Heritage News
Q1 2026: January - March
BREATHE
Night To Shine
This quarter was amazing! We had over 200 smiling participants at our Breathe Special Needs Prom, Night To Shine! We also had over 400 volunteers pitch in to help out with the event. Live music, dancing, laughter, and hugs were all around!
New Season, New Vision
We're excited to share that our Breathe Moms Small Group has been a wonderful time of beautiful ministry that has blessed families with special needs. We are also excited about the work being done at the Breathe Center and are anticipating an eventful Summer!
This quarter was amazing! We had over 200 smiling participants at our Breathe Special Needs Prom, Night To Shine! We also had over 400 volunteers pitch in to help out with the event. Live music, dancing, laughter, and hugs were all around!
New Season, New Vision
We're excited to share that our Breathe Moms Small Group has been a wonderful time of beautiful ministry that has blessed families with special needs. We are also excited about the work being done at the Breathe Center and are anticipating an eventful Summer!
COMMUNICATIONS & PRODUCTION
None Submitted
DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY
Discipleship and Small Groups
Our focus in the first quarter has been on the Gospel of Mark series, healing, and prayer.
We've really tried to stress the importance of small groups and community rhythms like Daily Prayer as a church family.
Small Groups and Discipleship Engagement
We saw strong and consistent participation in small groups. We're excited to say that we had 66 small groups, with a total attendance count of 1,260!
We've seen a lot of importance placed on healing within our groups. Several groups focused specifically on areas of personal healing and emotional/spiritual health, including:
• Grief Share
• Light Hearted (We'll share more about this below)
• Lord, Heal My Hurts
• To Be Told
These groups created intentional spaces for people to process pain, pursue healing, and experience the grace in community. It has been encouraging to hear testimonies of people who have found spaces of vulnerability for healing and taken steps toward wholeness.
Daily Prayer: The Gospel of Mark
One of the most significant discipleship initiatives this quarter has been our Daily Prayer app, where we have walked together through the Gospel of Mark.
This has served as a unifying spiritual practice for our church, and has helped people engage Scripture consistently while cultivating a life of prayer. For some, this is a great first step to personal growth and time with God. Kids ministry has partnered with this initiative to send weekly resources to families to encourage family prayer and to memorize the weekly scripture together.
Discover Heritage
We have just completed another round of Discover, and it continues to be so rewarding and fruitful. This was one of the larger groups of about 50 participants. We have about 90% of the Participant Guide completed and will have it fully produced in time for the summer group. There are nearly 200 people who gave gone through Discover the past year and a half, and we are now working on a plan to follow up with each individual to assess their involvement and update our tracking records and systems.
Light Hearted Small Group
Brad Bowen has been writing a lot at night and is over halfway done with the book, "Light-Hearted." We are currently walking close to 150 people through the material (120+ on Sunday nights and 20+ at Crossroads on Monday nights), and it is one of the most fruitful things Brad and Michelle have ever done. They recently spent close to 4 hours with a young woman from the group who was suicidal and comes from a family of suicide. By the end of the group, she actually physically looked like a completely different person. Michelle said it looked like she gained 10-15 pounds as her face and body began to relax. She went from uncontrollable tears and tense shaking, to truly a light-hearted demeanor with lots of smiling! She told us that night that she hadn't felt peace like that in her entire life, and has since texted us to say she feels like a completely different person.
Our focus in the first quarter has been on the Gospel of Mark series, healing, and prayer.
We've really tried to stress the importance of small groups and community rhythms like Daily Prayer as a church family.
Small Groups and Discipleship Engagement
We saw strong and consistent participation in small groups. We're excited to say that we had 66 small groups, with a total attendance count of 1,260!
We've seen a lot of importance placed on healing within our groups. Several groups focused specifically on areas of personal healing and emotional/spiritual health, including:
• Grief Share
• Light Hearted (We'll share more about this below)
• Lord, Heal My Hurts
• To Be Told
These groups created intentional spaces for people to process pain, pursue healing, and experience the grace in community. It has been encouraging to hear testimonies of people who have found spaces of vulnerability for healing and taken steps toward wholeness.
Daily Prayer: The Gospel of Mark
One of the most significant discipleship initiatives this quarter has been our Daily Prayer app, where we have walked together through the Gospel of Mark.
This has served as a unifying spiritual practice for our church, and has helped people engage Scripture consistently while cultivating a life of prayer. For some, this is a great first step to personal growth and time with God. Kids ministry has partnered with this initiative to send weekly resources to families to encourage family prayer and to memorize the weekly scripture together.
