Annual_Report_v2

Hey
Everyone
We recently celebrated our 8th birthday as a church. During
that same week, we saw our total number of decisions for
Jesus top 4,000 people. What an amazing thing God has
done in such a short time. Also, this year so far 164 people
have been baptized! That’s a new record and we still have
another baptism before the end of the year. I love seeing
the difference knowing God and following him makes
in a person’s life.
One thing I love about our church is that it’s so diverse.
I also love that we see so many young people come to faith
here. No matter what you hear, given a chance, Millennials
really want an authentic relationship with Jesus and want
to make a difference with their lives. Savannah was one of
those who made a decision to follow Jesus and was baptized
at Epic in 2016.
Savannah, age 21, is currently a student at Temple
University. Growing up and wanting to be a scientist,
she felt that she couldn’t or shouldn’t believe in God. In
fact, through some things that happened, she really hated
religion. One day, during a time of extreme duress, she
reached out to God in prayer, and he made himself real
to her. She decided to find a church and ended up at Epic
where she feels encouraged to grow in her relationship
with God. She said that “I’m constantly surrounded by people
that encourage me to grow in faith. No matter what happens I
know I have so many people I can call up. The Epic community
truly loves like Jesus does.” She said that she “never ever thought
I would be a Christian. But I suppose the love of Christ is so
powerful that it can even change a heart like mine.”
Isn’t that fantastic?
Our mission is to see Every Person In the City find hope
and life through Jesus. That’s 1.5 million people, each of
whom, like Savannah, really matters to God. Because of that,
we’ve committed to create churches that meet people where
they are and lead them to and through their next steps. We
believe that everyone has a next step to take as they grow in
their relationship with God.
The Epic Church Annual Report is an opportunity to keep
our eye on the metrics that matter. As we often say, numbers
are important. Every number has a name, every name has a
story, and every story matters to God. Hopefully you’ll be
inspired by the numbers and the stories within these pages.
Thank you for the role you play in making Epic what it
is and in helping to make a difference in our city. I really
believe that the best is yet to come!
Much love,
KENT JACOBS
Lead Pastor
KENT JACOBS
Lead Pastor
As of November
BAPTISMS
LAUNCHED
NEW
WEBSITE &
EPIC APP
Held first
VOLUNTEER
LEADERSHIP
CONFERENCE
2 new staff members:
M E N D E Z
(Operations Coordinator)
P E O P L E
Christ
made decisions
to follow
since we began &
so far this year!
HOSTED
Shine
NIGHT
TO
A PROM FOR PEOPLE
WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
&
HOSTED
& LED a
CITY-WIDE
event to
promote
D A V I D
o f
SERVICE
AMONG
city
churches
C O O P E R
(Worship Director)
2016
HOMELESS, PEOPLE W/ SPECIAL NEEDS,
AND CHILDREN IN OUR COMMUNITY

2016
ANNUALREPORT
2016
ANNUALREPORT
Found
purpose
Taryn found us on social media and came to Epic
Fairmount for the first time this past July. A week later
she returned and made a decision to follow Jesus. Taryn
said, “Before deciding to follow Christ I was very wrapped up in
myself and constantly found myself thinking that there had to
be something else that was greater than what I was doing… and
struggled to find a purpose. Now it feels like the days are coming
together telling a bigger story, which is the story of my life. I find
joy in doing the things I’ve been doing but now it is because I see
the bigger picture and why I was put on this earth.
decisions to
follow Jesus
“Before Epic I was never very religious at all. Epic has taught
me that I can have a constantly growing relationship with Jesus.”
When Taryn got baptized a few weeks ago, she said, “I
will be able to look back on this day and remember the beginning
of my spiritual journey and when I decided wholeheartedly to make
Jesus the leader of my life.”
Taryn is part of the life group that is traveling on a
missions trip to Belize this fall. She also joined a serve
team at Fairmount and serves as a greeter. It’s so cool
to see that someone who was a self proclaimed skeptic
at the beginning of this year has since made Jesus
the forgiver and leader of her life and experienced
tremendous life change as a result. YAY GOD!
NUMBER OF
DECISIONS TO
FOLLOW JESUS
BAPTISMS 2016

