A N N U A LR E P O R T

WHAT AN AMAZING TIME WE’VE HAD TOGETHER this past year! Most recently, on September 13th, we launched our fourth Epic Church location in Fairmount. That same day, 43 people were baptized. I love seeing the difference knowing God and following him makes in a person’s life. On October 4th, we celebrated Epic’s 7th birthday and so far over 3,150 people have made decisions to follow Jesus since we first opened our doors!

Desiree was one of those who made a decision to follow Jesus and was baptized at Epic in 2015. I love what God has done in her life! Here is part of her story:

“While at college I struggled with depression and an eating disorder, which later became very debilitating. One night I decided that I wanted to take my life. I felt useless and not good enough for anything or anyone. I wanted to die, but something stopped me and I took myself to the emergency room instead. Not too long after I was released from the hospital, I received a postcard in the mail advertising Epic Church and I thought, ‘why not give it a try; maybe they will have some good music.’ SO I WENT, AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE. Whenever someone spoke, whether it was Kent, Paul, or one of the other pastors, I felt like they were talking directly to me. I have since chosen to become a follower of Jesus and have accepted him as my Savior.”

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 Desiree, 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.

As I begin my eighth year as the lead pastor of Epic Church, I recognize all the more clearly my responsibility to you, my church family. Your investment and trust in the mission of this church deserves to be maximized and stewarded with the highest integrity and efficiency. Our leadership team is completely committed to that. Hopefully, this report will give you a glimpse of that commitment.

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!

KENT JACOBSLead Pastor

2015HIGHLIGHTS

Average weekly attendance at 1,404 (up 14% over 2014) with peak attendance of 2,164

Opened 4th location - Epic Fairmount

856 decisions to follow Jesus so far this year and 3,226 since 2008

155 baptisms

38th fastest growing church in America - Outreach Magazine

S I N C E E P I C C H U R C H S T A R T E D

Derek came to Philadelphia after college from Taiwan and settled in Manayunk. A roommate recommended Epic Church and he started attending. He appreciates the practical messages on Sunday mornings. It feels like God is speaking to him at his level, and while the topics are simple, the messages are deep. He said, “After each one, I find myself really reflecting back in my life and challenging myself.” With the support and encouragement of a friend he met at Epic, Derek made a decision to be baptized this past year. He said that “this public declaration will be the symbolic gesture, to say that today I am going to make Christ my Savior.”

B A P T I S M S +D E C I S I O N S T O F O L L O W J E S U S

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B A P T I S M S +D E C I S I O N S T O F O L L O W J E S U S

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2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 5

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I N C R E A S E1 4 % F R O M 2 0 1 4T O 2 0 1 5

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2 0 1 5 L O C A T I O N A V E R A G E W E E K LY A T T E N D A N C E

2 0 1 5 E P I C K I D S A V E R A G E W E E K LY A T T E N D A N C E

M A N A Y U N K | 5 0 9

C E N T E R C I T Y | 4 6 3

R O X B O R O U G H | 3 3 1

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1 6 8 K I D S

N U M B E R O F P E O P L E I N A L I F E G R O U P

1,109N U M B E R O F P E O P L E S E R V I N G O N A T E A M

543

A T T E N D A N C ES T A T I S T I C S

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H O U R SS E R V E D T H I S Y E A RP R O J E C T S L I K E :

W E G A V E T H E E Q U I V A L E N T O F $ 3 0 5 , 7 0 9 W O R T H O F T I M E S E R V I N G O U R C O M M U N I T Y T H R O U G H S E R V I C E P R O J E C T S

We PROVIDED OVER 2780 MEALS TO HOMELESS men, women, and

children. We prepared and served dinner TO OVER 400 CANCER PATIENTS

AND THEIR FAMILIES . We served OVER 5,000 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 (30 projects and 500 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 .

V E R YE R S O N

N T H E I T Y

# F O R P H I L LY2 01 5

# F O R P H I L LY2 01 5

ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE MOST ABOUT OUR CHURCH is our heart to reach the 1.5 million+ people in Philadelphia. We want Every Person In the City to make Jesus the leader of their life and the forgiver of their sin. We are #ForPhilly. We really believe that the local church is the hope of the world, because the local church carries the message of Jesus. And so we’ll do everything we can to continue to grow and build the local church in Philly. Our strategy to reach Philadelphia is to create growing, vibrant church locations all around the city. Over the past 7 years, we’ve been able to establish four Epic Church locations in Philadelphia. This year we were able to open up Epic Fairmount, location number four, at the Franklin Learning Center. I love how we all come together as a church to launch new locations - we build every new location together. Epic Fairmount has huge potential to reach a large population in the heart of our city. Along with opening up church locations, we also partner with many other ministries, churches, and organizations to see a move of God across our city. At the end of the day it’s not about growing a big church, but growing big people, who will live out God’s design for their life and help many others find hope and life in Jesus. So we celebrate all that God has done at each of our church locations and look forward to this upcoming year, because the best is yet to come!

