2022 Annual Report
2022: A Year of Homecoming
This championship banner was presented to us and now hangs in our home as a symbol of God’s victory, provision and faithfulness through the years to our church body as we witnessed Him build something from nothing. It’s been our honor to plant, build, nurture and watch the church grow over the years with all of you into the mature, robust and diverse family we are today. We look ahead to the next decade, though yearning for our Homecoming with the Lord, full of vigor and enthusiasm to complete God’s call of our family up to New England to build a Jesus-Proclaiming, Bible-preaching, Spirit-filled, life-giving Church in Newton that reaches the lost and develops mature believers.
We pray you understand the holy venture the Lord is on with our church family, and we pray you will stay committed to the task at hand, or commit to contributing to this vision and mission. If StoryHeights has been a church you’ve just been checking out this year, we pray you’ll finally plant, become a member and contribute to the work of God here. If this has been your home and you’ve grown apathetic, complacent, weary or hardened, we pray you’d take time this month and through the January fast to get your heart right before the Lord so you can take the work of God and your role in this story seriously. The Kingdom is here, and we must all be faithful until He returns.
2022 has been significant in many ways, and we’re excited to show you all that God used us for through this report.
We remain committed to leading this church family with integrity, humility, passion, authenticity, and boldness. We thank you for following us as we lead you to know more and more of the goodness of Jesus Christ.
With Love + Gratefulness,
Pastors Tyler & Crystal Tullos
Lead Pastors
We Rounded Out 10 Years of Connecting Stories To God’s Story and Watching Him Take Stories To New Heights
We took time to reflect on God’s goodness in giving us a diverse, robust, and lively congregation that has matured and continues to equip Christians to be a light and invites those who feel far from Him into a relationship with Jesus.
Check out some of the teaching series we did in 2022
One Minute After You Die
In this 4-week series, we focused on what the Bible says about the day of Jesus’ Return, what happens when we die, what heaven will be like, and the new heaven and new earth.
Relational Vampires
In this 4-week series, we focused on Biblical wisdom that teaches people how to address habits, generational curses, and sin patterns that lead to dysfunction in their relationships.
1 Thessalonians
In this line-by-line, expository preaching series, we studied the entire message of 1 Thessalonians, which is to stay on target as we labor for the Lord.
Because of Women
A 3-part series where we took a look at the women who played roles in the development of Moses and learned about the vital roles that Women carry in the Kingdom of God.
The Mirror
A 4-part series that encouraged people to live out James 1:19-27 and Ephesians 4:17-31 and look in the Mirror of God’s Word.
Summer of Saints
A 5-part series, where we looked at a few stories of saints listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, helping the church know their stories and finding application to our everyday lives to live as people of faith.
True North
A 4-part series that took a deeper look into the life of Jesus, the lives He impacted, and how these stories point us to True North.
10 Bible Stories You May Not Know
A 10-part series that aimed towards increasing our Bible literacy by taking a look at some of the more obscure and confusing stories found in the Bible.
Big Wins of 2022
5
Public Declarations of Faith By Water Baptism
54
People Regularly Attending Small Groups
102
Average Attendance for Sunday Services
72
Volunteers Serving
62
Connect Cards Filled Out
13
People Completed Growth Track
We Shared Incredible Moments
We Took Our Next Gen Ministry To New Heights!
0 Years - 4th Grade
Kids Ministry
StoryHeights Kids has gone to New Heights in 2022! We were bursting at the seams in our classrooms with so many new families joining us each Sunday (and more and more babies being born!). We had a record sign up of 40 children for our 5 days of VBS in August, which, as always, was the best week of the summer! In September we moved into our brand new 7,500 sq ft, custom designed kids' wing. I'm not sure who loves it more, the kids or our ever growing team of amazing volunteers. 2022 was a great year to be a StoryHeights Kid!
Total Kids: 114
Volunteers: 25
5th Grade - 12th Grade
Student Ministry
In 2022 we saw our Student Ministry take off with a solid core of new students that ushered in. We spent the year building relationship and community through once a month hangs, winter retreats, and summer trips. Our Sunday connection with Students will be a space for them to be vulnerable, and learn about who God has called them to be. We're currently developing a Student's Lounge where 9th - 12th graders will be able to connect and watch Sundays sermon together and be able to chat and discuss while it happens, and we can't wait to see the stories that develop from this exciting new means of connecting with our High School students!
Total Students: 27
Volunteers: 6
College & Young Adults
Young Adults Ministry
In Q4 of 2022, we launched our Young Adult Ministry was nothing short of extraordinary. There was food, laughter, joy and activity involved in ALL of our events. People found genuine connection and warmth, and we're excited to see it continue to grow in 2023!
Total Young Adults: 17
Volunteers: 2
We Got Out To Serve!
This past year was a year of immense growth for our outreach team as we served our community in new ways, and on a larger scale than we ever have before! We spent $11,981.76Â and hosted 6 serve opportunities for our church members to engage in every other month, in addition to our annual Serve Day which had 9 different opportunities across 24 hours.
