The Meaning of It All

Now the the vision document has been posted, what does it all mean? What is Freedom Church really all about?

The answer is simple. We are all about reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, loving the unlovable, and connecting with those uncomfortable in traditional or even most contemporary churches. Looking around our community, the need is obvious, at least to those whom the Holy Spirit inspires to look for it.

The ones we are called to reach are considered to be some of the most challenging to reach. Most have experience with the church (direct or indirect) and don't hold that experience as positive. Some of those experiences have been perceived through the devices of the enemy but not all of them.

In the vision, we talk about the unchurched and the dechurched. The unchurch is obvious. They are people who have not been a part of the church at any time in their lives. This doesn't mean that they don't have any experience or contact only that they've never been a part of a congregation.

The dechurched, on the other hand, we part of a congregation at one time and, for one reason or another, have left. Many never accepted Jesus as savior and felt no real connection to the Body of Christ. Others left because they felt like an outcast. Many of the rest saw everything around them as fake, just another show. They saw the sins in the camp and damaged relationships but, for any number of reasons, they couldn't see the redemption, the grace, or the love that Jesus offered and often brought to the situations. The enemy works double it seems on anyone who leaves to keep them from ever returning and finding Jesus as the real and living savior.

The  challenge of the dechurched is nothing new. An entire program was created to teach people how to listen to those who had recently left the church. It's a forty hour course called "Calling and Caring" and has been around since the early 90's. While I'm glad that my wife and I went through the program in '98, my thought is the same now as it was then; Why not listen before they leave? But I digress.

Regardless of why they're not connected to Jesus and His church, they are all in need of the freedom He offers. Hence, the name Freedom Church. We believe fully in the message of the Gospel as the power to set people free from the sins that bind them, whether their own or the pain and bitterness caused by those who hurt them. The liberty is there for any who would seek it no matter what they seek freedom from or its effects on their lives.

The bottom line is that Freedom Church will be centered on evangelism. Preach the Gospel in season and out of season and teach people to obey all that Jesus taught. Yes, we're called to reach challenging cultures within our community but that's what Jesus did. It's going to be difficult. However, with the Lord's guidance and help and as many of you reading this who feel lead to come along on this adventure, the power of Jesus' Gospel will set the captives free.

It's all for the sake of the lost that they find the love and Christ and be set free.