We are pleased and honored to present to you the 2019 Annual Report for One Harbor Church. It is good to boast, not in our own strength, but in what has been done by the bride of Christ through the power of the Spirit.
This report is a sampling of His work and our boast of His goodness. Each story is a memorial of remembrance and thanksgiving.
So as you read, join us in giving thanks for the many ways God has been at work in and through our humble church. May the stories of the past increase our faith for what the Lord will do in our future.
For those who have been participants in this journey of making disciples and pushing back darkness, we give thanks for you. We hope that our partnership in the gospel has been a joy and privilege for you as it has for us. May the Lord continue to find us faithful, and in His sovereign ways, make us increasingly fruitful.
For the sake of the gospel,
The Elders of One Harbor Church
Our Vision
The vision of One Harbor Church is to fill Eastern North Carolina with
Gospel centered, spirit empowered, locally contextualized churches
that make disciples and push back darkness.
Transformed by the Gospel
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 2019.
2019 Weekly Attendance
We want to make disciples who are on mission in their communities. Rather than meeting in one centralized place, we gather in multiple locations, called sites.
Hurricane Recovery and Reach Global Crisis Response
Disaster Recovery from hurricanes Florence and Dorian was a major ministry arm of One Harbor in 2019. Reach Global Crisis Response (RGCR) continued to bring in volunteers every month, for a total of 480 over the year, to assist in rebuilding homes damaged by Hurricane Florence and sharing the Gospel with the residents. From September on, resources were devoted specifically to Ocracoke in the wake of Dorian’s destruction. Many local (and non-local) churches and volunteers rallied their time and money to aid Ocracoke in gutting homes, tarping roofs and removing trees the first week after Hurricane Dorian made landfall. It’s truly amazing the doors that God opened for us to serve our neighbor. Overall for 2019, $85,000 in grant money was awarded to One Harbor Church for disaster recovery, $41,000 was given by fellow churches and individual donors, and over $50,000 was donated directly for our Orcacoke efforts. It’s with that generosity that we have been in over 500 different homes this year, replaced 39 roofs, made countless numbers of friendships, and have even seen new professions of faith in Jesus Christ as a result of this ministry.
Total Raised
$215,434
480+
Volunteers
500+
Homes Served
39
Roofs Replaced
A Story of Renewal
“On January 13th 2012, my wife Mary and I lost our daughter Hannah. We were lost. We vowed to devote our lives to give back to the community that supported us through our season of grieving. Thinking we could do it alone, we opened a community market. We found a new purpose. Although we struggled 7 days a week for over four years, we didn’t realize that the path we were on was pointing us straight towards Jesus.
“Fast forward to Hurricane Florence. I was asked to help with the relief efforts of cutting down trees that had come down from the storm. I was introduced to Doug and Andrew from One Harbor Swansboro. I was so impressed by the turn out of volunteers from One Harbor! I went back and shared with Mary and I spent the next week volunteering and serving.
“It had been on our hearts to find a church for quite some time. After remembering the impact that One Harbor had on us through the relief efforts, we decided to attend one Sunday at the 9:00am service. What a day! We were greeted with love and hugs all around, fellowship, praise and an overall feeling of belonging. We left that day full of The Holy Spirit. We were found! We went back to The Market and changed our Sunday hours so we could attend future services and dive deeper into the Gospel. We found our way to Jesus and the Gospel. Excited to find out more, we joined a Community group. We are both so excited for Sundays to roll around, and each and every day to be able to witness and learn more of the Gospel.
“We gave our lives back to Jesus and were baptized in the ocean on October 13th 2019. On that day, we also put our trust in God and gave up the 40-year habit of smoking cigarettes. We are now 100+ days smoke free! All in all, our lives and paths are more clear every day. Our lives personally, professionally and spiritually are now such a blessing and we have a guide and a path to follow with our new church family at One Harbor Swansboro. Our lives have been forever changed since that first Sunday we walked through the doors at One Harbor.” — Jeff and Mary Miller
2019 Sermons
We prioritize the preaching of the Word. At One Harbor, you won’t hear a sermon that’s not about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Below you can see some of the series that we went through as a church in 2019.
21
MHC Baptisms
15
BFT Baptisms
21
SBO Baptisms
1
HVK Baptism
1205
App Downloads in 2019
20483
Sermons Played in 2019
470710
App Interactions in 2019
MHC SITE UPDATE
One Harbor Morehead, by God’s grace, reached its tenth birthday in February of 2019. The celebration of the past quickly transitioned to another year of continued growth, in ways both deep and wide. Regarding the former, Frikkie Grobbelaar joined our team to help strengthen our pastoral and counseling muscles, skills in which he is uniquely gifted. Regarding the latter, Travis and Becky Evans started an evening service to both reach those unable to attend morning services and to create more space in our corporate worship and Kid’s Ministry. Four months in, that service has created new ministry opportunities and has also caused the tide of leadership to rise again: many One Harbor Partners have stepped up to help carry the weight, and have done so with excellence.
