2023 Year in Review
We exist to help people who are far from God find REAL LIFE in Christ.
We are not the kind of church that excuses ourselves from the good and hard things in people’s lives. Instead, as Jesus followers, we choose to jump into the stories all around us and stay awhile. RealLife Stories are one way to share how Jesus is showing up in our community, our church, and in our relationships.
PASTOR LETTER
Everything we do is connected to a soul
As this year draws to a close we want to take the opportunity to reflect on the many ways God has used RealLife to make an impact, locally and internationally. Our methods are often changing, but our mission remains the same: To help people who are far from God find Real Life in Christ. Together, as we learn, invest, follow, and engage, we will do things other churches aren’t doing to reach people other churches are not reaching. As you read through all that God is doing through RealLife, I hope you are overwhelmed with gratefulness for all that was accomplished, appreciation for the staff and volunteers, and anticipation for where God is leading us into the future.
By the time you reach the bottom of this page, I pray you would be encouraged, your faith built up, and that you would join me in believing God for even greater things in 2024.
– Kyle Plew
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LEARN
One of the most reliable ways to experience real life in Christ is to study what the Bible says about who God is, together.
REALKIDS
“Our RealKids Ministry exists to engage children in fun and active ways that inspire their faith. We hope to have open dialogue about faith and hear about a God that never changes and loves them no matter what! By the time kids reach age 13, a person’s worldview is largely set. It has never been more important to come alongside parents to impact the next generation!
Our volunteers will keep showing up, week after week, and instill in our RealKids a sense of self-worth and who they are in Christ. We strive to teach a message that grows leaders, engages parents, builds community and influences service. Culture and life stages change, but God and His message are timeless!”
– Ellen VanEpps
YOUTH
“We tend to think of teenagers as the future of the church, but God constantly used teenagers like David, Esther and Mary to carry out His mission! Yes, teenagers are the future of the church, but they are also important members of the church today.
Not only that, but the teen years are some of the most formative times in a person’s life. This is the perfect opportunity to invest our time, energy and money into their spiritual lives. This is a calling I am blessed to have. On top of that, I get to do this in an incredibly supportive church. From the dozens of volunteers I lead with to the meals, camp scholarships, shared resources and prayers we receive constantly, we literally get to do the most fun and important work in the most supportive place!”
– Graham Monteleone
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INVEST
We serve and enjoy one another in love, together.
RealLife Groups
LIFE Groups help us experience real life in Christ. Our Sunday services are too big to build meaningful community and honestly, that’s not even our Sunday goal. So how do we stay faithful to God’s call to reach out and make disciples, but still be able to connect in a more relational setting for community? Through RealLife Groups!
L.I.F.E. GROUPS
It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, circles are better than rows.
SOUP-ER SUNDAY GROUPS CELEBRATION
We had so much fun celebrating Small Groups with delicious homemade soups made by some amazing RealLife cooks.
TRAINING FOR L.I.F.E. GROUP LEADERS
This year, we supported all of our L.I.F.E. Group Leaders with encouragement and training to help create meaningful connections and community. Thank you to our Group Leaders for all of the dedication and enthusiasm this year.
Special Occasions
This year we celebrated milestones together as a church family.
EASTER SUNDAY
Easter is always special at RealLife. From cake pops to the Easter Bunny, we celebrate hope in a risen Savior!
BREWSTER’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY
This year we celebrated our 5th year as a Church Campus. It was a great Sunday where we were able to celebrate what God has done and look forward to what God will do in the years to come!
CHELAN’S 11TH ANNIVERSARY
Thank you for being part of 11 wonderful years!
VOLUNTEER FEST
Once a year we gather to recruit help for the many teams that make RealLife possible. We love our volunteers!
WE CELEBRATED YOU
We sent out occasion cards to celebrate our favorite person – YOU. From birthdays to anniversaries, we love that there’s always something to celebrate.
QUARTERLY NEWCOMER EVENTS
We’re grateful to those who attended our quarterly gatherings to connect with people who are new to our community.
SUNDAY FUNDAY
This is a summer day when we all wish we were kids. The smiles on the kids’ faces makes it all worth it.
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION
We deeply appreciate the contribution of every team and volunteer that contributes to the success of RealLife.
CHELAN’S BIGGEST YARD SALE
Your donations not only give you more space in your house, but they give us the biggest yard sale in Chelan to fund an amazing mission trip for youth.
Brewster Youth & Rondayvoo
To everyone supporting our youth programs, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your continuous dedication.
SALT RETREAT
We take a very special weekend each fall with our student leaders to invest in discipleship and fellowship together.
MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMP
This spring and fall we took middle schoolers out of town for a weekend of games, teaching, and adventures together.
DAY AT THE SLIDES
The youth are blessed by the generosity of Slidewaters to give them a day of having fun together.
LAKE PARTIES
Many youth get to experience boating on Lake Chelan for the first time because of boat and property owners and drivers who give.
BREWSTER TEEN EVENTS
Every Summer we are able to host 3 Teen Nights for each month of our summer break. We continue to partner with YoungLife Columbia River to host these events and connect with the local high school and middle school students through food and fun games!
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FOLLOW
Spiritual practices and application of what we learn enable us to follow Jesus’ example and strengthen our faith as followers, together.
“Thank you to everyone who publicly declared their love for Jesus and the family members and friends who came to support them. We love celebrating those who have found real life in Christ!”
– Pastor Megan Johnson
“I want to get baptized because I want to show everyone that I love God and I want to promise that I will always love God even when it gets hard like when someone dies. I want to be baptized in ice cold water because then God will know I really mean it.”
