CHURCH ON THE ROCK,

2022 is marked by two words for me, change and community. When Amy and I first stepped foot in this building in 2014 we didn’t know that soon afterward a season of change was coming to Church on the Rock. At that time, 9 years ago, the change looked like the Founding Senior Pastor going on a long sabbatical. For the first time since the birth of the Church, the Lead Pastor was absent for an extended period of time. That season proved to be a very difficult and a trying time of change for our Church. Those 7-8ish months proved to be a long and draining season in our Church history.  It was a hard season financially and perhaps even more difficult was the strain this put on the  leadership at the time. Eventually though, the Pastor returned healthy and rejuvenated and under his guidance the Church slowly began to heal and grow again. 

 

With these past times of transition and change in the back of my mind, I honestly was apprehensive how COTR would fare when our Founding Senior Pastor announced that he would be retiring and transitioning out of the lead position late 2021. With just a few months to plan we brought on new interim staff, changed positions around, made plans, and Amy and I stepped into the interim lead position. For the first time in the history of our Church we underwent the process of transitioning from the Founding Pastor to a new Lead Pastor. This was not the only change our Church underwent though. We also had a new worship leader, associate pastor, children’s & youth directors, and new admins. Every ministry area had experienced a change during this time of transition. We didn’t just transition one area of leadership, EVERY ministry leader position changed in 2022. That’s a lot of change for a community, especially when the Church is often seen as a safe place of peace amongst the chaos that life sometimes brings.  

 

To add just a little more flavor to the pot, the beginning of 2022 coincided with the return to what “normal” was after 2 years of shut downs and restricted gathering. Many of us were not only adjusting to the idea of new leadership but to the simple question: what does Church look like post COVID? All of this, though the tone may seem gloomy, is necessary context. 

 

Church On The Rock, I am so proud of our community. You have shown yourself to be resilient and committed. In a season of change and settling you demonstrated a calling to community over a preference to a speaker or band or event. You have proven to be called to this Church, and not a specific leader. You have shown by your actions and your faith that you will serve where needed, that you are bought into the vision, and most importantly you can and will adapt to change. 2022 was a stabilizing year for our Church. Amy and I cannot believe the humility and love extended to us this past year as we have begun to grow into what it means to be in the lead position of a faith community. Again and again I stood on the platform this past year and called our people to connect, not to the stage but to the people left and right of us. Again and again I heralded the call to community, to know and be known, to show up and to do life with each other, and to interact with each other outside of Sunday morning services. 

 

The response from our Church has been overwhelmingly positive. Family, this past year you didn’t just stick around, you DUG IN. You served, you showed up early, you signed up to fill needs in Kids Ministry, you joined and hosted small groups, and you stayed late after service and talked and talked and talked. You have shown that Church is more than a good band, a dynamic speaker, nice lights, or hot coffee. You’ve demonstrated that Church, that our Church,  is a group of people becoming a family. You’ve proven that you can endure change and grow from it. You’ve shown Amy and I exactly how you feel about this ministry and we are honestly, without hyperbole, dumbfounded. We can’t believe we get to serve in a community with a bunch of people like you. The amount of love and support that we have experienced this year is so much greater than anything we ever expected. 

 

Church, in a year of change and transition you proved steadfast, loving, generous, and kind disciples of Jesus. Amy and I are genuinely proud of this Church. We are so humbled by your love and support. We are SO THANKFUL that we have the honor and privilege of serving with you in life, and work, and faith. You have demonstrated tremendous faith. Comparing the two experiences of change, from when we first came to the Church to the transition season of this  past year, is a night and day difference.  

 

Church On The Rock, 2022 was a year of transition and you stayed strong and faithful. 

 

I am so thankful for our Church and this community. I am so thankful for Church On The Rock and that I get to be a part of this ministry. I am so thankful that our Church has proven to be unified instead of divisive, planted instead of wavering, and full of love and mercy instead of harsh or unkind. When I think of you, Church family, and reflect on 2022 I think of a group of people that showed tremendous endurance to change, a call from God, and hearts of obedience, full of love.

What a joy to be with good people who love God. And now,  “... let us not grow weary of doing good,” Galatians 6:9, but continue on. Praise God for 2022 and you, His faithful Church. I do not say this lightly, and I mean this, Church On Rock, Amy and I care for you so deeply and are so thankful for what God is doing amidst our community. As we anticipate what He will do in the year 2023 pray with us, “Holy Spirit, come.” Amen. 