Discover Heritage
We have just completed another round of Discover, and it continues to be so rewarding and fruitful. This was one of the larger groups of about 50 participants. We have about 90% of the Participant Guide completed and will have it fully produced in time for the summer group. There are nearly 200 people who gave gone through Discover the past year and a half, and we are now working on a plan to follow up with each individual to assess their involvement and update our tracking records and systems.
Light Hearted Small Group
Brad Bowen has been writing a lot at night and is over halfway done with the book, "Light-Hearted." We are currently walking close to 150 people through the material (120+ on Sunday nights and 20+ at Crossroads on Monday nights), and it is one of the most fruitful things Brad and Michelle have ever done. They recently spent close to 4 hours with a young woman from the group who was suicidal and comes from a family of suicide. By the end of the group, she actually physically looked like a completely different person. Michelle said it looked like she gained 10-15 pounds as her face and body began to relax. She went from uncontrollable tears and tense shaking, to truly a light-hearted demeanor with lots of smiling! She told us that night that she hadn't felt peace like that in her entire life, and has since texted us to say she feels like a completely different person.
MISSIONS
The Storehouse
January’s No Sales month allowed for team alignment, planning, and departmental improvements, along with finalizing the new storage unit (ramps, shelving, drainage). Appreciation to Jason and Carrie for their help completing this project.
February launched strong with a First Saturday sale and our regular 2nd Monday and 2nd Thursday sales totaling $36,817. March’s bag sale generated $16,839, while serving hundreds of individuals and families with five and ten dollar bags.
Our Q1 SH sales total is $53,657, exceeding Q1 2025 by $8,224.
We added two new team members and continue to see strong volunteer engagement, with another 10 individuals serving regularly while earning mission trip hours.
The Storehouse Relief Team served 29 households, including fire victims, Crossroads participants, and a family displaced by storm damage. Ongoing partnership with Rebecca Presley continues to provide large print Bibles and clothing for nursing home residents.
Local Impact
Our worship center supported multiple ministry partners this quarter, including CrossRoads and CrossRoads for Her, and FCA fundraising events. Jason provided exceptional logistical leadership.
Global Missions Updates
Looking Ahead
January’s No Sales month allowed for team alignment, planning, and departmental improvements, along with finalizing the new storage unit (ramps, shelving, drainage). Appreciation to Jason and Carrie for their help completing this project.
February launched strong with a First Saturday sale and our regular 2nd Monday and 2nd Thursday sales totaling $36,817. March’s bag sale generated $16,839, while serving hundreds of individuals and families with five and ten dollar bags.
Our Q1 SH sales total is $53,657, exceeding Q1 2025 by $8,224.
We added two new team members and continue to see strong volunteer engagement, with another 10 individuals serving regularly while earning mission trip hours.
The Storehouse Relief Team served 29 households, including fire victims, Crossroads participants, and a family displaced by storm damage. Ongoing partnership with Rebecca Presley continues to provide large print Bibles and clothing for nursing home residents.
Local Impact
Our worship center supported multiple ministry partners this quarter, including CrossRoads and CrossRoads for Her, and FCA fundraising events. Jason provided exceptional logistical leadership.
Global Missions Updates
- Honduras Medical Team (Seth Berl): 28 volunteers served 900+ patients, distributing over $30,000 in medical supplies. We helped to sponsor a PCOM student, a resident, and another medical worker to participate on this mission.
- Water Filters (Johnny Ray): 100 additional filters provided in rural Honduras.
- Turkey Trip: Cancelled due to regional conflict. Our team, after spending countless hours preparing, pivoted to send several suitcases of prepared curriculum and materials, which were successfully used to minister to families on the field. The organization and the families were greatly appreciative.
- Upcoming (April): Next Gen Family Team (Handfields) departing for SoloHope Honduras mission
Looking Ahead
- Secret Church (April 17): Joining 50,000+ believers worldwide for a six-hour study and focused prayer for the persecuted church.
- June Trips: Honduras (Patti Merdian & Lynn Diers) and Peru (Eddie Seagle).
- Advent Initiative: Beginning development of the “Our Town” Advent Journal-a community-wide devotional and prayer guide featuring voices from across our city.
NEXT GEN
HERITAGE KIDS
None Submitted
STUDENTS
How Are We Doing?
We kicked off the year in student ministry with a questionnaire for middle school and high school students to fill out to see where we were as a ministry. The results were interesting. The survey showed that students were hungry to grow closer to Jesus but lacked daily habits to do so.
