2020 annual report

Loving god. making disciples. changing the world.

LETTER TO OUR COMMUNITY

Radical Unity for Radical Discipleship

Wow. 2020. Just saying that means so much more now.

 

We themed our 2019 Greenhouse Leadership Conference, “Pivot.” We felt like a pivot was coming for our Church; we just had no idea what Pivot would mean in 2020. This report holds small expressions of the efforts our church family made to help ordinary people become passionate followers of Jesus in 2020 – a year of massive pivoting in every way. 

 

We pray this report sheds lights on a year that was super challenging for marriages, business people, educators, disciple-makers, and everyone else. It was not the year of “unprecedented harvest” for which we had believed and hoped, but it was a year of pivoting that brought about life change in our city, state, and the nations. Though it was a different pivot than we expected, it was a pivot that helped us hone in and center on our first love; Jesus, and our mission under his call to make disciples.

 

Thank you for continuing to partner with us in this adventure. Jesus is worthy.

Mike Patz | Lead Pastor

GREENHOUSE MISSIONS

Your radical giving has changed lives and brought freedom to thousands of people in our city and world.

These pages are not just for accountability, but they are a celebration of how mission dollars and efforts were faithfully stewarded the past year.

2.5 million
given to missions in 2020
an average of $6,849 was given to missions,
church planting, and the poor every day in 2020
In 2020, local gang violence was pushed back, displaced refugees were helped, justice was enacted, prisoners were restored, missionaries were sent, vulnerable children and widows were cared for, and churches were planted in some of the darkest corners of the world. Together, we responded to the life-altering challenges of Covid-19 by supporting educators, frontline workers, and healthcare professionals in our community and around the world.
 
Thank you for your joyful and radical generosity!
 
Through the power of Jesus and the generosity of our church body, statistics are changing and lives are being transformed. May we continue to joyfully give and reorient everything to make disciples near, far, and to the ends of the earth.
Andrea Levings | Missions Director
FINANCIAL REPORT

2020 was a unique financial year within Greenhouse Church. As a leadership team, we PIVOTED in March to significantly cut operational spending, but maintained our staff and missions commitments. This report will represent our faith family’s priority to put God first with their finances and the priority of Greenhouse Leadership to be good stewards. Thank you for your generosity!

We are so thankful for the Greenhouse HUB! The HUB truly facilitates the vision of helping ordinary people become passionate followers of Jesus Christ. It is still amazing to see the fruition of a vision from more than 10 years ago come to pass. Praise God!

Through the generosity of our members, we were able to pay far above the minimum payment in 2020 to expedite the Hub Loan Reduction. In 2020 we were also able to refinance the Loan on the Hub from an Annual Interest Rate to 4.49% to 3.65%. A significant savings for the years to come as we pay off the loan.

Remember, every $1 given to Hub Loan Reduction in 2021 is worth $2 in the life of the loan because of interest saved. Thank you for your generosity!

Partnering with families to help ordinary kids become passionate followers of Jesus Christ.

KIDS DISCIPLESHIP PIVOT

In 2020, we faced some great challenges, but we innovated like never before. We began building our own children’s ministry curriculum with discipleship at its core. This curriculum is based on what Greenhouse is learning as a whole; we base our teaching on the same scriptures being preached in the adult service. As children and parents learn the same topics, conversations that allow for moments of discipleship arise more frequently. God’s heart is for His church to be united; we believe this curriculum is a vital component that will contribute toward that unity.
 

KIDS ONLINE PIVOT

While our curriculum came together, we needed to get its content to a socially distanced world. So, we launched Greenhouse Kids Online! We made videos of our children’s services and offered them on Sunday mornings as an option for families who joined us from home. We have had great engagement with these and will continue producing them in 2021. To supplement our teaching, our team also designed a weekly activity packet with content and verses that are relevant to the weekly sermon. We also created daily devotionals that contain activities, lessons, and discussion questions based on the weekly teaching.
 
kids can be disciples
and this year, we believe we will see a harvest like never before!
Samara Godshalk | Kids Director
youth

2020 started out strong for Greenhouse Youth. We began the year with Missions Month and our students came together to raise over $1,300 for Speed the Light. We were just a couple of days away from our High School Retreat when it seemed the world shut down due to the pandemic. What we expected to be a two-week break became 5 months. Last year wasn’t what anyone expected, but it may have been exactly what we needed. It caused us to stop and really ask the question: why do we exist and what should we be doing? And the answer is still the same.

