eagle brook church

EAG LE B RO O K CH U RCH
INDEX
MESSAGE FROM BOB
MESSAGE FROM Scott
EBC Kids Recap
Student MINISTRIES Recap
Serving Overview
READ YOUR BIBLE RECAP
Refuel '15 RECAP
Campus HIGHLIGHTS
Decisions / Baptism / Attendance
One by One Chapter 2 Update
​F inancials
MESSAGE FROM BOB
I RECEIVE EMAILS EVERY WEEK LIKE THIS ONE:
I was invited to EBC by a friend who attends every week.
I had been pushed and urged so many times to go to church, but I never went. I was holding a very
strong grudge against God for my mom’s death, among other things. I was so bitter toward the
thought of church, God, or even praying—I wanted nothing to do with it. But I finally gave EBC a try
one day about two years ago. I loved the music, but had so much hatred in my heart that I left not
feeling any different than when I went in. I went another few times but then stopped all together.
I have an alcoholic father whom I never see, an alcoholic brother whom I watched slowly kill
himself; I had post-partum depression, financial problems, and relationship and job issues. I felt like
I was just sinking. So I decided a few months ago to go to church every week. Another friend joined
me, and at first it was hit and miss.
Then the baptism weekend came, and we almost left right away. But the service began and we were
immediately drawn in. We no longer wanted to leave. It was the first day I felt the tears flow down
my face that I’d fought back for so long. Then we decided: “We need to do this.” The whole time
we were getting ready to get baptized we were shaking and crying. But we made it to the tub and
were baptized.
I’m a mommy of a 6-year-old and 2-year-old, and they love church. I seriously can’t begin to tell
you how EBC has changed my life, faith, actions, and lifestyle. I literally get butterflies when Sunday
morning comes. I am being transformed by Christ—it’s so amazing, I can’t even describe it!
Every week we get to read stories like this, of someone who was invited, refused to come, gets invited
again, refuses again or comes once and stops. But then something happens—a crisis, a loss, or a lingering
restlessness they can’t put their finger on, and they give church and God another try and they find new
life in Christ!
You and I have a rare chance to be a part of something that I never thought I’d see in my lifetime; I never
saw it coming and I don’t want to miss it. This past year, the number of people who began their new life
in Christ through our church was 2,572. That’s unheard of. That’s 2,572 people who found forgiveness,
healing and new life. And 2,133 were baptized in one year. Twenty-four years ago in 1991, we started with
one campus and 350 people. Today it’s six campuses with 19,929 people attending; this spring. 43,004
people came to our Easter services, and 835 of them began their new life in Christ.
Several weeks ago, I urged everyone to be an owner by inviting others—that’s what owners do, they invite
others to be a part of it. Usually it takes seven invitations before a person will come to a church. So I urged
you to not give up and to look for the Three Nots that people say in day–to–day conversations: not in
church; not connected; or not doing well. As soon as you hear one of those nots, use it as a cue to invite
that person to church the next weekend—not so we can get bigger, but so people like the woman in this
email can be forgiven, saved, and changed forever.
It never gets old for me, and I feel so blessed to be part of a church that God is using in ways I never
dreamed possible. Way to go, church!
More blessed than I deserve,
Bob Merritt
Senior Pastor
ATTENDERS
19,929
Today: six campuses throughout the Twin Cities
350
1991: one campus in
White Bear Lake
2,572
2,133
PEOPLE MADE
A FIRST-TIME
DECISION TO
FOLLOW JESUS.
PEOPLE
WERE
BAPTIZED.
MESSAGE
FROM
SCOTT
Last year ended with some harsh realities at Eagle Brook;
chief among them was that our financial plan did not
materialize as we had hoped. Our church still grew, saw
thousands come to Christ, and witnessed many get
baptized, but we spent more money than we took in, and
that’s something that we simply don’t do.
It was an eye-opener to realize that after so many
successful years in a financial model that worked
exceptionally well, we had to adopt a new model for our
financial future, one that would better serve us in the oftenunpredictable world of ministry.
It’s been a hard year for our staff and volunteers. We let 14
excellent people go—the result of a significant restructure
to right-size our staff to this new reality. Entire teams have
been re-shuffled with an emphasis on getting the work of
ministry done in a more effective way that will cost less.
