We’ve had an incredible year at His Hands, thanks in part to your generosity and faithfulness. God has blessed us in so many ways…lives have been changed, our community (and beyond) has been deeply impacted, and there is more to come! Take a look at some of the amazing things that your generosity has contributed to.
As you may know, we set aside 10% of our giving each month to be given away. We do this in a variety of ways…sponsoring local ministries and charities each month, giving to specific needs we become aware of, etc. So far this year, we’ve given away over $150,000 to individual needs and to organizations like The Hope Center, the Cherokee Family Violence Center, Serving God’s Children, Never Alone Food Pantry, Siren’s Project, Encompass Ministries, OneNeed, etc. Combined with the money we raised via Canvas (see more below) and the funds we’ve raised alongside OneNeed to help local people in need, we’ve given away over $220,000 so far this year! Thank you so much for making this possible.
Canvas 2024
Canvas 2024 was truly special. We raised right at $50,000 for Gracie Jones, a wonderful 5-year-old girl in our church battling brain cancer. More than 800 people bought tickets and we packed out the Big Room. The love and support was overwhelming. Canvas has now raised over $300,000 since it started 10 years ago. Your generosity allows us to provide all the paint, canvases, food, and supplies for this event (which costs several thousand dollars each year) so that every single penny donated to Canvas goes to the family in need.
New Ministry Partner – Serving God’s Children
Earlier this year, we helped launch a brand-new non-profit organization called Serving God’s Children. Started by Jenn and Erik Broel, this organization takes what we’re able to do in Guatemala to a whole new level. Jenn and Erik have been part of His Hands for over a decade. Jenn grew up in Guatemala and has always desired to do something big for her home country. His Hands started working in Guatemala over 6 years ago and Jenn has been part of every trip we’ve ever taken. Now, through Serving God’s Children, we’re able to provide more funds and a more direct relationship with our partners in Guatemala than ever before. Every month, we donate funds to Serving God’s Children…and that’s on top of the funds given directly by those who sponsor through Serving God’s Children. So far this year, over $20,000 has been given to our partners in Guatemala through the direct sponsorships of our people here at His Hands.
Check out our highlight video from the most recent mission trip we took this year. Click HERE to become a sponsor with Serving God’s Children.
New Ministry Partner – His Branches
We actually added ANOTHER official ministry partner this year called His Branches! This ministry was started by Fred Goodwin and many other His Hands people. They are focused completely on ministry in India, a country that is officially designated as “hostile” to Christianity. His Branches fully supports an orphanage, a pastor training center, and a working skills training center that allows people to get the training they need to provide for their families. On top of that, they have 5 fully-functional wells in communities that did not have access to clean water. We are now providing financial support to His Branches every month. We couldn’t do that without you!
Siren’s Project
His Hands has been a big part of the growth of Siren’s Project for many years. Warren Causey, who started and leads Siren’s, has been part of His Hands since he was in high school. When severe weather devastates a community, Siren’s shows up to clear debris, remove hazardous trees (due to damage from the storms), and help people begin to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of a catastrophe. A few years ago, His Hands was able to help Siren’s purchase a skid-steer, which allows them to clear debris much faster. This year, we were able to donate the funds to purchase a 50-ft tall towable lift that will allow them to get to trees and hanging branches that were previously out of reach. Now they are more effective than ever.
Never Alone Food Distribution
We’ll end this update with something fun and ongoing! Together, with Never Alone, we helped feed families in need by doing monthly food drives last year and this year. In 2023 we fed over 1,000 families! At our last food distribution (in Mid-August), we 45 volunteers here on a Saturday morning helping to give food to people struggling to feed their families. Our monthly support of Never Alone helps them continue to keep struggling families going. Your generosity helps make all of this possible.
Baptisms so far in 2024
We’ve seen so many people (young and old alike) get baptized this year. A few months ago, we filled up the light fixture in the lobby and started over, meaning we’ve seen over 300 people baptized since the last time we refreshed it a few years ago! At this point, over 2,100 people have gone all in with Jesus at His Hands.
Youth – One Weekend and Rec Camp
We’ve watched our student ministry grow by leaps and bounds in the last few years. One Weekend is an event that we have hosted/led alongside other churches for two years now. Youth groups from over 10 local churches come together to worship, learn, and serve together. It’s an amazing display of the unity that exists in our community between many incredible churches. God has given us the ability to be the host site for this amazing new ministry, and we’re grateful to see the results.
Our high school students also participated in an incredible Youth Camp in Tennessee. We had several students get baptized immediately after camp…so many kids were impacted in a big way by this trip. Many of our students needed financial assistance in order to go and your donations allowed us to cover the costs of every student who needed help!
New Kids Area – The Greenhouse
We were able to build out an entirely new Sunday morning kids’ space called The Greenhouse. This area focuses completely on 5-year-olds and kindergartners. It’s an incredibly special space that will allow us to provide focused teaching and ministry to that age group every Sunday. It also creates more room in our other kids’ areas, allowing all of our kids’ ministries to have some breathing room as we grow.
Repair & Maintenance – New A/C Unit
This isn’t super fun or exciting, but it’s important. We had to replace the largest AC unit on our roof this year. It was almost 30 years old and it finally bit the dust. These are VERY expensive, but we were able to use funds set aside from our building even rentals (birthday parties, graduations, etc.). Because you faithfully give, we’re able to set those funds aside for big emergencies like this.
There really aren’t enough ways to say THANK YOU! God has been so good to us this year. We’ve seen so many lives changed…and people are growing closer to God and one another through Sundays, our groups and classes, teams, etc. Your faithfulness provides so much for so many, both inside and outside our church family. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Love you all,
Justin and the entire His Hands Team
