Light in Our City
The Vine Church Annual Report 2022
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firm to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.”
Philippians 2:14-16
Andrew Gardener
Senior Pastor
Living out the Christian faith is not for the faint of heart. It requires sacrifice, passion, courage, learning, and commitment. In Jesus’ time, many of his own disciples struggled with the costs associated with embracing a true commitment to the Kingdom of God. But history has shown us just what can happen when a group of broken and humble people gives their lives over to a relationship with Jesus. People are transformed, love is reclaimed, justice begins to flow, and society itself is able to flourish in the way that God has always intended.
It is this audacious belief that our relationship with Jesus can transform our city of Hong Kong that has driven all that we have done in 2022 here at the Vine. We began the year by boldly extending Paul’s invitation to the church in Philippi to ‘hold firm/forth’ to the word of life. This has become the mandate of our discipleship this year – to embrace the two-fold prophetic call to be steadfast in our faith as we deepen our personal relationship with Jesus (‘hold firm’), while at the same time reaching out to the brokenness around us with the only message that can bring true life (‘hold forth’).
Across the year, we have focused our preaching and ministries to lean into what it means for us to build deep roots in our relationship with Jesus, and to find ourselves as non-anxious presences amidst the chaos of our world, in order that we might be a light in our city for many who are looking for hope. So, we rebirthed our Alpha focus, ran courses on reconciliation and leadership, launched new programs in the areas of justice and missions, and talked consistently about rebuilding relationships. And perhaps most notably, we announced our intention to plant a Vine church in Yuen Long in Easter 2023, marking our most intentional shift into our River vision to date.
But all of this is nothing without you. You are what makes the Vine a special community of faith, and your presence, participation, and passion make all the difference. Despite the ongoing challenges of Covid restrictions upon our city, our church community has consistently ‘held firm’ and ‘held forth’ the gospel this year. I want to personally thank all of you for being a part of our family. You are what church is all about.
Our Annual Report this year is intentionally shorter and more focused. We are presenting only a snapshot of the many things God has done amongst us. But my prayer is that this report will both encourage and inspire you as you continue your own personal commitment to being a light in our city of Hong Kong for Jesus.
May He receive the glory,
Andrew.
Churchwide
Covid Response
by Nathan de Lyster
With the start of 2022, our city experienced the full impact of Covid as cases exploded and upended our lives. Covid has in some ways been a great equaliser, as none of us has escaped its impact. In other ways, this pandemic has once again illustrated that it is the vulnerable in our community who pay the highest cost when a crisis hits.
As we witnessed the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the city’s most at-risk communities, our people joined together to care for those who desperately needed support. Being lights in the dark, our congregation reached out to low-income families whose positive tests meant that they were forced to isolate, and for many, unable to earn an income to provide for themselves and their families.
For a month, our congregation connected with more than 50 low-income families across Hong Kong to deliver groceries and much-needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). These were special moments where people reached out across differences, shared their needs, and cared for each other in a tangible way that demonstrated the love of our Saviour. That impact continues to be a blessing, with people still sharing how thankful they are for the support from The Vine.
This generosity also extended to providing resources for our Missions partners. Over two Sundays, financial gifts close to $90,000 were received to provide groceries vouchers and RAT kits to distribute to those in need across several communities.
It’s inspiring to see that even with a tumultuous start to 2022, we refused to only look inwards at our challenges but instead looked outwards to the hurts in our city and cared for those in need.
50+
Low-income Families
$90K
Financial Gifts
Alpha
by Jessica Evans
In April, we relaunched churchwide Alpha and hosted an online Alpha in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Across all three languages, over 150 guests registered to attend, and about 70 guests completed the eight-week-long Alpha. We know of around 25 guests who made a fresh or renewed commitment to Christ, while others are still on a faith exploration journey within our smaller communities.
Alpha has also been a tremendous discipleship and leadership development tool for existing congregation members: 56 people volunteered to serve as small group hosts or helpers and they are now trained to facilitate small group discussions and prayer ministry, including praying for others to receive Christ and praying for someone to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We hosted the Alpha Day in person and welcomed 63 guests, which includes Workplace Alpha groups from HSBC.
At least two new Community Groups (CGs) have been formed out of Alpha small groups, and many other guests have joined other CGs and communities like Tribe, Oneighty, as well as our Chinese Community.
