Hosanna's 2021 Annual Report

“The story of a church that is becoming more like Jesus and multiplying Jesus.” —Pastor Ryan Alexander

Dear Hosanna Family,

As a valued part of our church community, I want to thank you for taking the time to read our Annual Report. Within these pages you will find the story of a church that is becoming more like Jesus and multiplying Jesus through a focus on living UP, IN, and OUT.

Last month, I attended my oldest son's high school open house. In addition to finding myself feeling very inspired by and grateful for educators, especially in this season, I was particularly struck by something his American Literature teacher said: "I want my students to learn and grow through productive struggle." 

That's the phrase we've all been looking for to describe this past year! Productive struggle. Or, to use Biblical terms, fruitful struggle. While culturally we have experienced plenty of struggles, disappointments, and pivots, it has been an incredibly fruitful season for our church (James 1:2-4) as we grow toward God, with community, and for service to those around us. 

As a result of having to navigate the many challenges over the past year, we now have a clearer sense of who we are as a church—and of who we're not. We've never felt more passionate about being the church God has uniquely designed us to be. 

We are inviting people to leave behind the polarizing “way” of false binary choices and live into the “radical middle” way of Jesus. The radical way of Jesus has always required deep maturity and dependence on the Holy Spirit to unify and empower His church. We know it’s the only way forward for our culture and communities, so we are committed to leading the way!

This past year was a very fruitful season of serving others and living generously. In fact, thanks to your faithful, generous giving, we gave more money outside our walls than anytime in Hosanna's history! And we served and impacted more people than ever before locally and globally, as well as online.

Hosanna, this past year has changed us. As a church and as followers of Jesus. May we never be the same! Fruitful struggle. Our UP, IN, and OUT lifestyles have been tested, and we grew stronger in faith, in unity, and in our determination to multiply the hope and heartbeat of Jesus with irresistible love, generosity, and unity.

These pages tell the story of how your church is looking more like Jesus. I'm so glad the Lord led you here to help make our vision a reality. 

Humbly and boldly,

Ryan Alexander

Campus Updates

Hosanna Impact 

$50,000

worth of food distributed to those in need.

25,000

church leaders equipped in the next 10 years in Ethiopia through partnerships with Leadstar and Rev. Dr. Gemechis Buba.

2X

the size of community farming plots in Haiti built strategically with Healing Haiti’s Fleri Darm in the midst of a presidential assassination, earthquakes, and floods in the country.

5,000

people reached with the Gospel through Haiti Teen Challenge, who we have partnered with to add a youth outreach center to their program.

1,000

food packets distributed per month through a partnership with Hands of Freedom.

 

Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. 

Deuteronomy 15:10 (NLT)

Children's Ministries

The big highlight for our Children's Ministry this past year was being able to gather together and live in an UP, IN, and OUT lifestyle!

Each campus hosted a variety of summer events that provided kids and families an opportunity to worship, enjoy fellowship, and serve others. Events included Picnics with the Police, outdoor worship, collecting and sorting school supplies for kids in need, renting out Cascade Bay Waterpark, and a Back2School Bash.

New Families

This year, 190 families visited or began attending Hosanna for the first time!

First Communion

We had 113 kids participate in first communion classes and ceremonies this year.

Baptisms

In FY2021, Hosanna baptized 145 infants and children across our four campuses.

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

Luke 9:48 (NLT)

 

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Student Ministries

Embracing and Living the Faith

In a year of flexibility, one constant throughout was our students and volunteers! Gathering weekly to worship, learning from God’s Word, and growing in faith could not be stopped.

Groups gathered in person, outside, online, and in homes as 6th - 12th graders embraced and lived their faith in ways we pray will have long-lasting effects and help them to grow deep roots in Christ.

Wednesday Nights

Each week, we had an average of 511 students in-person and 479 students attend online for our weekly ministry.

Impact Trips

43 students attended Impact Trips this summer.

Retreats

Our one-day retreat was attended in person by 260 middle schoolers and 125 high schoolers. In addition, 40 students participated online.

Confirmation

185 students confirmed their faith in confirmation.

Leaders

Thank you to our 273 adult volunteers and small group leaders who joined us each week!

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Adult Ministries

In a year that called for change and shifts in how we do ministry, there are many things to celebrate as we continue to be a church that boldly and humbly looks more like Jesus.

We saw faith deepen and lives change through our Core Courses and other Hosanna classes, including Financial Peace University, Marriage Prep, Married Life, Career Connections, and Discover Hosanna.

We also saw relationships form and serving happen through a renewed focus on Community Groups and our UP, IN, and OUT disciple-making model, and large Bible and book studies ministered to hundreds of people across our campuses.

Groups

We doubled our number of Community Groups by adding 27 new groups this past year. We now have 57 active Community Groups with 190 open spots to join.

Alpha Courses

We launched 15 new Alpha groups, including three young adult groups.

Core Courses

We made a significant shift toward online opportunities to grow in our discipleship including a Gospel Foundation’s and Biblical Overview course that 150 people participated in.

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Worship Arts

35,000 people reached online through live worship and prayer nights on Facebook.