In terms of community outreach, we hosted 480 volunteers from around the country who came to do disaster relief ministry through Reach Global Crisis Response — a feat which would have been nearly impossible without our building to host them. Additionally, we mobilized hundres of volunteers on a number of short term trips to help our friends on Ocracoke in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.
As fishers of men, we are sometimes unprepared for the harvest that happens when Jesus “gets into our boat,” so to speak. We earnestly ask you to pray with us that God would help us faithfully steward the growth he has caused. At the present time, many of our resources seem insufficient, to include: the number of Community Group leaders, the amount of space for youth and Kid’s Ministry, volunteers for Kid’s ministry, space for children with special needs, and our general fund giving. As we pray for God to continue to provide, we are confident that He will meet our every need for our good and his glory.
Living a Life of Worship
Worship isn’t just a genre of music. It’s putting God first, enjoying Him, and living sacrificially. Below are some ways that we have worshipped Jesus in 2019.
298
MHC Volunteers
96
BFT Volunteers
168
SBO Volunteers
120
HVK Volunteers
BFT SITE UPDATE
This was another very eventful year for One Harbor Beaufort. The year began with our church building still experiencing the damage of Hurricane Florence. Many of us remember using bathrooms with bare drywall for months as we underwent construction! But God was faithful, and on Easter Sunday our building was fully operational and better than ever.
Despite the challenges, God continued to build His church. There were 15 people baptized in Beaufort this year, many of whom were brand new believers. In addition to those salvations, God was able to use us throughout our community. We built relationships through community dinners, involving both the Boys and Girls Club and our neighbor church, Purvis Chapel. When Hurricane Dorian struck the island of Ocracoke, we were one of the churches best positioned to help and were able to send over 50 volunteers in the weeks after the storm to help clear out flooded homes and be a blessing to our neighbors.
Finally, but probably most significantly, this was a year of sending. Two of our pastors, Joseph Marquez and Jon Lewis, separately felt called to lead churches. Joe and Rosalind moved to Cary, NC to take the lead of Freeway Church, and Jon and Odessa moved to Goose Creek, SC to begin the process of planting a new church for Goose Creek. Not only did we prayerfully send them out, but we remain connected and supportive of them and we are excited about the future possibilities for partnership with these churches! As sad and difficult as it is to send, it is also a great privilege. We trust God’s promises that when we sow in faith, we will reap in joy. Our hope is in His faithfulness to us.
A Story of Recovery
“My name is John Markham. Growing up, I lived what I thought was a pretty good life. I got good grades, played football, and started partying young. Girls, drugs and alcohol were my hobbies and I felt like a hot shot. At 16 I got my daughter’s mother pregnant and at 18 I found out that my daughter, Rylee, was my child via court order.
“As a young man, I was in and out of trouble with the law, jumping from job to job. I continued drinking and using until I joined the Fire Service in Fayetteville. The fire department started a new lifestyle change for me and I quit the partying lifestyle. Shortly after being an employed fire fighter, I met my wife – Anna! She was like an angel sent to me. I quit the party lifestyle. After getting married in October of 2015, we decided to move to the beach. I came down before Anna and Rylee to start working at Morehead City Fire Department. While I was down here alone, I started drinking at nights, by myself. When my family joined me, it kept getting worse, even though I tried to hide it. I could see it was wearing down both Anna and Rylee.
“I hit rock bottom one night in May 2019 and I treated Anna and Rylee very inappropriately. They left and at first I didn’t know why. I thought to myself, “It’s not like I hit them.” But I knew something wasn’t right. I was a wreck and hurting in a way that I haven’t before. Eventually, I called Chief Fulk and Donnie and asked for help, which was something very unlike me. They talked with me and recommended I go to a treatment center immediately. That caught me off guard, but I said I was willing to try since I didn’t know how else to fix things.
“When I was in treatment, God continually spoke to me. I realized it didn’t matter how bad I wanted to stop drinking, I couldn’t have done it without Him. I was powerless and He had all the power. I realized that God was shining light into the darkest part of me, my heart. For the first time I truly let Him in. He has shown me that drinking wasn’t my only problem – I had been living a life full of sin. I was told in treatment that I had a disease, but I learned that I also had a sin problem and that a relationship with God was the medicine I needed.
“Not only did God help me get sober, He totally restored my relationship with Anna and Rylee. I pray that I continue to keep my relationship with Jesus at the center of my heart and mind. Because of all He has done for me, I know to look for His will and I want to spread the message of the gospel to others!”
18
Leaders Discipling Students
93
Students Being Discipled in Small Groups
319
Average Number of Kids Hearing the Gospel in Kids Ministry on Sundays
Total Giving in 2019
$3,318,914.49
The Bible says that God gave His only Son, Jesus, so that we would be saved. But not only did God save us, He lavishes on us uncountable blessings and an eternal inheritance we can’t comprehend. God’s generosity towards us compels us to be generous in return. Therefore, our giving is first and foremost an act of worship. (This figure represents tithes and offerings and contributions to designated funds, such as the Disaster Relief Fund.)