Our vision never died, but this year necessitated a change in the way we pull off that vision. We knew we needed connection. And although we were extremely grateful for the way technology allowed us to do this—it wasn’t enough. We needed presence — the community aspect of living green. So we created a structure that allowed us to be together safely.

green crews

Our leaders are the vehicle through which we’ve seen this vision come to life- we absolutely could not pull this off without these 27 phenomenal disciples who have chosen to love teenagers into the love of Jesus. We have 10 Green Crews (small groups) meeting three times a month- these groups are Greenhouse Youth’s expression of Microchurches. The goal is to create green disciples by going deeper into worship, mission, and community with a small group of students. We currently have over 100 students consistently participating in Green Crews, and we are both grateful and excited to see the fruit!
 

RALLY NIGHT

Once a month we all come together for a night to Rally. The goal is to create an environment that is open and safe, not just physically, but intellectually and culturally. An environment saturated with love for any student who walks through our doors while not shying away from the call to bring the true, good news of Jesus. On Rally Nights we aim to reach the non-believing teenagers in our city and make hungry those who already know Him! We come together to bring God’s light (Matthew 5:16). At this time we’re thrilled to have around 125 students at our Rally Nights.
 

kairos

We safely hosted a Kairos retreat weekend where 100 students and leaders gathered to gain deeper relationships with God and each other. We saw students connect with God again, or even be introduced to Him for the first time. We st restore relationships, and experience freedom! We also had a lot of fun and got to laugh together, something we’d missed in a difficult few months apart. In addition to a wonderful Kairos, we’ve seen students baptized and 12 students join our Student Leader Pipeline to learn to make disciples this year.
 

Though they’re more known for their cons than pros—we believe in this generation and want to bring out everything they have to offer. The students of Gen Z are more than just “screenagers,” or any box we foolishly put them in. The Barna Group says this is the most diverse generation ever and they are so full of ambition. So we fight for this generation that’s full of potential and hope and capacity to know God.

they are the future
Brooke Bauzon | Youth Director

Going into 2020, the vision and the hope in Christ did not change, but instead, we pivoted toward an untrodden path where we would encounter greater faith and a new group of students hungry for more than what the season offered.

For five solid years, the Sunday night College service has been lovingly referred to as the “UA” for our location at UF, the University Auditorium. Hosting the 7:30 PM service has always been the heartbeat of our presence on campus and an emblem of “Green Living” amongst college students. However, because of COVID-19, we were forced to halt service in March as the CDC, Greenhouse, and the University of Florida awaited clarity on how to be “safe” in this new climate.
 
By August 2020, the vision and the new direction of our college ministry became clear. With less access to campus, but with greater commitment from and to our college-aged disciples, our desire to press into the vision spread like wildfire.
 
For the first time ever, the Greenhouse Church Hub hosted the 7:30 PM service and witnessed students get activated. We trained more than 50 volunteers on safety protocols, hospitality, and serving on Sunday nights. We baptized nearly 40 students during the fall semester. We hosted 5 post-service events to encourage fellowship amongst students. We launched 6 brand new College microchurches where discipleship has flourished in smaller groups. And to remain engaged on UF campus during a time of social and physical distancing, for the first time ever, we created the official “Greenhouse College Ministry” student organization. The GCM team consists of 3 committed student leaders and a multitude of highly dedicated student volunteers.
As COVID-19 continues to fluctuate and the safety guidelines change, the Greenhouse College team is committed to multiplying worship, mission, and community into the lives of the college students hungry for Christ. We will continue to go after students by creating opportunities to grow in relationship with the Lord and one another.
 