Annabel, one of our guests who didn’t have a relationship with Christ before Alpha, said that “Through Alpha I learnt that there was more to life than what I had been living and that God has a purpose for everyone… including me.”
Another participant, a small group host, June, summarised the essence of the power of small groups, saying “Alpha is a great way to share the good news about Jesus. It’s never a one-off meeting to try to persuade people to belief in Him; rather, it’s just conversation to discover the beauty of Christ together.”
We began this year with an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship, and Alpha has been a helpful tool to help us work towards this vision. Its conversational tone and paced timeline allowed many to feel open enough to delve deeper into the realm of faith, asking questions and engaging with others about God. What a privilege it has been to see so many in our city begin the journey towards transformation, and to be a small part of that journey as a church body.
150
Guests Registered to Attend
70
Guests Completed 8-Weeks-Long Alpha
25
Fresh or Renewed Commitment in Christ
56
Small Group Volunteers
63
Guests Joined Alpha Day
“ Testimonies of our people growing in their faith and being a witness to others, remind us of God’s faithfulness and reveal the power of his transformative spirit.”
Testimonies
BERNICE KO’S BAPTISM
I was born and raised in a traditional Christian household, so church was something that just happened every week. In fact, it was more forced than chosen, as the church I grew up in has services that last a whole day, which means we had to turn down social events with friends just to make space for worship. When you’re a teenager who doesn’t want to feel excluded from your friend groups at school, church is just something that sucks the fun out of everything. That, compounded with an absence of a community, resulted in deep resentment against the church, which I left a few years later.
I say church because I never resented the religion. Church may have been a buzzkill, but God was still good. And when I was angry, bitter, hurt, and confused, He led me to the Vine. There I met one of the pastors, who pulled me back up when I was at my lowest and reminded me that a relationship with God should be my first priority. I kept those words in mind as I took on a more active role at The Vine to learn to live a life with Christ as the centre.
That was a year ago. Since then, I have been a part of a community group that makes me feel loved, accepted, and included. I have also started serving in the children’s ministry, where I was able to walk with children of upper primary age and build up our faith together. I am grateful for these opened doors that helped me rebuild a personal relationship with Him and enabled me to find peace and joy in His presence. I am willing to go wherever He leads. This is why I am stepping into the baptism waters. I am ready to follow Jesus forever.
3
Baptisms
45
People
SUNDAY CONGREGANTS’ ANSWERED PRAYER
by Anonymous
Bjorn is a teenager who started coming to Xtreme together with his friends last year. He comes from a non-church background and is just beginning his understanding of God’s love for him.
A few months after coming regularly to Xtreme on a Sunday, as well as mid-week Xtreme social activities, Bjorn learned that he developed a very rare form of leukaemia, that in addition to chemotherapy, would need a life-changing major surgery. The cost of this surgery and treatment was prohibitive. Thankfully the family raised enough money, with the support of some individuals in the church.
Bjorn went in for surgery on 4th July. Owing to its complexity, the surgery alone lasted more than 10 hours. He was then in intensive care for recovery before being moved to the children’s hospital, where he remained in isolation with his mother for 77 days. As soon as his body was strong enough, his debilitating chemotherapy sessions started up once again.
Bjorn is now back home, together with his family. The surgery proved successful, and Bjorn is a bit more mobile once again despite having to resume his chemo treatment. Xtreme continues to pray regularly for Bjorn, and friends individually send him encouraging notes from time to time. Leaders keep in touch with Bjorn and his family, offering help whenever there is an opportunity.
His story is an excellent example of the power of community in our church – even community for children. Through commitment and time spent together, listening to each other, engaging in fun activities, opening the Bible and praying together, relationships can be built that will provide a forum for support, encouragement, and love in times of difficulties. Here, we can be the “hands and feet” of Jesus in the lives of people who might not usually search for God on their own.
ONLINE EXPERIENCE
by Sandy C.
I want to express my gratitude for the Vine Church's effort in actively engaging its congregation members who are tuning in online. For the past few weeks, my eczema was so bad that I had to stay home and hence was not able to attend in-person worship services.
