Today, more people than ever identify as not being affiliated with religion of any kind. If we're going to make Jesus relevant for everyone in greater Austin, we have to connect with people outside of just Sunday. Here are some of the ways we’re doing that:
Marketplace Initiatives - Our dream is that we would be so integrated into our city that if we were gone, our community would miss us, regardless of what they believe spiritually. In 2023, we have seen over 35,000 people come through our facility outside of Sunday, and we have branded “marketplace” as Exchange ATX (exchangeatx.com). We need to continue to build our online infrastructure, improve our facility, invest in new technology, and continue to staff the Exchange ATX team. All of these activities will in turn be revenue-generating for Northpoint.
Online Church and Digital Initiatives - Online, our weekly service now averages a full extra auditorium in views. This is the new front door, and we have to make sure it’s excellent and accessible! Additionally, we are determined not to become Blockbuster in a world gone Netflix. With the average Austinite spending 5 hours daily on their phone, what if we got to spend just 5 minutes each day with them? In 2023 we took a big step towards seeing that become a reality with projects like Story512 (story512.com) gaining over a quarter million views. These funds will help us with content production, media equipment, advertising and marketing, and distribution of content.
Groups - For the first time ever, we average more people in small groups than in Sunday Services, a colossal win if circles are indeed better than rows. We want to fuel this fast growing ministry with content, leadership development, small group leader support and appreciation, and new felt-needs-specific short term groups and events that provide marker moments.
We have all felt the inflationary impact of 2023. We have an incredible team of 20 individuals made up of full time, part time, and contracted staff. These are the people who lead, serve, pastor, pray and care for our Northpoint family and the community where we live. As a nonprofit in an expensive city, we are not able to do raises often, but this year it is necessary to do cost-of-living increases in order to keep our current momentum by being able to retain all staff. As we move forward into 2024 we have adjusted our budget to reflect the inflationary impact.
We believe that if Jesus is ever going to be relevant for everyone in greater Austin, it will be the next generation that's going to do it. If we're going to call them significant, we have to give them something significant to do. In 2024, our goal is to replace some of our worn out furniture in multiple environments, fund our college interns with Camp 75 as well as provide scholarships to students for Camp 75, and invest in technologies that partner with the whole family.
Every year, we have unique opportunities to do for one what we wish we could do for everyone, practically being the hands and feet of Jesus to our community. This includes helping with counseling, rent and mortgage payments, medical bills, food, utilities, and educational scholarships. Requests for assistance have increased exponentially over the last 12 months, and filling this fund allows us to respond when needs arise.
