2024
Wrapped
For those checking in to review the last year…
Welcome Home
Let’s Look back
and SAVOR all that God has done
for Open Arms Community Church
& Bradford, PA & beyond
in 2024..
This year
23
Lives transformed
In 2024, 23 people let us know that they made
the life-changing decision to follow Jesus as their savior.
33
Baptisms
We celebrated 33 baptisms, celebrating
public declarations of faith in Christ!
Online ministry
We made quite a splash online this year by posting sermon clips on social media platforms.
98,105
Video Views on Youtube
and
95,147
Video Views on TikTok
Our Most Viral
Sermon Clips of 2024
3100+Views
3300+Views
@openarmschurchbradford 🤝🕊️ Harmony in War: The 1914 Christmas Truce Amid the chaos of war, a moment of peace shined through. Discover the incredible story of the 1914 Christmas Truce and what it teaches us about finding harmony today in Carols of the Coming: Part 4 – Silent Night. 🌟✨ 🎥 Watch this inspiring message now on YouTube! #ChristmasTruce #PeaceOnEarth
♬ original sound – Open Arms Church
Impacting our Community Through Local Outreach
$4,935.03
poured into our community through local outreach programs,
including our shoe outreach, Summer Bash, packing bags for the homeless, & more.
79 Pairs of Shoes
Our Back to School Shoe Outreach provided 79 pairs of shoes to kids in need.
$971.78
went to help with Benevolence, helping local individuals in critical need.
Global and Local Missions
$11,284
invested in international missions
$13,104
invested in local missions
A total of $24,288 committed to God’s Kingdom work
both locally and globally in 2024
Open Arms raised
$4,314
for Angels of East Africa
When Sam “Machine Gun Preacher” Childers visited in April
Operation Christmas Child
232
Boxes
Sent out through Samaritan’s Purse
What this doesn’t account for…
The countless lives touched through acts of kindness that go unrecorded.
The anonymous generosity of many, meeting needs within our microchurches and beyond.
We’re more than just a church—we’re a family.
We thank God for all of you and the ways you serve so faithfully and lovingly,
reflecting the heart of Jesus.
“We can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing
and your love for one another is growing.”
—2 Thessalonians 1:3 (NLT)
JANUARY
Encounter
In January, Open Arms Hosted an Encounter Weekend.
Friday Night Lights
Community Youth Group Launches.
Pacesetting Leaders
Pastor Zoe speaks at a panel discussion on women in ministry at the Free Methodist Pacesetting Leaders Conference at Frazer Church in Montgomery, Al.
FEBRUARY
40 Day Fast
After being presented with the opportunity to swap buildings with First Baptist Church on Congress Street, our leadership called our church to 40 days of prayer and fasting as we sought God’s will.
Baptism
Dallas Finland completed our Foundations class , and he wanted to get baptized right away! So we went to the Holiday Inn.
(The video quality isn’t great, but we can still celebrate the work that God has done in Dallas’s life!)
Tyler & Gretchen Braund
Tyler and Gretchen visited Open Arms and shared with our church and our youth group about their mission work in Zambia.
March
Feasability Study
Careful work was done to look at the costs and concerns involved in swapping church buildings with First Baptist Church. That information was compiled in at Feasability Study which was presented to church leadership and church members for review.
Easter Sunday
It’s always special to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus together with our church family! It’s the most important marker in the Christian calendar – the day that marks the moment that sin and death were defeated – HALLELUJAH!
Worship @ Pitt Chapel
We held a worship night at the chapel at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. It was a special time.
Communities of Transformation Launches
Open Arms joined with other churches in the community to help with this program.
The mission of Communities of Transformation is to move families from surviving to thriving by developing personal leadership skills and building authentic relationships.
The vision of Communities of Transformation is to take the church into the community, to invite the community into the church, and to build relationships that elevate families in the name of Christ.
April
Machine Gun Preacher
In April, Sam “Machine Gun Preacher” visited Open Arms and shared about his testimony, his mission work in Africa, and gave an invitation for people to surrender to Jesus.
We raised $4,341 for Angels of East Africa that night.
May
Rev. Pamela Okinda
Our friend and mission partner Pamela Okinda visited from Kenya.
