Jesus said he came to give us new and abundant life - life that is only available when we stop living for ourselves and begin living for him. When we do, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to live that new and full life Jesus offers.

Following Jesus isn’t just about living forever in heaven after we die. It’s about finding a new life here and now - AND - getting to continue that life forever! This is such an amazing gift that we can’t keep it to ourselves. That’s why we’re Greatest Commandment and Great Commission people.

We are on a mission to love God with all we are and all we have, through the power of the Holy Spirit in us. That includes loving others enough to lead them to the same abundant life we get to experience as Jesus’ disciples!

So, what does that mean? What does that look like? What does it have to do with our church, our resources, and our town?

Tell me more.

  • We focus on building relationships with people simply by loving them like Jesus does. No gimmicks, no ulterior motives, no special programs. Our love for Jesus overflows in love for others. Our ministries and community partnerships focus on connecting with people one at a time.

  • There are four phases to growing in your relationship with Jesus. This isn’t strictly a sequential, ordered, progressive experience (though it can be). Yet, generally speaking, one leads to the next.

    IDENTITY - Spiritual growth should begin with learning who God is and what that means about who I am. Learning who God says I am brings stability and confidence like nothing else can.

    PURPOSE - We often search for our purpose in life, then ask God what His plan is for that purpose. That’s actually backwards because it endeavors to fit God into our purpose. Instead, knowing who God is and what that means about who I am sets me up to discover God’s plan for my life and to find my purpose in it.

    OWNERSHIP - This is the point in your growth journey at which you begin taking responsibility for your identity and purpose. You call yourself a Christian and you become more intentional about reflecting Christ in your words and actions.

    LEADING - We lead in love. That means we lead with empathy. Listen. Engage. Abide. Do what Jesus did. In leading, you deny yourself, lay down your life for your friends, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus. Being equipped with identity, purpose, and ownership, you are driven to lead others through and to Jesus.

  • The four phases of spiritual growth align with general seasons of life, as well.

    IDENTITY - Kids have plenty of voices competing to tell them who they are. We want them to have abundant life, too! That comes, in part, through knowing who GOD is and what THAT means about who THEY are.

    PURPOSE - There’s a considerable amount of pressure on teens to plan their future before they graduate high school. What career they will pursue influences what college or trade school they will attend, which influences what classes they take before graduation. Having a plan is good, but if God is to direct the steps, teens need to have a growing understanding of God’s plan for their lives. That way, they can pursue their purpose in God’s plan while they look at careers, colleges, and classes.

    OWNERSHIP - Learning how to be an independent adult comes sometime after high school graduation. While at college, navigating independence while living at home, moving out, or getting married - this is when young adults learn how to make it on their own. It’s natural in this season to also work out why they believe what they believe. “Because it’s what my parents told me” isn’t enough anymore because that doesn’t stand up when the tough questions come.

    LEADING - Kids, pre-teens, teens, and adults can and should LEAD in love. Kids can lead people to the Lord, as can teens and young adults. By no means does this phase being at the end suggest it has to wait until the end. It actually happens all throughout…and it happens through the discipleship, coaching, and mentoring of adults in their 30’s and older. This is the phase in which parents are empowered, equipped, and released to disciple their kids. It’s when older adults are equipped, empowered, and released to disciple the next generation of leaders. It’s about planting a tree under whose shade you will never sit.

  • We are actively developing partnerships through which we will lead people through and to Jesus. Our ministry is primarily focused on the next generation and since 39% of Eaton Rapids residents are school-aged, we are partnering with Eaton Rapids Public Schools and the Teen Space to build relationships through regular serving in their buildings.

    We also partner with Convoy of Hope to love on the community by giving away physical resources through area events and organizations.

    Finally, we are in the early stages of partnering with the City of Eaton Rapids to serve the community at large and become a consistent presence in special events and locations in the community.

    The ministry that happens in and through our church building is designed to equip, empower, and release people to lead people through and to Jesus. Every ministry, event, opportunity, and resource is processed through this filter.

    The Great Commission is best translated, “As you go, be making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all I’ve taught you.” In other words, “As you go, be leading people through and to Jesus.”

    That’s our paradigm. That’s what we’re about. Let’s GO!

5 Year Plan

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps (Proverbs 16:9).

  • We’re laying a foundation this year, establishing strategic partnerships and launching new ministries that the Lord will continue to strengthen and expand as this plan moves forward.

    Through our partnership with Convoy of Hope, we are able to build relationships with community members by gifting them with material resources.

    We will relaunch our youth group under new leadership in 2024.

    We will also relaunch Pew Partners in 2024. Pew Partners are 1:1 adult to kid connections in our church. These adults sit with their kids in church and invest in their lives outside of church, becoming grown-ups kids can count on to help them in faith and life.

    We will roll out Para, a 1:1 discipleship model for teens and adults, in early 2024. The initial goal is for 15 people to participate.

    Our second partnership is with Eaton Rapids Public Schools. Two elementary school principals are on board to receive volunteers each week to read with kids, help in classrooms, or even do help around the building. We will begin by providing a volunteer one day per week in each building.

    Similar to our partnership with ERPS, we are partnering with the Teen Space, a local nonprofit, to mobilize volunteers to build relationships with middle and high school students during their after school programming. We will also start with one day per week here.

    Leading people through and to Jesus is a family affair. We are researching a new kids and youth ministry curriculum that will empower, equip, and release kids and their parents to lead others through and to Jesus - together!

    Finally, we are missionaries and Eaton Rapids is our mission field. There’s a lot to learn from overseas missions. We will begin looking at missionary mindsets and practices to see what we can learn for the sake of Eaton Rapids.

  • Our fourth strategic partnership is with the City of Eaton Rapids. We are working with the parks department to identify one service project we can complete in the summer of 2024 to simply bless our community.

    This summer, we will introduce Family Fun Nights in the park! Instead of four days of VBS, families are invited to the park one night every week all summer long for wacky games and the wonderful Gospel!

    This year begins our concentrated focus on the next generation. Did you know 39% of Eaton Rapids residents are in Kindergarten-12th grade? When you add parents, easily more than half of our community is under 40. That’s why our church will be intentional with kids, teens, and younger adults.

    The rest of our focus in year two will be on the strengthening and expanding of ministries established in year one.

  • Lord willing, year three will see two Summer Serve Projects, our church serving at schools and the Teen Space three days a week, every kid with a Pew Partner, more Family Fun Nights, and 40 people participating in Para.

    As these ministries grow, more funding will be necessary. Our goal is to invest 10% of our total operating budget to reaching Eaton Rapids by May 2026.

  • Year four is when we start focusing on the future. Strengthening and expanding continue, and we also start developing leaders within the younger people in the church. They will carry God’s mission forward long after we’re gone.

    There are 5,212 people in Eaton Rapids. We surely will not have reached them all by 2027. So, this year, we will identify the places we haven’t reached yet and begin prayerfully seeking the Lord’s will our next season of ministry.

  • This is the pinnacle of our five year plan. Lord willing, we will be serving in schools and the Teen Space every day, 60 people will be participating in Para (our total weekend attendance in 2023), and we will be ready to develop a plan for the next five years.

    We will also assess our physical resources and they’re ability to meet current and potential future needs, asking the Lord to show us how to prepare for the future.