 

Joshua Nguyen

Lead Pastor of Church on the Rock

 

Small Groups

We are celebrating the response to the Call To Community this past year. In 2022 we saw a tremendous return and importance given to building relationships in our Church. Our Small Group communities grew by 30% compared to 2021. Not only did more people participate this past year in community groups but the leadership team grew as well. In 2022 11 new groups began. We estimate that 60% of our Sunday gathering practiced community in 2022. 

 

25 Small Groups

140+ in Community

​

 

KOTR | Kids On the Rock 

This past year Chad Zalud and Denise Marshall stepped into the leadership positions of our Children’s Ministry. Under their leadership and influence, Kids On The Rock has grown. We sent 11 elementary students to summer camp, reopened another classroom, recruited and trained more leaders, onboarded A LOT of teen youth helpers from the youth group, and revamped the 1-5th grade Sunday service. The areas of growth that we celebrated this past year was a tangible increase of participation in worship from our students as well as many kids showing a growing passion for supporting missions.  It is now the normal to see hands raised and kids dancing during their worship services and frequently you’ll find a table with crafts, and pictures, or hand drawn bookmarks in the lobby with students raising money to support missionaries around the world. Our children are growing in worship and giving and we praise God for that. 

 

# Volunteers - 34 

# Youth Helpers - 15

$450 - Boy And Girls Mission’s Club | BGMC

# 1 Student felt a call to ministry

 

KOTR has a goal of growing our volunteer team by 15 more people this year. If you are interested in joining an amazing team of dedicated and enthusiastic people that love Jesus and have a passion to help students reach out to Denise Marshall. 

 

​

YOTR | Youth On The Rock

This past year in YOTR we have seen numerical growth to 25-30 students attending group weekly.  We have an ever growing desire and passion for experiencing the presence of God through worship. You can regularly find our group at the altar worshiping every Sunday.  Our worship team is all student led and 2 of those students are now a part of the Sunday Worship team. We took 26 students to Breakaway Teen Camp, 9 students to Fine Arts and 18 students to Momentum. Students have shared testimonies of physical healings, release of unforgiveness and anger. The students are growing in their faith and desire to reach their peers for Christ. We have a lot of fun and have grown so much in community with one another.

 

$275 given to Speed The Light

17 Students serving as volunteers 

First Youth Revive Rally 

 

​

Deacon Ministry

Because Church On The Rock is reaching people from many communities in our area and because people care is a critical value of this Church, a growing Deacon ministry is in place.  We are privileged to have a team of dedicated people who are endeavoring to connect in relationship with COTR families assigned to them and to provide ministry care for those who are in need.  

 

Our present Deacon Ministry Team consists of

1.  Marco Almeida  | Northwest Region # 1.

   1. Assistant Luiz Ambriz

2. Don & Mary Benjamin | Northwest Region # 2.

3. Tom & Sue Kennedy | Southeast Region # 2.

4. Steve & Nicol Spickerman | Northeast Region # 1.

5. Eric & Denise Montgomery | Northeast Region # 2.

6. Bill & Kris Thies / Jason Ruehrdanz | Southeast Region # 1.

7. Eric & Kristin Massey | Southwest Region # 2.

8. Oliver Hennen | Hospital Deacon. 

9. Pastor Joe Meyer | Deacon Director 

 

In 2022, our deacons met monthly to ………………………….

1. Discuss current needs of people in their area.

2. Undergo training on various ministry topics.

3. They were encouraged to make contacts, hospital calls as needed, and how to address a variety of needs of people.

4. Assigned Action Items and much more!

 

Revive Conference

In October of 2022 Church On The Rock hosted the Revive Conference. This year we changed the focus from only inward to our region. We invited multiple worship teams and hosted a Youth Rally downstairs each night. We had our Illinois Assemblies of God District Youth Director, Chris Stanley, come preach to our students as well as Randy Ruiz to minister to our Church. It was a tremendous time of blessings for our church. For 4 straight sessions we had full altars. Many people felt the Holy Spirit and were blessed by God. Each day there was confession and repentance, a move of the Holy Spirit, and God speaking to people. It was a powerful week of ministry with MANY testimonies of God moving in and through our Church. 

