A couple years ago the core leadership of First English got together for some hard and honest conversation. After years of decline and some serious internal conflict, they asked themselves this question: Does God still have a mission and purpose for this congregation? (or, does this congregation have a good reason to exist)? After all, there’s plenty of other churches in town, and many close by. The answer wasn’t yes and it wasn’t no, but rather it was, Let’s find out. Let’s commit ourselves to following God’s ideas (not ours) for this congregation. Let’s use our resources (use them all if necessary) and focus solely on bringing people to Christ and Christ to people. We’ll do that for five years and see where God leads.

The whole congregation agreed, and so off we went. We know how God has changed our lives; now we're asking God to use us to change the lives of others from despair to hope, from aimlessness to purpose, from loneliness to connectedness.

We took a risk and sold the church parsonage and dissolved the Foundation to help pay for a new pastor and youth director, for website development, for mailing lists and audio-visual equipment and whatever resources we need to become a joyful and outward-focused community of believers. As we continue this transformation process we’re moving deliberately towards becoming a permission-giving church, a place that frees people resources to do ministry rather than sit in meetings, to listed to God’s voice and follow where God calls.

• We began neighborhood “walkabouts” where folks from our congregation knock on doors and ask folks what they like/struggle with in their neighborhood, what difference a church might make for the community, and what joys and struggles they face that we might pray for

• We regularly mail out 3000+ invitations to worship and other special events in our congregation

• We’re growing and seeing a marked increase both in worship attendance and the number of people learning together in small groups and Sunday morning classes

• Our “God’s Kids” program has doubled every year since its inception, and in anticipation that it will continue to grow we’ve hired Youth Director Aldin Barnes—his presence has brought us to a whole new level of kids ministry

• More and more people keep coming to First English and bring with them great gifts and ideas on how to be God’s people in the world

You get the idea. First English has been transformed and because of that many people have found their lives changed for the better. Come as you are and see what this looks like in this community of faith.