Hillsong East Coast
Annual Report
Contents
We are grateful to continue to be a part of this historic move of God. In 2019, we saw 28,020 people make decisions to follow Jesus, which is nothing short of miraculous! To make room for growth, our Boston and New Jersey campuses each added a 5pm Sunday evening service. I have been amazed at the stories of lives changed as a result of our ability to add more room for people to find Jesus. Of course, our church continues to grow thanks to the sacrifice of MANY, in particular the 1,497 committed leaders and volunteers giving of their time week in and week out to make WELCOME HOME a reality.
Our prayer is that each and every person finds family when they walk through the doors of our church. In 2019 our Connect Groups grew 24% enabling more people to grow together in community. Our local CityHOPE initiatives continue to reach people outside the doors of our church. In 2019, our church served a total of 21,230 people including the homeless, those who are in prison as well as their families, communities experiencing hunger, and many others.
At the end of 2019, we experienced yet again another miracle as we moved into our new Hillsong East Coast Headquarters at 363 Lafayette Street. This new space, with offices for our pastors and staff, a chapel to host midweek gatherings and events, including Youth & Young Adults, Creative, team meetings and volunteer trainings, and a live streaming studio, is a testament to the faithful generosity and sacrifice of many, especially our Hillsong Partners.
Every moment you invested, every hour you served, every dollar you have given has resulted in lives changed and families transformed. As we continue to OCCUPY ALL STREETS, it is our honor to stand with you and celebrate all God has done. We are BETTER TOGETHER, and the best is still yet to come.
Sincerely, Carl and Laura
We
Gathered
and Team Leaders
Our Campuses
Easter
across the East Coast
SHELBY,
HILLSONG NEW YORK CITY
I started going to Hillsong Church when I first moved to New York City about 2 years ago. I’d let my relationship with God slip away in college and was desperately trying to re-establish any connection to my faith. I did the only thing I could think of. I Googled “Church New York,” and went to the first church that came up. Every week, I loved our Sunday services more and more, but it wasn’t until I joined a Connect Group that I saw my walk with God really start to change. For years, I prayed God would give me a close Christian friend, and my Connect Group girls proved God truly does immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.
I went from a sometimes Sunday Christian, to an active part of our Young Adults community. After 24 years of struggling faith, I made the decision to get baptized. When my family couldn’t make it to the City in time, I was baptized, surrounded by my whole Connect Group cheering me on.
The step to get baptized was a big one for me. I’d been putting off for years till I was “ready” - until I was more perfect, until I stopped forgetting to pray, or was more consistent with reading the Bible. I was waiting for the time in my life when I was done screwing up - until I “deserved” to really represent God. The growth I experienced at Hillsong helped me realize what baptism is truly about. Baptism is the step I needed to take, to more closely follow God, and live out my faith with bold conviction. Instead of it being a “last step” in my faith journey, it was actually the first step in showing myself and those around me that everyone is deserving of God's love.
We
Connected
Connect Groups
Connect Group Attendees
Group Meetings
Group Leaders
SUMMER CAMP 2019
GOD’S FULL ACCEPTANCE
Attended Camp
Attended Camp
at Camp
Groups in 2019
Convo Attendance
Sisterhood United
Sisterhood Service
Attendance
Sisterhood Attendance
Average Sisterhood
Attendance
at Colour
Our business community is for professionals, entrepreneurs, leaders, and students who feel called to impact their workplaces, schools, and communities to propel the mission of God. Through our monthly gatherings and business Connect Groups we have created a space for our business community to connect with one another, hear the journey of those who are passionate about their careers and callings, and share practical takeaways for career and faith.
In 2019, we were excited to launch Women in Business, Afterwork, and Business Connect Groups in Boston!
Women In Business
Leadership Development, Entrepreneurship,
Mentorship & Sponsorship
Rise
Our LifeLine teams offer pastoral care to our church family. Our goal is to come alongside people through life’s journey to celebrate the wins and provide support during times of crisis. In 2019 we focused on better equipping our pastors and volunteers through practical care training. Our trained team of staff and volunteers across all our campuses helped provide practical solutions and resources, including mental health resources, grocery support, substance recovery programming, and connection to safe housing options. From baby dedications to wedding celebrations, we stood by families as they stepped into all the joy and goodness God has in store!
Pre-Marriage Course
our Marriage Workshop
and Officiated
our Sunday Services
Referrals and Resources Provided
in Mental Health First Aid
Training Across the East Coast
Retreat Attendees
Retreat Attendees
AMANDA,
HILLSONG NEW JERSEY
HILLSONG NEW JERSEY
I was a 35-year-old single mom of a beautiful three-and-a-half-year-old boy, diagnosed with five developmental delays. We joined the Hillsong NJ family in August 2018, but Carter would not join the kids’ program. I was hesitant to push him, as his language delays meant he could not speak. Because Carter struggled to communicate, he developed behavioral issues, making any outing difficult for us. Most weeks, we came to church, I would hold him through worship before needing to leave.
