WEBVTT 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:04.559 So Psalm 105 is where we're going. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:06.719 If you have a Bible, you can turn to Psalm 105. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:13.599 A lot of announcements today because there's a lot going on here, but a lot of a lot went on last year, and this is what we're doing this year. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:28.879 This is uh actually our annual, it's a little different service, and that is our annual TCC recap service so that you can see, we can look back and see what God has done in us and through us through 2025. 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:30.960 Big year this year. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:32.640 And here's the reason we're doing this. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:35.439 Psalm 105, starting in verse 1. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:50.479 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, sing to him, sing praise to him, and tell of all of his wondrous works. 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:52.880 Glory in his holy name. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.600 Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.079 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually. 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:02.079 Remember. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:09.519 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments that he uttered. 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:20.400 So God in his dealings with people always has set in motion these ways for them to remember what he has done. 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:26.079 He's always encouraged them, set up stones of remembrance so you don't forget. 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:33.200 We'll set up these feasts so that you can remember, that you won't forget what the Lord has done. 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:34.959 And feasts and festivals. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:36.879 So don't forget what the Lord your God has done. 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:39.359 Tell of his wondrous works, remember his deeds. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:41.120 And that's what we're doing this morning. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.760 So we're talking about praise reports this year. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:46.159 We're talking about the good things that God has done. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:53.920 And you know, this year, looking back over as I'm looking through what we've been, uh what we've gone through this year, it's been a year of increase. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:56.719 This is what the big word is is increase. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:59.040 God has increased us in a lot of ways. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:01.599 He's increased us in attendance. 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:08.960 Although it seems like some people are out today, maybe sick or maybe out of the out of the city or something, out of state or something. 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:21.439 But he's increased us in our discipleship venues, he's increased us in our homeschool co-op, he's increased us in our local outreach, in our international outreach. 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:25.520 And uh we bought two church buildings, but I'm getting ahead of myself. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:27.360 We'll get to all that. 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:40.879 But our goal today is uh is to be actually our goal in this church is to be a local expression of the body of Christ and create a space for you where you can belong, grow, and serve. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:44.479 You see the big words on the wall out there, belong, grow, and serve. 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:45.840 That's really what we're about. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:59.039 Helping you connect in community, helping you go deeper in your understanding of Jesus, helping you uh reach out and uh let God invite you into his mission and work through you to other people. 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:00.319 That's what we're talking about. 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:02.319 So, belong, grow, and serve. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.080 That's how we're gonna break it down today. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:08.560 So, how do we belong in 2025? 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:20.960 So I think the goal for us as pastors, the goal when we talk about belonging is the goal is to be is to be more connected in community than we were last year. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.400 This year, more than we were last year, connected together. 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:26.080 That's what belong is about. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:33.599 And I just want to tell you as as uh one of the pastors here that your pastor team loves this congregation. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:40.400 You guys are really easy to pastor, you're easy to love, honestly. 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:46.400 You guys are um you guys are it's not that you're like low maintenance. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.400 I want to say it that way. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:53.759 But you're but you're but you you love Jesus. 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:58.639 You press into Jesus, you you find Jesus in even in your difficulties. 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:02.159 You press in together to one another in your difficulties. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:10.159 And though we, as your pastors, are happy to meet your needs ministerially, pastorally, it's a joy for us to do it, and we love you. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:12.879 And we have a great team here, and it's a unique thing. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:16.079 If you guys are any of you are new here, it's kind of unique. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.800 You see that there are different people in the pulpit, different weeks, because we have a team ministry here. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:28.079 It's not one pastor who does everything or makes every decision or one guy at the top and a bunch of little pairs of hands that do his bidding. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:29.199 It's nothing like that. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:37.360 It is a team ministry, and we really function together and we function uh really well, you know, beautifully together. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:56.319 But also, Ephesians 4 says that the the ministry gifts that Jesus gives to the church are for the purpose of building up the saints so that the saints do the work of the ministry, and the saints help bring unity, the saints help bring us into the fullness of the knowledge of Christ and bring us into maturity. 00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:01.759 So it's really the saints that do the most of the ministry. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:09.519 So we are equipping the body, but we have so many people serving in different ministries here in this church that help us care for the needs of this church. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:14.800 From prayer teams on Sunday morning to service teams on Sunday morning. 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:27.680 We have uh greeting team, we have safety team, we have medical teams, we have kids' ministry, then we have ministry teams like um the Forge Youth Ministry and the Gathering Place for our young adults and more. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:33.279 Everyone here serves and they help to care for the larger body of Christ. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:35.519 You guys are helping to pastor one another. 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:37.680 This is the way it's supposed to be, you know. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:41.279 Um we don't shirk our responsibilities as pastors. 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:45.439 This is part of our calling, but our big job is really to equip you to do it. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:50.639 And you guys are doing it, and belonging, belonging is really happening through you guys this year. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.360 So we did have an increase of our attendance. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:57.759 Probably our average attendance has gone up about 80 people this year, which is great. 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:05.120 This is one reason we're taking that back wall out soon, and we're going to uh have some more uh room for chairs. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:13.279 We have uh 38 new partners that have gone through the uh partners track, uh 17 families. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:18.879 We had more than 15 baby dedications, so that's going strong. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:23.839 Growing in many different ways here at TCC. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:30.639 I have two granddaughters that are expected to be born in the next week and a half, so this is awesome. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.279 Just threw that in. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:34.800 It was not in my notes. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:38.240 We had nine baptisms this year. 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:38.720 It's great. 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:52.240 We had a lot of people that attended our fit class to help understand so that they can grow in their understanding of who God's made them to be uniquely, so that they can not only just who they are, but who they're for, how they can serve in the body of Christ. 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:56.639 And one of the great ways that we have here to belong is our community groups. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:04.639 So our community groups offer a chance for you to engage more deeply with each other and with this with the scriptures. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:21.199 And so if you're drawn to deep discussions about scriptures or apologetics, or if you're drawn to you want to uh connect with other people that have like-minded interests, or you're just looking uh to learn new skills, we have a lot of community groups. 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:35.360 Last year we had community groups that were focused around nutrition, sewing and crafts, marriage, money-saving tips, apologetics, music, traditional skills, exercise. 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:40.240 That's our bend and stretch group, or as we like to call them, our firm believers. 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:46.720 Firmish. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.879 Gonna hit that, hit that more in January, right? 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:54.160 Uh Christmas doesn't count. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:08:12.720 Uh, groups about uh for business owners, groups uh we have the grief share group, we have the mom support group, diaper days, we had the teenage boys group, we are wondering, we had practical local missions groups that were doing local outreaches here uh called Faith and Action. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:17.759 And then we have our perpetual community groups or groups that go on throughout the year. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:28.959 Uh the other groups have start and stop dates, but this these groups that uh meet in homes, we have three of those across uh the county, actually in Knox County and in Anderson County. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.199 So belong. 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:36.080 There's going to be more groups uh starting in March, so stay tuned about that. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:42.799 Also, we were able to belong together with our Wednesday night uh community uh teachings. 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:47.279 Uh, and it was great because we got to not only every Wednesday night, there's a teaching. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:51.440 These this is teaching from people who are being trained uh in. 00:08:51.440 --> 00:09:00.080 Maybe we we have seen teaching gifts or leadership gifts in, and they have been trained uh and we're giving them venues to teach on Wednesday nights. 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:00.639 So that's great. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:02.480 That happens every Wednesday night. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:06.080 Um starting, it will be starting later on in January. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:11.840 But uh on the first of the month, as Derek mentioned, we have our community dinners, and it's been great. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:17.519 Those of you who have come up, it's been really encouraging to see uh how many people came out to eat. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.159 I think you know, you throw food down and people just come. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:22.799 That's just great, but but you but you want to be here. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:24.799 This is this is a great thing. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:35.360 Then we have our uh Trinity Christian Academy, and uh this has been a big area of increase this year, our homeschool co-op that happens on Fridays. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:40.159 Some of you don't know this, but on Fridays, this place is fuller than it is today. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:49.679 It is full, and this this uh sanctuary is sectioned off, and we have 242 students in our homeschool co-op. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:58.240 So if you put the parents together with that and the non-uh school-aged children, there's about 350 people here every Friday. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:02.879 So it's it's uh madness, it's beautiful madness. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:09.200 And then we also added Thursday core groups for high school classes, and we've got 45 students doing that. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:13.360 So there's a total of 133 families that are connected to our umbrella. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:21.039 They're registered under TCA's Trinity Christian Academy's homeschool umbrella, which is registered with the state of Tennessee. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:24.720 So it's an opportunity for people to connect in that way. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:26.879 And it's it's it's growing. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:32.799 It's great to see these kids growing and learning about Jesus in school. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:53.519 So we also have our triads, which is our our, these are our informal discipleship groups that meet around the scriptures and around building relationships, just a way to make disciples uh, you know, with each other, just growing in in the knowledge of Jesus and also connecting and being able to be accountable to each other. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:58.480 It's a major focus of our church in 2026, which you'll hear about next month. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:03.360 And we've increased the community part of Trinity Community Church this year. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:07.600 That's what we're that's what we're saying here, the community part of belonging together. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:12.480 And we really hope that you feel more connected this year than you were last year. 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:19.919 This is one of our main goals here, and that you'll be even more connected to the church body at the end of 2026 than you are now. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:36.240 And if you're newish here and you feel like God may be joining you or you'd like to know more about TCC, uh next uh January 25th, uh next month, uh, we're gonna have our Discovering TCC lunch right after the service on the 25th of January. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.759 So you can go for that, go to that and learn more about that. 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:41.200 Okay, that's belong. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.120 We'll shift over into grow. 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:56.639 So, growing, our goal for growing or helping or creating an atmosphere for you to grow is is uh that you are farther along in your walk with Jesus, your growth journey than you were last year. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:03.039 And that means growing in the knowledge of Jesus, and that means growing in love for him and growing in love for people. 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:05.039 That's basically what growth is. 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:10.000 So we tried to create an atmosphere that was conducive to that this year. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:17.120 Part of that is through our Sunday morning services, and this is our sermon series this year, which I loved. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.840 I don't know if you guys did or not, but I loved them. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:26.559 Uh, we had a little vision sermon series at the first of the year about belonging together, growing deeper and reaching farther. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:42.559 But then we went into the Old Testament, we went through the book of Nehemiah together, this passion project sermon series, and we learned a lot of things about working together, about allowing the burden of God to precede our vision. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:53.200 And out of that burden comes the vision and the provision and comes the um the uh equipping of God to fulfill that vision. 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:59.120 We learned uh during the summer sermon series, we talked about um the Sermon on the Mount. 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:02.639 So we had especially about uh the Beatitudes there. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.799 We talked about uh Ephesians. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:12.720 We went to the New Testament and we uh went through the first three chapters of Ephesians from September through November. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:19.279 So we're gonna finish that, chapters five through six, or four through six uh next year. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:22.240 And then we did our Christmas sermon series, expecting. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:44.480 So part of the way we want we want to help you grow is by faithfully expositing the scriptures, not just picking something out and throwing it out to you, but going deep in the scriptures, going deep into the books, understanding what they're what what the author is really saying, who is saying it, who are they saying it to, what are they saying, why are they saying it? 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:45.519 When are they saying it? 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:47.200 And what does it mean to us? 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:51.200 And going through that verse by verse really helps you grow. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:59.039 We had uh 127 people registered to read through our chronological Bible study last year, which is great. 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:05.120 How many of you have gone through our either our Bible study or some kind of a Bible reading, daily Bible reading last year? 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:06.799 Man, that's fantastic. 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:07.919 That's great. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:08.639 Good job. 