The gospel is the good news of what Jesus has done. It transforms who we are and it transforms what we do.

Below are some ways that we’ve seen the gospel at work in our church in 2024.

This year has been a year of solidifying our presence in the community. In October we celebrated 12 years as a site. We have been encouraged by the amount of new faces from the broader Beaufort and Down East community. This last year was filled with Community Groups gathering, worship nights, Mens and Ladies gatherings, and Bible studies. Not only have we been able to care for people’s spiritual lives, but our building has served our community well through the reopening of the pool in partnership with Crystal Coast Aquatics to offer a space for people young and old to swim and exercise.

Ministry-wise, we successfully launched a benevolence team. Over the last year we were able to help 30 people receive financial help, and we plan to continue supporting our community this way in the coming year. Another focus of ours this year has been Spiritual Formation. We want to see Christ formed in us, so we’ve preached on practices such as prayer, silence and solitude, and fasting as we look to intentionally follow Jesus in all of life and grow in our relationship with Him. 

In March we welcomed Marchelle McFalls onto the team as the Assistant Kids Ministry Director and then in June as the Kids Ministry Director after Joanna Pittman stepped down after 3 faithful years of service. We are grateful for them both! Marchelle has been busy in 2024, adding volunteers to the team, opening up classrooms to accommodate more children, and bringing life to the team! We are looking forward to seeing this ministry grow in 2025.

Overall, we are seeing an increased desire for the folks at East to be together. People are coming early and staying late! Which to us is a marker of good community. Be praying for us in 2025 as we seek to continue to be a steady presence in Beaufort and Down East!

John Cooley

A Story of Trusting God

There was a time when I thought my life was beyond redemption. My past was a revolving door of  addiction, institutions, and mistakes that left me feeling like I had no place in God’s plan. But looking  back, I now see how God was working—even in the darkest moments—to bring me to where I am today.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you  know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you  may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4) 

Six years ago, I sat in a jail cell, believing I had reached the end. But God met me there. He didn’t remove  all my consequences, but He gave me a second chance—one I never could have earned on my own.  When I was released, I tried to rebuild my life through the BBQ business I had started before jail. Then,  COVID hit. That was another moment where I could have turned away from God, feeling cursed by circumstance.  Instead, I leaned in. I got online, finished my two engineering degrees, and poured everything into  building a future. My wife —my best friend since the 7th grade—stood by me. We had been together for  ten years, but it was during COVID that we truly realized, this is it, we’re doing this. So we went to the courthouse, masks on, and got married. Not long after, I graduated and received an offer to work at Cherry Point. Her family was from down east,  and we both felt God leading us here. We started going to One Harbor, ready to plant roots, excited for a  fresh start. But instead of stability, life hit us harder than ever. My nephew was diagnosed with leukemia. My stepdad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And then—the love of my life, my wife—was diagnosed with breast cancer. At that moment, I had every reason to turn bitter, to blame God, to fall back into old patterns. But  instead, I made a choice: I leaned in further. I went to community groups on Wednesdays and men’s  group on Saturdays. I volunteered to cook at events. I surrounded myself with faith, with community,  with prayer. And today, I stand in awe of God’s faithfulness. My wife and stepdad are cancer-free. My nephew is my newfound hero, battling every day with a strength that inspires me. God even tossed in a bonus, my brother—who has battled addiction for years—is now in Kansas City’s  Hope is Alive, a miracle I never saw coming. Through all of this, I’ve learned that faith is a choice. When life falls apart, we can choose to be  Warriors, not worriers. Seekers, not sulkers. The world will always give us reasons to doubt, to fear, to  pull away. But when we lean into God instead of away from Him, He blesses us in ways we never  imagined.

“I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten.” (Joel 2:25) 

Tomorrow, my wife and I will close on our first home, thanks to the grace of Lori Tulloch—who just so  happens to go to One Harbor. It’s clear now: we’re here to stay. God never abandoned me. He shaped me. And now, I get to live in the truth that He is always working,  always redeeming, always faithful. If you’re in a season of hardship, know this: God is not done with your story yet. I understand that I wrote this in a first person narrative but by no means is this a story about  me…this is a ‘we’ story! And I thank God, my wife, my family and my new home One Harbor for all of  the grace and many blessings!

