Next Steps Overview
Update – June 2, 2012
To date, we’ve given approximately $1.3 million to the Next Steps projects! (That number doesn’t include the tens of thousands that have been given to debt reduction during the campaign.) Construction of the new Students’ and Kids’ areas has already begun and we’re on target to have those areas ready to go this fall. We’ve already completed the first group of projects, including the BIGG House renovation, staff annex addition, and parking lot.
The next big step is to finance the new church initiatives fund toward the planting of new churches ($250,000). We’ve just scratched the surface in order to fund those initiatives well, so let’s keep moving forward as we take these Next Steps together! You can continue reading below to hear the heart and vision behind the Next Steps campaign.
Thank-full for the Past
First Free Church has a vibrant history, visible in the changed lives of people both here in St. Louis and around the world. We’re grateful to be a part of a community built on the solid ground of God’s truth, a community walking the path of faith together. Our commitment to biblical truth, the good news of Jesus, and the love of God have shaped First Free from the very beginning…and those things will never change. We don’t have it all together, and we’ve experienced our share of difficulties, but God’s Spirit is working in our hearts each day as we listen to His voice and respond with hope. We thank God for His presence that has carried First Free to where we stand today.
Hope-full for the Future
As the elders and pastoral staff listen to God’s voice, we believe He is calling us forward…from where we are now to where He wants us to be in the future. Where exactly are we going? And what road will we take to get there? We believe God has clarified some specific Next Steps that we can take together…to continue this journey of faith…becoming more and more the church that He desires us to be…experiencing more and more of the LIFE that we have in Christ.
To enhance our effectiveness in on
going ministry, we’re investing in some key areas of our campus so that we can move forward well. In addition, we want to pay off the remaining debt on our campus to free up those funds to go directly to ministries, launching First Free toward a better future. The combination of reducing our debt and creating room for ministry expansion will position us to better serve our community now and in the future…helping more and more people experience whole, new LIFE in Christ.
Faith-full in the Present
We can only take these Next Steps together…continuing to put our faith in Jesus. We believe that as we walk together with our eyes on Him, God will lead us—as He has always done. We invite you to take some time, through spending time on this site, to understand these Next Steps so that we can walk forward with confidence.
Our confidence doesn’t come from our ability to build a perfect plan or organize a perfect strategy. Our confidence is in Jesus and His ability to work through imperfect people, leading us to experience and share the whole, new LIFE He brings. We’re taking these Next Steps together.