Awakening Service
Churches from across the Keystone Conference of the Free Methodist Church joined across the region throughout the spring to worship and pray, fervently seeking a move of the Holy Spirit in our churches. The Open Arms worship team joined together with the Salt and Light worship team to lead the Awakening service at God’s Country Ministries in Coudersport.
National Day of Prayer
in May, the Bradford Area Ministerium holds the National Day of Prayer Event in Veteran’s Square.
June
Church Around Town
Church has left the building! Our annual tradition of setting up church in the square the park was a huge success. We provided lunch, and met a lot of new friends in the community!
Annual Conference
At the 126th session of the Keystone Conference of the Free Methodist Church, Annette Dennison and Shawn Pierce were received as Conference Ministerial Candidates (CMC’s). We’re grateful for their service at Open Arms. Annette as our Family Pastor, overseeing Children and Youth Ministries, and Shawn as our Worship Pastor, overseeing our worship ministries!
Kentucky Mission Trip
We helped support and send a team of local missionaries who went to serve along with Samaritan’s Purse ReBuild on a Mission Trip in Kentucky.
Conversations
In June we started a series called “Conversations”
We started by asking our whole congregation a few months before to fill out cards that said, “If you could ask God any question, what would you ask Him?” Then we wrestled with those questions together.
First Society Meeting
Our church body met for the first time to discuss the details of the Feasibility Study, and to publicly begin praying about the decision to swap buildings with First Baptist Church downtown.
Congrats!
Congratulations to worship leaders Shawn and Shiloh who got married on June 15th!
July
Dennis and Kyle Leon Visit
Dennis and Kyle Leon visited Open Arms from Costa Rica. They shared with us the mission of Pura Vida Church, and their ministry to the surf community. We had an amazing time visiting with them and their children, and we were encouraged by their heart for the Kingdom.
Kids and Cancer Benefit
The Least of These Rider Microchurch participated in the Kids and Cancer Benefit and raised $310 to support the organization. Rich also won an award for his bike.
Encounter
A couple times a year, our church hosts an Encounter in conjunction with Church Development Network.
Encounter is a worship, prayer and training experience that teaches the strategies for multiplication. The Encounter weekend is followed by a mentorship journey that guides you to plant churches.
We use Encounter to help start our Microchurches and train microchurch leaders within our network, but we also train people from other churches.
At our July encounter, Josh and Zoe led the training, and no one from our church attended, but people from three different countries attended!
God moved in a powerful way, and afterward, we followed up with one of the young women who attended.
Second Society Meeting
Our church body met for the second time to review more details of the Feasibility Study, and to discuss the building swap.
At the Car Wash, Yeah!
Thrive Children’s Ministry and The Least of These Rider Microchurch held a Car Wash at Charlie’s Cycle Center to help raise funds for Super Summer Bash. The kids had a blast!
Ignite Church Starts Sunday Services
Ignite Church in Lewis Run, which started as one of our microchurches, launched their Sunday morning services, and became an officially recognized Free Methodist Society. We celebrate with them, and send them with blessings as they obey God’s call to minister in a new way and reach Lewis Run for Christ!
August
Storytellers
Summertime is full of campfires – for microchurches and sometimes for the whole church. We love Storytellers Live By the Fire.
Baptism
Our Kinzua Beach Picnic and Baptism was a highlight of the year for many of us. Baptism is an opportunity for someone to publicly declare their faith in Christ. For some folks – they were finding that faith for the first time right there in the water.
The Vote
After months of prayer, fasting, and discussion, our church voted by overwhelming majority to move forward with the building swap with First Baptist Church downtown.
Super Summer Bash
Our Super Summer Bash invited families to come and have a good time with games and food, and they signed up to receive a voucher for a free pair of shoes. We were able to show many kids and their families how much they are loved by Jesus!
September
Baptism
After our August Baptism, we had a few people reach out and say, “I couldn’t make the baptism and I’d like to get baptized.”
So we asked if there was anyone else — and nine people responded.
The Holiday Inn was gracious to let us use their pool!
