2023
YEAR IN REVIEW
A Note from Andrew
Our desire at Celebrate is that we would be 'Gathering to Go' with the Presence of Jesus. I am grateful for the particular ways in which we experimented with gathering this past year. From the Practice Hospitality initiative to Young Adult and Speeders events to a new faith commitment process to a variety of worship nights to moving the food pantry into our own building, we were gathering in new ways.
The commitment to build a house of worship and prayer strengthened over the course of the year, evidenced by the number of on-site prayer hours and opportunities to worship.
I also love the way we got a glimpse of the unique ways Celebrators are going to bless their community through the Let’s Go video series.
Additionally, Celebrate once again sent teams to go to Abaco with Many Hands for Haiti and Uganda. The generosity of our church was able to go beyond our church walls through over $100,000 of donations to partnering ministries and to local food relief.
Of course, Jesus is the focus of all our gathering and going.
Hopefully as you read this report you will sense the way His Presence was with us in 2023!
Gathering
to Go
with the
Presence of
Jesus
Identity Statements
WHAT WE’RE ABOUT
Gathering to Go with Presence of Jesus
WHO WE ARE
“Celebrate Church is called to be a people of Presence, ever growing as Bible-Centered, Spirit-Empowered, Disciple-Making disciples being sent to their communities in the name of Jesus.”
WHAT WE VALUE
Seeking and responding to the living, Triune God
Authentic community and personal ministry
Offering our best to bless the Lord and love others
WHO WE’RE BECOMING
A house of worship and prayer that facilitates God’s supernatural movement.
A healing community where people experience care and restoration.
A discipleship culture in which people intentionally grow and invest in the growth of others.
A catalytic environment that propels people to make a difference as God’s light in the world.
DISCIPLESHIP
A Note from Aubrey
If you've ever had a conversation with me, you've probably heard me say that Celebrate is like a second home. I love this place. I love the people. I love our staff and leadership. I love having a front row seat to what God is doing among us and in the communities that are represented here.
When I think back over 2023 and a place where I could see God's movement, our Faith Commitment Sundays come to mind. In July, our leadership decided to shift to a new process for how people affirm or reaffirm their faith and participate in the sacrament of baptism. We hosted our first Faith Commitment class with six people who were assigned mentors from our staff team. We hosted two more Faith Commitment Sundays before the end of 2023 and with JOY, we saw 28 people affirm or reaffirm their faith, 2 infant baptisms, and 17 teen & adult immersion baptisms. As we continue with this new process of walking alongside those who are seeking more of the Lord, I am so excited to see who will say YES to making a Faith Commitment this next year.
Another area that God was moving among us in 2023 was through the gathering of small groups of people. Throughout the year we had several different small groups meeting, some that weren't even organized by us, but just happened organically as people desired connection with others and growth in their relationship with the Lord. That is so encouraging to me and I'm excited to see how people continue to gather together around his Word in 2024.
As I look ahead to this next year, my hope and prayer for us as Celebrators is that we'll continue to make him GREATER. That we'll see him in new ways as we gather and go together and that through us, the people of our communities will know the love of our incredible Father.
Blessings, friends!
There were
28
Faith Commitments
and
19
Baptisms
in 2023
A note from Claire and Lauren
Miss Lauren is out on maternity leave so I (Claire) am excited to share about what happened in 2023 and what we are excited about for 2024!
Sundays included gathering together for worship and dancing, stories from the Jesus Storybook Bible and lots of fun crafts. We averaged 30-40 kids a week aged preschool through 5th grade!
We had a “Stellar” VBS in June where we served 130 kids and raised $2.7K for Bethel Community Outreach in Uganda. These funds helped purchase school supplies for children served by the organization.
It has been a joy for Lauren and I to see all of the ways God is moving through the kiddos at Celebrate Church. I personally am looking forward to continuing to seeing their faith grow as they also gather to go with the presence of Jesus. I have loved getting to see stories of the Bible “come alive” for them as we are going through the Jesus Storybook Bible.
