A N N U A L R E P O R T

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1 ANNUAL E L E V A T I O N C H U R C H R E P O R T T W E N T Y T H I R T E E N

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3 FROM PASTOR STEVEN FURTICK This may sound silly, but Annual Report time is one of my favorite times of the year. I know it s just a booklet. But the information on each page reflects the prayers, work, generosity, and faith of so many people. All of this points to the faithfulness of God. I don t take any of it for granted. Would you take 10 or 15 minutes and look the full report over? I think it will refresh you with a perspective of the effectiveness of God s work in our church. And then, would you prayerfully consider the part God has called you to play in this mission? There s something so fulfilling about being a part of something bigger than us, and investing in something that is guaranteed to outlast us. I value all of you who are committed to making an eternal difference. Thank you. Jesus is building His church. It s an honor to serve Him together with you. Yours In Christ,

4 2013 BAPTISMS & SALVATIONS 362 ROCK HILL 507 UPTOWN 128 PROVIDENCE 277 GASTON 3,699 PEOPLE BAPTIZED IN MATTHEWS 33 GTA 1,215 BLAKENEY 539 UNIVERSITY/ CONCORD OVER 9,000 PEOPLE BAPTIZED SINCE 2006

5 E L E V A T I ON H A S B E E N L I F E C H A N G I N G F O R M E A N D M Y F AMI LY. I G O T T O W A T C H B O T H O F M Y P A R E N T S A C C E P T CH R I S T AT T H E E A S T E R E X P E R I E N C E, A N D I H A D T H E OP P OR T UN I T Y T O G E T B A P T I Z E D A L O N G S I D E T H E M D U R I N G R AI S E D T O L I F E! ELLIE GUNKEL ELEVATION ROCK HILL DECISIONS FOR CHRIST IN ,663 PEOPLE = 10 PEOPLE

6 2013 ATTENDANCE STATISTICS TOTAL AVERAGE HISTORICAL ATTENDANCE 14,000 12,000 11,708 13,798 10,000 9,595 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,089 3,892 5,510 6,139 2, TOTAL AVERAGE ATTENDANCE ,798 PEOPLE = 10 PEOPLE

7 GOD LED ME OUT OF ISOLATION AND BREATHED LIFE BACK INTO ME THROUGH THE PEOPLE AT ELEVATION CHURCH. DREAMS I STOPPED DARING TO DREAM WERE AWAKENED BECAUSE OF HOW THEY INVESTED IN ME. THROUGH THE SERMONS, I NOW HAVE THE TOOLS TO OVERCOME SHAME IN MY LIFE SO THAT I CAN SEE OTHERS RAISED TO LIFE IN THE SAME WAY. OLIVIA ROHONCZY ELEVATION GTA

8 B EI N G A PA RT O F O U T RE A C H H A S H E LPED ME G R O W S O M U C H I N M Y F A IT H A N D L E A D E RS HIP. IT H AS TAKEN T H E F O C U S O FF O F MY SE L F A N D P L A C ED IT O N TO T H O S E W H O A RE IN N E E D. IT H A S RE M IN DED ME TH AT G O D H A S G IVE N ME G IF T S T H A T H E W AN TS ME TO US E T O H EL P T H O SE WH O A RE FA R FRO M H IM. I G ET TO BE H I S H A N DS A N D FE E T T H RO U G H O U T REACH. K R I S T I B E Z Y E L E V A T IO N C O N C O R D

9 2013 OUTREACH HIGHLIGHTS $3.8 MILLION JUST A FEW OF OUR OUTREACH PARTNERS For a complete list of our Outreach Partners, visit LOCAL OUTREACH NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL CHURCH PLANTING $2,637,607 $851,735 $324,100 LOVE WEEK HIGHLIGHTS JULY 13-21, 2013 Our fourth annual Love Week was our largest yet with 688 different volunteer events, creating one of the largest outpourings of service our region has ever seen. GAVE $400,000 TO LOCAL OUTREACH 52,220 DURING LOVE WEEK SERVED FILLED 11,381 VOLUNTEER HOURS VOLUNTEER ROLES AT LOCATIONS

10 2013 MEDIA STATISTICS ELEVATIONCHURCH.ORG 2,772,373 VISITS ,155, ,772, ,195 UNIQUE VISITORS (NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO VISITED AT LEAST ONCE) 83% OF VISITORS WERE FROM OUTSIDE CHARLOTTE ELEVATIONNETWORK.COM VIEWED BY 165 COUNTRIES 530,139 TOTAL VISITS 70% OF VISITORS WERE FROM OUTSIDE CHARLOTTE PODCASTS AUDIO VIDEO 639,621 1,963,755 2,603,376 TOTAL DOWNLOADS ELEVATION APP 2,204,171 TOTAL LAUNCHES (NUMBER OF TIMES THE ELEVATION APP WAS OPENED) DOWNLOADS: 121,631 TV STATS 29,758 AVERAGE WEEKLY VIEWERS

11 WORLDWIDE IMPACT 2013 CALCULATED TIME SPENT WATCHING SERMONS ONLINE Y E A R S D A Y S HOURS MINUTES SECONDS FOR EVERY 1 PERSON ATTENDING ELEVATION CHURCH EACH WEEK 11 PEOPLE ARE LISTENING ONLINE

