06/02/2026
Dear Vanguard Church Family and Friends,
WELCOME TO JUNE AND TO Vacation Bible Blast WEEK AT VANGUARD! The MOST EXCITING WEEK of the year in the life of our church. No event draws as many Vanguard volunteers as Vacation Bible Blast! The tradition remains ALIVE AND WELL! We are here to love on the kids and each other as well as we get to serve the next generation for Jesus! This is where the VANGUARD LEGACY begins!!! Our first core value is BE A LOVER OF GOD AND PEOPLE! That is what VBB is!
Pastor Candice shared this little factoid with me about VBB 2026:
35 of our (currently) 97 volunteers at VBB are either in Next Gen right now or are adults who grew up in VBB Next Gen. That is a phenomenal 36% of our volunteer force once discipled in Vanguard Next Gen is NOW DISCIPLING NEXT GEN. Disciple making disciples for Jesus! That’s Vanguard!
THE VANGUARD HOUSE FOR VBB LOOKS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! This VBB is about showing the next generation that Jesus is the TRUE NORTH OF THEIR LIVES AND FAITH! Imagine a four-year old giving their lives to Jesus. Tosha gave her life to Jesus when she was four years old in 1975. Look at her now fifty-one years later STILL SERVING JESUS! What if a four-year-old gave their life to Jesus this week at the Vanguard VBB and fifty-one years later in 2077, they are STILL serving Jesus faithfully with their lives. That would span 102 years with just two FOUR-YEAR-OLD people saying YES TO JESUS! That’s VANGAURD LEGACY! Don’t underestimate the faith of a child turning into a faithful adult serving Jesus with all the days of their lives. This is WHY WE EXIST to love children into a REAL relationship with Jesus Christ! Pastor Candice and Pastor Eileen along with their army of Vanguard Volunteers are eager to get this week going! This is going to be EPIC!!!!!!!
The excitement STARTS TODAY AT 9AM! Here is the link for details: https://govanguard.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3571411
The Great Missionary, Jim Elliott, prayed in the 1940’s, “Lord raise up a Vanguard.” We believe we are one of the “Vanguard” answers to Jim’s prayers! We declare the sending over this week, “Lord, send us and spend us, we give you our ALL!”
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE SUNDAY WE HAD THIS PAST SUNDAY! Five MORE BAPTISMS! We have now seen 3436 people make a public profession of their faith in Jesus and follow Him in believers’ baptism. G-Man got to baptize HIS FATHER-IN-LAW! It doesn’t get any better than that! We are now 64 people away from 3500 souls for Jesus! Lord, could we see this by our 30th anniversary as a church in March of next year? Lord Jesus, make it so!!!
GOD IS STILL ON THE MOVE AT VANGUARD AND WE GET THE PRIVILEGE OF REPRESENTING HIM!
After 29 years, THIS SUNDAY, Vanguard will complete teaching through the ENTIRE Bible in the weekend service! In the year of fulfillment, God is allowing us to fulfill this great goal! This is extremely emotional for me personally. I remember the first message at Vanguard, March 2, 1997. Now here we are 29 years, 3 months, and one week later preaching the 1,523rd sermon at Vanguard and completing the goal of teaching through the entire Bible, the whole counsel of God. We have not just taught you what you want to hear but everything God has said to you and I through His Word. This Sunday is a special Sunday, the message is called, “THE WAR IS OVER: THE GREATER WORKS ARE DONE!”
Here are the message notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49614646
June is the final month in the third quarter of our financial fiscal year as a church. We have monitored our finances as a church very closely these past eight months and have attempted to be proactive in making cuts to our budget to remain steadily in our means. Through 34 weeks (May 24th) we have made $40,104.00 in cuts in our budget so far. We are $61,098 behind in our projected budget but with cuts we are only $20,994.00 behind in our actual budget. We have five weeks left in this quarter (including this past suday) and we want to finish this quarter strong! I know many of you are faithful givers. THANK YOU!
I know many want to be faithful givers but are fearful. I get it! I have been a tither to the local church for 46 years now and for the past 29 years to Vanguard. If you are not a giver to Vanguard and Vanguard is your church, will you become a giver today? Vanguard needs your faithful financial gifts to live out its mission. We are poised to impact a NEW GENERATION of people who need to hear the Gospel and fall in love with Jesus.
I would love for us to close this $21k financial gap completely by the end of June. Would you help us do so? We can do this Vanguard Church Family and Friends. Maybe you have the means to give all $21k. Or maybe simply God is calling you to start tithing to the mission of Vanguard. IF you need a reminder of the significance of the mission God has given us as a church, stop by this week for VBB and you can see it and experience it for yourself. As long as God gives us breath, we will keep taking risks to love others into real relationship with Jesus Christ starting with the kids!
Will you help us end the Vanguard third-quarter strong by June 30th?
Here is the link to give: https://www.vanguardchurch.org/give
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR GENEROSITY TO THE MISSION OF VANGUARD!
In every attendance metric we have historically tracked as a church, Vanguard is GROWING IN ALL OF THEM! Two years ago, at this time, we were declining in ALL OF THEM.
Two years ago, our total weekly average attendance was 471.
Today our total weekly average attendance is 747.
Vanguard NOW HAS 326 people in discipleship groups!
This year at Vanguard we have seen a 54% increase in online attendance, a 13% increase in podcast/videocast attendance, a 15% increase in students and kids’ attendance, a 2% increase for in person attendance, a 19% increase in total attendance, and a 22% increase in adult attendance. That is a MIRACLE FROM ALMIGHTY JESUS! THANK YOU JESUS!
Our YouTube attendance for live services has grown EXPONENTIALLY.
If you are one of these participants and Vanguard is your church, can I implore you to financially support Vanguard on a regular basis? Will you please set up a reoccurring gift online to help the church? THANK YOU!
Vanguard is a mid-size church. We have NEVER been a MEGA-CHURCH. In Vanguard’s 29 years of existence, we have averaged over 1000 people weekly ONLY ONE YEAR and that was in 2010.
In 2020, Covid had a very negative impact on Vanguard’s average attendance, and we have struggled for a few years from 2020-2024 to find our spiritual legs, but in the last two years GOD HAS BEGUN GROWING VANGUARD AGAIN! THANK YOU JESUS! Thank you for your faithfulness to attend, give, and serve the mission of Vanguard. It is my HONOR to serve you as Vanguard’s Senior Pastor. Thank you for allowing me that privilege!
This Saturday is WALK FOR LIFE with LIFE NETWORK one our strategic VANGUARD GLOCAL PARTNERS. Join me and many other Vanguardians as we walk for Life to raise funds to care for the born and the unborn. We LOVE LIFE NETWORK! Here is the link for details: https://govanguard.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3615267
Next Sunday (June 14th) is our next Vanguard MEMBERSHIP GATHERING. We want to invite you to become a part of the Vanguard Church Family. Here is the link for details: https://govanguard.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3661601
Can’t wait to celebrate with you this weekend what God does through our Vanguard VBB this week!
LET THE VBB EXCITEMENT BEGIN!
Blessings,
Pastor Kelly