I am so grateful to have been a part of children’s ministry this year and am so thankful for all who are a part of making Celebrate Kids happen every Sunday !
Fall Fest
Celebrate Church’s Fall Festival served over 200 people a meal as well as offering games, treats, and a GIANT SLIDE for the kids in the community. It was a BLAST!
Celebrate Kids raised
$2.7K
at VBS for
Bethel Community Outreach
Uganda
A note from Matt
Celebrate Youth had an amazing 2023. We spent the majority of the year gathering together and diving into who Jesus is and what this means for us. Our middle schoolers and high schoolers approached challenging topics such as how to love people you disagree with while still standing your ground.
The students continued to lead the way in a passionate expression of worship.
Celebrate Youth students attended the Awake Conference in Ottumwa where our students were inspired to grow deeper in their faith and share the gospel boldly in their schools. We also hosted a Fall Festival for the community of Knoxville where our students served and interacted with hundreds of families. And just for fun, we spent a day at Adventureland.
We have an amazing group of committed volunteers who give their time so selflessly and joyfully, and set such a good example of faith for our students. We're all so grateful to be able to walk with this particular group of students as they grow deeper in their walk with the Lord. The future of the church is bright!
CY Walking Taco Lunch
Celebrate Youth hosted a Walking Taco Lunch to help support their trip to the Awake conference! It was a great way to spend time together!
Awake Conference
Celebrate Youth students attended the Awake Conference in Ottumwa where our students were inspired to grow deeper in their faith and share the gospel boldly in their schools. In this photo, you can see them praying together as a group before they set off!
CY
Average Weekly Attendance was
43
in 2023
SUNDAY
MORNINGS
2023 Average Sunday Worship Attendance:
350
A House of
Worship
and Prayer
A Note from Matt
Our expression of worship continued to grow throughout 2023 thanks to
A) the Lord who faithfully reveals Himself as we worship,
B) an incredible team of volunteers, growing both in size and depth, and
C) a congregation of believers who increasingly see and eagerly express God's worth in song and in life.
Celebrate continued to offer multiple opportunities to gather together to worship between Sunday mornings and Wednesday night upper room services. We also helped host and facilitate multiple worship nights that were primarily generated by various groups, including our high school students and young adults.
Worship is springing up from all generations. Join us for more in 2024!
There were
135
Worship
Gatherings in
2023
A note from Camille
When I think about what prayer has looked like over the past year, I recall our Love to Pray team members lingering after our Sunday morning services to pray with Celebrators over their praises and their concerns.
I think of youth and adults growing in their comfort of praying for others as they experience equipping and then put it into practice.
I am awed by the hundreds of hours we accumulated in the prayer room drawing near to the Father and lifting up our church family and communities into His light.
I am grateful for a growing group of Celebrators who have committed to covering onsite prayer each day of the month through our Thirty initiative that began last September, and also for those who stepped in to raise the level of daily prayer during Andrew’s sabbatical for six weeks last fall.
We have prayed for our church and our communities, our families and our friends. We have lifted up our ministries and prayed over missions teams as they were sent out. We have interceded for countries at war and for Christians persecuted across the globe. We have sat in silence at the feet of Jesus and simply listened. Waited. Wept.
Prayer has invited the work of God, aligned our hearts with His, and saturated us with His presence.
In 2023 it was scheduled and also spontaneous. It was a starting place in nearly all of our gatherings from our youth to our seniors, at the food pantry and staff meetings, in small group discipleship settings and at pre-service meetings by our ministry teams on Sunday mornings. Prayer happened in the midst of our gatherings and blessed and unified us as we were sent out—carrying God’s presence with us into the world He loves all around us.
Thank you for being a church who prays. With you and because of you, I rejoice! And because of Him, I am expectant for what is to come in 2024!