As a leadership team, we are committed to what is NEXT. While our landscape has changed, our vision and call to help the ordinary people has not. We have a massive shot to reach our Campuses. We have an incredible opportunity to mobilize students towards the Nations.

would you pray with us?
Pastor Mike Lane & Aldreka Everett
MICROCHURCHES

Our microchurch leaders were flexible, adaptable, and Spirit-led during an uncertain and trying year. Our faithful leaders proved that they are all-in with their commitment to make and be disciples, regardless of the obstacles!

2020 caused us to press deeper into our vision for Green Community, leading us to produce radically creative solutions to continue meeting together.

new microchurches start in gainesville
mc total at end of 2020 in gainesville
leadership pipeline grads
people signed up for summer strides
classes offered at summer strides

Even in the midst of a global pandemic, we were able to launch 47 new microchurches and ensure that discipleship remained a focal point of their ministries. We saw new members joining from all over the world as innovative leaders gathered their microchurches online. We even saw baptisms happen in bathtubs, in home pools, and over Zoom! People who would have never stepped foot in a typical microchurch setting were integrated into green communities online. Disciples were raised up, virtually and in person, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. The fluidity of microchurches and the steadfastness of our leaders ensured that discipleship pressed on!

Pastor Matt Ulrich
“Microchurch has been and continues to be a tremendous blessing in my life. My faith has been stretched, my connection with the Lord has been deepened, and I get to commune with an incredible group of people who have a heart for Jesus. I am so grateful because my walk with Christ would not be where it is today had it not been for my MC community!”
JERRI DANSO | MC MEMBER

So many Christians are stuck. They want to grow in their faith but don’t have a plan or the discipline to do it. We created these training programs to give them the structure and accountability they need to become mature disciples.

Train yourself for godliness

After launching the School of Ministry in the Fall of 2019, we graduated our inaugural class of over 40 students in Spring 2020. We couldn’t say enough about the quality of these graduates. After being deeply tested by early pandemic lockdowns, they finished well (on zoom!) and made us extremely proud.

As the lockdowns continued and our ability to gather was uncertain, God gave us the final push we needed to provide a training format that can be accessed by any person, with any schedule, from anywhere in the world. By God’s grace, we pre-recorded the teachings, created an online platform, and officially launched the GSM hybrid program in the Fall. 70 students from 4 countries, 3 U.S. states, and multiple Florida cities are currently committed to 8 hours of training a week to become better disciples and disciple-makers.

 
new students enrolled
countries
u.s. states
70
4
3
81
completed program
in person in january
123
completed program
digitally in june

god seeking intensive

Our God Seeking Intensive is a 4-week program that helps participants develop a thriving prayer life. A group of 81 completed the program in person in January, and a digital group of 123 sought God from their homes in June.

our dream

Our dream is that God would use these programs to produce fruit that remains. That passion for God would multiply, individuals would be revolutionized, families would be transformed, marriages would be strengthened, evangelists would be sent, justice would be worked, sin would lose its luster, and that Jesus would be increasingly glorified amongst His people. We’re dreaming of transformation that will last long after students graduate and that, should Jesus delay, the ripple effects of our efforts would be felt around the world for generations to come.

Play Video
Here’s a lesson from Pastor Mike’s “Morph” course in the Greenhouse School of Ministry.
TESTIMONIALS
“In the beginning, I pondered every day, wondering if I made the right decision. Halfway into GSM, I realized that this was the best decision I could have made for me, my future, and my generations to come. What I have gained, did not only bless me, but it blessed those around me… strangers, friends, and family.”
BYLLINGSTON | CLASS OF 2020
“I finally know who I really am in Christ and who He is in me! I have gained healing from things hidden way deep inside, confidence in my spiritual inheritance, a genuine desire to love others to Christ, and an even greater desire to know my Father God more.”

SUSAN | CLASS OF 2020
PRAYER

Prayer is how we actively practice believing. With transparency and conviction, we believe that God has us in His hands. Prayer is never the last resort of God’s people. It is our first point of action. It’s where we “let petitions and praises shape our worries into prayers, letting God know our concerns” (Phil. 4:6–7). And in 2020, during this time of increased challenge and crisis, Greenhouse Church had over 20,000 hours of organized prayer and 204 people that participated in and completed the God Seeking Intensive both in person as well as online.