We developed the questionnaire in order to direct our teaching the first quarter. The plan is to offer the same questionnaire at the end of the year to gauge our progress.
By The Numbers
Our weekly attendance averaged 40 for middle school and 56 for high school. We ended March with a combined Palm Sunday worship night with around 100 in attendance.
Missions, Outreach, And Future Plans
We are now planning for our student ministry mission trip to Honduras. There will be a great team of 15 going that will be teaching at a church, doing Vacation Bible School at a school, helping with construction projects, and doing home visits.
As for what's to come, we're looking forward to senior celebration in May, a drama team trip in April, and Splash Into Summer in May. We are also gearing up for SWO 26 in May and planning for our annual Beach Retreat in July.
We kicked off the year in student ministry with a questionnaire for middle school and high school students to fill out to see where we were as a ministry. The results were interesting. The survey showed that students were hungry to grow closer to Jesus but lacked daily habits to do so.
We developed the questionnaire in order to direct our teaching the first quarter. The plan is to offer the same questionnaire at the end of the year to gauge our progress.
By The Numbers
Our weekly attendance averaged 40 for middle school and 56 for high school. We ended March with a combined Palm Sunday worship night with around 100 in attendance.
Missions, Outreach, And Future Plans
We are now planning for our student ministry mission trip to Honduras. There will be a great team of 15 going that will be teaching at a church, doing Vacation Bible School at a school, helping with construction projects, and doing home visits.
As for what's to come, we're looking forward to senior celebration in May, a drama team trip in April, and Splash Into Summer in May. We are also gearing up for SWO 26 in May and planning for our annual Beach Retreat in July.
PRAYER & PASTORAL CARE
Caring For Loss and Crisis
Our team facilitated meals for 42 family and friends of those experiencing loss. Some of our members who lost family members received cards, gift cards or flowers/plant.
We also ministered to the needs of 68 members who were in crises of some sort. We referred 15 people to counseling, and the remaining people were prayed for or cared for by other means (mentoring, IHP/deliverance).
We have 11 team members on our Care/Needs Team (another name for Pastoral Care Team). This has been so helpful in investigating the needs, making connections, and delegating responsibilities to others. Sharing the load a bit more among us has been very helpful!
Inner Healing Prayer
Since January, the Inner Healing Prayer Team has completed 23 ministry sessions and 10 mentoring sessions. Mentoring is a four session follow-up offered after inner healing prayer to help participants walk in freedom. We had a wonderful gathering and training time for our inner healing prayer team earlier this year. It's been interesting to see that the number of IHP applications continue to increase.
We are currently getting more applications from men. Stephen Adcock and his team have conducted four sessions for men, and this increase in requests has caused Sandee to spend more time on IHPs than she actually has to give (she also has a part time job). Sandee has enlisted the assistance of Natalia Burger for help in scheduling IHPs, and is looking for help to train the Men’s IHP team.
Deliverance Ministry
We are also seeing an increase in those who are needing deliverance. Emily Hall, Kerri White and Dawn Barnett are reading the book Deliverance by Jon Thompson and meeting weekly for discussion. We are planning to attend his Deliverance Conference in Ontario, Canada in June. This is perfect timing to begin building a structure for deliverance ministry!
Prayer Downtown
“Prayer on the Square” is led by Tim and Peggy Whitley each second Saturday of the month. The team has grown to nine members, and we’ve prayed for 18 people in the last three months (adults and children). This team will join the 24-7 prayer room watchmen’s prayer tent on Sat, April 18th for Spring Fling. We will have more people to pray at the tent and on the 24-7 prayer room, which will be open door to the public that day.
A Culture Of Prayer
We are grateful for how the prayer culture continues to grow at our church. Altar ministry time has become a regular and vital part of our worship service. Our monthly Dwell services are receiving great participation. We had a very meaningful March Dwell where we focused on praying for our world and for our upcoming global mission trips. God is moving through prayer!
Our team facilitated meals for 42 family and friends of those experiencing loss. Some of our members who lost family members received cards, gift cards or flowers/plant.
We also ministered to the needs of 68 members who were in crises of some sort. We referred 15 people to counseling, and the remaining people were prayed for or cared for by other means (mentoring, IHP/deliverance).
We have 11 team members on our Care/Needs Team (another name for Pastoral Care Team). This has been so helpful in investigating the needs, making connections, and delegating responsibilities to others. Sharing the load a bit more among us has been very helpful!