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:17.759 So Derek's already brought up the fact that we're doing it again this year, and we're going back to the uh the Old Testament reading or the New Testament, reading through the New Testament in a year. 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:22.159 Uh, there's there's a QR code that you can scan, you can join that. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:23.759 We're gonna start that in a few days. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:30.559 We're finishing up Revelation in our in our um chronological Bible study now. 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:33.279 I think tomorrow's the tomorrow's the last day. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:38.320 We finish it up last tomorrow, and then we have two days of devotion, and then the new year starts. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:49.600 So, we also had 21 days of corporate prayer and fasting this year, which was uh a growth avenue for many of us and a shrinking avenue for some of us. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:50.720 That's a joke. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:56.879 We we grew, we increased while we decreased, you know what I mean? 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:00.080 It's kind of biblical, actually, really. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.039 Yep. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:04.799 So that was a great time to press into the Lord together. 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:20.480 And uh we developed leaders through Trinity Ministry Apprenticeship Program and through our Timothy team, which is um the avenues that we have to work together with leaders and try to equip them uh for the future. 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.919 We have discipling triads that many people have been a part of. 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.879 Uh we've had a lot of people go through the fit class of us, as I said. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.480 This is part of your growth. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:34.559 And when you understand who you are and you plug into your purpose, this is part of your growth. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:38.320 And then we had equipping uh opportunities for families. 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:44.639 We had a marriage seminar and a parenting seminar, and then we have uh young mothers discipleship group. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:47.759 So so we hope this is all about growing, right? 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:54.879 We hope that you have or you feel that you're farther along in your walk with Jesus this year than you were at the first of this year. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:56.320 That's our goal. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:58.960 So we shift over into serve. 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:03.120 And this body has made an impact. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:12.559 This is our goal for serve is to make an impact through praying and through practical works of service and mission locally, nationally, and internationally. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.559 And that's what's happened this year. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:16.480 It's been a it's been a lot. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:20.320 It's been amazing what this body has been able to do. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:23.200 So we'll start with our 2025 SERV Day. 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:24.480 We got some pictures here. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.200 Many of you were part of the Survey projects. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.200 We had seven Survey projects. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:35.519 We did repairs here at the uh next door at the uh First Steps Daycare. 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:45.679 Um we did help do some gardening at Empower Farm and School, uh, some landscaping at Tennessee Right to Life Prayer Garden. 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:51.919 We visited and helped make crafts with the residents at uh Windsor Ridge Assistant Living. 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:58.559 We provided lunch and evangelism uh at uh homeless outreaches downtown. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:09.279 Uh we did some park beautification at Tommy Shepherd Park and Sturkey Hills Park here nearby, and also uh at Powell Station Park out in Powell. 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:16.799 So, plus all the people who cooked and served meals, prepared uh meals for the volunteers who are working on Serve Day. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:17.920 So thank you for that. 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:27.599 Just really a way to practically reach out to the neighborhood, and you can be sure to join us for uh serve day projects in 2026, too. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:29.200 So watch for that. 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:31.920 You got an opportunity to do that next year. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.640 Um, other local outreaches. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:38.160 Well, we did we did uh we did buy a building. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:40.400 This was part of our local outreach. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:44.160 We owned this, we own this, we own this. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:18:08.720 We had an incredible opportunity offered to us, a really unexpected opportunity to buy this building and to do it basically uh at uh the same kind of cost range that we were renting this building because of the way things worked out, just was really almost couldn't pass it up. 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:10.559 So um here we go. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:11.359 This is great. 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:20.640 We have an opportunity not only to be in this space and and expand this space, but also use it in many different ways to glorify God. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:38.079 So you can still give toward the building expansion project that you heard about last week or the week before last, that we week before last, and uh Derek's uh mentioned that we're expanding uh the building here and doing some work over here as well, uh beyond this wall. 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:47.920 Um so you can still give toward that project that that's current currently undergo that we're currently undergoing now through March 2026. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:50.000 So you can still uh give to that. 