KAINOS
Jesus Makes All Things New
| About | Vision | Commit | Give Now | Messages | Updates | Resources |
Kainos Impact: Our First Six Months
Dec 2021–May 2022
Much has happened in just the first six months of our two-year Kainos journey. Here are a few highlights of what God is doing through Houston’s First. Look at the Updates section below for videos and more about these projects where noted.
OUR COMMISSION
Giving to our Great Commission Fund to enable our ongoing ministries
- 415 joined Houston’s First, with 73 of them joining by baptism.
- The Loop Campus hosted our Thru The Roof Special Needs ministry’s “Boots & Bling Ball” – a prom-like event for people with special needs.
- Our Cypress Campus assembled over 54,000 meals involving 120+ volunteers while serving at our Family Legacy Meal Packing event in October.
- Our Downtown Campus held four community outreaches leading up to Easter with 500+ interactions where they invited people to church, prayed, and engaged in spiritual conversations.
- Our Sienna Campus collected approximately 6,000 pounds of food for our Faith Center–Harwin through their monthly 'First Pantry' emphasis.
OUR COMMUNITY
Increasing the missional impact of Houston’s First in our community by expanding and improving our facilities
NEW FUTURE
- Significant progress has been made on plans for the new facility for our Sienna Campus. Groundbreaking is tentatively set for early 2023.
NEW CHAPTER
- The Lawn at The Loop — our new outdoor venue in the heart of The Loop Campus — is nearly finished.
- Children are having fun on the new indoor play area in our Fitness & Recreation Center at The Loop.
- The HUB Student Ministry at The Loop is enjoying their newly renovated space.
- We continue to work with architects to modify plans for the renovated Main Foyer at The Loop with construction tentatively slated to begin in early 2023.
OUR COMPASSION
Loving people by furthering the Gospel in our city, our nation, and our world
NEW CHAPTER
- Demolition work at our Faith Center–Spring Branch began in May to make way for the extensive renovations to this vital ministry center.
- We continue to work with realtors to locate and evaluate potential properties to purchase for our Faith Center–Harwin. [See Updates below]
NEW HORIZONS
- We fulfilled our goal of giving $300,000 to the International Mission Board to provide funding for strategic initiatives and church planting efforts in South Asia. [See Updates below]
NEW CONNECTIONS
- We fulfilled our goal of providing funds for a new residential facility at Heshima Children’s Center in Kenya specifically designed for special needs children and their families. [See Updates below]
NEW BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
- We fulfilled our goal of giving $500,000 to three Bible translation organizations to fund projects putting God’s Word into dialects spoken in multiple regions of Asia. [See Updates below]
KAINOS
\kī-’noss\
Houston’s First is looking ahead with a spirit of anticipation about what God is going to do next in our church. Time and time again — from generation to generation — He has done immeasurably more than we could have ever imagined. He calls us to new adventures, and He is faithful to see us through them.
Today, our church family enjoys the fruits of the generosity shared by those who came before us. Countless people throughout our long history gave and sacrificed so that facilities could be built, ministries could be launched, and lives could be forever changed by the Gospel.
Now, the Houston’s First family is called upon to invest in new endeavors that will impact people today and for decades to come. At the same time, we are calling upon the Lord to do a new work in each of our lives, too. Let us join together, united in Jesus’ name, and embark on this new adventure as we experience the truth that He makes all things new!
OUR PRIMARY GOAL
100% ENGAGEMENT
We desire for every person to embrace the truth that Jesus makes all things new — and prayerfully expect Him to do a new work in our lives and through our church.
A NEW LEVEL OF SURRENDERWhat am I holding back from Jesus and need to relinquish to Him? | A NEW LEVEL OF FAITHWhat steps do I need to take to move away from my comfort zones? | A NEW LEVEL OF GENEROSITYHow can I honor God more through the stewardship of my finances and my financial generosity? |
OUR SECONDARY GOAL
$93 MILLION OVER 2 YEARS
In His perfect timing, the Lord has brought Houston’s First to a point where several opportunities will allow us to pursue new ways to serve Him and His people. We look forward to seeing Him move through our church family to generously provide funds to make this vision a reality.