One Sunday in May I walked into church and met Joanna and Beth, who were serving at the registration desk. In tears, I explained Carter’s challenges. They came out from behind the desk and hugged me. They introduced me to Courtney and Tyler, the amazing couple serving with the 3-5-year old’s, who happened to be teachers with special education experience.
I was able to walk into church with peace in my heart and experience a full service. Carter gained SO MUCH that day. He gained a community of little people learning about God to grow alongside. He gained leaders who consistently, week after week, show him the love of Jesus. He gained a full HSK team to pray for him. A team who stands with us, believing for full recovery in the delays he faces.
We have seen miracle after miracle in this last year. Carter is now speaking in sentences! With skills Courtney and Tyler taught him, which I had his school carry over, his peer interactions are exponentially improved! We are forever grateful for our HSK team, the impact they have had on Carter’s development, and the prayers they continue to pray. We are truly better together.
We
Mobilized
CityHOPE Volunteers
the East Coast
across the East Coast
2019 IMPACT ACROSS
OUR FOCUS AREAS
2019 HOPE DAYS
hours at our 2019 HOPE Days
our 2019 HOPE Days
Items Donated
across 2019 HOPE Days
2019 BACK-TO-SCHOOL HOPE DAY
OUR LOCAL NON-PROFIT PARTNERS
NYC
Covenant House,
Prison Fellowship,
Relief NYC, Abbot
House, Restore,
Sisters of life
NJ
Covenant House
(Nancy’s Place),
Salvation Army
BOS
Boston Health
Commission, Home for
Little Wanderers
CT
Mission
VOLUNTEER STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE
RELIEF NYC
“Our volunteers were stationed on 125 St and Park Ave in East Harlem, serving hundreds of local people who are currently without homes. With our partner NYC Relief, we prayed with many of the displaced individuals who gathered. We were able to encourage over 130 people with the hope of the gospel and the power of prayer. We not only met some of their physical needs, as we served food, shared winter clothing, and gave blankets, but our team was also able to build relationships with people who so often feel overlooked and ignored. The individuals who showed up felt so comfortable, and really enjoyed spending time with our volunteers. In a community often hesitant to receive additional help, more than 10 people trusted us enough to have a follow up life care visit. We were able to refer people in need to more resources and support for their future.”
RIKERS ISLAND PRISON OUTREACH
“One Tuesday night, our incredible volunteer team visited Rosie's, a women's prison at Rikers Island. Our team had been serving for over 3 months, teaching life-skills courses to some of the women incarcerated there. It was the night of our students’ graduation from the program. One of the women graduating expressed just how thankful she was for our Hillsong volunteers and their commitment to come and teach class every single week. She told us that not only had the program, but also the community and joy our volunteers provided, changed her life. Thanks to our partnership with Prison Fellowship and our church's annual toy drive, we were able to give her Christmas presents to share with her son. She was released the following week and was able to not only share the gifts with her son, but spend Christmas with him together as a family.”
DOMAS HOUSE
“This past Christmas, a sweet single mom came to get gifts for her three children and new grandchild. Formerly homeless, she was struggling to buy gifts to share with her family at the holidays. Her 14-year-old daughter had recently given birth and she was working with an extremely tight budget. She broke down into tears when she realized that, in addition to the gift stations, she also had access to a food pantry where she could take home groceries for her family. Many people don’t realize how difficult school breaks can be for parents who rely on schools to provide hot breakfasts and lunches to feed their children. In a room full of presents, this woman was most grateful for boxes of mac n’ cheese and cans of green beans. Our wonderful volunteers lived out the spirit of generosity, helping her load as we packed extra bags of groceries and gifts to take back to her family.”
SPECTRUM HEALTH
“Spectrum Health is an addiction recovery center, with over 50 years of experience supporting those struggling to overcome addiction. People join Spectrum feeling broken, discouraged, and sometimes helpless. Our team of volunteers met with people in the program to ensure they were encouraged and reminded of the hope we each have access to. So many residents were willing to let us pray over them. We got to hold hands with people from different walks of life, empowered by the promise that prayer holds the power to move mountains in any situation. We gave away Bibles and reminded every person we met that they are seen by God and worthy of love and care. These small but mighty seeds of love were planted and caused so many people to begin to ask more about who God is and the grace he offers. One particular man asked our volunteer team why we would give up our Christmas day to serve? We shared our own personal stories of overcoming and breakthrough and God’s never-ending, never-quitting, always-for-us LOVE. Several men listening softened at this response, and joined hands as one of our volunteers prayed over each of them by name. We have learned, even in the darkest of spaces, God’s love holds power to bring breakthrough.”
NANCY’S PLACE
“When we first visited Nancy’s Place, the teens were hesitant to connect. Over time, our volunteers created relationships with the teens living there, and started bringing homemade dinner over on our game nights together. Our volunteer team talked about pop culture, movies, video games - any and everything the kids were interested in! The oversight staff member of Nancy’s Place said he hadn’t heard the house that lively in such a long time! Our team had a chance to add such light and joy into a really hard space for many teens. The most memorable moment was when we got to give each resident a gift card. The joy and sincere shock on their faces brought our volunteers to tears. In that small but incredible moment, we saw the power of generosity break down walls and spark new excitement for life to come.”
