2022 Recap & Global Intern Interview • Joel McCarty & Alyssa Hickinbotham

So let me give you a quick recap of 2022.

If you were at our member family meeting, then you might have

heard some of this. But one, two, just like kind of

give a quick overview and snapshot, it's easy.

I'm not big on setting numbers for goals on things, like

membership, baptism, attendance. Literally, we've never set goals

on those things. I also don't think it's helpful

to overemphasize or focus on those.

However, they can be helpful snapshots for you to see what

God's doing. And remember because as I was

looking through this, I was like, oh, that Did happen this

last year and God was doing these things and so it's easy to

get narrowly focused and so a few things and 2022, we

celebrated nine baptisms. So that was encouraging

throughout the course of the year.

We received 11 new members, we have three more that are in

process. And then many more of you that

have expressed the desire to join at some point, the last

three months of the year, we averaged over a hundred people

here at our Sunday Gatherings, which again, is just encouraging

that God's connecting people. We So, we know when we might

need to go to two services or things like that, but that's

just encouraging that people are connecting.

We launched the new missional community groups and now we have

a total of four different groups that gather regularly throughout

the week and that's kind of that opportunity for discipleship

throughout the week and being on Mission and being family

together, living out our identity and then there's a lot

that more that I could mention but the last thing I want to

update you on is our Global Partners.

We are in the process as you know, of sending two different

couples To be a part of planting churches among unreached and

unengaged, people around the world, that is taken investment

and sacrifice on your part. And on our part as a church, we

began giving $1000 a month towards those initiatives.

Out of our budget this year, just out of our general budget

and then we will increase that at some point this year to 1500

dollars this year and continue to do that throughout the course

of the Year, you guys gave directly.

So this is regular Tenors and members of new Eden you guys

gave about 5,000. Dollars directly to those

couples just throughout the course of the year and that's

not including people from the outside that they knew that gave

that's directly from you. Guys during Advent, we had

Advent giving you guys gave six thousand six hundred and twenty

one dollars and 36 Cents that comes from some of you guys

covering the processing fees. So that 36 sense, unless some of

you just randomly wanted to do that.

But so this will also go directly towards those works and

so that's exciting. So I want to say thank you for

the part that all of you have played in this last year.

And all of that it is ultimately God's work.

It is his church, it is his church that he is building.

And so we give him all the credit and Glory but God is

faithful to use his Saints in that Journey.

So thank you guys quick update on our Global Partners, so be

and are who we speak in a little bit of code.

Y'all can raise your hands. They're sitting here we speak in

code because of the livestream for security reasons but they

are very close to being fully funded.

They hope to leave late February.

So we'll have a send-off commissioning service for them

and you'll get to hear from them before they leave, but they are

still in need of some monthly supporters.

So if you are interested in supporting monthly Now's the

Time to get on board with that and so, you can learn more on

the back table, along with the case, which is the other couple,

they are in training right now at a school called radius.

You will hear more from them next week.

We'll have them up here and let them It you on how that's going,

they just finished up the first semester.

And so they're here on break and they'll be going back to finish

up and then completely finish sometime in May.

So what does kind of look like as far as us sending?

And the reason I want to celebrate this a little bit is

God has been faithful to send us people that desire to go and

that new Eden is able to send and get behind and you guys

grasp what that looks like, what that the investment and

sacrifice, that the takes from you guys.

And so God is continuing to do that.

So, Alyssa, I'm going to call. You up here.

Joel. If you want to bring that other

mic pack, we're going to try to make this other awkward

exchange. You can come sit here awkwardly

while I talk about you for a second.

So this is Miss Alyssa Higginbotham.

We don't have Code name for her yet.

Test. All right, we're going to roll

with this so we're early enough in the process where we don't

have to have a code name for her, but you can be thinking

about what you already have one. No.

Okay, cool. Alright, take a suggest, I

wouldn't take suggestions from some of these this crowd out

here so might not end well but I wanted you guys to meet Alyssa.

She recently joined new Eden. Now I've known Alyssa for a long

time. I was doing the math and I was

like, oh my gosh, it's probably been like nine almost ten years.

That I've known of Elisa and then got the spent a lot more

time with her just the last six years or so.