Celebrators spent
2413
hours
praying
onsite
in 2023
2023 Prayer in Numbers:
2413 hours of prayer recorded (up 30% from 2022)
200+ - people took part in onsite prayer throughout the year
40 hours - continuous prayer to kick off Lent: Ash Wednesday Drop In Service (readings & prayer on the half-hour)
40 hours - continuous prayer leading up to our Good Friday service
42 Days - covering Andrew’s Sabbatical with Prayer
30+ people - covering The Thirty monthly prayer beginning last September
22 people went through prayer ministry training
Weekly Sunday Morning prayer ministry opportunities
Weekly youth prayer gatherings on Monday mornings
2 Spiritual Formation Retreat mornings (one for Celebrators and one for staff)
GATHERING
A note from Ali
From Brew Crew to LOVE to HELP... Gathering was our theme this year.
On average we have at least 7-9 people serving in LOVE to HELP every Sunday, which means we had 380 different service opportunities for our team. There are quite a few people that serve monthly, sometimes weekly - each one of us has unique gifts and talents. We may see the world differently and we may experience God differently... but we have one thing in common: WE LOVE JESUS AND WE LOVE PEOPLE. From a handshake to a hug, a smile to a high-five: we believe Jesus is actively involved within each encounter. We want all that come to Celebrate to feel seen, received and welcomed because we all matter to God.
Our BREW CREW makes 4 pots of coffee and makes sure all cups, lids, creamers and sugars are stocked and ready for all of us that need a Sunday morning energy boost or something warm to drink. All together that averages to about 208 pots a year or over 4,000 cups of coffee a year. We also added some flavor during Advent and we offered cider. Although coffee and cider may not seem like a lot, we continue to watch people stop for coffee/cider before anything else. To us, coffee helps breaks the ice for Jesus to move.
This year I also had the privilege of helping create and host some different events. In the Spring we held four Hospitality Initiatives which coincided with our Hospitality series. Each Initiative was designed to allow our church family to come together and gather. We provided the food, we mixed people up and then gave different conversation starters for the tables to engage in. We had multiple people sign-up for more than one of the initiatives because they enjoyed the opportunity to connect with people they would not normally connect with.
The year we also changed how we approach our Newcomers at Celebrate. Newcomer Events used to be once a quarter. We now have Newcomer Sundays, the first Sunday of each month. We changed our format so we could spend more time with our Newcomers and get to know them a little more.
Finally, we launched a Young Adult (YA) Ministry in the Fall of 2023. We were watching our YA numbers grow and they courageously asked if we had ever considered having a YA ministry. Our YA ministry gathers to learn from God's Word, to spend time in His Presence, to serve within our region and to fellowship with one another. Whether it is small groups or gathering times our YA's are breathing new life into our church family.
When I think about Jesus I can't help but be in awe of how He represents the heart of Hospitality. It has been an honor to serve alongside others that want to meet people, love people, and be with people just like Jesus. As we continue to push into Gathering to Go with the Presence of Jesus it makes me wonder about the different opportunities we will have as a church to serve those around us with His LOVE in 2024. I am excited to encounter more of Jesus with you!
With Joy,
Ali
There were
242
Gathering
opportunities in
2023
Young Adults
Young Adults (ages 18-35) began to meet monthly this year! They spent time serving and enjoyed social time and worship!
SPEEDERS
The 55 and better crew at Celebrate Church had a fun-filled year in 2023! They had monthly potluck gatherings as well as several outings. In March they traveled together to Branson and enjoyed all sorts of activities.
Hospitality Initiative
Our Practice Hospitality Initiative offered a time to gather together and get to know one another. Each event had assigned tables so that we were mixing and mingling with different people the entire time. We provided the food and the conversation starters. We had multiple participants sign-up a number of times because they enjoyed the opportunity so much.
April 30-79 signed-up
May 3rd- 76 signed-up
May 24- 86 signed-up
June 4-125 signed-up
Night at Slideways
We gathered together at Slideways for a night of fun! Celebrate provided admission and food. We raced, challenged each other in trivia, golfed, and just had fun being together on a beautiful summer night.