SBO SITE UPDATE
In 2019, we continued to grow and see God change lives in Swansboro. We continued to meet in the Swansboro Town Hall but we have outgrown the space. This past year, we purchased a piece of land to build our own facility for One Harbor Swansboro to call home. This new facility will be a “base” from which we can better serve the community and beyond with the life, truth and freedom that the Gospel brings. We hope to be in our new building by the end of 2020.
One Harbor Swansboro hosted our very first Vacation Bible School during the summer of 2019. We had an amazing response from within our church and the community with over 70 kids in attendance. We also witnessed 21 baptisms and many which took place in the ocean on our beautiful coast. We have seen numerous marriages restored and families reunited.
Please continue to pray as we look for new ways to be a blessing to the community and put the Gospel on display. As a leadership team, we are incredibly grateful to God for all that He has and is doing here with all of us.
Committed to Community
As a church, we are called to love one another, grow together, and serve in community. Below are some of the ways we’ve joined together over the last year.
1077
People in Community Groups
79
Community Groups
A Story of Courage and Conversion
From Havelock’s Trevor Lodes: “Let me tell you about my friend Alfredo (pictured left). When I deployed with him, he bashed Christianity. He never shied away from an argument to disrespect my faith. For months, he said he couldn’t believe it. After I started a bible study in the barracks, my friend would stand at a distance sometimes, and watch. After a few months, I found my friend reading scripture at work, and began asking questions about what he read. He told me that Christ found him, and saved him. Now, he attends bible study, community group, church, and reads scripture with me all because an outlet with the Lord was available in the barracks.”
HVK SITE UPDATE
In Havelock, 2019 was defined by steady faithful growth. As we look back over the year, we see God growing us numerically but also growing us deep.
Here are some of the ways we’ve seen God grow us deeper. Community Groups are the front lines for discipleship and care. By God’s grace we have close to 90% of our adult attenders in a group. In addition to that, our Youth Ministry’s discipleship group attendance grew from 16 at the beginning of the year to a full house (literally) of 34 at the Christmas party in December. In June, we did a 21 day Community Bible Reading challenge that jump-started a good number of us back into a regular rhythm of scripture reading and prayer.
As our commitment to community deepened, so did our commitment to serve and love others. We jumped in to bring hope to our neighbors in Ocracoke after Hurricane Dorian; we entered into the fight against addiction in various ways; we painted the Recreation Center’s gym for the city of Havelock; we partnered with the Base Chapel to feed single Marines; and we filled and sent 231 boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
While we started 2019 with an average attendance of 195, by the end of the year we were regularly above 230 and out of space. That is all going to change as we move to the Havelock Tourist & Event Center in February 2020, which is double our current capacity. As we celebrate that growth, let’s also realize that it came with one baptism. While we rejoice over every single person God saves, we want to see more and more salvations. Join us in praying for and reaching out to the lost in 2020. May God give us favor to see many brought from death to life!
Partnering on Mission
Mission is for everyone. Mission is everywhere. Most importantly, mission is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Below are some of the ways we’ve partnered together for the sake of the mission in 2019.
Partnership
121
New Partners in 2019
742
One Harbor Partners
LOCAL MISSION
We take seriously our responsibility to help the poor and powerless. The figure reported here includes those dollars given away through our benevolence ministry and to other local non-profits with whom we are in partnership. (It does not include dollars given to disaster relief and addiction recovery, which are reported separately.)
69120
Dollars given away
27827
Dollars Raised
18
People helped or being helped into rehab and/or sober living programs
A Story of Salvation
Corbett Davis worked side by side with Woody Daughety for years, and all the while he would invite Woody to church. Woody always said he was open to going, but something held him back. When Corbett switched jobs, Woody went with him to the new job. Then Corbett switched jobs two more times, and each time Woody came along to the new job! Corbett knew that God was keeping Woody in his life for a reason, so he kept reaching out and inviting him to church. Finally, while experiencing some difficulty in life, Woody finally visited One Harbor Beaufort. He didn’t immediately give his life to Christ. In fact, when meeting with Brian, he said he wanted to really think about if Jesus could actually be God. After several months of attending, observing, and wrestling, Woody came up to Brian and Corbett and said, “I’m in. I believe it all.” Not only has Woody been baptized, and joined a Community Group, but Woody also went to Ocracoke every chance he got to serve our neighbors. God loves to use our faithful witness!
Advance is a global movement of churches partnering together to plant and strengthen churches. Advance is a practical way of describing our partnership and expresses our primary purpose of taking new ground for the Gospel in small towns, suburbs, cities, and nations. In September of 2019, One Harbor Church hosted the first Advance East Coast Regional Conference for pastors and leaders from churches as far away as Miami and Toronto. Check out the recap video to get a glimpse into some of their time together! Also, the recorded sessions from the conference are available here. Additionally, we encourage you to check out the 2019 Advance Review – it will stir your faith!
Financials
Considering the church is supposed to represent Jesus, it is important that our finances are stewarded in a manner which glorifies Him. Below is a summary of how we put this important resource to work.
Our Mission
Make Disciples
Push Back Darkness
All for the Sake of the Gospel