We finish this year in a better place. Financially we have met
the challenges that had the potential to tank us. Not only
have we made up for the shortfall of last year, but we’ve
added that much again to our cash balance in the General
Fund. We are now operating at the staffing level we were in
two years ago, and it’s working!
We’re still growing, still reaching people, still baptizing
thousands, still willing, still available, still ready for what God
has in store for our future!
Scott Anderson
Executive Pastor
EMPOWERED
BY GOD
TO REACH
OTHERS
FOR CHRIST.
Train up a child
in the way he
should go,
and when he is
old, he will not
depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
EBC
KIDS
Several times throughout the year we invite kids to make a decision to
follow Jesus. We send them home with materials to help them continue
to grow in their faith, encourage them to tell someone about their faith,
and challenge them to keep coming back and learning more about being
a follower of Jesus.
1,560
KIDS MADE A
FIRST-TIME
DECISION TO
FOLLOW JESUS.
2014/ 2015
At EBC Kids, we have the privilege,
with God’s help, of reaching the
littlest attenders: kids! Our hope
and prayer is that kids will be
able to build a firm foundation of
their faith and become lifelong
followers of Christ. We train them
up by partnering with parents and
by creating a great experience for
them at church each weekend.
We have five wins in kids’
ministries: that kids will make a
decision to follow Jesus, that they
have fun and invite their friends,
that they feel known, that parents
engage in their kids' faith, and
that volunteers love serving. We
certainly have a lot to celebrate
from this year.
3,761
7,636
AVERAGE KIDS'
ATTENDANCE
EACH WEEKEND.
KIDS CHECKED OUT
EBC FOR THE VERY
FIRST TIME LAST YEAR.
19%
KIDS ARE 19% OF TOTAL
EBC ATTENDERS. IT'S
INCREDIBLE THAT KIDS
LOVE COMING TO
CHURCH THAT MUCH!
We talk to kids about inviting their
friends all year, but during the
Unfrozen series last December,
we focused clearly on challenging
kids and families to invite friends to
church. This series was complete with
a costumed-Olaf character, photo
ops for families to take pictures, and
other invite tools to help families be
creative about inviting others to EBC's
Christmas services.
LAST CHRISTMAS
6,055
KIDS ATTENDED ONE
OF OUR SERVICES.
In the Mission Possible series this past Easter, elementary kids collected cards that each
represented a portion of the gospel message. They were so excited about collecting these
cards. Kids were even bringing cards to school and other places to share the message of
Jesus with their friends. Who knows how many kids were affected by the hundreds of
others who took the challenge to go and make disciples?! Very cool.
2,790
VOLUNTEERS
HELPED OUR KIDS
FEEL KNOWN,
LOVED, AND
CARED FOR!
THAT’S THE
HIGHEST NUMBER
OF VOLUNTEERS
IN ANY MINISTRY
AT EBC.
EBC Kids volunteers are sold out to
the mission of reaching kids and are
pouring into the next generation.
They are the spiritual guides for our
kids, they teach them who God is and
how to grow in faith, and the model
how to love and care for others. We
certainly couldn’t have reached so
many kids for Christ last year without
the help of our volunteers. In fact, we
wouldn’t even be able to do ministry
each weekend without them! So, from
the bottom of our hearts:
thank
you !
EBC
STUDENTS
2014/ 2015
AVERAGE
WEEKLY
ATTENDANCE:
Everything we do in Student Ministries is so that
students will begin a relationship with Jesus or
learn how to grow in their relationship with him.
Throughout the year, students learn who they are
in Christ, strengthen friendships, discover new
ways to live out their faith, and make memories
to last a lifetime. We're so proud of our students,
and we're so excited about what God has done in
their lives this year!
LAST YEAR
GZ SUMMER
TAKEOVER:
FESTIVAL OF
FESTIVENESS
CHRISTMAS
PARTY:
FIRST-TIME DECISIONS
TO FOLLOW JESUS:
1,926
LAST YEAR THIS YEAR
THIS YEAR
419
REVOLUTION
STUDENTS WHO 240
ATTENDED
RETREATS:
LAST YEAR
THIS YEAR
3,256
1,800
LAST YEAR
613
GROUND ZERO
STUDENTS WHO 583
ATTENDED
RETREATS:
1,384
1,515
total attendance
112
BIG CITY ’15
(REVOLUTION
MISSION TRIP):
244
THIS YEAR
decisions to follow Jesus
111
200
LAST YEAR THIS YEAR
SERVING
OVERVIEW
We love what happens in people’s lives and the
impact they have when they serve others. We
celebrate people serving, whether it’s inside or
outside the walls of our church.
