Church family,

We are coming off what has to be one of the best summers in the history of our church! God has been so good to us through the lives we’ve seen changed through the camps, mission trips, and regular week in and week out ministries that Champion Forest provides. Let me begin this note by simply saying THANK YOU for your support, prayers, and investment in our church. We really are making a difference.

I recently celebrated with our leaders at our Summit Leadership Training many of the “wins” we have experienced in the last few years. As you read the bullet points below, pause and give thanks to God for his hand of blessing upon our congregation. Since 2021, we have:

• Trained 54 residents in the Damon Shook Residency Program
• Trained 54 Spanish Church planters and started 38 Spanish congregations
• Equipped nearly 800 pastors and helped support 79 church plants across North America
• Our young adult ministry, The Grove, is reaching nearly 300 young adults every Tuesday evening
• Given over $9.5 million to missions and partners all over the world
• Baptized 939 people this church year (our church year is Oct-Sept)

These are just SOME of the incredible ways God has moved in our church… and I emphasize the word “some” – space simply doesn’t allow me to speak to all that the Lord is doing.

While it is clearly God’s undeserved blessing on our church, I do attribute much of what is going on to our First Saturday Prayer Gatherings. For the last two years, we have committed ourselves to meeting on the first Saturday of each month from 8:00–9:00 AM in the Chapel at our Champions Campus to pray. Each month more and more people are joining our efforts to call on the Lord to move in the ministries of our church and to ask for His grace to be on all we endeavor to do.

I want to encourage you to join us THIS SATURDAY as we pray. My good friend, Daniel Henderson, author of Transforming Prayer, will be with us and leading in this time. I promise you it will be the best hour of your month!

Finally, as I mentioned at Summit several weeks ago, our Committee on Committees (i.e., our Bylaw Task Force) has been working diligently for the last several months on several updates to our church bylaws. You will be receiving an additional email from me Sunday afternoon with a summary of the proposed updates, as well as a copy of the original bylaws and the newly proposed bylaws. I’ll share this announcement in church at the end of services this week.

I’m so grateful for you, Champion Forest. Thank you for leading the way in making disciples, loving our community, and strengthening the Church.

Pastor Jarrett