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:57.200 You can give to that by going to tccknox.com and designating to sanctuary sanctuary build-out. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.839 And so that's an opportunity. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:15.839 We also had um our missionaries to Knoxville, Robin Chris Ellis and their family, slash family, slash other people here, YWM Knoxville, and children's ministry outreach have been so busy this year. 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:21.440 So there's so many different stories uh that happened this year. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:24.079 But we I just wanted Chris to share at least one of them. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:26.880 So our stockings of love. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:32.319 I don't know if anyone saw the picture of the sanctuary before we delivered Host and Oaks. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:41.039 I think everything but this youth side had a stocking in it, all the chairs, and it was incredible. 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:51.519 But the story that um the event when we went to New River, so we've been going up there, I think this was our tenth year, and it's in rural Appalachia. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:20:00.720 Really, the first six years they were kind of standoffish, and then when we had that crazy Washington team come, it's never Been the same. 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:05.759 It's something was a breakthrough there, and so we're invited to baby showers and everything now. 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:16.319 But we always uh do the same lesson at Christmas, and it's about Christmas is all about giving, and that God gave the greatest gift of all, and we can give our very best. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:24.799 So after we prayed, Rob dresses up as Santa for the pictures, so I had to kill some time between. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:34.559 But in the meantime, a little boy named Carter, who had prayed when Rob did the prayer, he went outside and he put his hand up. 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:37.440 He said, Jesus, I want to give my heart to you. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:42.880 And he threw it up in the air, and then he came back, he goes, I just want to help people. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:44.400 I just want to help people. 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:57.119 And so Lee Curry, Lydio's Lee Curry, was helping us, and he was trying to help him carry coolers, and it was just, it was just such a sweet, like tangible way of them getting that. 00:20:57.119 --> 00:20:59.119 That Christmas is all about giving. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:02.559 I give my life to Jesus, and now I want to serve others. 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:03.920 Beautiful. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:06.240 Thank you. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:10.960 Wow. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:12.240 Wow. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.240 Wow, beautiful. 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:16.720 Well, I'll tell you, you can be a part of that, you know. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:19.839 You can do that if you're not involved in anything. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:31.200 If that kind of uh lights a fire inside of you, they do ministry weekly to kids, and there's opportunities for you to help uh join in and help with that. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:32.799 Okay, locally, what else? 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:37.359 Well, we have uh Patty Clemens and Faithful Promise Ministries. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:48.319 Patty does so much ministry that probably most people don't know about, but she is one of the greatest out arms of outreach here uh that we have locally. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:52.720 Um she has meetings that she holds once a month to share a word of hope. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:22:00.640 But she also is our deaconess, one of our deaconesses here, who serves widows and many people with different kinds of needs. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:09.680 And she meets one-on-one with women and mentors them and also goes to Anderson County Women's Prison, right? 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:14.559 She does so much stuff, so she's part of a big part of our local outreach. 00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:29.279 Also, Brad Martell is with Center for Bioethical Reform, which is basically an organization that exists to change public opinion and ultimately public policy on abortion. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:32.880 And Brad has had such a busy year this year. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:36.720 Um busiest travel season he says he's ever had. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:43.200 And uh they set up awareness projects at 15 different sites in three months. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:49.359 That's a lot, a lot of different campuses, so 11 colleges, three churches, and a downtown public square. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:55.920 They set up these huge um awareness displays, uh, pre-born child displays. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:00.079 He put up, they put it up in uh Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:03.599 Thousands and thousands of people saw this visual display. 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:08.160 Many of them uh saw prenatal development for the very first time. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:12.000 You get these things in front of people and people start thinking differently. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:13.359 And this is what's happening. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:16.319 He's part of our Protecting Human Life Team, by the way. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:21.039 And the Protecting Human Life Team is a great uh outreach of this church as well. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:32.319 They work with um uh women at risk, they work with uh women who have been sexually trafficked and exploited in other countries, they work with right-to-life issues, so we're really grateful for that. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:51.599 And they also uh we also can um also uh work together with Hope Resource Center, which is Knoxville's only holistic reproductive health care center for women, and they offer cost-free services uh provide uh provided by licensed medical professionals. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:53.839 And so this is this is a great opportunity. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:24:00.559 Also, we work with Street Hope, and Street Hope is a safe house for young girls who've been rescued from sex trafficking. 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.640 A lot going on in the area of justice here from this church. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:10.400 Another one of our uh great local outreaches is uh the campus house of prayer with Ryan McCrillis. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:11.839 Ryan, are you here this morning? 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:13.680 He's sick. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:15.920 Okay, maybe he's are you watching, Ryan? 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:32.319 Uh you know, nearly 10 years, um, as far as I as I know, that Ryan has been on the campus of the University of Tennessee working as a volunteer chaplain with ROTC cadets, uh, active duty and civilian staff. 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:42.000 This year they held a Christian retreat, and with the help of TCC, they also were able to feed their cadets during weekly ROTC Bible study. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:50.400 He, but Ryan participates in, they they did this retreat and he does weekly uh mobile food pantry. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:54.559 But the big thing he does is he mentors students. 00:24:54.559 --> 00:25:06.000 He is he is a one-on-one discipler and he disciples in groups and he prays with them, he walks with them through these Bible studies, and he does great work right there on the University of Tennessee. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:11.599 And the University of Tennessee uh currently has the largest ROTC program in the United States. 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:12.640 You didn't know. 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:25.920 And they have been actively trying to duplicate their ministry to ROTC candidates in other surrounding schools, and so far they've gotten that established at Tennessee Tech and UT, Chattanooga, ETSU, and Michigan State. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:31.680 So what they're doing here, I don't know what's I don't know what's what does Michigan have to do with Tennessee? 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:33.839 I don't know. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:43.039 There's a little bit of a rival there, but you but uh you know he's taking what what they're doing there and they're they're uh planting in other places, so that's terrific. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:54.240 Of course, we also have our prison ministry from TCC, and that's uh headed up by Matthew Achley, who's one of the um chaplains there at the uh Morgan County prison. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:26:16.160 Patty goes, Edmund goes, Mike Bumerstead, James Boyd, Tyler goes, and the gospel has been faithfully presented to these prisoners uh two nights a month, and every every month, and the there's great friendships that have been happening and relationships have been built through the volunteers and the and and the prisoners, and God's been moving mightily in those services. 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:19.519 And the church in the prison has continued to grow. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:22.880 Those men have continued to get stronger in their faith. 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:27.279 They have managed to set up their own discipling plan among themselves, which is great. 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:34.960 And they have a prayer chain they continue to do with the prison that is uh that's just a little bit of what Trinity's done there in the prison. 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:44.880 And uh and special thanks to everyone who provides for that, who prays for that, supports that, and cooks so that the uh ministry can be effective. 00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:49.680 We also are connected locally to the Empower School and Farm. 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:58.960 Our friend Buddy Walker is part of that, and we've had opportunity to train some leaders there and impact locally and internationally there through the farm. 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:09.519 Empower students have participated in service projects with TCC, and also some of them have been part of our TMAP program and have been trained in the Bible this year. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:35.519 And uh Compassion Coalition, the last thing locally, we also work with Compassion Coalition, which is a faith-based nonprofit here in Knoxville, that is a coalition of churches that um and different kinds of organizations and businesses, and they're committed to moving beyond the walls of the church buildings into the community and uh seeing the compassionate presence of Jesus make a difference in the midst of poverty and pain and brokenness. 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:37.200 And so we're part of that as well. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:42.720 So we're making a difference locally, uh, but we should turn to internationally now too. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:28:04.559 TCC partners have been personally involved and personally touched, been on the ground in five continents this year, uh with significant ministry in Poland, France, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Tanzania, Ireland, Kenya, Thailand, Honduras, South Korea, and the United States of America. 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:06.000 Did I miss anybody? 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.920 Africa? 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:09.759 Yeah, I got Tanzania. 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:10.480 I got that one. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:11.200 That's good. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:12.640 Yeah, and Kenya. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:13.680 Yeah. 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:14.720 Great. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:18.000 So and and our Cuba trip, our Cuba outreach. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:19.519 Did I did I mention Cuba? 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:21.279 Okay, Cuba. 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:22.720 This is a big deal. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:24.400 This was a big deal, Cuba. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:26.960 So we we did trips to Cuba this year. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:31.839 Uh, we did two trips uh to Cuba and ministered training pastors and leaders. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:36.240 Um, and also we we bought a building. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:38.559 And and you guys probably remember this. 00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:43.839 That last last April, Tyler came up after our trip and said, we have an opportunity. 00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:46.960 There's a there's a town that doesn't have a church. 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:48.799 We have an opportunity to buy a church. 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:52.559 You can't buy a church building, you have to buy a house in Cuba. 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:55.599 You don't buy church buildings, you don't build church buildings. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:58.000 That's not uh that's not allowed. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:05.680 If there's a church building existing from pre-revolution 1959, then you can use that building, but you can't build a church. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:10.880 But they buy houses and they convert them and they make church meeting places out of them. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:18.400 And so we had an opportunity to buy uh this building you see behind us, actually, two buildings. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:21.839 It's a church and a house next to it, along with some property. 00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:30.079 And Tyler just came and mentioned it one Sunday, and we needed $7,500 to buy this thing outright. 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:31.519 Amazing. 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:35.359 And I think what came in was $12,000, I believe. 00:29:35.359 --> 00:29:36.640 So it was amazing. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:40.960 We did not only that, but we actually helped outfit and equip the building. 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:51.519 And so uh what I found out is two, three weeks ago, there were over 40 people in attendance in this uh which is fantastic. 00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:55.119 So beautiful, so beautiful. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:59.920 Um, so uh we're planning to do other conferences in November. 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:10.319 We're uh joining a team with Cornerstone Church in Alabama uh that's sending uh team down to do children's ministry, children's uh camp in April. 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:18.079 So we're gonna uh help with that as well, and we have other conferences, multiple conferences planned in November. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:21.680 So uh that's a great opportunity there in Cuba. 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:42.960 In Tanzania, we still we continue to uh partner with Gospel Herald Ministries and our our precious friends, Pastor uh Matthias and uh Beatrice, who help the ongoing development of a Christian community among the Maasai people in a little village called Kiria in Tanzania. 00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:44.400 Beautiful people. 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:53.039 Uh it's a village of about 4,000 people, mostly just herdsmen and their families, very, very poor, but there's a great work going on there. 00:30:53.039 --> 00:31:04.480 The church continues to grow, and the outreach and the development of the land around the church, which has happened because we've been helped able to help them uh purchase some things that were necessary for that. 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:05.519 That's going on. 00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:06.960 So that's happening. 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:12.640 Also, we've had a lot of our young young people that have been in the nations this year as well. 00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:19.680 Um uh we have Rebecca Geiger, who's in South Korea, Kayla has been in Poland this year, Kayla Grainer. 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:22.240 Uh Ruth is here, Ruth and Ice is here this morning. 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:28.559 She was in Honduras and in Buffalo, which is not a foreign nation, but sort of. 00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:32.640 Anna was in Thailand, Anna Jones. 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:35.759 So we have just a lot of people, a lot of young people going out. 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:36.960 Did I miss anybody? 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:39.039 Okay, good. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:46.319 But we have other missionaries uh overseas that we support uh in in a in a rather kind of a major way. 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:49.519 One, of course, Phil and Jenny Adams, so many of you know them. 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:55.920 They're still helping plant churches and working with young professionals in parts of France. 00:31:55.920 --> 00:32:03.519 Um, and you know, there's this has been such um Europe has been such a such a dead place. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:12.319 The gospel has been so needed there, but there's a reawakening in the hearts of young people there in Europe, and it's a beautiful thing to see. 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:13.839 And Phil's in the middle of that. 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:29.359 He's just in he's in tall grass right there, because what he does is he works with uh discipling these young people and serving the leaders nationally in France, also in other parts of Europe, and also in Afghanistan and Haiti as well. 00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:30.960 That's the the Adams. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:46.400 We have our friends Bartek and Daria, Bishobiwa, who are in Poland, and um uh they serve a church that we helped to plant there called Amazing Grace Church, and uh we were able to be with them this uh this summer. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:52.319 It was great to be with them and their new baby, their their son, and their new their new newer son. 00:32:52.319 --> 00:33:18.319 Uh they work not only at the church there, but they work with an organization called Evangelical Poland, and they are working with different um types, different uh denominations of evangelical churches all over to unite them, to strengthen them, to grow together in their um uh knowledge of the word, in their uh outreach uh and evangelism, uh, and in many different ways, and they're impacting the nation there. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:21.759 And of course, we have uh Victoria Watoto Fund. 