My eczema flare-up began to trouble me in early June. The condition worsened each week, and any doctors and methods that used to work no longer worked anymore. Feeling distressed and desperate, I joined the online prayer line after service on June 26th, hoping to receive blessing from the online community. Ps. Chapman warmly welcomed me and assigned Carmen to pray for me in the breakout room. Carmen prayed for me and shared how she had had similar experiences. She gave me a recommendation for her dermatologist contact. In retrospect, it felt like a divine appointment. I called the dermatologist the next day, and was able to arrange an appointment for the subsequent day as there happened to be a cancellation. (I have tried calling the dermatologists I have seen before, and they all come back with the earliest available appointment in at least three weeks' time.) Upon seeing the doctor, it was discovered that my condition was not just terrible eczema but erythroderma. This was much worse than I had thought. I am thankful to God, because from that point on I experienced a 180-degree turn for my skin. I thank the Lord for His healing and the Vine's online community support. God ministered to me through the Vine’s faithful virtual service. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! To Him be the glory.
Even though the worst of my skin episode has passed, my condition has not fully recovered yet; please continue to pray for me.
Sermon Series
by Andrew Gardener
In line with our heart to focus on deepening our roots into discipleship as well as reaching out to our city with the gospel, all of our pulpit teaching series in 2022 were designed to inspire personal commitment to both Jesus and the people who so desperately need to meet him.
When it came to ‘holding firm’ to the word of life (being steadfast in our faith), we taught about healing as we reopened our services following the 5th wave, we were challenged to consider how we should now live in our commitment to Jesus in the run up to summer, and we explored the power of being a non-anxious presence amidst the chaos of this world through the Psalm 23 series in September.
When it came to ‘holding forth’ the word of life (reaching out with the gospel), we encouraged you to dream again at the start of the year as we considered the future hope of Hong Kong, we taught through the book of Acts over Easter looking at the spread of the early church, and we were challenged to remedy the broken relationships around us as we drew towards Advent and the end of the year.
I want to take a personal moment to thank the many amazing preachers we have had in the pulpit across the year. We are committed to diversity of voices and teaching at the Vine, and I am grateful for the men and women who graced our pulpit and brought their heart and passion to us each Sunday.
May I encourage you to visit our YouTube page and catch up on any sermons or series you may have missed? I know you will be blessed!
It’s Time to Dream Again
How We Now Live
Vision Sunday -Part 1
Reopened
A Restful Presence
Vision Sunday -Part 2
The Unfinished Story
The Remedy for Relationships
Finance
by Damien Bos, Elder & Chair of Finance Committee
We praise God for His generous provision throughout another uncertain and Covid-challenged year. Despite the many unknowns, God has provided abundantly, and we have been able to increase our support to many of our valuable ministries and mission opportunities across Hong Kong.
I am pleased to let you know that we finished our financial year (October 2021 to September 2022) with a healthy surplus of around $11.1M, of which $6.6M is earmarked specifically for our Yuen Long Church Plant. This money will sustain the operating costs of the church plant for the whole first year, freeing the team to focus on and invest in growing the ministry and outreach in Yuen Long.
Indeed, we have seen an excellent outpouring of generosity towards the church plant, and we are thrilled to see how God is shaping this initiative and providing for it through the investment of our members’ finances and many valuable areas of service.
Our total church income for the financial year was $54.1M, which is slightly higher than last year and has held steady during these past years of Covid restrictions. This has allowed us to continue to have an open hand towards our many partners, providing $5M in outward tithes towards the needy in our city and beyond.
If The Vine is your home church and you have a predictable income, may we humbly ask you to partner with us in tithing via direct debit? This greatly helps us to plan for future expenses and manage cash flow. Our finance team (accounts@thevine.org.hk) can help you set up this simple form.
On behalf of the staff and Elders, we praise God for your kind generosity and investment into Kingdom work through The Vine Church this year. May we continue to partner with our Lord as He leads us into a new season of flourishing here in Hong Kong.
Income: $54.1M
Expenditure: $43.0M
Expenditure: $43.0M
Income: $54.1M
Earmarked for Church Plant: $6.6M
Outward Tithes: $5.0M
Surplus: $11.1M
Prayer
by Karla Roscoe
Father God,
With gladness and gratitude, we reflect on your steadfast faithfulness to us over this past year. In the chaos of uncertainty, and in the calm of renewed hope, we have known your constant presence. You stirred us to be a light in this city, to reach out to those in physical, emotional, and spiritual need, and in doing so, we pray we brought honour to your name.
As this year closes, we commit the year 2023 to you. May we continue to live out bold faith in our words and actions, and we ask for your blessing upon us and our city of Hong Kong.
In Jesus’ name
Amen