OUR COMMISSION: | OUR COMMUNITY: | OUR COMPASSION: |
MESSAGES
Pastor Gregg delivers a five-week message series based on the life of David found in 1 Chronicles 28-29.
- KAINOS: The Power of Team (Sun, Oct 17 — 1 Chronicles 28:9-21)
- KAINOS: Continued Greatness (Sun, Oct 24 — 1 Chronicles 29:1-5)
- KAINOS: The Joy of Generosity (Sun, Oct 31 — 1 Chronicles 29:6-10)
- KAINOS: It's Already His (Sun, Nov 7 — 1 Chronicles 29:14-17)
- KAINOS: Time to Party! (Sun, Nov 14 — 1 Chronicles 29:20-22)
RESOURCES
Below you'll find a viewable and downloadable PDF of the Kainos book, as well as PDFs of the Message Notes, LBS lessons, Kainos Moments, and Prayer Focuses for each week.
Updates & Videos
Kainos Impact: South Asian UUPGs
The generosity of the Houston's First family through Kainos is enabling our church to support what God is doing among unreached unengaged people groups (UUPGs) in South Asia. Kainos launched in Dec 2021 and we have already fulfilled our goal of giving $300,000 to the International Mission Board (*) to be used by missionaries on the field as they identify, train, disciple, and partner with high-capacity South Asian church planters. The funds will also support those church planters and their families as they are faithfully work toward finishing the task of engaging the 1,044 UUPGs in South Asia.
Our support for church planters among UUPGs began before Kainos, but this two-year vision will provide a significant expansion of the impact we can have and will result in a great multiplication of new churches. Looking at the past couple of years, the first year of our partnership with just a small group of church planters has:
- Engaged 15 UUPGs for the first time ever
- Planted 100+ churches during the COVID lockdown
- Distributed tens of thousands of meals to desperate families during the pandemic
If you want to be directly involved with what God is doing in South Asia, contact Justin Seale with our Missions team at Justin.Seale@HoustonsFirst.org. He can share with you about future mission trips to the region and other possibly ways you can serve or pray.
We are grateful for your commitment to the Kainos vision, and we're honored to send these funds on behalf of our entire Houston's First family!
(*) This $300,000 given to the IMB was from your Kainos giving and is separate from the funds we gave to the IMB for other purposes through our World Mission Offering received in Apr 2022.
Kainos Impact: Bible Translations
Over the past 10 years, Houston's First has contributed approximately $1,000,000 toward various Bible translation projects carried out by different organizations.
Now, thanks to the generosity of our church family toward Kainos, we distributed $500,000 in March 2022 to three organizations to help with more Bible translations. These projects are designed to provide God's Word for unengaged unreached people groups (UUPGs) who have no access to scriptures in their language:
- Wycliffe Bible Translators. Our donation will go toward finishing a translation among a people group in South Asia.
- Seed Company. Our donation will go toward finishing translation work among 12 different dialects in Vietnam.
- The Word For The World. Our donation will start translation work in multiple countries along the Silk Road, an east/west corridor running through Central Asia roughly between China and Europe.
The need for more Bible translation efforts is significant. Consider these statistics as of September 2021 regarding the availability of God's Word in the thousands of languages spoken around the world:
"The full Bible is now available in 717 different languages, giving 5.75 billion people access to the complete Scriptures in the language they understand best. The New Testament is available in another 1,582 languages, reaching another 830 million people. Selections and stories are available in a further 1,196 other languages, spoken by 457 million people."
"There are currently 3,883 languages with no Scripture. 220 million people, speaking 1,892 languages, still need translation work to begin."
"1 in 5 people, speaking 6,661 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language."