Ladies Salad Luncheon
In June, ladies congregated at tables carefully designed by volunteers. Each with special themes! Everyone brought salads to share. It was a wonderful time!
Nationals Event
Celebrate opened its doors to our friends in the racing community for an exciting event in August. We hosted 200 people for breakfast and guest speakers. Wade Aunger and Tony Bokhoven were the MC's. Our guests were Rico Abreu, Rocky Hodges and Van May. Many great stories were shared, along with food and laughs!
Missoula
Celebrate’s facility was full of young performers during Missoula sponsored by the Noon Kiwanis. This year the kids put on the play, “The Princess and the Pea”.
A note from Ashley
In 2023 there were so many volunteer opportunities for you all to be a part of and you jumped in wherever needed! First off, I want to thank you all for being a part of gathering and going to help serve!
Throughout the year we had Funeral Luncheons, Meals on Wheels, Project Christmas Love, and the Salvation Army Bell Ringing where, as a church, we were able to be the hands and feet of Christ to the community! There have also been many volunteers to help during weekly race parking and Nationals!
As we start into 2024 I am excited to see the many different people coming together to serve in the church and within the community!
GOING
A note from Judd
Where did 2023 go?! It was a very exciting year at Celebrate and there were so many things we saw the Lord do in and through people. It was so fun to see people accepting Christ and also going deeper into their faith. Some of the bigger milestones I reflect prayerfully on are the selling of the CrossWalk building, Abaco Impact trip, a team to Uganda, VBS, Nationals Event and the moving of Celebrate's Food Pantry back to Celebrate Church.
I am excited and expectant for how the Lord is going to build on our momentum from 2023 and bless us with new things in 2024. Praise the Lord!
Local Outreach
Just a few ways Celebrate reached out to our community in 2023: Celebrate Church Food Pantry, Crosswalk Sundays, Crosswalk Youth, Meals on Wheels, Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army, and through our connections with local partners like The Well, Pleasantville Youth Initiative, and Freedom for Youth.
In the spring of 2023 we celebrated 17 years of the Crosswalk as we saw those ministries come to a close. We continue to seek the Lord as we determine new ways to do outreach in our communities.
Celebrate Food Pantry
In 2023 the Celebrate Church Food Pantry moved into space within our building.
Over 2023, Celebrate Food Pantry volunteers worked hard to serve many people in our community. Each week, volunteers served between 120 and 180 individuals.
During Advent 2023, Celebrators helped stock the shelves of the Food Pantry by purchasing items from a Giving Tree. They more than exceeded the items that were placed on the tree in the very first week, prompting the team to fill it up again!
245K
pounds
of food
were distributed
in 2023
Global Outreach
In 2023 our Global Outreach efforts included support for Ukrainian Refugees, Many Hands for Haiti, Pastor Samuel and Bethel Community Outreach, and focused prayer in our prayer room for persecuted Christians around the globe.
96
bags of gifts were collected for Many Hands for Haiti’s Project Christmas Love
Abaco
Abaco Trip with Many Hands Impact
A summary of the trip from Judd:
We had 13 people go on the mission trip to Abaco. 11 from Celebrate and 2 from the Kansas City area. We spent time working at the camp where we stayed, did alot of painting at the Murphy Town Community Center that is now the hub for Many Hands ministries. We had a culture day so we could better understand life in Abaco. The best part was building relationships with the people there, but also growing closer as a team. It was said that we "went down as 13 but we came back as 1".
It is called an Impact Trip for a reason, we were all impacted by what the Lord is doing in us and through us.
Uganda
Uganda Team: Bethel Community Outreach
An overview of the trip from Ashley:
Uganda was a life changing experience! As a team we would like to thank the board for sending us over to see how we can remain connected with the ministries with Bethel Community Outreach!