And so Alyssa's has joined new Eden Church as a member if you

remember, you received that email recently but she desires

to be equipped to be sent. And so kind of the way it's look

like we've kind of broken down into three phases.

These are things just we've learned as we've seen other

people, as you kind of got Phase 1 which is just being a member

at a local church being equipped engaging and we kind of just see

what are the what are the giftings?

What are the things we want to? Teach and help grow just through

the local church and so that's kind of phase one that equipping

and then phase two is some type of more extensive training

that's been radius International just somebody who's got more

experience and things like cultural and language

acquisition things that we can't teach as a local church here at

new Eden but other people can. And then phase 3 is like getting

them to the field and I guess face for would be just ongoing

support and care for the next, like, 20 years because this is a

long-term Journey. So Alyssa is kind of beginning

that first phase of equipping has a Target.

I get date of kind of 2024 to leave for that training.

So you'll have time over this year to get to know her more but

what I want to do just quickly as interview her kids, I want

you to listen as well to miss Alyssa.

And if you guys have any questions about her story

afterwards, y'all can go up and find her and ask for those

questions. So Alyssa, why don't you just

quickly? Tell us, just very briefly about

your story, your journey with Jesus and what that's been like.

Yeah, so I grew up in a Christian home with my parents

were believers. And so I had grown up hearing a

lot about Jesus and who he is and kind of like made a decision

when I was pretty young to like, follow the Lord, but my

understanding of who God was is that he was just very like,

angry and unapproachable and so a lot of my like the Overflow of

my heart in that was just kind of like very afraid.

And just kind of like didn't want to be like punished because

I like knew I was a sinner knew that I was not worthy.

And so I tried like with just doing good works and being a

good person and that was just not enough.

And so it was probably when I joined the summer Crossing

family about ten or so years ago that I really started just like

hearing the gospel. In the songs that we sing and

communion, and in the reading and teaching of the word and

through just mentorship and the spirit just opened my heart to

really like receive the grace. And mercy that is found in the

gospel and so kind of from there then all those things kind of

just overflow of like we have like a personal and approachable

God and one who desires to like no us.

And so it's from that that we like love and serve him.

Not Not like for favor but because we already have it not

because of anything that we bring to the table either.

So let's go this. Yeah, thank you, for sure.

So obviously you're here and the goal is that you want to play a

part in being a goer. So taking the gospel to the

unreached and so kind of tell us maybe some of the things that

God used in your life to bring you to this point.

What was that Journey like? Yeah, so I grew up in a

multicultural. Strong Community.

I grew up in at Naval community and so, I grew up around a lot

of my friends were from, like, unreached, places, and

countries. And so in like my education, we

learned about the persecuted church, we learned a lot about

different cultures where my friends were from.

And so, like, I knew that there are places that didn't have the

gospel, but that didn't really like mean much to me.

Honestly, and it wasn't really until like, I started Really

like pursuing the Lord in that, I really found through the word

that there are people who don't have access to the gospel and

because of that, like they will like be born the live and

they'll die never hearing the hope that we have.

And so it's kind of been like through just like reading the

word through perspectives. It's a great class.

Go take it and just hearing how the Allocation of resources at

the American Church sins for places that have access to the

gospel of versus places that are unreached.

And just seeing that Great Divide that's there.

It's just kind of been kind of some of the Catalyst for.

Yeah, okay, absolutely. Yeah, well, that's good.

Thank you for sharing. What are ways that new Eden can

support and pray for you kind of very early stages of this

journey, right? Obviously, it's something that's

been simmering for a long time but saying, Hey, we're putting,

you know, feet to this. We're taking steps towards that.

What are ways kind of in the next six to 12 months that we

can support you and pray for you.

Yeah, I'm just really excited to be a member here and plug in.

I'm excited to partner alongside of you guys and bring the gospel

here to Decatur and Beyond. So really, just I want to get to

know you guys. I know some of you guys and I

know of some of you guys so just yeah, just Being a part of all

the things. That's kind of the biggest push

for that. And then just, yes, Prayer for

Wisdom and discernment. Like, I'm holding this with a

very open hand, like the Lord is absolutely able to change planes

at any moment in this process. So just yeah, wisdom and

discernment in that as well. So y'all pray for her.

Get to know her. Thank you.

You can start heading down.