Our desire for 2021 is that God’s people would increase prayer, in the unity of intercession, going into the presence of God and asking for “heaven on earth”. There is nothing the enemy fears more than broken-hearted saints, interceding in the presence of the Father, as one. Praying for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven!

hours of prayer
204
20,230
participated in
god seeking intensive
NEIGHBORHOOD
AND COMMUNITY
HOW WE HELPED OUR COMMUNITIES

We distributed over 300 meals to communities and families at the start of the pandemic, to help those in need adjust to the “new normal.” We partnered with schools, local food drives, and held in-house holiday meal initiatives. These efforts met needs but served as a reminder that we will remember and prioritize the vulnerable.

We also have an initiative at Carver Gardens where we host a Greenhouse based after-school tutoring program for 1st-6th graders. The program focuses on reading, math and homework help. Takes place once a week. Additionally, we host a kids church program-organic children’s ministry with Bible stories, worship and activities. Finally, we partnership with community leaders for events, community efforts, and leadership initiatives. Ex: Backpack Drive, Fall Festival, Christmas Party, etc.
We also partner with organizations such as Aces in Motion, Alachua Academy, Kids Count, Grace Marketplace, SOCK Outreach, and Gainesville Police Department HEROES Summer Program.

HOW WE HELPED students

Our school partnership programs like everything else in 2020 had to pivot. With volunteers not able to be on school campuses, mentoring and tutoring programs had to find new ways to connect with students. The programs included pen-pal communication and relationship building conducted remotely through Zoom. With the 2020-2021 school year launching, we received the most support we have ever had for setting up K-12 students with supplies in our Back-to-School drive.

HOW WE HELPED teachers

We provided lunches to 786 teachers and faculty at 9 schools in our area as a token of our appreciation for their hard work and dedication to the next generation.

seniors

We were able to bless 230 seniors with Christmas gifts at Parklands Nursing Home & Windsor Assisted Living. We also provided Elder Options with the funding to cover the essential needs (food, housing, medications, etc) of ten seniors in our community. Finally, we were able to partner with Meals on Wheels to provide food for local seniors, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

FOSTER AND ADOPTION CARE

In 2020, we launched our Foster Care & Adoption Care Ministry, also known as FAM. Our mission is to provide wrap around support to every family who fosters vulnerable children in our community and to equip our church members to be mobilized in finding their God-given way to support each family in their journey. During the pandemic, we provided care to over 20 families who fostered and adopted children. We also virtually hosted Empower to Connect, a conference designed to give hope and practical tools for families serving on the frontlines of foster care and adoption. In 2021, we look forward to expanding our support to new families in our church and seeing many respond to the call to serve and love the most vulnerable children in our communities.

GREENHOUSE MOVEMENT
Our Movement Team came together to strategize House Churches that began meeting in homes during quarantine; we have thriving House Churches in Newberry, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. House Churches are groups of disciples, meeting in homes, living in the green as they seek God together. They live on mission and enjoy authentic community together. We even had a socially-distanced Leadership Retreat this year for the various leaders within the Movement to come together for a time of refreshing and restoration. It helped them rest and be equipped to continue in their call to make disciples. The goal of our Greenhouse Movement is to plant—not just churches, but disciples—all throughout the state of Florida. Here’s how some of that happened this year!
 
SOUTH FLORIDA
The Lord also continued to show Himself faithful with our South Florida family this year. As the pandemic prompted lockdowns in March, Pastor Jon quickly pivoted from having a very limited online church experience to moving the entire church online in about 10 days. It was a sprint, but amazing things have happened. A grassroots microchurch movement launched in Guyana—an entire microchurch ecosystem, moved online via Zoom, to love, care for, and encourage one another. Another local church, opening its doors towards the end of the year, gave us a space to meet in person. We watched as our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors explored the idea of investigating faith and spirituality like never before as they accepted invites to visit an online church. We can truly say that He has never left us nor forsaken us, and we know that the best is yet to come for Greenhouse South Florida!
 