THIS YEAR, THE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE SERVING AT
EAGLE BROOK GREW BY TO
.
10% 6,977
We offered a new approach to help people match
their spiritual gifts to serving opportunities in Care
Ministries this year. We invited attenders with
the spiritual gifts of discernment, healing, mercy,
encouragement/exhortation, and/or pastoring/
shepherding to take part in a Care Ministries
connection event.
Participants were introduced to Care Ministries
and opportunities to use their unique gifts to serve
in Hopelink, DivorceCare, Prayer Team, Special
Needs, and Quest 180. Approximately 130 people
attended these events, with 78 expressing an
immediate interest to start serving.
B​EFORE THE
STRONGER
CHALLENGE
READ
YOUR
BIBLE
GROWTH IN
ENGAGEMENT
Last year, a Bible-reading program
was created that aligned with the
Stronger message series in January.
The plan included a daily Bible
passage and devotionals.
Our hope was that attenders, Biblereading wouldn’t end after 30 days,
but that it would be a catalyst for
them to continue to grow in their
faith beyond the series and for the
rest of their lives. We have been
amazed by what God has done.
1,453
SUBSCRIBERS
were signed up to receive daily email
alerts with Read Your Bible passages
and devotions.
10,514
PAGE VIEWS PER MONTH
An average of 12,400 views on the
EBC app, 3,716 total app visitors—
of which 960 were new visitors.
AFTER THE
STRONGER
CHALLENGE
2,240
SUBSCRIBERS
We currently have 2,240 subscribers to the daily
posts—a 54% increase over December.
30,000
PAGE VIEWS A MONTH
On average, the RYB page is viewed more than
30,000 times a month—a sustained increase
of 185%. Views of the RYB tab on the EBC app
increased by 60%.
REFUEL '15
Refuel ‘15 was created this year to inspire, encourage and appreciate small group leaders. More
than 425 leaders from all six campuses gathered at the Lino Lakes campus on May 16.
HERE ARE A FEW RESULTS FROM THE EVENT:
98% of leaders said they felt refueled after the event.
94% of leaders said they would definitely recommend Refuel to others.
99% said they were satisfied/very satisfied with their experience.
QUOTES FROM ATTENDERS:
“THERE WERE MORE
THAN 400 PEOPLE
SACRIFICING THEIR
SATURDAY MORNING
TO BECOME BETTER
LEADERS. THE
COMBINED ENERGY
WAS MORE THAN
ENOUGH TO REFILL
MY ENGINE.”
“I NOW UNDERSTAND
THAT WHAT I DO
MATTERS TO OTHERS
AND OUR CHURCH.”
“I LEARNED TO THINK
OF SMALL GROUPS
AS MORE THAN
A BIBLE STUDY—
THINK OF IT AS
TRANSFORMATION.”
“I KNOW THAT EBC
VALUES SMALL
GROUPS.”
“THE BREAKOUT
SESSIONS WERE
GREAT AND ON
TARGET AND
DIRECTLY RELATED
TO LEADING SMALL
GROUPS.”
“KEEPING
SPIRITUALLY FULL IS
AS IMPORTANT AS
LEADING OTHERS TO
BE SPIRITUALLY FULL.”
CAMPUS
HIGHLIGHTS
This past year campuses were empowered to
build relationships in their community and grow
their campus. Each campus held several events
throughout the ministry year. Connections were
made between attenders, long-time and new,
and the greater Eagle Brook community was
strengthened and deepened across campuses.
Here are a few highlights:
BLAINE
Blaine hosted a volunteer appreciation night
for 300 volunteers, complete with dinner and
improv entertainment from Comedy Sportz. It
was a great night for building community and
showering volunteers with love!
COON RAPIDS
Coon Rapids hosted a volunteer celebration
night, held in the style of The Tonight Show,
with one purpose: to thank the volunteers
who make church happen each week. More
than 200 volunteers attended and deepened
friendships with each other and staff.
LINO LAKES
The Lino Lakes campus staff prayed fervently
that God would break through and inspire
people toward a greater passion for Jesus
through Night of Worship on May 1. Nearly
2,000 people packed the auditorium that night
to worship and praise God.