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:26.960 Which thank you for supporting here's here's a video soccer balls. 00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:28.559 We can now play soccer. 00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:37.839 Thank you, thank you for uniform at Victoria Watoto School because our beloved sponsor, may God bless you, happy giving Tuesday. 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:41.440 Thank you for quality education at Victoria Watoto School. 00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:44.319 May God bless you, happy giving Tuesday. 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:50.559 Thank you for well balanced out at Victoria Watoto School because of our wonderful sponsors, may God bless us. 00:33:56.319 --> 00:33:57.359 Praise God. 00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:10.800 Our friend Alois Leonard, uh who was a who was also a partner here at Trinity for many years, uh, has been working there with the children's feeding program, which turned into a school, and it just keeps growing. 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:12.079 And so we're really great. 00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:20.480 Uh currently there are 153 students enrolled there, you know, and it wasn't in existence even a few years ago. 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:32.239 And uh nursery through fifth grades, uh opening our doors next uh to sixth graders next year, hiring a new teacher, construction's already begun on the new sixth-grade classroom. 00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:34.239 So it's a big big deal. 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:35.199 Thank you so much. 00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:40.639 Uh a lot of uh you have been partners together with Victoria Watoto Fund. 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:44.320 And um, oh, we have some people in Ireland as well. 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:48.639 Uh Aaron and Beth are here this morning. 00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:50.000 And Aaron, come on up. 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:51.119 You gotta say something. 00:34:51.119 --> 00:35:02.960 We were able also to to visit them uh there near Dublin this year, and it was great. 00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:05.840 It was a great opportunity to do it. 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:09.599 So hey everybody. 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:22.239 Yeah, so Beth and I, we've come in uh spending Christmas with our families, and um so yeah, just a quick update. 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:28.239 Um so Beth and I, we moved uh September 2024, landed in Ireland then. 00:35:28.239 --> 00:35:36.559 Um before I say anything else, first of all, thank you to everyone here who is financially given to us, prayed for us. 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:42.400 Um obviously, uh before we left, there was a hands-and-feet offering taken up for us for Beth and I. 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:45.760 That really, really, really, really is appreciated. 00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:46.480 And thank you. 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:49.440 Just uh there's a few of you that have given through the year. 00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:55.519 Um, and uh a few of you just gave uh you know, just you know, when you felt like the Lord led you. 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:58.320 So just we really, really appreciate that. 00:35:58.320 --> 00:36:03.840 Um very quickly, so Beth and I moved um in 2024 to to Ireland. 00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:07.280 We were living in a little town called Bray, south of Dublin. 00:36:07.280 --> 00:36:14.239 We only lived there a couple months, and then we moved um up north a little bit to another town called Black Rock. 00:36:14.239 --> 00:36:17.360 They're all um you know right near Dublin. 00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:22.559 Um, and uh we were attending a church in uh Bray called Cornerstone Church. 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:50.239 And uh we were there um uh this this whole time that we were in Ireland, and um and uh Beth uh obviously when we first got there, she uh started uh her position at the hospital, one of the hospitals in Dublin and City Center called Matter Private, and she was working in post-anesthesia um and serving the Irish and and everyone else who came through those doors um uh in that capacity. 00:36:50.239 --> 00:36:56.880 And I was leading worship um about once a month, twice a month when people were sick and things like that. 00:36:56.880 --> 00:37:05.199 Um and um and so all along we knew we were wanting to move to County Cary. 00:37:05.199 --> 00:37:09.199 Um and we actually did that um the week uh last weekend. 00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:09.840 Last weekend. 00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:10.960 Wow, last weekend. 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:23.679 So uh we literally uh uh we had to take a few trips down and and uh and so we threw it all in our in the house and we locked the door and then came here. 00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:38.480 And so um, and so yeah, so leading worship, um I got and then Beth, um it's funny, I wanted to say this, you know, some people think, well, you know, yeah, Beth's job was a nurse, but no, that's her ministry. 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:45.039 And so um I I always want to highlight that just uh that it wasn't just what you're doing on the side. 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:50.000 So what Beth was doing, and and to be honest, let's I don't want first of all, she's the brains of the bunch. 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:52.559 Let's we have no problem saying that around here. 00:37:52.559 --> 00:37:53.039 Amen. 00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:59.599 And so um, and uh it's through because she got a critical skills work visa. 00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:04.559 Uh Ireland is in desperate need of nurses, and that's what got us in the country to work visa. 00:38:04.559 --> 00:38:07.920 Um, and that that's that's why we can actually stay in the country. 00:38:07.920 --> 00:38:12.159 A religious visa in Ireland usually gets you three years and then they boot you out. 00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:26.400 And so, um, and so and uh one of the things that was has been very interesting is that Beth and I have um we started uh to help and volunteer um with an organization called ICEJ. 00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:31.760 It means International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem, which is very interesting. 00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:36.320