2024 Vision Update for Greenhouse Project
What does 2024 look like at Greenhouse Project?
We have been growing since our launch. After all, our name is Greenhouse Project! We believe all healthy things grow, thrive and produce fruit. We desire to see people growing and thriving. In the beginning we knew God wanted to seek and save souls and see individuals and families transformed. The key for this is families moving into communities and living side by side with those they are influencing. So my wife, Emily, and I bought a house and everything has changed. We are on a mission to see that happen in every community in Chester!
We have seen so many things change. Our community has changed, people have been saved and baptized, families have been fed, streets have been cleaned, people have recovered from addiction and the youth are being invested into through education, Bible Stories and activities.
We have been growing, but staying small is what we are about. (I know, sounds backwards… but stick with me).
The heart of how we operate is to foster authentic relationships with individuals, to build strong one-on-one connections that minister and help people dream and plan for a new future!
Only one ministry location would need to accommodate many, but two, three or more allows us to be planted in smaller communities and align with our ministry values. These are, being Gospel centered, family focused, long-term minded, and community based.
So now we are focused on building the infrastructure to actually do that. To be able to have growing and functioning ministry houses we need new volunteers, new staff and new financial support.
These guiding values help us make decisions on where we go and how we serve.
2024 Vision:
⚡️Finalize our Ministry Plan up to 2030
⚡️Continue and Improve Existing Ministry
⚡️Needed Renovations to the 44House (Our Headquarters)
⚡️ Greenhouse Recovery Launch!
Create the 2030 Plan
It's time for our team to prayerfully seek God and look toward 2030 (can you even imagine 2030?).
This is what we did in 2018 when we launched: we prayed and sought God and gathered the wisdom of council for our five year 2023 plan.
Our first five years – from launching to growing programs and locations – provides a guide of sorts for the future. We can plan from a place of faith and certainty, recounting all the ways God provided at every step since 2018!
So our Advisory Board has scheduled time to meet in January and February to pray and use our core values to develop our future ministry plans!
Our big prayer is how God is calling us to be invited into HIS Kingdom this next year.
Continue and Improve Existing Ministry
Without adding anything else to our plate, we are refining and improving quality with the projects God has called us to do! This includes Sunday Fellowship, Discipleship training, Recovery Counseling and meetings, Homework Club and Community Outreach — all part of our DNA and vital for community transformation.
This is good news, as we have learned what we’re good at, and we have developed partnerships with amazing ministries and outreaches around Chester that offer services we do not provide.
To ensure we continue to provide fruitful ministry, we prayerfully seek new volunteers to help! We are always open to refinement, raising up new leaders and improving what we do. Now is the perfect time to join our volunteer team — sign up in under 60 seconds. Volunteer with us.
Needed Renovation to our Headquarters, 44House
In a single week we have 50 people for Sunday fellowship, 17 kids for after school homework club, and 15 people for our recovery meetings. That a lot of people are meeting in a small house and we are using every square inch of space available. Right now half of our homework club kids meet on the third floor, while the other half meet on the first floor.
When we moved into the 44 House in 2022 we just did the bare minimum so we can use the space. Investing in our community is to provide the correct spaces and place for those valuable interactions to take place. Environments are very important, especially when they are created in the name of Jesus!
SO in 2024 we need to finish the basement at the 44 House, so we can have one room that can hold all of our kids at one time and be used for Children's Church on Sundays (which we haven’t been able to provide yet). We also need to add a bathroom, HVAC system, and fix the basement egress entry.
So be on the lookout for ways for you and your business to volunteer and partner with us to make these renovations a success.
Coming 2024, NEW Greenhouse Recovery
Last year, a non profit group donated a house in Upland called The Alumni Group. Since then we rebranded the non profit to Greenhouse Recovery and added a second house.
Greenhouse Recovery is its own separate non profit that is created to support men overcoming life-dominating addictions by providing safe sober living housing with a full accountability program that equips them to create a new path in life. The residents work with our Greenhouse PRoject team for recovery coaching, recovery meetings, and faith based solutions.
We had a discipleship house but the new recovery buildings are allowing us to help men right out of treatment.
In November of 2023 we were accredited by the Department of Drug & Alcohol Programing (DDAP) by receiving State licensing. We now offer up to 17 beds for safe sober living. Check out the new website www.ghrecovery.org .
We will be sharing more about these exciting additions in 2024.
Please take a moment to pray for our future plans!
Final Thoughts
Back in 2018 when our Bible Study gathered to pray and dream big around God's Word, I never thought five years later we’d be making impact through multiple houses, three communities, and relationships with hundreds of neighbors. We have come a long way from a God sized dream to a real life-changing ministry.
Our 2024 is all about refining, investing into people, spaces and places for the Kingdom of God. We can’t do it without God and supporters like you.
Let’s go forward with the expectation that God wants to grow us all this year!