2016
ANNUALREPORT
IN JUST
our church has GROWN to a year-round weekly average ATTENDANCE OF
NEARLY 1400 PEOPLE! We EXCEEDED 2,000 IN ATTENDANCE several
times including INCLUDING A PEAK OF 2,100 on the most recent EPIC DAY!
Laura attends our Manayunk location and serves in the nursery. She emailed Pastor Kent to
share a great story about her niece’s experience in the preschool class. Avily, who is only three
years old, attended church with Laura on Easter Sunday. Then, three months later, in July, she
came along for a second time. As they pulled up to the theater, little Avily was literally jumping
up and down with excitement to be at church. Laura said, “When we picked her up after the service,
my husband and I stood in the back and observed for a brief moment and realized she was holding hands with
kids and dancing and she couldn’t have been more happy. She had a blast in the preschool class. Not only that,
but we ran to Shoprite for a few things after church and she’s singing at the top of her lungs how much she loves
Jesus! Avily has everything in her life that’s influencing her to be Muslim like her parents and yet Jesus has
already touched her heart and she’s clearly ‘spreading the word’ throughout the food store. Special thanks for you
and all you do and your 2-3 year old leaders who served. She enjoyed it so much I’m trying to see if I can steal
her from her mom again so she can attend church this Sunday. :)”
2016
ANNUALREPORT
2016 LOCATION AVERAGE
MANAYUNK
CENTER CITY 347
ROXBOROUGH
FAIRMOUNT
205
327
497
2016 AVERAGE WEEKLY ATTENDANCE
201
AN
INCREASE
OVER 2015 OF
NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN A
2016
1176
AN INCREASE
OVER 2015 OF
MANAYUNK
CENTER CITY 557
ROXBOROUGH
FAIRMOUNT
356
568
809
747
NUMBER OF PEOPLE
AN INCREASE
OVER 2015 OF

WE BELIEVE THAT
EVERY PERSON MATTERS
2016
ANNUALREPORT
NATIONALLY WE SUPPORT CHURCH PLANTERS
WITH FINANCIAL HELP AND BY OFFERING EXPERTISE.
KENT OFTEN MEETS WITH CHURCH PLANTERS AND
SHARES WHAT WE’VE LEARNED AS WELL AS SHARES
PROMO MATERIALS, DOCUMENTS, STRATEGIES, PLANS,
ETC., THAT WE’VE DEVELOPED ALONG THE WAY.
WE ALSO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE ASSOCIATION
OF RELATED CHURCHES, A CHURCH PLANTING
ORGANIZATION.
LOCALLY WE SUPPORT THE
HOMELESS, PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS, AND CHILDREN. THOUSANDS
OF DOLLARS AND THOUSANDS OF MAN
HOURS ARE DEVOTED TO COMMUNITY
SERVICE PROJECTS EVERY YEAR.
GLOBALLY WE SEND MONTHLY SUPPORT
TO COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL. OUR PLAN
IS TO DECIDE ON A SPECIFIC PART OF THE
WORLD TO FOCUS OUR SUPPORT AND TO
WORK WITH LOCAL CHURCHES THERE SO THAT
WE CAN DEVELOP CONNECTIONS WITH THE
COMMUNITIES WE SUPPORT.
WE ALSO SEND FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO ISRAEL
EVERY MONTH.
THIS YEAR
HOURS SERVED
WE GAVE THE
EQUIVALENT OF
WORTH OF TIME
SERVING OUR
COMMUNITY…
We provided OVER 3,050 MEALS to homeless
men, women, and children. We prepared and served
dinner to OVER 500 CANCER PATIENTS AND
THEIR FAMILIES. We hosted NIGHT TO SHINE,
A PROM EVENT FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS and SERVED 158 SPECIAL GUESTS
AND 75 CAREGIVERS. We served OVER 4500
PEOPLE at our annual COMMUNITY EASTER
EGG HUNT at Gorgas Park in Roxborough. We
performed RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS ALL
THROUGHOUT THE CITY on a single day (38
PROJECTS AND 345 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED).
TWO OF OUR LIFE GROUPS FOCUS
EXCLUSIVELY ON SERVING OTHERS every
single week. All of our life groups do a service project
together every semester.