12 2013 FINANCE & EXPANSION 2013 OPERATING REVENUE ALLOCATION (AUDITED) $8 MIL $7 MIL $6 MIL $5 MIL $4 MIL $3 MIL $2 MIL $1 MIL 0 *PERSONNEL 29.8% $7,499,283 EXPANSION/SAVINGS/DEBT REDUCTION 26.3% $6,612,318 OUTREACH 12.1% $3,047,878 STUDENTS/EKIDZ/EGROUPS/ETEAMS 11% $2,767,313 FACILITIES 9% $2,261,746 OPERATIONS 8.1% $2,034,597 WEEKEND EVENTS 3.8% $961,983 * NATIONAL AVERAGE OF PERSONNEL EXPENSES FOR CHURCHES IS 40-50%. OPERATING REVENUE COMPARISON 24% $20,360,132 $25,185, BANNER YEARS (EXPANSION FUND) BREAKDOWN TOTAL REVENUE $3,685,790 TOTAL GIVEN TO OUTREACH $765,563* * INCLUDES OUTREACH FUNDS CARRIED OVER FROM YEAR END 2012 BANNER YEARS OFFERING TOTAL REVENUE BREAKDOWN 2013 OPERATING $25,185,118 BANNER YEARS $3,685,790 OTHER $319, TOTAL OUTREACH $3,047,878 OPERATING + $765,563 BANNER YEARS OUTREACH $3,813,441 ELEVATION CHURCH UNDERGOES A VOLUNTARY ANNUAL YEAR END AUDIT BY C. DEWITT FOARD AND CO., P.A.

13 EXPANSION 2013 The expansion strategy at Elevation Church has always been to use a percentage of the operating income and any expansion funds to add new locations. In 2013, we were able to use over 20% of our operating revenue, our Banner Years gifts, and our loan with Bank of America to do the following: 1. ELEVATION LAKE NORMAN The second half of 2013 was a race to finish our newest location. Originally scheduled to be completed in the Fall of 2014, Elevation Lake Norman was completed before the end of 2013, in time for a January 2014 opening. 1,200 SEATS CREATED IN NORTH CHARLOTTE $10.5 MILLION TOTAL PROJECT COST 2. ELEVATION CONCORD Our Elevation University location was out of room in September, so in just 30 days we launched a new location in Concord. Over 200 volunteers from Elevation University stepped out in faith to help launch the new site in order to reach more people with the Gospel. 936 PEOPLE AVERAGE ATTENDANCE TOTAL COST $650,000 PROJECTED 1,600 SEATS PURCHASED LAND FOR $3.95 MILLION IN ELEVATION BALLANTYNE We were able to close on the purchase of a 22- acre site in Ballantyne, strategically located at Hwy 521 and Lancaster Hwy. We are in the design and development phases of the new project, which we anticipate opening in late The remainder of the project is expected to cost an additional $20 million. 4. ELEVATION GTA Elevation GTA launched in Toronto, Canada on Easter weekend 2013 becoming not only our first location outside of the Charlotte area, but our first international location. Launch costs were covered by the Elevation GTA launch team. Average attendance: over 250 people in the Fall of 2013.

14 2013 A NOTE FROM OUR FINANCE TEAM LAST YEAR I wrote that I could not wait to see what 2013 would bring, and I was not disappointed. It was indeed another banner year with 3,699 baptisms, and because of your gracious generosity, $3.8 million was given to outreach activities. And when our 2013 audit was completed by our independent certified public accountants, it marked the fifth consecutive year an audit has been done. What a blessing it is to be able to serve God and all of you. God called me to Elevation in 2008, and shortly after that, a former colleague from the banking world asked how I liked Elevation. I told him I loved what I was doing and that the staff and leadership had great integrity and were simply squeaky clean, particularly with respect to financial matters. He said, Well, I already knew that, or you wouldn t be there. And I am still here. I feel like my professionalism is still at the same high level of integrity as it was when I was responsible for filing financial information to banking regulators and with the Securities and Exchange Commission for what was then the fourth largest bank in the nation. Our Finance Director, Jerry Sumner, CPA, continues to build excellent internal reporting and analysis systems. He has added personnel to the Finance team, oversees daily operational expense activities, and continually develops and enhances backup processes and training. The addition of Jerry to our staff ensures that Elevation will be adequately prepared for future growth. As I reflect on the meaning of my journey, Pastor Steven summed it up best for me when he recently said two words during a sermon, Only God. Through faith in Christ Jesus, only God can equip us to do what we do in service to Him. All else we try to do is like chasing after the wind. It is only God that allowed us, through your obedience and generosity, to see the baptisms and the outreach activities we have seen this past year. Now I look forward to seeing what we can do together in 2014 as God continues to build His church through us. May the Lord Bless You, Gary Sessions, Controller FINANCIAL FAQs HOW MUCH DEBT DOES ELEVATION CHURCH HAVE? At the end of 2012 we had $5.5 million in debt. At the end of 2013, with the Blakeney location paid for, Elevation Lake Norman completed and Ballantyne land purchased, we had $9.39 million in debt on a low interest rate loan. In all, we increased debt by $3.89 million in WHAT DID WE USE THE BANNER YEARS GIFTS FOR? Through Banner Years, $11.8 million was given generously by the church from year end 2012 through After designating $1.4 million to outreach, we were able to put $10.4 million towards Elevation Lake Norman, Ballantyne land and reserves for future locations. ARE WE CONSIDERING PAYING OFF DEBT WITH OUR CURRENT CASH ON HAND? At the end of 2013, the church had $9.24 million of cash on hand and short-term investments (almost the same amount as our debt). A significant portion of that is set aside as reserves for the church as part of our general stewardship policy to maintain operation reserves. We also have additional funds set aside for our minimum reserves in compliance with our relationship with Bank of America. In addition, we have a small outreach carryover from 2013 to be given in And finally, we like to keep enough cash on hand to move quickly if we have a new expansion opportunity. ARE AUDITED FINANCIALS AVAILABLE? As in years past, the financial numbers in this annual report are audited. Additionally, a full copy of our independent financial audit can be downloaded at elevationchurch.org.

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