Inner Healing Prayer
Since January, the Inner Healing Prayer Team has completed 23 ministry sessions and 10 mentoring sessions. Mentoring is a four session follow-up offered after inner healing prayer to help participants walk in freedom. We had a wonderful gathering and training time for our inner healing prayer team earlier this year. It's been interesting to see that the number of IHP applications continue to increase.
We are currently getting more applications from men. Stephen Adcock and his team have conducted four sessions for men, and this increase in requests has caused Sandee to spend more time on IHPs than she actually has to give (she also has a part time job). Sandee has enlisted the assistance of Natalia Burger for help in scheduling IHPs, and is looking for help to train the Men’s IHP team.
Deliverance Ministry
We are also seeing an increase in those who are needing deliverance. Emily Hall, Kerri White and Dawn Barnett are reading the book Deliverance by Jon Thompson and meeting weekly for discussion. We are planning to attend his Deliverance Conference in Ontario, Canada in June. This is perfect timing to begin building a structure for deliverance ministry!
Prayer Downtown
“Prayer on the Square” is led by Tim and Peggy Whitley each second Saturday of the month. The team has grown to nine members, and we’ve prayed for 18 people in the last three months (adults and children). This team will join the 24-7 prayer room watchmen’s prayer tent on Sat, April 18th for Spring Fling. We will have more people to pray at the tent and on the 24-7 prayer room, which will be open door to the public that day.
A Culture Of Prayer
We are grateful for how the prayer culture continues to grow at our church. Altar ministry time has become a regular and vital part of our worship service. Our monthly Dwell services are receiving great participation. We had a very meaningful March Dwell where we focused on praying for our world and for our upcoming global mission trips. God is moving through prayer!
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Campus Improvements & Vision
This quarter has been marked by intentional progress across our campus, with a focus on creating spaces that better serve our church family. Several key repairs were addressed, including irrigation water runoff issues in the front parking lot and along Gene McQueen Road, as well as a significant plumbing repair at North Campus.
We also made progress in maintaining and restoring our equipment. A major repair brought our work truck (previously out of commission for several months) back into service. Additionally, we replaced a failed blower, repaired two mowers, and began evaluating the sale of an unused mower.
On The Inside
Inside our buildings, upgrades were made to the Breathe building. It received fresh paint and updated furniture, creating a more inviting environment. In the HUB, we are currently in the middle of a larger renovation aimed at improving flow and usability, including plans to remove center columns and enhance the kitchen area. We also added several custom-built wooden tables and 20 additional chairs, allowing the space to better accommodate larger groups and gatherings. This is about more than aesthetics. It's about creating environments where ministry and community can grow in.
Easter
In preparation for Easter, we refreshed our rock beds, installed more pine straw, and pressure washed key areas around the campus. Additional furniture was also added to the back of the Worship Center at the request of the Offering Team to accommodate the larger crowds.
This quarter has been marked by intentional progress across our campus, with a focus on creating spaces that better serve our church family. Several key repairs were addressed, including irrigation water runoff issues in the front parking lot and along Gene McQueen Road, as well as a significant plumbing repair at North Campus.
We also made progress in maintaining and restoring our equipment. A major repair brought our work truck (previously out of commission for several months) back into service. Additionally, we replaced a failed blower, repaired two mowers, and began evaluating the sale of an unused mower.
On The Inside
Inside our buildings, upgrades were made to the Breathe building. It received fresh paint and updated furniture, creating a more inviting environment. In the HUB, we are currently in the middle of a larger renovation aimed at improving flow and usability, including plans to remove center columns and enhance the kitchen area. We also added several custom-built wooden tables and 20 additional chairs, allowing the space to better accommodate larger groups and gatherings. This is about more than aesthetics. It's about creating environments where ministry and community can grow in.
Easter
In preparation for Easter, we refreshed our rock beds, installed more pine straw, and pressure washed key areas around the campus. Additional furniture was also added to the back of the Worship Center at the request of the Offering Team to accommodate the larger crowds.
SUNDAY AM
Saving Money Through Repairs
We recently had equipment that controls power sequencing for the entire sound system fail. This is an old, obsolete system, and buying a new replacement would require purchasing a complete setup, not just the broken main controller. The cost for this setup would be a few thousand dollars, but we were able to replace a few aged and failed components on the circuit board of the main controller for about $50, saving money and putting the unit back into service!
Growing Teams
We’ve seen team growth on both the Worship Team and the Production Team. Two more people have go through our audition process this semester for the worship team. As far as the Production Team, training has ramped up for the camera department. We've added two new camera operators this season...Jared Colls and Maisie Ford. Each person on our teams has been informed that they need to walk through the next Discover Heritage class. Our goal is to see people spiritually healthy, not just more team growth.
