News

Board Finance Update
2024-12-09

Kia ora church,

As we begin to wrap up 2024, we wanted to provide an update on our activity for this year. This has been an important year for our church, with significant movement in many areas.

We would like to keep everyone updated on our continued work on the RAC implementation, Offering funds allocation, church financial status, and our top highlights of 2024 in Arise.

Review Advisory Committee (RAC) Implementation in 2024 The RAC was commissioned to make structural and cultural recommendations to the Board. Since presenting their findings, we have worked to implement these changes:

Updated our Mission, Vision & Values, and Statement of Belief. Submitted a new Trust Deed to Charities Services in June of this year. This was the first time it had been updated since 2002. Built and reviewed our suite of policies, including our Trust-onboarding, Volunteer Handbook, and Employee Handbook. Developed our Trust Rules and Organisational Structure which included reporting lines for the Lead Pastor and General Manager to the Board. Continued our work to improve our financial stewardship, transparency, and protection of personal data. This is an area of continuous development Made important ground in developing our Spiritual Oversight (Eldership in campuses, spiritual advisory panel). This group will bring wisdom, prayer, and accountability to our board and leadership team. We will update you further when the formation is completed. Continued work to shift the culture in a healthy direction, including Culture of Honour and Front Row Status. Relaunched Kingdom Business as Legacy, with a greater focus on nourishing, equipping, supporting, and enabling business leaders. Offering Focus & Impact Here is an update on what we have been able to do with your generous giving in the 2023 & 2024 Offerings.

Support of our Kids, Youth, and Young Adults Ministries. Launch of Legacy. Launch of Planted (relaunch of Pathway). Professional Development of our leaders and staff. Training and development of our Pastoral Care. Supporting our communities through Arise Care. Church & Financial Health We have made great strides in building the foundations of our church. This has positively impacted the health of our church in terms of attendance and investment:

3,400 average monthly attendance. 1,259 on average serving on Team. 300 Life Groups running per month. 2,200 attending Life Groups per month. An important focus for our church is our outreach to our communities. In 2024, through our support of Arise Care we have been able to:

Run 24 breakfast clubs. Provide 2,750 Christmas boxes. Run 6 Vulnerable Women events. Added 119 new sponsorships in the World Vision Chosen project. Started a new prison ministry in Christchurch. Continued partnership with World Vision, A21, Te Hahi, and OHFI. Support of international missionaries. Refugee Care. And more. Highlights of 2024 There were some major milestones for us as a church this year. Here are just a few of the amazing things God has helped us to accomplish:

It was a significant moment for us as a church as we introduced our new Vision (Pursue Jesus, Build His Church, Advance His Kingdom, and Impact Our World). This has helped to shape our strategy, budget, and leadership. A big 2024 highlight was hosting The Gathering. This was a very special moment for our church to join together in person and pursue Jesus. There was a great sense of God's presence and the building of faith and unity within our church. We welcomed new Campus Pastors to the Dunedin & Palmerston North campuses. Cory & Laura Edwards became the Campus Pastors for Dunedin and Will & Riana Poese in Palmerston North. We announced the Arise Ministry Academy, launching in 2025. This is a monumental step in developing our discipleship programs for Arise. We have conducted an organisational restructure of our staff and teams. This was a massive undertaking, and the staff have displayed much patience and adaptability throughout this period. A few other key highlights include key volunteers bringing their skills to the staff team, financial stability, policy updates, salary increases (the first in 2 years), and continued process review and refinement.

Thank you for partnering with Arise Church this year. It has been an incredible year of strengthening the foundation. We look forward with eagerness for all that God has in store for 2025. We as the Arise Board are praying that you have an amazing Christmas and New Year, as we all remember the reason for it all.

Nga mihi nui, The Arise Board