SPRING LAKE PARK
The Spring Lake Park Concert Series featured
SLP worship team members Josh Dekker, Ryan
Paul, and Eric Gordon playing original music
after the 6 pm services in May. Each concert
over-filled building capacity. The series wrapped
up at the historic Varsity Theater in Minneapolis
with a combined show attended by nearly
300 people.
WHITE BEAR LAKE
White Bear Lake held several communitybuilding events this year. They hosted two
concerts, one with Kenny Bristol and another
with Elizabeth Hunnicutt, which had a
combined attendance of nearly 700 people.
This past spring, moms were celebrated at a
Mother’s Day event complete with ice cream
sandwiches, and for Father’s Day, a post-church
car show took place with root beer floats.
Nearly 1,000 people attended the spring events.
WOODBURY
In March, comedian Bob Stromberg brought
his popular comedy show to the Woodbury
campus where more than 1,400 people
attended. Attenders were challenged to bring
someone to the event who doesn’t go to
church, so they could have a pressure-free
introduction to Eagle Brook and an option for a
place to attend church on Easter.
DECISIONS
BAPTISM
ATTENDANCE
CHRISTMAS 2014
DECISIONS TO
FOLLOW JESUS
EASTER 2015
DECISIONS TO
FOLLOW JESUS
718
835
CHRISTMAS 2014
ATTENDANCE
EASTER 2015
ATTENDANCE
44,117
43,004
up 6% over last year
BAPTISMS
KIDS’ AND STUDENTS’
DECISIONS TO
FOLLOW JESUS
up 9% over last year
2,133
1,560 419
KIDS
STUDENTS
AVERAGE KIDS’
ATTENDANCE
AVERAGE STUDENTS’
ATTENDANCE
KID-O-DEO: 2,133
ELEVATE: 1,628
GROUND ZERO: 952
REVOLUTION: 563
3,761
1,515
AVERAGE WEEKEND
ATTENDANCE
across campuses
19,929
9% increase over last year
BLAINE
3,605
up 3%
SPRING LAKE
PARK
2,166
down 5%
COON RAPIDS
1,156
down 2%
WHITE BEAR
LAKE
2,945
down 6%
LINO LAKES
6,113
down 5%
WOODBURY
3,943
up 81%
New building opened Sept. 2014
ONE
BY
ONE
CHAPTER 2
UPDATE
In 2012, we launched
a 10-year vision to
reach new communities
together–one by one.
We're two years in and
embarked on Chapter
2 of this campaign in
2014. Here's a look at
where we stand today.
NEW WOODBURY LOCATION
In September 2014, we opened the permanent site for the
Woodbury Campus. It immediately became one of our highest
attended locations. This was the culmination of years of dreaming
and praying and was a true highlight in our church's history.
WOODBURY MORTGAGE
Being a debt-free church is an important part of this 10-year
vision. We believe that God requires us to steward our resources
well; this includes continuing to work toward a debt-free reality.
IMPROVE EXISTING SITES
We are committed to providing relevant and safe environments
at each Eagle Brook Church location. We continue to upgrade
spaces as required across campuses.
COON RAPIDS PERMANENT SITE
We continue to search for and prepare a permanent site for our
Coon Rapids family. Please pray for the Campus Expansion Team
as they look to follow God's leading.
EVERY NUMBER
HAS A NAME.
EVERY NAME HAS
A STORY.
EVERY STORY
MATTERS TO GOD.
FINANCIALS
GIVING
COMPARISON
TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS
$
27,798,333
+ 8%
GENERAL FUND
$
20,052,946
+ 11%
CAMPAIGN
$
7,745,387
+ 0.4%
51%
GIVING
METHOD
4%
25%
15%
5%
4% GIVING KIOSK + SMART GIVING
15% BILL PAY + CHARITABLE GIFT FUNDS
51% ONLINE GIVING
25% WEEKEND OFFERING
5% NON–CASH STOCK GIFTS
GIVING ONLINE
When you give online, more of each
donation goes toward reaching others
for Christ than any other giving method.
You can easily set up online giving at
eaglebrookchurch.com/give.
EXPENSE
COMPARISON
5%
12%
2%
13% Campus Expansion + Improvements
10% Debt Reduction
5% Facilities
12% Net to Cash
22%
13%
22% Ministry + Administration
2% Interest Expense
10%
2%
34% Personnel
2% Capital Investments
13%
34%
EBCANNUALREPORT.COM