[Source: Wycliffe.org, Apr 29, 2022]
Giving to these Bible translation projects was one of the Kainos goals under Our COMPASSION. Earlier this year, we shared about another expression of Our COMPASSION when the Houston's First family provided funds for Heshima Children's Center in Kenya — a ministry dedicated to serving children with special needs and their loved ones.
We are grateful for your commitment to the Kainos vision, and we're honored to send these funds on behalf of our entire Houston's First family!
Kainos Impact: Vacation Bible School
The Kainos vision includes ministries, projects, and partnerships related to Our Commission, Our Community, and Our Compassion. In this video, we learn about Vacation Bible School.
Vacation Bible School each summer is the largest event provided for children at Houston's First outside of our weekly Sunday Life Bible Studies. The generosity of the Houston's First family through Kainos enables us to provide this Gospel-focused, action-packed week every year — and it's free for everyone whether they attend our church or not. Here, we hear from staff members, volunteers, parents, and a VBS participant about the eternal impact VBS can have on children and families alike
Under the Kainos umbrella, Vacation Bible School is part of Our Commission — all of the ongoing ministries that are funded through our Great Commission Fund (or, our operational budget). When you give to Kainos, a portion of your gift goes to the Great Commission Fund to make possible programs like Vacation Bible School and all of our ongoing ministries as we seek to teach the next generation about the Good News of Jesus Christ!
Click a campus to discover plans for VBS taking place June 20-23, 2022: The Loop or Cypress. You can also text VBS to 81411.
Kainos Impact: Faith Center–Harwin
The Kainos vision includes ministries, projects, and partnerships related to Our Commission, Our Community, and Our Compassion. In this video, we learn about our Faith Center–Harwin in southwest Houston.
Faith Center–Harwin serves an increasingly diverse population, including many who have come as immigrants or refugees from other parts of the world. The generosity of the Houston's First family through Kainos enables us to meet the unique needs of these men, women, and children as they learn to make Houston their new home. Here, we see how Faith Center–Harwin is partnering with Houston Welcomes Refugees to serve many families who came from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
Under the Kainos umbrella, Faith Center–Harwin is part of Our Commission — all of the ongoing ministries that are funded through our Great Commission Fund (or, our operational budget). When you give to Kainos, a portion of your gift goes to the Great Commission Fund to make Faith Center–Harwin and all of our ongoing ministries possible.
Kainos Impact: Heshima Children's Center
The Kainos vision includes ministries, projects, and partnerships related to Our Commission, Our Community, and Our Compassion. Here, we learn about the Heshima Children's Center in Kenya — a partner within Our Compassion. Heshima's mission is to provide "a holistic environment that includes physical, mental and spiritual support for children with special needs."
Though giving to Kainos began in Dec 2021, in this update given on Feb 6, 2022, we are able to celebrate that the Houston's First family has already given a substantial gift to Heshima. Thanks to the generosity of our church family, Heshima is now closer to building a new residential facility designed specifically for the children and families they serve!
To learn more about Heshima, visit their website at Heshima.org. Also, stop by CornerBooks at The Loop Campus or visit their online store here to purchase hand-crafted items made by Dignity Designs — a Fair Trade business that employees each one of the mothers from Heshima.
Kainos Reveal Sunday
On Sun, Dec 5, 2021, at every campus and in every worship service, we revealed what God has done through the hearts of our Houston's First family — so far — regarding our Kainos initiative. Did we reach our generosity goal of $93,000,000? Watch the reveal moment video here to find out! You can learn more about Kainos on this page, and be part of what God is doing through our church by submitting your two-year commitment here.
“Kainos Prayer & Vision Nights”
COMMITMENT CARD
Kainos is a two-year initiative that began in Dec 2021 with giving taking place through Dec 2023. Commitment cards can be submitted any time, with your financial contributions to be given by Dec 2023.
Submit your generosity commitment below to support what God is leading Houston's First to do through our commission, our community, and our compassion.