As we look to the future, the best footing for the present is a thoughtful understanding of our past. This year-end report is all about a shared view of our recent past. Our 2020-2021 fiscal year (April-March) saw global challenges that had incredible local effect. Yet our church family not only endured, we thrived in many ways. Practical grace, community and generosity seemed to be the tools by which we bravely bore the strain, and we did so together. Every page, story and data point in this report is evidence. Thank you church. I love you.

Scot Pollok
Lead Pastor

Exactly 40 days before Easter, on February 17, a little after noon, our Facilities Manager discovered that the entire first floor of our office and student ministry wing was flooded with as much as two inches of water. Few will forget the record low temperatures the days prior. During that low, at least one pipe fitting burst on our fire sprinkler system and many thousands of gallons of water flooded that area of campus. Triage remediation happened immediately with an army of staff and church members, then total remediation began within days with an experienced and equipped outside contractor. With this extremely rapid response, damage was minimized. Insurance assessment, photo documentation and contents inventory began during remediation.

Our flood recovery priorities have been, 1) the continuance of student and kids ministry without major interruption, 2) the restoration of student ministry areas as quickly as possible (Northside and other areas were recently renovated), and 3) an assessment of long term needs and usage of our first floor office areas with short term temporary office solutions on the second floor.

Construction to restore the Student Ministry space in Northside, including the two large meeting rooms and small group rooms, started on April 5, 2021 and was completed on May 24, 2021. Faith Students began meeting back in Northside on June 20, 2021. During this same period, all employee offices were relocated upstairs by a fantastic and cheerful crew of volunteers from our church. We also took the opportunity during this time to provide some much-needed temporary accommodations in the Kids Ministry space.

The work with our insurance company on the final settlement to cover damages from the flood is progressing well and is nearly complete. We continue to work on the vision and develop the plan for the first-floor areas affected by the flood.  We hope to complete this process and reoccupy the space in early 2022.

Retired CEO, CFO, Controller and
CPA, founding member of
Finance Committee, church
Treasurer

Director of Finance, CPA

BSME, Registered PE Professional Engineer in State of Michigan, MBA in International Finance, Retired in 2002 from Ford Motor Company as Product Developer, Vehicle Line Program Manager, and Business Planner

MBA and Ed.D in Higher Education Leadership, Crown Budget Coach and National Trainer, Faith Bible Financial Stewardship Ministry Chair, Faith Bible Benevolence Committee Liaison

MBA, registered investment banking representative, former registered equity analyst

Elder Liason to Finance Committee

CPA, Investment Advisory Services, former church treasurer

Commercial real estate and construction professional (CPM, RPA, RE License), Former Faith Bible Building Committee
Chairman

Financial Advisor with Edward Jones

In early February 2021, I went to get tested for what I believed to be strep throat, and instead tested positive for COVID. So great was my disbelief that I asked if they accidentally mixed up the test results. I ran a high fever for 10 days, concurrent with extreme nausea, headaches, sore throat, and loss of taste. The second week, I declined further and my husband drove me to the ER on icy, empty roads in the middle of Houston’s “snowpocalypse.” I had double pneumonia and low oxygen. The ER physician wanted me admitted, but after some pleading on my part, allowed me to go home with the assurance I would return if my oxygen remained low. Fear gripped my spirit, and I did a lot of  praying--many times on my knees. I prayed for a promise during those dark days, and God graciously gave me Psalm 33:18-19.

After 3 weeks, all praise to God, my oxygen levels increased. To say this was a humbling experience - both physically and spiritually - is putting it lightly. It has given me compassion towards the suffering, a stronger faith, and a renewed appreciation for my husband. I will forever raise my hands in praise when singing the words,  “It’s your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise. We pour out our praise!”
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Courtney Pelletier
Faith Bible Church Member

While we implemented Pushpay several years ago, we truly discovered what a blessing it is during the pandemic. With the postal service becoming less reliable, staff being out of the office and away from the check scanner that remotely deposits checks, contributions made through Pushpay were as easily processed as ever.  While we pay a small fee for using Pushpay, someone always pays a fee anywhere and anytime you use your credit or debit card. This is normal, acceptable business practice. Faith Bible considers those fees to be a good trade-off against manual processing of checks and cash which incur costs as well.

While we are able and willing to absorb the cost, many in our church have expressed their desire to participate in that fee-sharing. That's why we have enabled a feature in Pushpay that allows you, the donor, to share some of that cost.

In no way do we want you to stop contributing through Pushpay as it is by far the most efficient, timely and easiest way to contribute for both you and the church. To learn more about Puhspay and other ways to give, follow the button below.

After a beautiful review of God’s incredible faithfulness over the past year, what better way to end a Year-End Report than with a brief, exciting glimpse of our future. It just feels right.

So many things have changed. It’s hard to account for them all. The disruptions from COVID are still being processed, and there are many things that the last 18 months have revealed and changed. COVID gave us a restart. It offered a good opportunity to reset. But it also offered a sort of mandate to readjust, reconsider, recreate and revive. We talked a bunch about soul care because we needed to refocus on that. Then we shifted to a lot of talk about community, which is always and still a pressing priority.

Even in all of this change and readjustment, let me say with all the vigor I can muster, there are some things that have not changed, and will never change. The heart of our church family is as committed as ever. The deep needs of our city remain. The gospel has not changed. God’s grace is sufficient, and His incredible calling for us right here and right now hasn’t changed either.

The past few years have confirmed many of the points of this God-calling that were planted years before that. Even though as Lead Pastor I am constantly praying and thinking and talking about vision, since the summer of 2020 we have given specific and prayerful attention to what God is calling us to next. Where He is specifically leading and focusing us. What Spirit-led challenges to which He is inviting us. His vision for Faith Bible Church.

Since early August we’ve been discussing vision in our Sunday worship gatherings, in general and specific ways. And while we will continue to do this consistently, I’d like to share with you again the four things that we joyfully believe God has called us - all of us, our entire church family - to engage over the next few years. 

First, we will intentionally enrich relational health and a culture of trust in all levels of leadership because there is so much at stake. We will continue to nurture and deepen the culture of trust, transparency and protective love in all levels of church and ministry leadership as the root and heart of the other three points that God has revealed. This will enable us to create a pipeline and culture of strategic leadership development, on diverse levels, for our church family and others, which is our second point of vision.

These two points of emphasis will provide a launch platform for our third point of vision, saturating our city with the gospel of grace and an ongoing ministry and mission presence. Finally, we will seek God’s guidance and grace toward the expansion of our unique church DNA through strategic, missional multiplication, even though we do not yet know what that will look like specifically.

With these four points of vision in mind, I invite you to join us in prayer. Pray first that God would inspire our entire family as we pursue the vision He has given. Second, pray that God would reveal the specific ares where you will play a vital role within it. We will be talking about this vision regularly in the months and years ahead, but I thought it purposeful and relevant to include it here in this year end report. Hopefully it will fuel your prayers for what lies ahead.

We build generations of Jesus followers who take grace to our world.