In late 2012, a merge brought the Lincoln church and the Omaha church together. It was a merger that brought about many changes, including 35 individuals moving to Lincoln from Omaha, restarting The Rock on the UNL campus, sustaining the legacy of international ministry, and providing a foundation which our healthy and growing church now stands.
Looking back as we enter another year, we are so grateful for all that God has done in our history as Candlewood-Lincoln. Each year, our church continues to grow, our Small Groups are stronger than ever before, and our faith remains steadfast.
In 2018, there were 13 individuals who professed their faith in Jesus, and we baptized six people representing five countries from around the world. Our average attendance on Sunday mornings was 175, and 40 students made up our college group. We held a parenting conference, a free youth soccer camp in the summer for the community (our third year), and fall conferences for our college ministry and young professionals. We also launched our very own Candlewood-Lincoln website, a first since the merger.
This past year, we emphasized that our church’s culture is driven by sharing the Gospel, building community, and being generous with our time and money, and it is a vision we are hoping to embrace even more in 2019.
We are wrapping up the historic Building Together Campaign which allowed us to purchase the building and are looking forward to expanding our impact in the community in 2019. It has been a faith venture for all involved in the campaign. One family recently shared with us that they made a pledge that was above and beyond their ability to do, but they were convinced God would provide a way. God has indeed come through for them time and again, and they have many stories to share. They confidently proclaimed, “God is a provider, he has provided for all our needs above and beyond what we imagined and has blessed us so that we could fulfill our pledge.” Their lives and faith are forever changed by being generous and trusting God, and this is true for person after person in Candlewood who has been involved in this campaign.
We are excited about the next faith venture the Lord has for us. Thank you for being a part of this church and for being part of the impact we have in our community. We look forward to seeing God use you as part of this church to change lives and impact our community in 2019.