Updates Long Past Due

To say that 2015 has had a rough start would be stating things mildly. Health issues and the financial challenges they brought about have set back our time table a lot. By this point, the first of the small groups was to have started, a new promotional video release, and a location for the seminar set. Unfortunately, none of that has happened. There are a lot of people we need to meet with to get the ball rolling again that we have not been able to make happen.

First and foremost, to reassure all of you, the fire has in no way diminished. Our passion for glorifying God and preaching His Gospel to those not currently being reached still burns with a bright flame. The trials of the last few weeks have done nothing to deter the vision the Lord has given us. Freedom Church is still coming.

The seminar we've been planning is still the plan. The more research we do, the more people we ask, the more convinced we are that we need to move forward. The need is tremendous. However, for obvious reasons we are moving the date back until May. The final date will be set once we have a location. We need help finding one. To keep consistent with the planned location, Washington or East Peoria would be ideal however, locations in Peoria are not out of the question. The preference is for a host church that we can partner with that sees the need but, failing that, other locations are options that will need to be considered.

Thanks to an overly busy holiday season and the trials of the last several weeks, most of the needs have not changed. The list (copied here from a previous post) hasn't changed.

1. Final legal filings for incorporation as a religious corp. We have most of the funds for this but need the rest. This is the smallest part of the need.
2. Promotional expenses. In addition to press releases, we are going to produce radio spots to run on both Christian and secular radio stations. We can produce the spots in-house using Deep Mystery Studio, the facility used to record Jesus' Outsider. The cost will be to air the spots.
3. Mailers to churches with information about the conference and fliers that can they can post.
4. Participant hand-outs
5. Speaker fees for outside speakers
6. Fees for the host church or facility.

However, we are no longer promoting the GoFundMe campaign. They charge too much. I would rather have the normal charges of credit card processing through PayPal than the additional cost of a crowd-sourcing service. I have been less than impressed with the service. They haven't done anything to warrant the fees they impose. Contributions can be made through PayPal either on this page or on the FC site.

Work continues. I hope to have my voice back soon so that I will start recording soon and be able to create the promotional videos for the church and for the seminar. The storyboards for the seminar video are almost complete.

Prayer support is greatly appreciated. The trials that have slowed our progress are not finished yet. The vision continues, the fire burns as bright. Trials cannot stop the plans of the Lord.

The Conference

As we posted last week, we are planning seminar to launch the church to the public. After a lot of prayer and research, we believe the Lord has called us to launch an unusual church in an unusual way. If we're going to pull this off, we need help.

One of the most important needs is a host church. Yes, it's a lot to ask but we want to partner other ministries to fulfill the mission God has given us and help them fulfill theirs. The launch of Freedom Church is built on a cornerstone of unity in the Gospel. If all goes well, the host will have the opportunity to share their vision with people who they may never have come into contact with outside of the seminar.

We really aren't asking much of the host. We need the facility, a few tables for the foyer, sound system, and at least one liaison so we can find what we need to clean up when we're done. We can provide a sound tech but would be more than happy to have the church use their own. Our volunteers will handle the rest. We would like the host to have a table with information about the church and their ministries with someone to share their vision with visitors. We would welcome more participation from the host.

We need more help than just a host. We need some funding to cover the initial expenses we're going to encounter. Unfortunately, even to build a fundraiser we need some resources to properly promote it and to produce materials for the attendees. We recently updated our GoFundMe campaign to target it specifically to the money we need for the seminar. The new video is also aimed at this goal.

In detail, this is what we need.

1. Final legal filings for incorporation as a religious corp. We have some of the funds for this but need the rest. This is the smallest part of the need.
2. Promotional expenses. In addition to press releases, we are going to produce radio spots to run on both Christian and secular radio stations. We can produce the spots in-house using Deep Mystery Studio, the facility used to record Jesus' Outsider. The cost will be to air the spots.
3. Mailers to churches with information about the conference and fliers that can they can post.
4. Participant hand-outs
5. Speaker fees for outside speakers
6. Fees for the host church or facility.

Admittedly, this doesn't sound like a lot of money for a seminar on this level. We are keeping a lot of expenses down by doing most of the work in house using talents we already possess.

Please prayerfully consider helping us get this off the ground. If you cannot help us financially, please share this with someone who might. We can't fulfill the mission the Lord has given us without help.