Welcome to Vision Sunday 2025! Whether you’ve been part of the Epic story for a while or you’re brand new around here, you have chosen a fantastic day to step into this church. There is so much I want to cover today, so let’s get right into it. Here is where I’m headed over the next 30 minutes or so. I want to frame the 5 year vision that we’re in the middle of. From there, I will update you on where we are in our pursuit of the vision. We’ll then jump into a text of Scripture that shows us what Jesus is inviting us into. And we’ll conclude by me asking you to get inside of the story God is writing in this season of our church.

On Vision Sunday 2023, I laid out a 5-year vision for our church. We set our sights on 7 specific goals. The 5-year timeline is 2023-2027. Here are the 7 goals we set out to accomplish:

-Open Our Future Home at 414 Brannan Street

-Reach 100 People Attending Alpha Each Session

-Baptize 200 People

-Write Songs and Produce Worship Albums

-Double the Number of Kids and Students Attending on Sundays

-Give Away $1 Million to The Hope Project Annually

-Open a Center for Sacred Vocation

So, where are we on each of these?

We purchased 414 Brannan on August 4, 2022 and we opened this building on December 8, 2024. This place has become such a gift to all of us. This is only our 11th Sunday here, but the impact has already been significant.

Average Weekly Attendance in 2025

In Person: 1,046

Online: 373

Over the first 7 Sundays of 2025, our average weekly attendance is 1,046 in person and 373 online. We can hold more people than ever before. We have a beautiful space that can be a blessing to our church and our city. It is not a small thing for a church to have its own property in a city like San Francisco. With our current growth trajectory, we anticipate adding a 4th service in September.

We want to see 100 people attending Alpha each session. We did 2 Alpha launch parties last year, one with over 120 people attending and the other with 80 or so people attending. We would love to see an average attendance of 100 people at Alpha. The highest we’ve seen so far was 60 in the spring of 2024.

Our next Alpha session begins with a launch party on Tuesday, March 11. Alpha is an experience and course designed for those who are seeking faith, new to faith, or coming back to their faith. On a typical Alpha night, you have a meal, watch a 30-minute video on some aspect of life and faith, then discuss your thoughts among a smaller group. For all of you who are exploring faith, this is a great way to do so. You can sign up for the launch party today.

5 Year Baptism Goal: 200

Total Baptisms Over Past 2 Years: 89

We’ve already experienced 8 baptisms so far in 2025, bringing the total to 97. If you are someone who has placed their faith in Jesus but you’ve yet to be baptized, let me encourage you to be part of our next baptism day on March 16th. You can sign up online or on your connect card.

We set out to write songs and produce worship albums. No surprise, but you need a song writer in the house if you’re going to do that. Over this past year, Seth Condrey has produced two EP albums of songs that he’s written here in San Francisco. They’re available wherever you get your music. Aren’t you grateful for the worship environment here at Epic? Not just Seth, but all of the men and women who play a part in creating an atmosphere for the presence of God to be experienced by every person who walks in here.

Double the Number of Kids and Students – from 80 to 160

2023: 94

2024: 104

2025: 130

If you don’t have a vision for the next generation, then you don’t have a vision.

We have a deep commitment to help families thrive. We are so grateful for Annikki’s leadership over Epic Kids for the past 6+ years. As many of you know, she is going to be stepping out of this role at the end of May. We have begun a global search to find the next leader to oversee our Epic Kids and Families.

2024 Goal for The Hope Project: $500,000

Amount Given To Date: $560,335

It’s amazing how much generosity flows through our church so that we can accomplish the mission God has given us. But the thing that amazes me most is how much generosity flows out of our church. We are helping our local, national, and global partners impact thousands of people – most of whom will never step foot inside of Epic Church. And again, our goal is to give $1 million during the 2027 Hope Project season.

One of our unique callings as a church is to speak into the faith and work space or what we call Sacred Vocation. We have had a vision to open a Center for Sacred Vocation and today, for the first time publicly, I want to share with you when we anticipate opening the Center for Sacred Vocation.

Projected Opening for the Center for Sacred Vocation – Fall 2025

We have a number of things already happening. We do an annual Sacred Vocation teaching series on Sundays, which will happen this September. I’m calling it Letting Arrows Fly: How to Aim and Release Your Life. We have already done a number of Sacred Vocation events. We have 2 Sacred Vocation groups happening this spring. One is being led by David and Stephanie Hey and the other by Trae & Michelle Stephens. A total of 170 people have signed up for these 2 groups. And we are in our 3rd year of the Awaken School of Leadership. This is a 9-month cohort led by Atul Dighe and Minnie Lee, where 15-20 people in our community spend the year being formed at the intersection of their faith and leadership.

sacredvocation.com – the digital hub for all things related to the Center for Sacred Vocation

Values for the Center for Sacred Vocation

• You are created to work.

• You are more than your work.

• Your vocation is sacred.

• Your character matters most.

• Your vocation is for others.

God has done so much in the last 2 years and we celebrate it all. And yet, we are contending for more. I want to show you a significant moment from the life of Jesus that paints a picture of what it looks like to position yourself to be part of something that only God could do.

John 2:1-11 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

We are not enough and we do not have enough to accomplish a God-size vision on our own.

There is no more wine. In other words, there isn’t enough of what we need. What do you do when you realize you aren’t enough or don’t have enough? Some of us just go into despair. Others of us decide that we’re going to get smarter and stronger and better. I’m all for that, but no matter how good you get – there will still be a gap between what you can produce and what God is calling you to give yourself to. Mary knows this, so she simply says to her son and her Lord, “They have no more wine.” In other words, “Jesus, they did what they could, but they can’t do anything about this.”

“Woman, why do you involve me?” We don’t have Mary’s answer recorded. Jesus asks her a question and she simply tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” She involves Jesus because she knows He can do something about what’s lacking. Maybe she had memorized Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Jesus loves to multiply what we place into his hands and He loves to give us what we could never produce on our own.

We’re calling our new teaching series More Than Just Me. The world tells us we need to only rely on ourselves, but the truth is we all have limitations. But when we involve Jesus, we realize we are no longer limited by our limitations.

Everyone attending this wedding is impacted by what Jesus does here…but most don’t know what happened and most didn’t get to be part of the story. I love this part of verse 9:

He (the master of the banquet) did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.

It’s significant to be impacted by the story. But it’s something entirely different to be inside of the story. We started this church to see an increasing number of people in San Francisco orient their entire lives around Jesus. It’s been our joy to make an impact on your life and faith. But I want you to know that there’s nothing like being on the inside of this story. What do people inside of the story do? We pray. We get engaged in the life of this community. We give. We serve. We care. We invite. We use our God-given gifts to bring glory to Him, good to others, and deep fulfillment for us.

Will you position your life INSIDE of the story God is writing in this season of Epic Church?

What does that mean?

You move from consumer to contributor.

You go from being a passive observer to an active participant.

You move from only receiving to also giving.

When we invite Jesus into our lives, he ALWAYS invites us into his mission.

And today we’re inviting you into the mission Jesus has given us as a church. Will you step inside this story? If you’ve been a part of the story, will you renew your commitment?

Life with Jesus

In this Community

Praying

Serving

Giving

Inviting

Become a vision carrier.

I’ve shared a lot with you today. Lots of vision and lots of numbers. But I want to end with one story of someone who got inside the story. Last June, a young man showed up to church for a Sacred Vocation event. From there, he started attending on Sundays. He then stepped into Alpha. And when we do our next baptisms in 3 weeks, he’ll be in the water.

When you get inside the story, God will use your life to bring others inside of His story. Are you in?