2016
ANNUALREPORT
EVERY
PERSON
IN THE
CITY

2016
ANNUALREPORT
Local
church
I’m convinced that the very best thing we can do to serve
Philadelphia is to create healthy, growing churches all
around our city.
JUSTIN DELA CRUZ
Exc. Pastor-Locations &
Fairmount Location Pastor
Scripture says that Jesus is building his church
(Matthew 16:18). And he wants us to be a part of it
(1 Corinthians 12:27).
PASSIONATE
NOT
PASSIVE
One of the pastors we learn from, Bill Hybels, is known for
championing the message that “the local church is the hope of the
world.” I wholeheartedly agree.
The hope of our city is not government, academia, business,
or sports. (Yup, definitely not sports right now!)
It’s the church. Our church and other great churches around
our city because it is to the church that God has entrusted
the message of salvation, which truly changes people’s lives
and hearts.
This is what we get to be a part of each and every week. So
for us, we’re not just doing church to do church. We’re on
a mission that no other organization or group of people
is able to accomplish. We really believe that God will work
through us to change our city.
One of the greatest privileges in all of life is when Jesus
taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey Justin (you can put your
name here), I have a critical role for you as I am building my church
in this city and world. And I’ve been preparing you your whole life for
it.” How have you responded to that? How do you say no to
that?
Let’s be a church that’s ALL IN. Let’s lead well. Let’s serve
consistently. Let’s grow in generosity. And let’s see what God
can do through us to change our city!
I’m so thankful for everything that God has done through
our church this past year. Jesus has changed so many lives.
And I’m pumped for what God has in store for us next year.
The best is still ahead!
Much love,
JUSTIN DELA CRUZ

2016
ANNUALREPORT
2016
ANNUALREPORT
OPENING DATE:
10.05.08
OPENING DATE:
02.19.12
OPENING DATE:
09.22.13
OPENING DATE:
09.13.15
EPIC MANAYUNK
Eight Seven years ago, ago, seven people joined together to to
start the the first first Epic location in in Manayunk. The The
first first service began with 71 71 people in in October,
2008. We We soon moved to to a a larger auditorium
and and then in in September 2010 added a a second
service. In In February 2011, we we opened a a video
venue in in another auditorium in in the the same
theater. With no no more room to to grow after that,
we we then began began opening opening new new locations, locations, sending sending people
people from Manayunk from Manayunk to help to start help the start new the churches. new
churches, This enabled which us enabled both to us reach to reach new communities new
communities and to open and up more opened space up at more Manayunk. space
at Manayunk.
EPIC CENTER CITY
On February 19, 2012, Epic became one church
meeting at two locations with the launch of the
Center City location meeting at the Suzanne
Roberts Theatre. A second service was added on
February 17, 2013. As the church continued to
grow, a third service was added on March 15,
2015 to make room for more people until the
Fairmount location could be opened.
OF PEOPLE WHO ATTEND
AN EPIC LOCATION FOR
THE FIRST TIME COME
AS A RESULT OF A
PERSONAL INVITATION.
EPIC ROXBOROUGH
Epic Roxborough was started because
Manayunk was again bursting at the seams
and we were committed to making room for
more people. A second service was added on
September 7, 2014 and the church continues
to grow.
EPIC FAIRMOUNT
Epic Fairmount started in the fall of 2015
in a diverse and highly populated part of
Philadelphia just north of Center City. This
time, we started with two services, giving
more options for attendance and enabling
volunteers to attend one and serve one. The
church had a great first year averaging over
200 people a week.
Antoine said that before coming to Epic he believed in Jesus, but that he wasn’t following
him. He is a programmer analyst and mechanical engineer who prided himself on his
perseverance, problem solving skills and logic. He didn’t leave much room in his life for
God. Yet, when he was invited to Epic, he decided to come. Nothing has been the same
since he got connected. He came to realize that his dependence was on himself and that
this was a poor substitute for what God could do in him and through him. He said that
“God has truly opened my eyes and saved my life. He has restored me in ways I couldn’t
even imagine before. Epic has inspired me to focus more on helping others than helping
myself.”

