ANNUAL
2024–2025
REPORT
Dear Village Church Family,
2024 was an incredible year of growth for our church!
Our attendance grew in-person and online, our engagement with kids and students grew, the number of visitors to our building grew, the number of people involved in groups grew, the numbers of people giving to the mission of God at The Village grew.
Those are the things we can quantify, and I am excited about all of the quantifiable growth in our church over the past year, but more exciting to me is the growth that we can't quantify. People grew in their depth of faith this year. People who'd never considered how much God loves them grew in understanding this year. People who'd previously felt alone or forgotten grew in community this year. People who'd been struggling with a sense of purpose grew in their sense of calling this year. People who'd always wondered if God could use them grew to make a difference this year.
As you read the stories and the numbers contained below, I hope you'll join me in thanking God for all of the ways we've seen and experienced growth this year!
Following Jesus Together,
TRAVIS GARNER
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
—2 Peter 3:8
OUR DNA
1
SECTION
Our Vision
Helping people who feel far from God or disconnected from the church connect to Jesus and a community of Jesus followers.
Our Mission
Leading ordinary people to become disciples of Jesus who make disciples who make disciples who change the world.
Our Strategies
Supporting the people of The Village Church to be disciple-making, world-changing followers of Jesus who:
to Jesus through worship, the Bible, and prayer.
in community in our understanding, trust, and obedience of Jesus.
of our resources to the Kingdom of Jesus.
serve the mission of Jesus by reaching our neighbors with His love.
(Click on any of the underlined strategies to jump to that section of the report.)
SECTION
2
CONNECT
Connect to Jesus through worship, the Bible, and prayer.
BAPTISMS
New Life in Jesus
Our church family celebrated with 27 individuals who were baptized in 2024!
“Our time at The Village has been such a blessing. I was baptized in January 2024 and then this December both of our kids were baptized! Shortly after my baptism I got involved in our youth ministry as a group leader for the 6th grade boys. It has been such a rewarding journey!”
“Growing up in the small rural town of Middletown, Missouri, I always envied people in the Christian Church being baptized at the Campgrounds in the Cuivre River. Couldn’t do the Cuivre River but I did my reaffirmation at The Village Church here in Nolensville, Tennessee by way of immersion. It was one of my bucket list items, and our Pastor Travis Garner was kind enough to allow me to do it.”
NEW CONNECTIONS
Worship Growth: Sunday morning attendance grew by 22% over last year!
Livestream Growth: the number of people worshipping with us online each week has doubled in 2024!
Website Reach: monthly visits to our website also doubled!
SUMMER AT THE VILLAGE
Camp Village Kids
We welcomed kids from our community to learn why Jesus gives us a lot to celebrate!
“It was so fun to serve at CVK for the first time this year! I especially loved seeing their enthusiasm and joining them as we sang and danced in worship.”
👇 Check out the recap video!
Trivia Nights
We created new opportunities to connect with our communities from inside and outside the church.
“A sweet family with twin ‘soon-to-be Kindergarteners’ moved in next door to us. We talked a lot about The Village, and we really encouraged them to come when the Summer Trivia Nights began. On Kids Theme Night, Mom and one of the kiddos came and played! We all had a great time as a team!”
WINTER AT THE VILLAGE
Photos with Santa
We connected with so many families at the event, including 25 families who had never visited The Village before!
“Photos with Santa was so sweet this year, particularly with the addition of the Christmas Market. It was so amazing to see so many new families that got to experience an evening of joy and fun! We had the most families we’ve ever had before, and you could feel the excitement all around!”
We had the most visitors in the history of The Village!
Christmas Eve Services
USING OUR BUILDING
Our vision for our building was to create a space that would be used for not only church activities, but also for community events. We hope that as we open our building to others, our neighbors will experience the love of Jesus. In 2024, we helped community members host events at our property with a total of 2,537 guests!
“Our family has been looking for a home church since moving to Tennessee from New York back in 2020 during COVID. When attending the NHS baseball banquet, we were super impressed with the facility and what The Village seemed to offer its followers. Our first event was GoServe Sunday and we are so happy we decided to volunteer, because we have really enjoyed attending services and meeting the congregation since then.”
The Village also contracted with Wildflower Learning Center for ongoing rentals, with the school meeting in our building twice a week. In the video below, the directors share what it has meant to their students, families, and staff to be welcomed into our building.
👇 Learn more about Wildflower!
SECTION
3
GROW
Grow in community in our understanding, trust, and obedience of Jesus.
VILLAGE GROUPS
Growing Together
The number of Village Groups meeting on a regular basis to pray together, study the Bible, and support each other doubled in 2024!
“For us, being in a Village Group has meant finding a place where I could show up as a “person in progress”—not pretending to be a certain type of perfect Christian or family that has it all together, but as a real human with questions and hard days and good days and everything in between. Making time for a group and committing to be vulnerable isn’t easy or convenient. But it’s been so worth it.”
Multiplying the Mission
There are now over 20 Village Groups meeting regularly, including 6 new groups that were started in 2024!
“We had never been in a small group before. We were excited to start a group, and we felt very supported by everyone at The Village. Each week, we receive leader guides which provide questions and talking points based on that week’s sermon. Allison checks in on us frequently and makes sure that we have everything we need. Being part of a group is so rewarding! We have formed strong connections, and our children have truly bonded with each other too. Our experience with our small group has enriched our lives and strengthened our journey in faith.”
Want more info on Village Groups?
Check out all our open groups here!
RECOVERY GROUPS
“On April 4, 2024 we hosted our first weekly Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon meetings at The Village. Since that first night the groups have grown from a few people to upwards of 25 people. During these meetings people gather together to share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so they can find relief from the impact addiction has had on their lives. One of the core concepts of these programs is the fact that there is a God... and we are not Him.”
VILLAGE KIDS
Disciples who Make Disciples
In 2024, one of our discipleship goals in VK was to purposefully teach invitation. We wanted our Village Kids to find excitement in inviting their friends to join them in the fun and joy that God brings to Village Kids. Our kids stepped up, and we saw record numbers this year from Sunday mornings to special events!
“I invited my friends so I could share the love of Jesus with them and some friends don’t have a church. I like being able to love my friends and they love me.”
“I invited my friend to Village Kids because he doesn’t go to church.”
VILLAGE YOUTH
Growth in Numbers
Student attendance grew for Sunday Night Youth and retreats, and our team grew to 50 volunteers supporting our students and their families!
Spiritual Growth
At their August retreat, our high school students listened to what God is calling them to do this school year. Then, they had the special opportunity to lead small groups at the middle school retreat.
“Leading a small group is a lot of fun because the middle schoolers look up to us and really engage with us.... We get to form relationships with God and others all while having fun!”
“Leading a small group helps me grow my own faith and I feel like I am making an impact helping others grow their own faith.”
“My favorite part of the Winter Retreat is getting the chance to hang out with friends every day and worshipping because it brings me closer to God.”
MORE STORIES AHEAD!