The purpose of this report is to celebrate all that God has done in the ministries within our church and to anticipate all that he will do in the events to come.

Exodus Kids Extreme

In July, we had approximately 170 kids attend Exodus Kids Extreme! This year the theme was “Rescue”, Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Parent-Child Dedications

On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day we had a total of 15 families have their child/children publicly dedicated to Jesus!

Exodus Kids Family Fall Picnic

On November 5, we will have our annual family picnic at Kings Mtn. Military Park.

Summer Camp

Mission Trip

A group of 25 adults and teens went to Camden County, New Jersey to help Accelerate Church and Epiphany Gloucester City. The team was honored to help with a summer camp and do various hands-on projects during the week stay.

Fall Kick Off

Our Students’ Fall Kick Off event was a great success. We had a delicious popcorn bar and icee pops as we all caught up from our time off! We are looking forward to our series called “10 Questions to ask; and to answer”

Fall Retreat

Women’s Bible Study

Our Exodus Women’s fall Bible study is, “Jesus is…so let us…” started the week of September 12th, we’ll spend seven weeks studying Hebrews chapters 1-7 together. Our prayer for this study of Hebrews is that we see Jesus in a fuller, deeper way and that our right recognition of Him will prompt us to follow Him with obedient, joyful perseverance.

Restore

will be a time for women to focus on mental and emotional health from both a biblical and professional perspective. This event is for any woman who wants to grow in her understanding of how to meet the challenges of life more effectively. Rachael Elmore, a licensed Christian therapist and counselor, will be speaking on “When you have anxiety, it doesn’t have to have you.”

Pie Night

This November, Exodus women will gather together, for a night of fellowship and yummy desserts! We will spend time celebrating and reflecting back on our fall Bible study in Hebrews.

T214 Meetings

Exodus Men’s Retreat

Mill Workday

In July, we had 25 people volunteer for a Mill workday. We completed projects for EKE props, outdoor clean-up around the back entrance and parking area, and multiple projects in the main building. We have completed several time-sensitive projects at The Orchard Initiative 108 houses. We had some fun, members got to cross-pollinate with people from different service times and some folks got to learn some new DIY skills.

New Flex Space Soundboard

Plans are in the works for a new sound/tech booth for the Flex Space. This will serve as a more stable housing for all of the expensive equipment that is used for both Exodus Kids and Exodus Students. Yes, it will be dodgeball-proof.

Pastoral Residents

We celebrate all that the Lord has done through your generosity, from the purchase and closing of 110 Orchard Street to the hiring of two Orchard Initiative Residents and their families, who after a few years of training at Exodus, will eventually be sent out to increase His family of believers.

New Roles & Hires

Each new hire mentioned within this paragraph is because of growth over the past few years. In January, Abby Perdew was hired to assist as the Exodus Kids Ministry Assistant while Lyndsi was out on Maternity leave and to help with Exodus Kids growth over the past year.

Earlier this spring, it was decided Abby would be a blessing to serve as Pastor Brian’s Administrative Assistant. Which then left the position of Exodus Kids Ministry Assistant open. Thankfully, it didn’t take us long to ask Kelsie Mery, who is an Exodus alum, if she would like to serve in this new role and she accepted.

In June, the next role filled was hiring Lauren Harris as our new Communications and Events Director. This new role serves much of the happenings at the Mill, as it helps to communicate through Church Center Groups, plan through Church Center Calendar and execute through Church Center Registrations.

Residency Has Begun

Because of the generosity of those who call Exodus home and the faithful stewardship of our ministry leaders, we have purchased the 2 houses on Orchard Street. The residents have moved into the houses and started their residency at Exodus. We are excited about the next steps and invite you to continue praying for their families.

Foster Families Support Night

On March 19th, we were able to bless 12 families with free childcare and a complimentary dinner to 3 different restaurant choices. We had a total of 35 kids from the ages of 1 to 16 years old, and the children rotated to different stations throughout the evening, including outside recreation, music, and crafts. We finished our night together watching a movie and eating popcorn. All the kids we served, the parents we blessed, and the volunteers left the night with a smile.

Notes of Encouragement

In May, Exodus Church wrote notes of encouragement to the students of North Belmont Elementary. Over the course of one Sunday, Exodus filled out 300 cards! The students enjoyed receiving these sweet notes and a new school t-shirt designed by Ruthie Kellar.

North Belmont Faculty Breakfast

Four times over the course of the 2021/2022 school year a small team took breakfast to the faculty at the school.

Crisis Pregnancy Center

From May to June Exodus raised funds for Crisis Pregnancy Center
Read Across America Day: On February 24th a group of volunteers made videos to send to North Belmont Elementary School for their Read Across America Event on March 2nd. Mrs. Maples, the librarian, was thankful for the videos and stated that both teachers and students enjoyed watching them.

Foster Families Support Night

On October 15th we will host another night for foster families to drop off their children in order for them to have an evening of rest and rejuvenation.

Beautification Day at North Belmont Elementary

On October 22nd we will help beautify the exterior of the school by clearing weeds, mulching and trimming trees.

Angel Tree

In November we will have our angel tree up to provide gifts to those in need. We partner with North Belmont Elementary, Belmont Community Organization and Today’s Daily Bread for angels.

New Community Group Leaders

We have commissioned four couples as Community Group Leaders and launched four new groups in 2022. Most recently, on August 28, we had the honor of commissioning Jim & Rebecca Ellis. They will be leading a group in the Gardner Park neighborhood in Gastonia on Thursday evenings at 6:30pm.

Getting Plugged In

As our church continues to grow, we are excited for everyone who calls Exodus home to find their place to belong in one of our Community Groups. If you need help finding a group, fill out the form here and we will reach out to you.