Dear Clear Creek Community Church Family,
Each year, our communications team puts together an annual report that’s intended to stir our gratitude toward God as we remember the last year together. I hope you will take a few minutes to read and watch the stories included in the report which are intended to put skin on the numbers. I like to say, “Religious people have rules to follow, but missionaries have stories to tell.”
I want to point out a few big happenings in the last year to stir our gratitude.
As we celebrated 30 years as a church on October 31, 2023, we embraced a fresh vision to become A People of Hope. This vision seems to resonate with people because our cultural moment is marked by such hopelessness. But God gives hope to and through his people, even in challenging times. A People of Hope is a five-year vision that calls for:
A million casts of hope to others
A thousand people on foreign soil
A hundred percent commitment from each of us
Ten new churches/campuses
And one heart that each of us surrenders to Jesus!
As we commit to living out A People of Hope, we will have more and more stories to tell.
More people were baptized in the last year at CCCC than ever before, with 284 people being baptized on Easter Sunday 2024. I can’t help but think that God answered the prayers we prayed during the 40 days of Prayer and Fasting together in 2023. Let’s give thanks for all of those who came to faith in Jesus and were baptized, and let’s continue to pray for and share God’s good news with our Top 5!
We took important steps to grow in our faith last year too. We rolled out the Fully Devoted Practices in the spring, and we started reading through the New Testament together. I anticipate more stories to come as we learn to live out the Fully Devoted Practices!
Worship always includes remembering the goodness, kindness, and faithfulness of God. He is good and he has done great things among us. As you read the report, please join me in giving thanks to God.
I give thanks for you.
Grace and peace,
View all 284 Easter baptisms in the video below
I lived completely for the flesh. My prayer life consisted of treating God like a cosmic vending machine. I entered a treatment center for the second time. I prayed and asked for relief from my addictions. I think this started the process of me finding Christ.
I started reading bits and pieces of the Bible and searching for truth. Over the last two years, I began to have convictions over my sin and realized that I couldn’t follow God and justify my sin anymore. These convictions led me to change how I viewed my sin and to admit my failings. I saw how easily I fell to temptation and how I needed a savior.
I had heard the story of Jesus but never really grasped who He was or what He did for me. I started hearing people intelligently defending Christianity and learning who Jesus is, and this did something to me. Throughout this process, I began to have the desire to follow Jesus, and seeing people in recovery who were Christians inspired me to start learning.
After some thought, I wanted to devote myself completely to Jesus and claim him as my savior. Since I’ve chosen to follow Jesus, I’ve come to see how truly flawed I am, and it makes me greatly appreciate the sacrifice that was made. I’m Ryan Petty, and Jesus is my Lord and Savior.
We are sent as missionaries to cast hope to our family, neighborhood, workplace, schools, and every other sphere of life. In other words, we’re given a mission to reach the people around us, wherever we are. A cast is the same as the ways we B.L.E.S.S. our Top 5 and other people in our lives (Be Prayerful, Listen, Eat, Serve, Story). Imagine if we make this a way of life!
Gary Vander Wiele, a husband and father of five, had spent over a decade shaping young minds as a high school English teacher. But deep down, he felt a pull toward something more—something that would allow him to connect with his community on a more personal level. This inner calling led him to the idea of running a small local business, a venture that would bring him into daily contact with people in his area.
Leaving behind his steady teaching career, Gary and his wife, Sarah, took a leap of faith. With Gary’s family now relying on a single income, the journey ahead was fraught with uncertainty. Yet, the Vander Wiele’s were bolstered by a strong sense of purpose and faith, believing that their path was divinely guided. This step marked the beginning of a new chapter in their story, one filled with hope and brimming with potential for God to work in new ways in Gary’s life.
Currently we have five strategic global partners
Global Missions Update
Over the last year, we’ve continued to work hard establishing a strong foundation with our global partners.
In Mozambique we have identified partners and are working towards setting up a church planting program.
We have seen God doing some exciting things in Honduras as we are working with the first Acts 29 church planter in that country.
We’re hopeful about the work in the Iberian Peninsula as we’ve seen church planters we were engaged with in Seville, Spain be positioned to be sent out at the conclusion of the residency later this year.
Additionally, we have started sending teams to Portugal to work with our partners there.
It’s been encouraging to see the growth and multiplication of church planting with our partners in Brazil. We were able to visit the church that we planted with Compassion International and see the great work that is happening there.
And with the continued political and economic challenges of communist Cuba, our partners there continue to be committed to the planting of churches across the island.
We are grateful for your generosity and your continued desire to go on foreign soil in the name of Jesus. But let’s not stop there! Let’s continue to pray, to give generously, and let’s continue to go.
Check out Lindsay Morris’ story about her recent trip to Lisbon.