2016
ANNUALREPORT
Your
Generosity
God is doing incredible things through our church. During
2016 we’ve continued to connect with more and more
people, leading them to and through their next steps. Over
2300 people visited one of our locations for the first time.
Even more exciting, over 800 people made a decision to
follow Jesus.
Many of these people came to Epic for the first time
because they received a postcard, saw a sign, found us on
the internet, or were invited by someone using an invite
card. Most who came to check out a service were surprised
by what they experienced. We do our best to create
environments that people love to attend and this gives even
people who are far from God the opportunity to come, stick
around, and discover that they can have a relationship with
God for themselves.
Your generosity keeps us moving forward and doing the
best we can to see every person in the city make Jesus the
forgiver and leader of their lives. Thank you for that, and
thank you for your trust. There’s nothing we love more than
seeing the difference knowing God and following him makes
in a person’s life, and your giving is making that possible for
more and more people.
Thanks for your part in serving with us to make a difference
in our city. We love doing this together with you.
Much love,
JOANNE DOMAGALA
Executive Pastor
JOANNE DOMAGALA
Executive Pastor
CONTRIBUTORS
NOT
CONSUMERS

2016
ANNUALREPORT
2016
ANNUALREPORT
13%
7%
6% 7%
EXPENSES
21%
39%
16%
50%
EXPENSES
21%
20%
2015 TOTAL
2016 TOTAL
PERSONNEL
$758,262
$985,208
PERSONNEL
FACILITIES
$392,209
$423,828
FACILITIES
MINISTRY
$402,442
$306,789
MINISTRY
OUTREACH & MISSIONS
$254,776
$121,559
OUTREACH & MISSIONS
OPERATIONS
$144,187
$141,476
OPERATIONS
NOTES: Purchase of new Streaming Equipment
included in “Ministry” budget.
New Fairmount campus launch included
in “Outreach & Missions” budget

2016
ANNUALREPORT
COMPARISON
FROM 2015
T0 2016 —
WE HAVE
$2,003,701
2016
$1,794,018
2015
FUN AND
$1,551,023
2014
CELEBRATE
COMPARISON
FROM 2015
T0 2016 —
$1,978,862
2016
$1,951,876
2015
$1,402,619
2014
NOTES: Added 2 staff members
Launched new website
Hosted Night to Shine