JUSTIN DELA CRUZDirector of Locations

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E P I C M A N A Y U N K E P I C C E N T E R C I T YSeven years ago, seven people joined together to start the first Epic location in Manayunk. The first service began with 71 people in October, 2008. We soon moved to a larger auditorium and then in September 2010 added a second service. In February 2011, we opened a video venue in another auditorium in the same theater. With no more room to grow after that, we began opening new locations, sending people from Manayunk to help start the new churches. This enabled us both to reach new communities and to open up more space at Manayunk.

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.

O F P E O P L E W H O A T T E N D A N E P I C L O C A T I O N F O R T H E F I R S T T I M E C O M E A S A R E S U LT O F A P E R S O N A L I N V I T A T I O N .

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E P I C R O X B O R O U G H E P I C F A I R M O U N TEpic 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 continuesto grow.

Epic Fairmount just started this past fall in a diverse and highly populated part of Philadelphia just north of Center City. Fairmount is off to a great start averaging over 200 people for the first six weeks. This time, we started with two services, giving more options for attendance and enabling volunteers to attend one and serve one.

Ana Watson is one of those people. It all started when her son Salim was invited by his

friend Chris. Salim attended, and then invited Ana, his mom, who at the time was a

practicing Mormon. She came, then Salim’s girlfriend and his daughter came to Epic.

Meanwhile, Ana loved Epic and invited her husband Terrance and her sister Miriam to

church. Ana’s other son Carlos was not to be left out. He was invited and became part of

Epic, along with his four children. This one family now takes up a whole row at our new

Fairmount location. They all are actively involved serving and worshipping together and

Ana now co-leads a life group.

F I N A N C E2 01 5

TOGETHER, WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING pretty special during the past 12 months. In 2015, thousands of people attended one of our services and each of these individuals matter deeply to God. Each one has a story. Each one is on a spiritual journey. Each one has unlimited potential to grow beyond where they’re at. Each one can be used by God to make a difference in others’ lives.

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.

In a city of more than 1.5 million, there is a great need and we have a tremendous opportunity to be used by God to reach people and share with them this amazing gift of forgiveness and grace that we’ve received. The size and importance of the mission lead us to keep pressing forward, adding additional services and locations so that we can make room for more people. I’m looking forward to an incredible 2016!

Thanks again for partnering financially with Epic to make a difference in our city. We love doing this together with you.

JOANNE DOMAGALAExecutive Pastor

F I N A N C E2 01 5

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LAUNCHED NEW LOCATION

ADDED TWO STAFF MEMBERS

PURCHASED VIDEO STREAMING EQUIPMENT

LEASED OFFICE SPACE IN BALA CYNWYD

R E V E N U E C O M P A R I S I O N

E X P E N S E C O M P A R I S I O N

Epic began 2015 with $201,948 in cash reserves to help fund 2015 planned expenditures. Lower than projected income and the unplanned purchase of video streaming equipment led to a deficit for the year. The church previously had no debt, but is expected to end 2015 with $39 thousand outstanding on a line of credit.

F I N A N C E2 01 5

“I was introduced to Epic when I was

at a very low, sad, and depressed place

emotionally and I will be forever grateful for

the light that Epic brought into my world.

I participated in a life group that was led

by two amazing people...and being around

other Christians who shared similar struggles

made me realize that I’m not alone. I love

that the messages at Epic are delivered in

a way that is applicable to my life. They’re

broken down into pieces that I can take with

me and apply as I navigate the world. Epic

has encouraged me to strive to live Christ’s

teachings instead of just going through the

motions.”

N A T A L I E

Marie works on staff at Roxborough High

School was assigned to work on Sundays

at the school when Epic Church started a

new location there in 2013. Before Epic,

she believed in Jesus but would have called

herself a spiritual drifter – she wasn’t

closely connected to God or to a church.

Marie quickly got to know the leaders and

congregants at the Roxborough location and

felt welcomed and loved. She said that she

came to realize that she had never put God

in her everyday life and decided that it was

time to take that step of faith. Marie always

has a smile and while she doesn’t usually

“work” on Sundays anymore, she is always

there and continues to be a big part of the

Epic Roxborough family. We celebrated with

her as she was baptized this past September.

M A R I E

E V E R Y S T O R YM A T T E R S

S T O R I E S2 01 5

S T O R I E S2 01 5

“I heard about Epic from the post card I

received in the mail and I thought about

attending all week. I was nervous because

I was single, and scared to go alone. On

Sunday, I woke up and decided to be brave

and try out this new church in the city. I

was greeted by such warm people, and felt

comfortable immediately. Almost three years

later, I am proud to call Epic my home. I feel

fulfilled in my life by knowing that Christ

is the center of it, and through him I can be

whole and happy. I’ve enjoyed being such a

big part of volunteering on the hospitality

team, leading life groups and now mentoring

other groups by being a team leader for life

groups. I’ve met such wonderful friends

through Epic, and now having just got

married, I get to share my spiritual journey

with my husband, Brad, as well!”

K A T I E

“Before Epic I was skeptical about faith. I

was invited to Epic by my girlfriend who

located the church online and I started to

attend church weekly with her. The worship

is modern and up to date with fun exciting

songs and the message applies in so many

ways. I decided to get baptized because I

have come to the conclusion that I cannot

do life on my own. I need direction in my

life from the only one who can truly guide

me in the right direction 100% of the time.”

M A T T