One of the things that Samuel made sure we got to do was visit one of the wells that Celebrate had helped to put in. Nate and Doug were able to drink from the well and talk with people that had come to get their water. This has been a total life changer for them to be able to get clean water. Since Celebrate had been there last, they have added a small tax, if you can afford it, to be able to maintain that well and do any repairs.
We were able to go to several of the churches and visit with the pastors and some of the church congregations. These people will worship without a roof over their heads or walls on their church. We were in the middle of the rainy season and they were still worshipping outside! How many times can you say you sat at a church service and a few wild turkeys just walked on through?! The pastors of these 13 churches are so passionate about people coming to Christ that they go unpaid. Is it a struggle? For sure, but they want as many people as they can to know the Gospel!
We also got to visit the Bethel Learning Centre, which is their Primary school! When we first got there, they all lined up, we got out of the car to walk in, and they were cheering and clapping for us! They were so happy to see us and couldn’t wait to show us around their school! They had a program all prepared for us and they sang and danced for us! There are around 200 kids at the school and 50 of them are orphans that permanently live at the school. Over the days we were able to visit classrooms and see how and what they were learning. Melinda Vos, being a teacher, was able to bring some books to them and help them with their reading in each class! We were able to help fill up their library a little bit more with these books. There still are not enough books to go around for all the kids to have their own but they do have a copier where they will make enough copies to go around! We were also able to bring some gifts of papers and pens to them! These are things that they can never have enough of! While we were at the school, we got to hand out gifts that some of the child sponsor donors had sent with us! These kids don’t get many new things, if at all, and the smiles were priceless!
This is just a small glimpse into the things we got to experience while we were there! They are an amazing people and we look forward to things to come with Bethel Community Outreach!
Let’s Go Series
Let’s Go: Stories of Celebrators Serving
In the summer of 2023, we highlighted ministries that Celebrators are doing on their own. These stories and interviews are encouraging to hear and there are many ways Celebrators can support one another in their personal callings. Take some time to check them out if you haven’t, or refresh and inspire yourself AGAIN with these incredible stories!
A note from Jennie
This year Celebrate put together a series called, “Let’s Go!”, which highlighted many ministries that are happening outside of Celebrate Church by Celebrators themselves. It was an absolute privilege to help bring these stories to you on Sunday mornings and throughout the week through our Celebrator’s Podcast.
This year we also added two volunteers who helped us take some of the beautiful photos you see throughout this year’s review. They did a spectacular job behind the scenes watching and observing what God was up to in the room, capturing moments for us to remember years from now as we continue to gather to go with the presence of Jesus.
I am looking forward to all that 2024 brings at Celebrate Church. What will God do in the room? What stories will there be to tell? I can’t wait to find out!
2023 Organization & Leadership Highlights
Ministry Intern: Claire Schneider
In 2023 Claire Schneider joined Celebrate’s team as a Ministry Intern. This internship is part of her learning curriculum as she pursues a degree in Church Ministry. Claire has been an incredible help this year stepping in as two new babies were born to staff members. She has worked with youth, kids, worship, tech, and more!
The Sending Network Gathering
In 2022, Celebrate Church transitioned from the Reformed Church of America to be one of the founding members of The Sending Network (SN). In March of 2023, Celebrate hosted a SN regional gathering which included around 130 leaders from twelve different churches.
At this gathering we served a meal, worshiped and prayed together and officially welcomed two new churches in the network (Prairie Ridge of Ankeny and Bethany Church of Des Moines). One pastor sent an email to summarize the gathering as follows:
"A wonderful event that connected with the purpose of ‘friends advancing the mission of Jesus’. Thank you Celebrate for hosting. And thanks to the leadership for executing the vision of a network of churches that is life-giving."
Celebrate staff was also involved in a leadership development network event in August at Newton Church of the Way. Pastor Andrew remains on the SN leadership team.
