed CTR to provide a grant for the technology that allowed them to continue ministry and keep training and raising up indigenous pastors.

 North America: In October, a team from CTR traveled to Clarkston, Georgia to serve with Envision Atlanta. They helped clean up an apartment complex that will be home to refugees from around the world. Due to Covid, this was our only short-term trip in 2020 – and it was also our first time working with Envision Atlanta.

None of this would be possible without God providing through your generosity. We are so grateful for each person who is invested in sharing the Gospel, and follows through with serving and giving to make that happen. You are the hands and feet of Christ to the Fox Valley and far beyond.

For stories of local impact in 2020, read our previous blog post.

2020 Stories of Impact

2020 was a year of hardship for so many due to Covid. And yet, even amidst this challenging year, God showed His presence, goodness, and provision in so many ways. Not only did God provide for ministry to continue through Christ The Rock, but ministry actually expanded in many ways. We want to take a moment to remember some of the stories of God at work through all of you, as you joined God in His redemptive work through your prayers, volunteering, and generosity.

LOCAL OUTREACH

Donations to help the poor locally during Covid

To help our Fox Valley neighbors in need during Covid, CTR’s leadership decided to use $10,000 from local outreach funds to support the Hope Clinic, a free medical clinic serving the poor in the Fox Valley. They also gave $10,000 from the local outreach fund to Pillars, which provides services and shelter for the homeless in the Fox Valley.

Local Outreach Grants

During the initial closure, we needed to get creative about offering the hope of the Gospel outside of our building. We created Local Outreach Grants so that anyone from CTR can be equipped to reach out with the hope of the Gospel. (Anyone can apply for a grant at www.christtherock.org/outreach-grants.) Our first Local Outreach Grant was given to a CTR small group who created 150 care packages for people staying in hospitals alone, as visitors were banned or limited during Covid. The gift bags contained devotionals, Chap stick, gum, puzzle books, and other comforting items, along with an encouraging note from “Friends at Christ The Rock Community Church.”

Thanksgiving Meal

Our free community Thanksgiving Meal went all-delivery this year because of Covid. Double the number of drivers were required to reach all of the delivery locations, and we increased the number of meals by 500. Volunteers packed all 3,500 meals onsite, and they were driven to homes and apartments in a 15-mile radius from The Grand Meridian. In response to increased need, financial donations to the Thanksgiving Meal increased by 51% over the previous year!

This One’s for the Girls, CTR’s outreach to women who are exploited or trafficked in the Fox Valley’s sex industry, helped women directly during months when outreach visits were curtailed because of Covid. Volunteers donated and delivered furniture and toys for a single mom, and worked with police to help another woman and her child get to a domestic violence shelter. Volunteers also donated baby items, diapers, clothing and other essentials for an expectant mother who was exploited in a nearby city. At Christmas, CTR families helped women who have left the sex industry and are struggling financially by donating gift cards, gas cards, grocery cards, and other items, and our outreach teams delivered 55 gifts to women working in strip clubs.

Food Pantry

From March, when the initial Covid lockdown began, all through 2020, our Food Pantry has continuously served 3 to 5 times the number of clients we serve in a typical month. For example, in November 2019, the Food Pantry served 24 families – but in November 2020,  we served 86 families. In December 2019 we served a total of 16 families, but by mid-December 2020 we had already served 56 families, with two more Pantry Tuesdays to go.

CTR people donated food, finances, and other items for our clients. Hats, mittens and blankets were donated to give away as needed. Our clients’ faces just light up when we give them a little something extra during the difficult times they’re going through. Other special donations have been food items and ingredients for soup or casserole packaged with a recipe attached. We never asked for this as a church – it’s completely spontaneous generosity. In fact, aside from Thanksgiving donations, we haven’t made a request for donations since the first few months of Covid at all!

Our neighbors also helped the Food Pantry. For example, in the fall we received a large donation of bread, buns, butter and a few other items from High Cliff Golf Club as they closed their restaurant for the season and gave us everything that was in their freezers.

Amazingly, financial donations to the Food Pantry increased by 4,088% in 2020 compared to the previous two years – you are loving our neighbors in their time of need.

MORE STORIES OF GENEROSITY

It has been more than ten years since anyone donated a vehicle to CTR — this isn’t something we ask for, but sometimes people are prompted by God to donate a vehicle. This year, as many people faced financial hardship, three vehicles were donated.  All were in great condition: one car was appraised at $4,000 and a van that was donated was appraised for $9,500!  It is amazingly generous to donate a vehicle that still has significant trade-in value. The three recipients were overwhelmed and overjoyed about this help.

After those three vehicle donations, another woman called. She is a single mom and had received a donated car through CTR when she was really struggling.  Now that she is doing better financially and no longer needs one of her vehicles, she wants to donate it to someone else who is struggling. What a joy to see generosity go full circle – reflecting the heart of God so beautifully!

Our church family also donated $36,295 in addition to their regular giving for several capital projects, including new snow removal equipment and energy-efficient lighting. And donations to the Benevolence Fund, which helps people in a crisis situation, were up 25% from last year.

We are so thankful for the people of Christ The Rock — you chose to live out our mission to Seek the Lost, Love the Hurting and Make Disciples even during an unpredictable year.

STAY TUNED for another blog post about what God was up to in Global Outreach and other ministries at CTR!