Eric Young

A Story of Redemption

Eric Young thought he had it all. Retiring from the Marine Corps in the Spring of 2023, Eric had his health, money in the bank, and the rest of his life ahead of him. Eric prided himself on the accomplishments of his career and the opportunities that his work had afforded him. However, less than a year into his retirement, Eric was diagnosed with stage 4 Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Due to his exposure to burn pits during deployment, Eric found himself with tumors in his head, lymph nodes, and they were quickly spreading to his chest. It was this diagnosis that brought Eric’s world crashing down. To rely so heavily on your health only to find out that your health is compromised delivered a devastating blow to Eric’s pride. It was at this moment that Eric realized his foundation of wealth and health he had hoped for was faulty. Like an inspector looking at your foundation, Eric was shown the ‘cracks’ as he calls them, in his own beliefs. Eric was brought low through his diagnosis. But it was in this valley that Eric grew closer to God than ever before. In his valley Eric realized that although he had prided himself on his personal health and wealth, his spiritual health was suffering. Eric describes his valley as ‘a moment where God gets out of my car, walks around it, and starts kicking the tires to see how good things really are.’ As cracks were revealed in his foundation, Eric was shown how his pride had left him vulnerable. Struggling with sickness, weight loss, hair loss, fatigue, and a fear for what remained for his family, Eric was at the lowest point of his valley. Yet at this lowest point God sustained Eric as he began to realize that only through God, not his personal merit would he be spiritually healthy. Through radiation and the back and forth of doctor’s appointments Eric began to understand what the Apostle Paul meant by “my grace is sufficient.” This passage of scripture had a means of filling in the cracks of Eric’s foundation and firming things up in his life. He began to realize that God was using this diagnosis as a means of refining him. The valleys are never easy, but Eric believes that there is more growth in the valleys than on the mountain top. Eric says with full confidence that his diagnosis has been a blessing in his life. After the rounds of treatments were completed, Eric’s cancer was in remission by the end of 2024 and still is to this day. Only by the miraculous hand of God was his healing made possible. Looking back, Eric acknowledges he didn’t always get it right. He wishes he had been more vulnerable with people at the moment. More vulnerable by letting people give him rides when offered, or allowing them to stop by and visit. In hindsight, he kept people from seeing what God was doing in the midst of his valley. He believes that God has equipped him through this valley to help others with their own cancer journey. Despite the difficulty of the valley, Eric says he would do it all again just so God could use it. To those who feel like they are currently in a valley, Eric’s encouragement is ‘Embrace it…God is walking through your valley with you.’ For those who feel a sense of pride and accomplishment based on their own merits he says; ‘be careful. God will reveal the cracks in your foundation. When he does, be open, it’s a blessing for Him to fix them.’

It is a bit surreal that this is the final One Harbor NWB site update. However, there will be more updates to share in the years to come under a different name, but still under the same banner. Jesus is our King and we are his church. 

It is with a mix of sadness and joy that we are being released to become City Grace Church, and the transition work is well underway. Thank you One Harbor Church for all the past and present love and support! Please pray for God’s grace to guide us and sustain us during this time of change. We need His counsel, comfort and courage every step of the way so that we remain a closely-knit unified body who love him and our city well.

It is fitting that we consider the past year to remember to celebrate the many evidences of God’s grace. He’s added new babies and brought new faces to our church family: roughly a 10% increase in average attendance to 2023. We also saw an increase in community groups and those attending them. This is such an important discipleship context, and the fact that more have chosen to be committed is so encouraging. Additionally, well done to our Youth Ministry, Ladies Ministry and Young Adults. What a privilege to be a part of what Jesus is doing in His church!

Looking ahead to 2025, let’s pray that God’s grace overflows in us as we abide in Him so that we can give it to others. May our church and our city be full of His grace. 