 

​

Outreach Efforts

This past year COTR made an intentional effort to begin going beyond our property to partner and serve the communities that surround us.  This past year we participated with and helped sponsor the Hampshire Egg Hunt. Because of this, we were invited to attend and be a presence at the Pingree Grove 4th of July Celebration where we talked to hundreds of kids and parents while giving out temporary tattoos and running a craft table. In 2022 we had the honor of serving the Huntley Police department by providing each officer with a Law enforcement Bible to keep in their duty bags as they went on patrol. Because of the giving of our Church we were able to serve them by catering a full meal. Our Children’s ministry sent along hand drawn pictures and prayers to the department as well. Lastly, COTR was able to partner with the local schools around us by receiving from the schools a list of families in need. We blessed these families by participating in an Angel Tree and providing 30+ families with gifts and food. We thank God for these open doors and pray that we continue to steward these opportunities as we continue to grow this next year. 

 

Sermon Series

This past year our Church completed 5 different teaching series as well as starting a 25 week study on the book of Ephesians. In 2022 we completed: 

• Awakening - Implementing the practice of fasting. 

• LOVUARY - A study on love. 

• Easter People - A study on the stories of people in the Easter narrative. 

• Our Father Abraham - A chapter by chapter study on the Father of Faith. 

• Menu|Cup|Table - A review of Biblical Community. 

• Ephesians - A verse by verse teaching on the Epistle of Ephesians. 

 

Prayer Emphasis

In 2022 we continued with renewed focus on a corporate emphasis on prayer. During 2022 COTR hosted 20+ Prayer & Worship Nights. Attendance widely varied between 5-75 people regularly showing up for worship, prayer, and prophetic prayer training. In 2022 COTR has continued to make prayer a consistent function of our corporate worship experience. Partner with us in prayer that this ministry and our community will be known as a people that prioritize prayer. 

 

 

Financial Report 

During 2022, most everyone experienced challenges with sharp inflation and many were impacted by volatile markets. Yet you continued to be generous, cheerful, and faith-filled givers. We thank God for His continued provision through you, enabling us to sustain all

ongoing ministry efforts and enhance our outreach and missionary support opportunities. Because of your willingness to remain a faithful part of the work of God, COTR thrived through a challenging transitional year, met our budget, and was even able to partially replenish our reserves.

 

$715,366

Total 2022 Income. 

Tithe - $613,845 

 

$26,260

Total Missions Expense. COTR has always valued sending people into ministry. In 2022, COTR continued to diligently support 18 missionaries and seven missions-minded ministry organizations, overseas and here at home. These ministries include: Boys and Girls Missionary Club (BGMC); Speed the Light; Practicing the Way; Convoy of Hope; Disaster Relief (Ukraine); Child Initiative International; and Adult & Teen Challenge. This year, your generosity in giving enabled COTR to donate extra financial love offerings to ALL of our missionaries, to help offset the rising costs of ministry amid inflation.

 

 

$58,921

Ministry expenses include but are not limited to: Kids, Youth, Young Adults, Men, Women, Classes, Small Groups, Worship & Creative Arts, Revive Conference, and more. 

 

$271,672

Personnel expenses include all wages, salaries and payroll taxes for our dedicated staff, who diligently serve you in ministry here at COTR. In 2022, these expenses accounted for 39.6% of expenditures. In our 2021 budget, these expenses amounted to 45.7% of all of our spending. This represents a decrease of 6.1 percentage points, when compared to the overall budget, year-over-year. This past year, with the leadership transition in mind, COTR slimmed our staff budget as much as possible, while increasing, in some areas, all of our ministry expressions.

 

$328,407

Facilities and operations expenses include mortgage principal and interest; building

and grounds maintenance and improvements; utilities; insurance; office equipment; church van

maintenance; and other related costs to the church’s physical plant and assets.

 

$3,136

Total Member Care Expenses, this includes benevolence, family care, food pantry, grief support, and fulfilling the needs that we can within our faith community. 

 

 

+$8,044

By God’s faithful provision and your generous giving, we were able to add to our financial reserves. We believe God has given more so we can minister more.

 

$2,700,000

Mortgage Balance, as of Year End 2022. Over more than the past two decades, the Lord has enabled COTR to secure 15 acres, build a 30,000 square foot building for ministry, pave a 90,000 square foot asphalt parking lot, purchase a church van, and build a pavilion, among many other achievements. This has ONLY BEEN POSSIBLE through the miraculous provision of God and the hundreds of hours of selfless giving of time and effort from this church community. We believe God has given us the land to continue His work, and will enable us to own this land outright one day, as well. We invite you to partner with us as we work diligently and pray even harder for this debt to be paid off.