Production Computer Issues
We're experiencing an issue with video playback on our main Pro Presenter computer, and have so far been unable to identify the issue. After reducing the bloat on the computer we're still seeing an issue. For some reason the audio and the video for our LED screens are out of sync, causing it to look like there's a laggy video. We continue to seek a fix, but may have to take steps to deliberately lag the audio in our videos to get them to sync back up in the future.
Production Team Huddles
We're working to improve our Sunday serving experience by giving out a schedule to each department, allowing them to know when they are needed to arrive and what their responsibilities will be when they arrive on campus. We are also huddling up for a meeting to cover the flow of that day's service, including a moment of prayer for the speaker and our team.
We recently had equipment that controls power sequencing for the entire sound system fail. This is an old, obsolete system, and buying a new replacement would require purchasing a complete setup, not just the broken main controller. The cost for this setup would be a few thousand dollars, but we were able to replace a few aged and failed components on the circuit board of the main controller for about $50, saving money and putting the unit back into service!
Growing Teams
We’ve seen team growth on both the Worship Team and the Production Team. Two more people have go through our audition process this semester for the worship team. As far as the Production Team, training has ramped up for the camera department. We've added two new camera operators this season...Jared Colls and Maisie Ford. Each person on our teams has been informed that they need to walk through the next Discover Heritage class. Our goal is to see people spiritually healthy, not just more team growth.
Production Computer Issues
We're experiencing an issue with video playback on our main Pro Presenter computer, and have so far been unable to identify the issue. After reducing the bloat on the computer we're still seeing an issue. For some reason the audio and the video for our LED screens are out of sync, causing it to look like there's a laggy video. We continue to seek a fix, but may have to take steps to deliberately lag the audio in our videos to get them to sync back up in the future.
Production Team Huddles
We're working to improve our Sunday serving experience by giving out a schedule to each department, allowing them to know when they are needed to arrive and what their responsibilities will be when they arrive on campus. We are also huddling up for a meeting to cover the flow of that day's service, including a moment of prayer for the speaker and our team.
SUNDAY SUPPORT
No Slipping Through The Cracks
Our Guest Experience Team (Ushers and Greeters) is now fully live on Planning Center, creating more than just efficiency, but intentionality. This step allows us to better see and care for our people, ensuring that no one slips through the cracks. Beyond systems and scheduling, we’re building a family. This season, we’ve had the joy of celebrating new life with babies and grandchildren welcomed into the families of our team members. These moments remind us that ministry isn’t just something we do together, it’s a life we share together.
Baptism Orientation
In January, we launched our first Baptism Orientation, and it has already become a meaningful space for connection, discipleship, and encouragement. People are coming with questions and stories, and leaving with clarity, confidence, and a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.
And the fruit has been awesome! This quarter alone, we have celebrated 22 baptisms. Twenty-two lives publicly declaring their faith. Twenty-two stories of God’s grace on display. All glory to God!
At the same time, our Safety Team continues to grow in both skill and unity. Through monthly trainings led by our Safety Team Leader, Hunter Allen, they are becoming more equipped and prepared to serve with excellence. And just as important, they are building strong relationships along the way...sharing moments of joy, laughter, and connection, even through something as simple as a friendly game of Gellyball.
This is more than ministry growth. This is family.
Our Guest Experience Team (Ushers and Greeters) is now fully live on Planning Center, creating more than just efficiency, but intentionality. This step allows us to better see and care for our people, ensuring that no one slips through the cracks. Beyond systems and scheduling, we’re building a family. This season, we’ve had the joy of celebrating new life with babies and grandchildren welcomed into the families of our team members. These moments remind us that ministry isn’t just something we do together, it’s a life we share together.
Baptism Orientation
In January, we launched our first Baptism Orientation, and it has already become a meaningful space for connection, discipleship, and encouragement. People are coming with questions and stories, and leaving with clarity, confidence, and a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.
And the fruit has been awesome! This quarter alone, we have celebrated 22 baptisms. Twenty-two lives publicly declaring their faith. Twenty-two stories of God’s grace on display. All glory to God!
At the same time, our Safety Team continues to grow in both skill and unity. Through monthly trainings led by our Safety Team Leader, Hunter Allen, they are becoming more equipped and prepared to serve with excellence. And just as important, they are building strong relationships along the way...sharing moments of joy, laughter, and connection, even through something as simple as a friendly game of Gellyball.
This is more than ministry growth. This is family.