2024 Christmas Year In Review Letter
Merry Christmas, Life Community Family!
Let me start off by saying: Wow. As I sat down to write this letter and combed through all that God has done in our church in 2024, I was in awe. He has used you to do incredible things this year – not just for our church and our community, but for people around the world.
In fact, so much happened this year that I actually struggled to write this… If I included everything, this letter would be pages and pages long! You are allowing God to use you in big ways. Thank you!
What’s crazy is, these are just the highlights. God has done so much more in our church throughout the year and we want to give space for everything. So, come to church each Sunday throughout Advent and we’ll share all that God has done through you!
What Happened In Our Church
I am thrilled to share that this year, we celebrated 80 first-time decisions to follow Jesus 44 baptisms, and five child dedications. Seeing individuals and families take bold steps in their faith journey is one of the greatest privileges of being part of this church!
This summer, 207 kids and 189 volunteers came together for Summer Blast, where 52 children made the decision to follow Jesus. And in youth ministry, we continued to see explosive growth, with students stepping up to serve, grow, and lead.
What Happened In Our Community
Through our Bounty Food Distribution, 9,000 bags of groceries were distributed to families in need. And in partnership with The Gathering Inn, we helped provide more than 2,000 meals and warm shelter to our unhoused neighbors. Through our ongoing outreach with the Kaseberg Headstart Preschool, we’ve met some of their immediate needs to help students feel loved, prepared, and supported as they head into school.
Our MomCo ministry grew, connecting young moms with life-giving community, while our Celebrate Recovery ministry marked its 13th anniversary of bringing hope and healing to those struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups.
What Happened Around The World
Globally, we’ve witnessed God’s hand at work in powerful ways. In addition to supporting our five missionaries around the world, we partnered with Agape International Missions (AIM), contributing $20,000 to fight human trafficking. Our sewing ministry, Dress A Girl, shipped 180 dresses overseas, ensuring dignity and protection for girls in need. And finally, you pledged to support 252 children and their families in Ghana and Sierra Leone through World Vision.
But There’s One More Thing We Need To Do…
This year, we have a unique opportunity to expand our global impact even further, and I want to invite you to be part of it.
For this year’s Christmas Offering, we are partnering with World Vision to train and equip 20 community health workers who will bring life-saving care to approximately 10,000 people in communities affected by malaria, waterborne illnesses, and other preventable diseases.
Here’s the incredible part: your gift’s impact could be tripled this year. For every dollar you give, the Gates Foundation and Rotary each will match it up to $50,000. That means our church could send $150,000 to fund health workers in places like the Dominican Republic, Congo, Zambia, or Mozambique, transforming lives and futures.
Will you join us in this life-changing mission? Every dollar makes a difference, and together, we can help bring Christ’s love through health and healing to people around the world.
Thank you for being part of this journey. I’m constantly amazed by your generosity and commitment to making Life Community Church a place of hope, healing, and transformation.
Let’s finish this year strong and step boldly into 2025, ready for all that God has in store.
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Grateful for you,
Kyle Thomsen
Lead Pastor
P.S. Don’t forget, you can give your tax-deductible year-end gift online at lifecconline.com. Please postmark mailed gifts by December 31 to count for 2024. Thank you for helping us reach our goal to save lives around the world!