ORLANDO
When the pandemic began, our Orlando campus was immediately unable to continue gathering at Gotha Middle School. We had to shift to an online service each Sunday and our MCs shifted online as well. Yet after going fully online, there was a 30% increase in both Sundays and MCs! Even with restrictions, people came to know Jesus and got baptized. The most exciting outcome of 2020 in Orlando was a new direction for our faith family from God—shifting to the House Church Movement with a focus on equipping disciples to be missionaries to their communities.
 
TAMPA
One of the most exciting and unexpected spots of growth in 2020, was in Tampa. Christine and Kelly Sepulveda, from our South Florida team, moved to Tampa and launched a House Church gathering. It has grown immensely, bringing in nearly 40 disciples from the greater Tampa area who gather together every week. We thank God for this exciting chapter in our church’s story and continue to ask Him for His will and glory in every moment for our Tampa. Greenhouse Orlando also adopted the House Church strategy, moving from a small Sunday gathering to four consistent House Churches. We are working on expanding our House Churches in Jacksonville as well, and we expectantly waiting to see how God moves in these cities.
 
CHURCH ONLINE

Church Online saw massive growth this year as many people moved their lives online. Our incredible production and technical staff stepped in to move our entire church to the online world in just days when we first found out about the pandemic. We even experienced our very first Easter online as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with 5,000 in virtual attendance! Even after returning in person, we are seeing wonderful engagement online as people chat to interact with the church community on our website, YouTube, and Facebook live services.

top countries
USA
COLOMBIA
PUERTO RICO
THAILAND
CANADA
PAKISTAN
2,580
AVERAGE SUNDAY
VIEWER
top states
FLORIDA
CALIFORNIA
TEXAS
NEW YORK
ILLINOIS
GEORGIA
NORTH CAROLINA
GREENHOUSE
LEADERSHIP RETREAT

Another exciting pivot from 2020 to 2021 was moving our annual Leadership conference to a Leadership Retreat in September, where 140 leaders from our various ministries came together in Gainesville for a time of uniting, refreshing, and restoration after a difficult 6 months. We focused on wholeness and being empowered to make disciples even with the new challenges we all faced.

APR 16-17
SEPT 17-18
NOV 12-13
2021 BREAKTHROUGH WEEKENDS
101
PARTICIPANTS
88
servers
16
baptisms

A major change in 2020 was not having our 4 annual Breakthrough retreats. Our Breakthrough in February was the only one we were able to have before the pandemic struck. We saw beautiful stories of redemption and salvations in the participants. With all we’ve learned about hosting events with health safety in mind, we are looking forward to upcoming Breakthrough weekends in 2021. These retreats will shift a bit to accommodate the new health considerations- Breakthrough Weekends will still begin Friday night with participants staying in their homes, coming back for Saturday, then ending the retreat on Saturday night. We are expectant for all God will do these weekends!

As we continue on in 2021, we prayfully plan to expand our house churches throughout florida with a goal of 25 by the end of the year

Other goals include the continued development of our Greenhouse family in Tampa and Jacksonville, as we feel the Lord has called us to replicate the DNA of “living in the Green” in these cities. Our heart as a Movement is to resource churches with coaching, systems, and Green DNA—best equipping believers to be disciples and disciple-makers.

Thank you, Church, for supporting and praying for this call to which the Lord has led us.

looking ahead

RADICAL UNITY FOR RADICAL DISCIPLESHIP

2021 will be the year in which we seek radical unity for radical discipleship.

In the most polarized moment of our generation, we will be a united Church. And in this unity, we will create a revolutionary culture of discipleship that anyone can be a part of. 2021 will be the year that:

WE WILL PRESS INTO DISCOMFORT AS WE
PURSUE UNITY FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL
WE WILL LISTEN INTENTIONALLY SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND RATHER THAN TO REPLY, BECAUSE THAT IS GOD’S WILL
We will acknowledge our biases, confronting them with education for the sake of reconciliation
We will recognize our privilege, using it for justice as outlined in scripture
And we will remember that we must first be unified with Christ before we can be unified with each other