Thank you to many of you who have already expressed interest in going on foreign soil! More opportunities to go are coming soon. If you haven’t already, please fill out the interest form so we can keep you updated on trips.
We’re boldly calling people to love, serve, and connect with others the same way Jesus did. So our vision is 100 percent engagement. It’s to be completely surrendered to Jesus as Lord of your life and completely committed to his mission. We talk about engagement with four words: serve, group, go, and give.
Check out Amanda Mendez’s story of how serving in Creek Kids ultimately led her to make the decision to be baptized and publicly declare her faith in Jesus.
God has given us each different gifts to build up the Church. Look through the serving opportunities by clicking below.
Check out how God used small group to bring transformation in Michael Jeffrey’s life.
Let us know you’re interested in group below.
We love our community because he first loved us! If you’d like to serve with one of our local partners, check out the list below.
As a people of hope, we seek to become more generous in all aspects of life because God has given to us so generously. Check out Krissy Jones’s generosity story.
Summary For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2024
| Fund | Donations | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| General Fund | $11,258,071 | $8,756,759 |
| Building Fund * | $110,598 | $879,201 |
| Camps Fund ** | $255,049 | $204,660 |
| Church Planting and Missions Fund *** | $646,014 | $582,759 |
| People in Need Fund | $641,764 | $722,368 |
| TOTAL | $12,911,496 | $11,145,747 |
* Building Fund expenditures include $724,214 of General Funds allocated for building purposes.
**Camp Fund expenditures, net of camp registration fees.
***Church Planting & Missions Fund donations include trip donations and Ukraine relief donations.
Cash Balances
| Fund | March 31,2024 | Year-End Reallocations* | April 1, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund ** | $4,104,743 | ($3,183,177) | $921,566 |
| General Fund Reserves | $5,220,165 | $1,235,000 | $6,455,165 |
| Building Fund *** | $12,187,559 | $1,948,177 | $14,135,736 |
| Camps Fund | $224,305 | $224,305 | |
| Church Planting and Missions Fund | $711,861 | $711,861 | |
| People in Need Fund | $345,261 | $345,261 | |
| TOTAL | $22,793,894 | $0 | $22,793,894 |
*As authorized by CCCC Members, the Finance Team reallocates General Fund cash at the end of each fiscal year to establish adequate operating reserves and fund capital projects.
** General Fund ending (March 31, 2024) balance is allocated to various General Fund Capital projects.
*** Building Fund cash includes $13,806,287 of General Funds reallocated for new land or building purposes.
Join us on mission. View ways to give and find more information by clicking below.
We are a church-planting church. We collaborate with other churches to start new churches in Greater Houston and we start new campuses that are in close proximity to the people we are trying to reach in the 4B Area. A new congregation sends A People of Hope into new areas. This will require earnest prayers, generous giving, and “gospel good-byes” as some leave a campus or this church to start new campuses and new churches.
In February 2023, the Egret Bay Campus hosted Plant Houston. Over 220 pastors, church planters, and ministry leaders from the greater Houston area gathered together for a one day church planting event for equipping and training.
Continue to pray for God to move and for the raising up of new leaders. We are excited to see what God does in the coming year!
“I would have questions: why does God let these awful things happen? What about some of the contradictions I see? I wanted evidence, like stories about this man coming back to life. These are all historical documents, but there has to be more. Over time, things started piling up and it became overwhelming. When I decided to walk away and turn atheist, the answers were all right there.”
Casey was content with the answers atheism provided and was often antagonistic toward Christian beliefs.
“When I got with my wife and we decided to start a family, I felt more despair. I started feeling these feelings that atheism couldn’t reconcile. My heart opened up a little bit, and I was more open to hearing about going back to church. I could tell my wife was craving that, so I decided to be less militant about my atheism and more open-minded.
We started coming to church regularly. Initially, it was just rhythmic and nice. We’d come in, get our coffee, not talk to anyone, hear a nice sermon, and go to lunch. Throughout the week, I still struggled with some sermon topics. But each time we came back, it got more serious. God was calling me to pay attention.
After a year of attending every Sunday, I wasn’t totally convinced it was just nice messages. But my heart was softening, and God’s voice in my life was getting louder. It eventually grew to a point where I couldn’t avoid it any longer, and we decided to take the next step. We joined Starting Point, an eight-week course on the life of Christ. It felt like more than just a history lesson; I felt a tug in my heart separate from my mind.
Around week seven, I asked Lee, who was teaching the class, how to surrender to Christ. He asked if I was ready, and though I was scared, I felt ready. I prayed and let God know where my heart was, that I was ready to give it to him. After that, it felt right. My wife and I immediately got baptized.
I wanted to tell the world about the change, to pray for others, and share my experience. Everything changed: my thoughts on atheism, my past, and how I treated people. I wanted to thank my family for never giving up. It was a game changer.”
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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
ROMANS 15:13