2023 Financial Report
2023 Offering Annual Totals
$740,000 Budget
$743,000 Received
$3,000 Offering Surplus
2023 Annual Operating Totals
$880,000 Income*
$887,000 Expenses
$-7,000 Operating Deficit**
*Along with offering income also includes race parking, registration for events, fundraisers, building rental, outside donations and memorials
**This deficit is primarily due to the need/opportunity to purchase a new van after our two church van each became unreliable over the past three years and could no longer be used. The unbudgeted costs were covered with cash reserves.
Year End Cash Balance
Year End Loan Balance
Operating Budget
Average Worship Attendance
106K
was given to
ministry
partners
in 2023
Giving to Partnering Ministries
Giving to Partnering Ministries increased from $97,000 in 2022 to $106,000 in 2023.
Partnering Ministries Included: The Well - Knoxville, Pleasantville Youth Initiative, Ukrainian Refugee & Immigrant Financial Aid, Uganda Missions, Many Hands for Haiti, Justin Rizzo, RCA, The Sending Network start-up costs, Freedom for Youth, Celebrate Food Pantry*
*Facilities, supplies and staff related expenses for the food pantry are not included in this amount nor are other outreach ministry expenses.
Of the $30,000 needed for the Uganda and Abaco Mission Trips, Celebrate Church contributed $14,000.
A note from Emily
I love having a front row seat to see the generous hearts here at Celebrate Church. Through Financial Administration I am able to see donations coming in and I can’t help but feel moved by the many hearts that give so freely and joyfully. In 2023 I watched as God led our leadership in how best to serve our church and communities financially. Leadership would feel led to help in certain areas, then we would see God move Celebrators’ hearts to give in those exact same areas. God is so incredibly good! We could not do any of the ministries here without the generosity shown by Celebrate givers. THANK YOU Celebrate for being faithful.
Thanksgiving Offering
Celebrate raised
$16,894.86
this year during our
Thanksgiving Offering.
This was given to our Ministry Partner Pleasantville Youth Initiative (PvilleYI).
Thank You
from Pleasantville Youth Initiative
“To our friends at Celebrate Church: how can we thank you enough? Look what a beautiful thing you have done for God’s work in our community. We have been brought to tears in gratefulness again and again.
Faith without works is dead. You, our friends, are a church body that is very much ALIVE. Your loving kindness encourages us and refreshes us. It has inspired us to be generous as we move forward in ministry as your faithful partner in this Kingdom work. Our prayer is that God BLESSES you ABUNDANTLY as you continue to gather and go. May your generosity be captivating and contagious. May people know Jesus because of it.”
2023 Leadership
Elder Board 2023
Crystal Harsin, Isaac Short, Lisa Brandhof, Ryan Roozeboom, Scott Bridges, Tresa Mott
Ministering Elders 2023
Anna Van Sant, Brenda Goodale, Brian Vos, Eric Goodale, Erin Cook, Jennifer Schmidt, Jeremy Cole, Jon Suntken, Kim Roozeboom, Melinda Vos, Nate Spiegel, Nicolas Lirio, Nolan Crossett, Renae Schumacher, Russ Schneider, Tony Roozeboom, Tyler Christian
New ministering elders selected in 2023 to begin serving in role in 2024:
Mike Caulkins, Mike Cranmer, Skip Jackson, Nick McGonigle, Justin Kingrey, Shayla Zimmerman, Rebekah Rietveld, Danielle Lirio
New Elder Board members selected in 2023 to begin term in 2024:
Justin Kingrey, Nick McGonigle, Brian Vos
A Prayer for 2024:
Creator God: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, teach us what it means that You are Lord. Reveal Yourself as Lord so that we would know Your judgement and power as well as your unfailing love and mercy.
Show us what it means that You are The Lord over all of heaven and earth. Give us grace to surrender to You as our Lord in every area of life. Be Lord over all we do as a church this year. May many come to know and trust Jesus as Lord in ways that increase our joy and bring glory to His Name.
— Pastor Andrew