COLEMAN FAMILTY,
HILLSONG BOSTON
HILLSONG BOSTON
After living in Boston for 10 years, our family made what we thought would be a permanent move to Dallas, TX. At the end of our 2nd year there, God made it clear we were to move back to Boston. Our last Sunday in Dallas, our Pastor prayed and spoke over us that God was calling us back to Boston because God wanted to do something new, in and through us.
When we returned, our family found Hillsong Boston. It is hard to put into words all God has shown us and done in our lives since we moved back in 2018. He is gathering the things He has placed on our hearts, and one by one is putting them into place as we come alongside His vision and purpose here. God took a city we already loved and gave us a new home through this family and community.
We’ve watched this past year as our teens have found community, relationship and discipleship through Youth and Summer Camp. It has been such a gift to watch them serve with us and without us, as Hillsong has become their home. This year our 9-year-old son, Gideon, chose to be baptized - so amazing! God is indeed doing new things, and He is so gracious to include Hillsong Boston as a part of His plan for our next season of life.
Hillsong
Partners
Hillsong Partners is a group of people who feel called to further the vision of Hillsong East Coast through their generosity. These funds, given over and above their tithes and offerings, allow us to resource our vision as a church to reach more people across our campuses, and further our impact through local and global initiatives.
This year, our generous Partners, together with our church-wide Heart for the House offering, gave $1,292,258.19 to help our church take more ground at home, in our neighborhoods, and around the world.
- 363 Lafayette St.
$1,841,617.80 - New Jersey Buildout
$26,010.60 - CityHOPE
$76,076.22 - Global Outreach Initiatives
$116,149.00 - Operational Investments**
$216,568.82
$2,276,422.44
*Total invested in 2019 includes funds recieved from Partners & Heart for the House in 2019, previously invested and saved Partners funds from prior years, and $26,450.59 from the 2019 operating budget.
**Administrative expenses and Staffing includes Partners events and operations, Heart for the House campaign expenses, and staffing for community outreach and business development initiatives
East Coast Headquarters
In December 2019, we moved into our new Hillsong East Coast Headquarters in the heart of NoHo. Through the sacrificial giving of Hillsong Partners and our Heart for the House offering, our church now owns real estate in the heart of Manhattan! Investing in this space allows us to better steward our resources, in both the near- and short-term, to build wealth for the future generations, and to be more strategic in serving our communities.
In 2017 we made a one million dollar strategic investment into the overall development of 363 Lafayette Street; Hillsong is a partner in the building and has 16.6% ownership. As the building stabilizes and increases in value, this investment will provide tax-free revenue and operating income to our church. As part of the community facility provision in the 363 Lafayette Street Building, Hillsong is able to rent three floors (over 9,090 square feet) of space in the heart of NOHO at 50% discount.
363 Lafayette Street serves as our Hillsong East Coast headquarters, complete with a chapel for mid-week gatherings and events, a film studio, staff offices, private counseling rooms to provide more pastoral care to our church, and meeting rooms that allow our staff and volunteers to work together to build our church. We invested a total of $2.75M in the build out of the space, increasing the value of the building both in the near- and long-term. The buildout is intended to serve our church for the next 30 years. While two floors are currently complete, we will also buildout a third floor in the near future for additional office and meeting space to continue to support our growing church.
We finalized plans and began construction in 2019 on a 7,000-square foot leased space in the center of Montclair, New Jersey which will house our Kids programs, offices, and a 200-seat auditorium to host mid-week events including Sisterhood, TMNGHT, volunteer meetings, and Partners events. This space will enable us to better care for people in our church and in our community.
The NJ buildout is scheduled to be completed in 2020, and we are excited to have a space that creates more room for growth.
HILLSONG CONNECTICUT
BUILDING UPDATE
We partnered and purchased a property in Stamford, Connecticut with Hillsong Global that will be our first ever, fully functioning church building on the East Coast. This location will house everything including Sunday Services, Youth and Young Adults, community outreach through CityHOPE, Kids, Creative, mid-week gatherings, and more.
In 2019, we began to work with architects on developing floor plans to design the building based on our vision and needs for the space.
Hillsong Partners helps resource CityHOPE to serve our communities beyond the doors of our church. Through its growing programs and initiatives, CityHOPE helped serve 21,230 people in 2019 across the East Coast.
Through the generosity of our Partners, we are not only able to serve our local communities, but also our global community as well. Through our global partners, Vision Rescue, A21, Hillsong South Africa Foundation and Preemptive Love, we are able to fund strategic programs and initiatives that have significant, long-term impact in the lives of many.
2019 Financial
Overview
- 89%Tithes & Offerings
$11,313,016.84 - 10%Hillsong Partners &
Heart for the House
$1,292,258.19 - 1%Other*
$159,131.37