– Heston Dixon (Age 8)
WORSHIP NIGHT
This year we gathered quarterly as a church. We value our worship team and your participation in prayer, communion, and singing at worship nights. The youth and young adults also gathered in homes and back yards, mission trips, retreats and camps to worship.
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ENGAGE
RealImpact is all about making a positive difference in our community through generosity, together.
GENEROUS IMPACT
“We create opportunities for people and groups of all ages to serve and love others in our communities. I am so grateful for our RealImpact team, RealKids, Rondayvoo, agency partners, and ALL the groups and volunteers whose generosity makes our church and community better by meeting the needs of people, no strings attached.”
– Sarah Barnes
FURTHERING OUR REACH
This year we created a new “Engage” portion on our app that shares needs and ways to make an impact. A big thank you to all of those who signed up for opportunities throughout our community!
COMMUNITY-MINDED
With the help of our members and partners, we focused on meeting needs of benevolence in our community in 2023.
RealImpact
VALENTINE OUTREACH
Thank you to the volunteers who made and delivered homemade soup, cookies, and Valentines to vulnerable folks in our community.
HOSTING A HYGIENE DRIVE
In March we hosted a Hygiene drive to replenish Thrive Chelan Valley’s Hygiene Pantry. Thrive provides soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and other items for local youth.
FEEDING CHILDREN
In March many volunteers packed meals for the FeedMyStarvingChildren Lake Chelan Valley Mobile Pack.
PROVIDING BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES
RealLife was able to donate supplies, serve water and popsicles, and host the children’s area with a Bouncy House and glitter tattoos at Thrive Chelan Valley’s annual Back to School Fair in August. Together with many other agencies and over 70 volunteers, a total of 400 backpacks were provided, along with haircuts and school supplies.
HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES
We had so much fun seeing friends and giving out candy bars and cider. Thank you to our Young Adults for their service!
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD WITH SAMARITAN’S PURSE
Our congregation filled over 200 shoeboxes to help children in need around the world know they are loved by God.
Rondayvoo
At every Rondayvoo, there are things you can expect and things you’ll probably never expect to do again.
ALASKA MISSION TRIP
We were so excited to send 53 teenagers and adults to Soldotna, Alaska this week! They spent their time doing work projects and hosting a sports camp on the Kenai Peninsula. Learn more in the above video produced by intern Mario Gonzalez and Jared Eygabroad.
LEAVING A MARK
Leave Your Mark is about stepping into something bigger than yourself. Inspiring 100 teens to give $100 to the Community Center at Lake Chelan!
RealKids
Kids are a valuable part of our community. This is why we dedicate so much time, energy and space investing in the spiritual development of children.
COINS FOR KIDS
Children raised $1,125 for Samaritan’s Purse to help Families in crisis and need with things like food,clean water, goats, aid a mission hospital, build a house of worship, plant a grove of trees.
COMPASSION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Our RealKids inspire adults with their heart for service and giving. They play a huge part in our outreach at RealLife. Learn more in the video above produced by Mario Gonzalez.
COMPASSION KIDS
We exchange letters and sponsor two children in Africa.
“This year one of our Compassion kids, Ivan, was able to buy a bed with the birthday money he received from RealKids!”
– Darlene Plew
Our Partners
We are so thankful for our Partners! RealLife supports many agencies who help us meet needs locally and globally. This year in May we began featuring one partner each month with “Partner Spotlights” to show our gratitude for what they do.
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REFLECTING BACK
The RealLife Staff is so grateful to God for our people and church. What a privilege to serve together with the good news of the gospel!
2023 STAFF RETREAT
RealLife Staff was grateful to get away from the routine for teaching, reflection, and bonding.
2023 ELDERS RETREAT
Our elders play a vital role in enriching our community. Their profound wisdom and dedication greatly contribute to the well-being of our staff and church – their support is truly invaluable! This year’s retreat provided a meaningful opportunity for reflection, fostering a shared vision for the upcoming year.
NEW STAFF
“Gina joined our staff at the beginning of the year as the Brewster RealKids Director. She has a huge passion and love for the kids in our area and helping them learn about Jesus. She is well-organized, caring, compassionate, and trustworthy.”
– Billy Bosch
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LOOKING FORWARD
Our future is bright and we can’t wait to see what God does next year.
BREWSTER
“The vision for the future is to continue finding ways to help people who are far from God to find real life in Christ. Currently, we are looking to find more avenues of outreach and supporting those who are in need in the area. I would love to see our campus have a Youth Group at some point and continue growing with Small groups as well. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will show us where God is already moving and working in our area and for us to be open to following that work instead of our own.”
– Billy Bosch
Chelan
We are excited about two big adventures for 2024. First of all, we will be moving into our new church home at the Lake Chelan Community Center sometime after the first of the year. Buildings are important because people are important. We are so delighted to partner with other groups in making our community better for everyone.
The second adventure God is launching us on is the start-up of Celebrate Recovery, a Christian-based 12-step program that helps those who are struggling with hurts, habits and hang-ups. Standby for more information as we enter the new year. Thank you for your prayers, generosity, participation and faith. God has
been so good to us this year and we are praying and planning for Him to accomplish gigantic things in the coming year.
– Kyle Plew
GET INVOLVED
As our community at RealLife continues to grow, we look forward to 2024.
We appreciate each one of you and the strength you bring to RealLife and our community.
If you’re looking to find REAL LIFE in Christ, learn about all of our opportunities for 2024 below.