2016
ANNUALREPORT
2016
ANNUALREPORT
EVERY STORY
A POSTCARD CAN
CHANGE A LIFE
Sonja came to Philadelphia for grad school
and one day received a postcard in the mail.
Someone she respects suggested that she give
Epic a try, and so she did. Since coming to
Epic, Jesus has filled a void that she always
knew was there but didn’t know how to fill.
Sonja was baptized this past September.
SHE FEELS ACCEPTED AS
SHE IS WITHOUT ANY
HESITATION OR JUDGMENT
Stephanie heard about Epic and would often
see the flags lining the street in front of
Roxborough High School. She was a seeker,
always looking for something to her her feel
complete inside. She finally decided to give
church a try. Since coming to Epic, she has
found a hope that she never had before. She
said that Epic has made her feel welcome,
relaxed, and comfortable. “They have given
me the ability to listen and open myself up
to Jesus without any pressure.”
FAMILY MATTERS
16-year-old Julia came to Epic because
her mom brought her. She was raised as a
Christian, but that wasn’t a huge part of
who she was, and to be truthful, was more
of an obligation. This year, she is making her
faith her own and learning to make better
life choices. She said she has been a happier
person since. “When I started going to Epic
I actually began looking forward to church
every Sunday, which was a very new thing
for me. I was inspired with each message…
I began to actually want a relationship with
Christ.”
GOD FIRST
Amber moved here from Fayetteville, NC to
go to grad school. She grew up in a Christian
home and accepted Jesus into her life at
16, but she wasn’t fully relying on God. She
went through a tough time and realized that
she can’t “do” life on her own. She said that
Epic has helper her reconnect to God and
put him first in her life. She was baptized
this past year and this was a commitment
toward taking a new step forward in her life.
WELCOME HOME
Eric and his family came to Epic through
an invitation made to his wife. He had been
away from church for over 15 years before
this, and actually had a lot of bitterness
toward God and the church. He had read
that Epic was judgement-free and on his
first day he decided to test this by coming to
church in shorts and a shirt with no sleeves.
He said, “true to what I read, everyone saw
past my appearance. We were welcomed
with open arms. I also felt that the messages
were directed to me. Pastor Kent says [to
guests], ‘Welcome Home’ and I truly believe
that I’m home. I went through many years
walking on a road with no end.”
SERVE DAY
I invited 2 friends who don’t go to church to
come serve with us, and they really liked it.
Then they came to church with us the next
day and REALLY liked it, even though they
admitted being skeptical beforehand! Now
they’re planning on coming back for Epic
Day! :-)
NIGHT TO SHINE
When I saw the Red Carpet that I help
laydown outside on the Fox a 29 segment
with the cheering volunteers. I said to
myself. God thank you for bring me to
Epic. Epic is making a difference in so many
people’s lives including mine.
FREE COFFEE
Nellie started coming with her boyfriend
when they were both addicted to drugs and
homeless. She didn’t have a will to live. One
reason she started coming to Epic was because
she heard there was free coffee. They
attended and then returned, week after
week. She learned that there’s another way
to life. She said, “I want to follow Jesus and
praise him for forgiving all my since. He
gave his life for me so I may life.”
I LOVE WATCHING MY
HUSBAND SERVE.... IT
MAKES MY HEART EXPLODE.
Also, our children are young but we are
trying to encourage them to serve from an
early age. It may still be hard for them to
grasp (especially when giving Popsicles away
to others and not for themselves!) but watching
them participate as well as watching the
Epic volunteers love on our children as well,
means so much.
LIFE CHANGE
Jessica chose to follow Christ after about
a year of attending Epic. She said, “Life
has changed because there’s a presence that
wasn’t there before. My mind thinks things I
hadn’t ever wondered before. My heart feels
in a way that I didn’t know was possible.
Epic makes faith understandable and Jesus
approachable and for that I am thankful.”

Brian had a great time attending a life group
during the summer, and planned to join another
this Fall. Instead, he was asked to consider
becoming a life group leader. “I’ve never regretted
saying “yes” to a leadership opportunity, so I decided to
accept. I really enjoyed meeting new people the first time
around, people who I would most likely never normally
cross paths with since our backgrounds were very
different. There was so much about the initial life group
that I enjoyed, but I also liked the idea that, as the
leader, I got to make it my own.
“... this semester’s life group been a tremendous success so
far. I’ll always remember one moment from our first
meeting - we were doing ice-breakers, and asked each
person to introduce themselves in a pretty standard way
(name, Epic location, job), but added one more question-
‘what brought you to this Life Group?’ When it came
around to me, I answered authentically by saying something
like ‘You know, this may sound funny, but it’s incredible to
me how a city like Philadelphia with so many people
in it can still feel so lonely.’ Immediately, I saw tons of
nodding heads around the room, and afterwards many
people remarked to me about how their experience was
re-created in my words. Leading is especially satisfying
because I believe that there are at least a few less
lonely people in the city as a result of our Life Group.
Just the other day one member sent a text to our
WhatsApp group chat asking if anyone wanted to
get together on Saturday for lunch and to walk around
the city, and several people immediately responded that
they were in. And it can be easy to just assume that
these sorts of things would be happening anyway even
if our Life Group never existed. But I know better.
It only happens because people like Epic’s leadership
are so willing to ask people like me to step up, do
something a little scary, and lead a Life Group.
And because people like me say ‘yes.’”
EPIC.CHURCH @EPICPHILLY /EPICCHURCHPHILLY