Here’s a few of the outreaches we did:
- Supply Delivery for Persons Experiencing Homelessness
- Senior Citizen Goodie Bag Delivery
- Free Easter Carnival For People With Special Needs
- Backpack Drive for Mattapan Elementary Schools
- Free Trunk or Treat for Greater Boston
- Blessing Tree Gifting Program for Crisis Center Clients
- Pizza and Water Bottle Giveaways
- Mattapan Police Department Appreciation Breakfast
- T-Worker Appreciation bags
- Deep Celan of The Price Center Residential Houses
It was amazing to see new leaders step up and lead almost every outreach for serve day, as well as the rest of our events. We also made new partners in Mattapan who were blown away by our generosity! The list is endless. We’re excited to continue this growth into 2023 with a new outreach model, outreach team, and a summer of serve opportunities coming your way!
11,981.76
Total Spent On Local Serve Outreaches
StoryHeights Foundation
Empowering The Poor, Hungry, and Forgotten
2022 was a year of uphill growth for our foundation activities.
Our Rewrite participant hit the second year of her three-year program, achieved high marks in school, made a career shift, and was able to receive a full dental restoration package thanks to your generous giving. She continues to work towards her goals and dreams, while her daughter soars at school and in her extracurricular activities.
The Crisis Center in Mattapan almost tripled the number of people served in a single year, while developing concrete systems and expanding our Crisis Care Volunteer base. We made lasting connections in Mattapan with community partners and developed a deep trust between the other service providers to begin working in synergy, maximizing our ability to help the people we serve.
As we look forward to nurturing our two foundation programs in the next year, we expect immense spiritual and personal growth for our rewrite participant, as well as a new expansion plan for our crisis center as we look to further connect with other partners in the area, revitalize our model, and make a further impact for the populations we serve.
StoryHeights Foundation Impact
Children Served
229
Adults Served
213
Full Time Employee Hours Donated
846
Total Spent on Crisis Center Operations
$34,228.62
Total Spent on Rewrite Operations
$26,100.00
Value of Items and Vouchers Distributed
$36,513.00
2022 Missions
For the first time since 2019, we headed back into the world of missions by sending a team of 12 to the Dominican Republic to serve the River of Grace Foundation in Puerto Plata! It was a wonderful trip that provided each StoryHeights attendee the ability to see firsthand how God is moving and caring for the people of Puerto Plata.
$24,000 went towards this trip and while our team was there they helped to restore an old house for a member of the community, distribute over 200 bags of food and supplies to vulnerable communities, as well as purchase and assemble new furniture for an orphanage. It was a life-changing opportunity for everyone who attended.
24,000
Total Funds Paid For Missions Trips
In 2022 We Took New Ground
On September 18, 2022, we opened the doors to our brand new 8,500 sq. ft that sits adjacent to our main sanctuary at 381 Elliot St. in Newton, MA and started a business to meet our community’s needs called The POP Center!
Instead of letting the building sit empty during the week, it was decided in unity with both the Pastoral Board and Board of Trustees to take a bold step of faith and start up a business owned by the Church, a for-profit subsidiary business, that serves the general public called The POP Center, LLC in order to leverage this space and begin building the Church assets and savings to prepare for whatever God might have for us next. The POP Center is one of the first of its kind in the Boston marketplace as a “Work ‘N Play Studio”, where parents who work from home or have a hybrid schedule can come and work in our newly built coworking lounge and private offices while children play in supervised playgroups. The POP Center also hosts birthday parties and indoor play in the Kids & Youth Wing.
The POP Center To Date
61
Adults Utilizing Our Work 'N Play Service
80
Children That Come and Go In Our Supervised Playgroups
37
Birthday Parties In The Books (Past, Present, and Future).
Despite the financial climate of our world this past year, God was faithful to continue to strengthen our finances as a church.
We are grateful for your faithful giving!
We know this was a very difficult financial year for many people. We are humbled by your continued generosity! Thanks to you, StoryHeights stayed strong and stable throughout 2022!
Total Income
$908,486.05
656,773
General Tithes & Offerings
Consistent and Regular Tithes and Offerings
137,373
Over and Above Offerings
Special offerings made by tithers on top of their usual tithe
85,971
First Fruits Offering
A Church Wide Special Offering Collected On Easter
28,369
Events
Money Paid for Missions, Conferences, and Trips
Church Tithe
As a Church, we faithfully gave 10% of our total income!
91,903.89
Given to Local and Global Needs
StoryHeights Foundation
$55,743.24
Local Outreaches
$12,738.17
Global Missions
$2,372.22
Israel
$6,801.41
Local Benevolence
$14,248.85
330,481.35
Operations
This includes rent, utilities, building maintenance, ministries, supplies, pastoral care, marketing, liability insurance, and subscription services.
365,013.02
Payroll
This includes 4 staff members, 4 stipend employees/contractors, payroll, taxes, and benefits.
49,113.40
Events, Conferences, Travel, Leadership Development, Missions Trips
This includes church-wide events and training for ministry leaders.
Giving Statements
Your giving statement was emailed to the address on file!
If you did not receive one, please email us at info@storyheights.com
Save The Date
We have some exciting things coming up in 2023 so make sure to mark your calendars!
April 9th
First Fruits Offering
July 31st - August 2nd
SH Students (4th - 7th) Summer Camp in New Hampshire
August 1st - August 7th
SH Students (8th - 12th Grade) Summer Camp in Montana
August 9th - 12th
Vacation Bible School at StoryHeights