Every year, our church globally releases an annual report that helps people who call our church home, understand the scope and impact of what the sacrifice of many can truly look like. Our Hillsong East Coast annual report is always exciting, and this year is no different! Although we do not “live” for numbers, they do provide indications and information about areas that truly matter. Analytics and statistics can never tell the real story of any local church, as so much of what God does and what we do, is and should be unseen and impossible to measure. Nevertheless, this report is a testament to God’s grace as our church continues to move forward.

SALVATION

This past year we saw 28,540 people make decisions to follow Jesus in our church. This number is especially important and also very difficult to measure accurately because this is just what we can “count” in a 20-second span at the end of services across many locations. I have learned over the years; this number is in actuality much higher – people ask for and receive the grace of God without responding to a public invitation, but one that happens over the course of months, even years at our church! This area remains a very special strength of our church, and my prayer is that it always will be.

CHURCH EXPANSION

We launched church services and locations in Connecticut AND Boston. Both campuses have seen unprecedented growth in these two, particularly challenging church “planting” regions. Boston, for instance, has seen some of the most explosive growth ever in that area, and we are just laying the groundwork. It’s exciting to see! We also added a fifth service in our Manhattan campus, and the long-awaited night service option in New Jersey, which has immediately made a huge impact for many families. We are continually running into a very familiar challenge, of “no room” in so many locations we like to call these “good problems” and are actively and continually looking for solutions that will help us long term.

CONNECTIONS

In 2018, we ran 611 connect groups. My hope for our church is that what happens on a Sunday, which is unique and impacting, would always be a reflection of what happens Monday through Saturday in our church. Because it proves that our church understands that church is not a place we go, but the community we invest in and build. This number, I continually have my eye on as we think of more ways to build bridges for those who desperately need to find family, friends, support, and challenging love in a way that is much more than a Sunday experience. Our goal for this next chapter of growth is to see this number double! As that would ensure we are managing and stewarding the growth we see on a Sunday, flowing into the everyday lives of the people in our church.

GROWTH

In April of 2018, we launched Growth Track, which is another idea that links closely with the connections paragraph above. We have many people who want to grow and want to get connected, and this idea is one that ideally can do both, and to a large degree, it’s been very effective. Over 4,500 individuals completed Growth Track in 2018, and this has a major impact on the depth of our people and the maturity of our church. We are thinking of ways to make this easier for people to be a part of, I believe it can chart a new course for churches all over that are large but do not want to lose the closeness and connection in the midst of so much activity. Growth Track is one of many areas we realize that helps not just our church, but the many that look to glean from what God is doing here and use that same idea wherever they are!

YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT OPPORTUNITIES

This particular subject heading is unique in our church, as we have always endeavored to make Hillsong East Coast a church that doesn’t “reach out to the youth,” but IS THE YOUTH. We don’t have a Young Adults “ministry” because our church IS that ministry! Within that, we are seeing the youth ministry continue to uniquely reach a generation. Our summer camps are now becoming officially “unmissable” and it’s one of the greatest bridges for not just young people to connect with our church but the families that are connected to these young people. The stories of that happening alone, could fill multiple reports! Suffice to say, our youth ministry is reaching people. And as our church owns more property, that will drastically change how we can reach young people on a weekly basis. But until then, we have unique endeavors happening everywhere, from “pop up shops” with our church clothing, to “culture convo’s” that engage a part of our society that perhaps are hesitant to come into church, but will come listen to a person that leads a conversation about topics that matter to them in a way that is relevant to them. It’s one of the best things we do as a church, that many do not know about! And that’s ok because the goal is to occupy all streets! And some! Even quietly. I’m excited to see what the future holds for this generation and our church’s role in seeing revolution and revival in it.

OWNERSHIP

In 2018, we saw our Hillsong Partners grow to 200. Of all the statistics we have, there may not be one as vital as this. Partners, designed to allow people to use what they have to be a blessing financially, not just emotionally or sporadically, but intentionally.  It enables us to plan with a specific purpose, and know exactly how much room we have to dream big, while also taking care of the immediate and urgent needs within our church. My prayer is that our Partner number will someday match our attendance numbers! And as we work towards that goal, we thank God daily for the hundreds that now have committed to going above and beyond to ensure that our church has the resources it needs to be the church God has called it to be.

Laura and I came to NYC with big goals and true excitement about what was possible, knowing that the vision of this church, which simply comes down to pursuing Jesus and making ways for others to know Him and do the same, is something that’s not hard to attach to. We hoped that God would bring people in to help carry the vision and burden and the blessing of a local church revival, and in that one area alone, He has done MORE than we could have imagined. It is our honor to be on this journey with you! We are grateful beyond adequate articulation. The best is truly yet to come.

Sincerely

CARL AND LAURA