Invited the congregation back into our buildings for live worship and messages.

Released “There is Power” worship songs speaking to hope and power in the name of Jesus.

Living OUT Story

This year, instead of the Christmas Concert, we partnered with the Minnesota correctional facilities to record a Christmas Eve service that was available to watch for incarcerated men and women throughout the state, and we collaborated with the local facility chaplains and an inner city church worship team to create a more diverse worship experience tailor-made for the inmates.

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Prayer & Care Ministries

Prayer continues to be a foundational first focus at Hosanna, and in 2021, we saw a deep need for prayer and healing in the midst of challenges of the pandemic.

Our focus for the year was to increase prayer and care into Community Groups. Over 100 Prayer team members served in Weekend Prayer, Intercessory Prayer, and Inspire opportunities. We also saw increased opportunities to provide care through Care Groups, SOZO, lay chaplaincy, and pastoral counseling.

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Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

HEART Ministry

We continue to see great community outreach opportunities through HEART. 

$1,575,000

in Heartland Outlet sales for the year. All funds will be reinvested into ministry efforts.

10,00,0

families supported with food, clothing, and supplies.

90

community partnerships with ministries, churches, government agencies, and police departments.

90

community partnerships with ministries, churches, government agencies, and police departments.

50

semi loads of food distributed.

6

teams sent to Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Wyoming, and Breakthrough Ministries in Minneapolis to serve in communities in need.

Learn More About HEART 

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lordand he will reward them for what they have done.

Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)

Finances

Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report

September 1, 2020 - August 31, 2021

This year, God’s provision allowed us to lean even more fully into our mission and vision. While total giving was below budget, we augmented our income through other non-giving sources detailed below.

Hosanna’s year-over-year (FY20 to FY21) total giving was flat and general fund giving was down by 2.7%. However, compared to Fiscal Year 2019, Fiscal Year 2021 total giving and general fund giving both increased by 6% and 4% respectively.

We see that God provided precisely what we needed to continue our ministries in person and online, to invest in local and global partners, and to improve our facilities to disciple more people toward a relationship with Jesus.

Looking ahead to Fiscal Year 2022

As we prepare for FY22, our Vision Board approved a budget of $13.235 million, which is comparable to our FY21 budget, to accomplish the mission God has placed on our hearts. Thank you Hosanna faith community, for being part of this movement to disciple more people to a relationship with Jesus!

Additional financial information is available upon request. To request, email Jennifer Ford, Executive Director of Ministry Services at .

Giving

Your faithful tithes and offerings of $11,769,828 allowed us to deploy Hosanna ministries at all four campuses and online.

Special Offering

In December 2020, you contributed $139,305 to support Dr. Gemechis Buba’s Leadstar Ministry to raise up Christian leaders around the world. Then, in response to the Easter offering, you contributed $712,397 for our local HEART Ministry partners and for our three ministry partners in Haiti.

Hosanna's Tithing

Hosanna’s total tithe for FY21 was $2,114,990—the largest in our history. This represents 17.97% of our General Fund income for FY21.

First-Time Giving

519 members of the Hosanna faith community made their first gifts and another 300 stepped into online recurring giving. We are also seeing growth in persons using donor-advised funds and appreciated securities to support the Hosanna mission.

Online Capabilities

We are expanding our online capabilities through our new video suite, which was made possible through designated gifts and capital allocation. The video suite will be completed this fall allowing us to efficiently produce high-quality video content to meet the increasing demand for online content.

Capital Improvements

$1,500,000 was allocated to capital improvements, including refreshing Lakeville’s worship center, investing in the Shakopee and Rosemount campus experiences, and improvements to the HEART warehouse. Funding came from budgeted capital expenses, special gifts, our Shakopee LLC (Starter Sports), and a portion of cash reserves designated for capital improvements.

PPP Funding

Hosanna received $1,120,000 of PPP funding on April 20, 2020 to maintain appropriate staffing and deliver the ministries our members, partners, and community trust and rely upon. In December 2020, Hosanna met all requirements of the PPP converting it from a loan to a grant, which was 100% forgiven.

Lakeville Land Sale

We received additional income from the Lakeville land sale to DR Horton. Net proceeds $703,817 was received from the sale of 7.1 acres on the Lakeville campus. Proceeds were used for additional tithe and debt payments and to accelerate ministry priorities.

Land Sale to Ebenezer

We accepted an offer from Ebenezer to purchase 3.97 acres off the southwest corner of the Lakeville Campus for $475,000 to build a senior co-op. Additional information will be provided after the City of Lakeville approvals.

Debt Service

Total debt payments in FY21 were $833,942, which includes $340,763 of additional mortgage payments. We restructured one of our mortgage notes to take advantage of historically low interest rates. This leaves our debt balance at $8,280,316 as of August 31st, which is well below the best practice of 1:1 debt to budget ratio.

Cash Reserves

We adhere to financial best practices by maintaining a 3 month minimum of cash reserves as required by our lender. We also have an additional 1.5 months designated funds to carry into FY22 for future growth and capital needs.