Cruisin for Recovery
The Least of These Riders Microchurch participated in the Break the Chains Coalitions “Cruisin’ for Recovery” event. Click the button tp learn more about the Break The Chains Coalition
Unity Service
Starting in September, we shifted to one service at 10AM
Walk for Life
Our local mission partner Bright Alternatives held their annual Walk for Life fundraiser.
Sunday Dinner
Josh and Zoe start hosting a Young Adult Microchurch at their home on Sunday Night. (with dinner.)
Staff Additions
We welcomed some new leaders into our staff to help us as we grow.
Dan Robinson: Missions Coordinator
Missy Robinson: Children’s Coordinator
Josh Hatcher: Communications Coordinator
FBC Votes
First Baptist Church holds their congregational vote, and they vote to approve the building swap.
October
Set Free Hike / Freedom Sunday
A group of ladies from Open Arms and the EmpowHer Microchurch hiked at Marilla to raise awareness for the Set Free Movement to end human trafficking.
Then on Freedom Sunday, our church received a special offering to send to the Set Free Movement to support the cause.
Harvest Apple Festival
The Least of These Riders Microchurch raised $545 for Operation Christmas Child at The Harvest Apple Festival at Crook Farm. They also made a lot of connections with the community!
Worship at Pitt Chapel
We held a worship service at Pitt Chapel. It was a powerful and moving time.
The Power of Praise
Our worship and testimony night was a powerful experience. God moved in a powerful way as we praised His name, and as our people shared stories of how God has moved in their lives.
Trunk or Treat
It’s always a blast partnering with Grace Lutheran for our annual Trunk or Treat Outreach! Josh and Zoe dressed up like Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Platypus.
November
Least of These Riders Microchurch Friendsgiving
The Riders gathered at the Robinson house and ate, had communion, and connected in a very meaningful way.
Friendsgivings All Around
Friendsgiving is a tradition of gathering for a feast around Thanksgiving time with friends instead of family. At Open Arms, we do this a lot.
Our Microchurches, our Youth Group, and Our Family Fun Night all got together and had Friendsgivings… We’ll share a few with you – but there were more than we could keep track of.
Youth and Family Friendsgiving
The Youth Ministry brought their families for a big meal and fun. This has been an annual tradition at Open Arms for a long time!
Community Friendsgiving
Our Family Fun Night invited the whole community to join us for Friendsgiving! We had a great time and made some new friends!
Church For All
CoT Graduation
Communities of Transformation Program Graduation. Ten people graduate in 2024 through the program.
December
Christmas Caroling Outreaches
We revived an old tradition this year – Christmas Caroling at the nursing homes.
Now that the nursing homes are open to visitors again, they were very excited about us coming.
We put up a tree a few weeks before with tags, and collected gift items for the residents, and then each week we visited a different nursing home to go Christmas Caroling.
Christmas Eve’s Eve
Our annual Christmas Eve’s Eve tradition was a beautiful and special time. We held two services, with special music, a children’s skit, Christmas music, and a special message from Pastor Zoe.
Each service had different specials. Check out the videos.
What’s Next?
Where is God taking Open Arms in 2025?
2025 Ministry Goals
Broken Lives Restored
More Salvations and Baptisms!
Changed Lives Multiplying
Street Ministry Developed
Sharing Campaigns
Family Fun Nights
Communities of Transformation
Sunday Morning Attendance Growing
Wholeness Experienced
Acessibility Giving Campaign
Microchurch Attendance Growing
Friday Night Light Growth
Kids and Youth Growth
Volunteers / Service Increase
Holy Spirit’s Presence
Increased Attendance at Monday Night Prayer
Monthly Prayer Walks
Nursing Home Ministry
Inner Healing Team Deployed
Servant Leaders Empowered
Encounter Weekends (Jan, July)
Ministry Leadership Pipeline
Planting more churches
Spring
In the Spring, We’ll be moving into our new building!
Our hope is to be able to celebrate in the new sanctuary by Easter Sunday.
40 Days of Sharing Campaign
Summer
Monthly Sharing Events
Church Around Town
Encounter Weekend in July: We’ll train more disciple makers and prepare to plant more churches and microchurches!
Baptism Picnic
Fall
Youth and Young Adult Ministries Growing and having more impact!
Winter
Continued Growth as we reach out into our neighborhood with the good news of Jesus!