One Harbor we love you and pray God blesses you abundantly in 2025.

Bradley Lee

A Story of Unexpected Friendship

I grew up in hypocrisy, learned to be agnostic, and struggled to accept the truth for years. I fought with the idea of God and had many attempts to be religious, mostly with Jesus but sometimes not. In 2024, God showed me His power through various lessons and others who impacted my life in deep aspects. This last year has marked the best and worst times of my life with deep lessons that had to be learned. I firmly believe that Christ met me where I was in the darkness and provided the answers to my long tribulations over my 28 years on this earth. I was met with apologetic teachings, open-minded intellectual discussions, and ultimately undeniable proof through faith in our Lord. 

Today, I have complete faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Regardless of life’s lows and highs, I pray that He continues to teach me through His infinite wisdom in the areas I am lacking, and will strengthen the areas I can be better as a disciple to speak and spread His grace to my kids, family, friends, and enemies alike. My story will never be comparable to Jesus’, but I hope He uses me to help further His message and do more good in this world. 

I am getting baptized because I believe in Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity’s undeniable influence in my life. I have learned through both tough and easy times that the glory belongs to God and His mercy. I have seen Jesus’s influence in my life through my complete trust in His plan and His miracles of always making things work according to His amazing grace. He brought people into my life and removed those who were holding me back from believing. He continually shows His love through tough lessons, and by His graceful reassurance when I am lacking in my strength.

BENEVOLENCE MINISTRY

Pushing Back the Darkness of Financial Hardship

We, as a church, are charged to seek the welfare of our city and are focused on loving the people of our communities while glorifying God. We, as God’s people, are called to live, eat, and multiply in the cities where we live – to steward God’s resources well, bear one another’s burdens, and bear the image of Christ to all those we encounter. One way that we live this out as a church, is through our Benevolence Ministry – Pushing Back the Darkness of Financial Hardship.  Each week our volunteers sit down with those who are struggling with their finances, to tell their stories, to offer a listening ear and to pray with them.  We ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom when determining financial assistance for each individual and family – but most importantly, we hope that the people that we get to encounter feel the Love of Christ through our actions and words. 

Dylan Clem

A Story of Recovery

It’s been quite the road to recovery for Dylan Clem.  Since 2007 Dylan has been choosing drugs, alcohol, and love over healthy relationships with his peers, his family, and the Lord.  In 2019, after many unsuccessful attempts at rehab centers, treatment facilities, and Hope is Alive homes, Dylan, searching for more for his life, moved to Carteret County to be a resident in the HIA Otway Men’s Home.  After being in the home for 18 months, he decided to prioritize a romantic relationship over the road to recovery.  Dylan slipped back into a pattern of old habits, accumulating 4 DUIs and being kicked out of the home for relapsing – He decided to give a treatment facility another shot.  In June of 2022 after completing treatment, Dylan was humbled and willing to submit to the authority and advice of others; he wanted to do what was required for successful recovery, he went back to HIA one more time. Dedicated to giving his heart to the Lord and recovery his all – Dylan has a Redemption Story.

After 8 arrests, 1 year in prison, a combined 6 months in various jails, and countless court dates, so many rehabs, treatments and rehab homes – Dylan who has over 32 months of continuous sobriety,  now spends his time helping those who are in the very same place that he was for all those years.  Dylan has successfully graduated from the Hope is Alive program and currently works as a Senior Program Manager for the HIA homes in North Carolina. 

Through his role at HIA, Dylan gets to walk alongside men and women struggling with substance abuse.  He gets to share his own personal story of Redemption.  He gets to give hope to some of the most broken people.  He gets to share stories of how he has seen God show up for him in big and small ways.  He gets to share the community that he has built at the OHC EAST site – how people there have loved him, no matter his story.  Dylan, through God’s gracious and saving redemption, has been restored to his family, his peers, and most importantly, his Heavenly Father. 

Ephesians 4:4-9  “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”