Vision

The vision of Freedom church is simple. We will be an independent church that loves God, loves people and loves life. Everything we do will funnel through these three priorities. We will be a church built on the character of Jesus Christ. We call this brand of Christianity….“life-giving.” We seek to be a church that reflects the character of Jesus Christ. We plan to do this with instruction from the Bible alongside God’s people. We believe that together we can see freedom in every area of our life with the result being a body of believers that reach the lost in their city, state and around the World.

Loving God [Worship & Word]

“The time is coming, yes, it is here now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father wants that kind of worshipers.” John 4:23 NLV
Freedom Church will love God through two primary vehicles. Worship and God’s Word. We will emphasize the life-giving power that comes from a life-style of worship. Sure, we desire to passionately seek God during all of our service and prayer times, but it goes beyond the Sunday morning experience. We are called to live a life of worship. In other words, worship is a life-style, not a music-style. We will also explain that a life without reading and doing God’s Word, the Bible isn’t life at all.

Loving People [Serve & Share]
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8 NIV

Freedom Church will show their love for people by serving them and sharing their life with them. This is only accomplished through relationships. We place a very high value on life-giving relationships. We believe that relationships are the plan of Christ for reaching the World. These relationships begin with our own personal one with Him and extend to our families, friends, workplace, and even to our hobbies and interests. In other words, we believe that God has strategically placed each one of us in our marriage, family, workplace, neighborhood etc. to bring freedom to those we serve. Together we will work at having the best marriages, employers, employees, kids and friends. We believe that we can reach the lost through life-giving relationships. Relationships are very important.

Loving Life [Purpose & Plan]
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 NIV

Freedom Church will love life because we are no longer bound by the lies of the enemy. The Bible teaches us that people have the freedom to receive or reject Christ, the freedom to make decisions on their own, and the freedom to receive the consequences or benefits of those decisions. We believe each person has a purpose to fulfill and we will empower people with a plan to accomplish that purpose. In the end, we see people who love life because they live in the freedom that Christ had intended for them all along.

The Purpose of Freedom Church – Why we exist:
To reach out as FRIENDS with the life-giving message of Jesus so that we all might become fully devoted followers of Christ.

The Core Values of Freedom Church – What we focus on as a church:

Freedom Church focuses on four primary areas. As our vision indicates, we desire to be a body of believers who reach the lost through life-giving relationships. This is accomplished in the four areas below. These are the core values of Freedom Church.

1. Life-Giving Children’s Ministry

We strive to lead children into an intimate, dynamic and powerful relationship with Jesus and do it in a way that is relevant, real and prepares them for the next stage of life. Freedom Church is a place where the children are empowered to be leaders in their circle of influence. Whether it be in their home, school, extracurricular activity or at Freedom Church. To have a life-giving Children’s Ministry, it has to be led by people who are life-giving and our goal is that it’s filled with people who say: “Let the little children come to me”.   Finally, our goal is to come alongside parents in their incredible call to raise spiritual champions. We place a very high emphasis on becoming a Life-Giving family.  Each Sunday, we offer a Nursery for infants to 36 months located just off the main auditorium.  We have a full schedule for children from 3 through 5th Grade.  We call our Life-Giving Children’s Ministry: The Greenhouse!

2. Life-Giving Student Ministry

We believe that the youth of today if given the opportunity to discover and use their gifts will be some of the greatest leaders of churches to come. In this incredible ministry, students are empowered to be leaders in their home, school, and extracurricular activities. We place a very high emphasis on student ministry and how to live lives of purity, surrender and authenticity before God and friends. Finally, our goal is to come alongside parents in their incredible call to raise spiritual champions. We place a very high emphasis on becoming a Life-Giving family. Each Sunday, we encourage the students to attend The Revolution. We call our Life-Giving Student Ministry:  The Revolution!

3. Life-Giving Relationships

We believe that we grow into mature believers of Christ through authentic, sincere relationships with others. We also believe that the most effective way to reach our family, friends, city, state and world for Jesus is through life-giving relationships. Because of these relationships, we place a high emphasis on utilizing relationships for every area of growth in our lives. The primary vehicle we use to engage in these relationships is through small groups.

4. Life-Giving Sunday Services

We believe in the power of coming together as a body of believers. When the church was originally planted, one of the disciples mentioned “it is good for us to be here”. As a body of believers and those who are searching, each week we come together to celebrate what God is doing in our lives. We open up God’s Word, the Bible, and learn life application together as a body. We understand that we can do more together than we can individually. We believe in the power of encouragement and coming together as a body of believers who are all at different levels of spiritual growth can “spur one another on”.

The Beliefs of Freedom Church:
Freedom Church is built on a biblical foundation that determines how we think about God. The expression of those thoughts reflects our values-the ideas and attitudes we believe are important.

• We believe that the anointing in the teaching and in our worship is vital.
• We desire to have and to hold innocence through every stage of growth.
• We believe in the value of a soul.
• We believe that the church should be culturally relevant while being doctrinally pure.
• We believe that Christ followers should manifest authenticity and yearn for continuous growth.
• We believe that a church should operate as a unified community where every man, woman and child use their gifts to serve others.
• We believe that we are called to reach the lost of our city, state, country and World.
• We believe that our lives change best in loving relationships with others.
• We believe that excellence honors God and inspires people.
• We believe that churches should be lead by men and women with leadership gifts.
• We believe that the church should be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The Behavior or Characteristics of Freedom Church:

The behavior of Freedom Church will reflect the actual character of Christ in every day life. This expression doesn’t happen by itself. We desire to express our love for Christ and others in the following ways:

PASSION: We see people who passionately go after God in worship

LOVE: We see people who love one another by living for the other person’s good.

AUTHENTICITY: We see people who live lives connected to one another in authentic relationships filled with trust, love, honesty and sincerity

ENCOURAGEMENT: We see people who encourage one another to fulfill the dream that God has given them.

FAMILY: We see people who have outstanding marriages with wonderful children.

SERVANTHOOD: We see people who have the lifestyle and mindset that says “how can I serve you”.

PEOPLE: We see people who are the “church” not a set of buildings, bricks, or mortar.

BIBLE: We see people who share their passion for the Bible and walk alongside people in their journey through life.

MINISTRY: We see people as ministers who have been given gifts to be discovered, developed, and deployed.

ACCEPTANCE: We want to be a place that all people are accepted, loved and encouraged equally

The Absolute Beliefs of Freedom Church:

Holy Bible: The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inherent (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26).

Trinity: There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal (1 John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11).

Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind and thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory. (John 1:1,14, John 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; I Timothy 2:5).

Virgin Birth: Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the virgin Mary’s womb; therefore, He is the Son of God (Matthew 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23-25; Luke 1:27-35).

Redemption: Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell away from God; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21).

Salvation: We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22).

Repentance: Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation (Acts 2:21, 3:19; I John 1:9).

Sanctification: Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Romans 8:29, 12:1-2, Hebrews 2:11).

Jesus’ Blood: The Blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death (1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:9; John 1:29).

Jesus Christ indwells all believers: Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead (John 1:12; John 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelations 3:20).

Being filled with the spirit: Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth (Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5, 2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6).

Gifts of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible’s list of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of biblical parameters. (Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11,12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; 2 Timothy 1:5-16, 4:14; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; 1 Peter 4:10).

The Church: The church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus’ great commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23).

Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38).

The Lord’s Supper: A unique time of communion in the presence of God occurs when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25)

Healing of the Sick: Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus, and included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. It is given as a sign, which is to follow believers. It is also a part of Jesus’ work on the Cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit. (Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28; Romans 11:29).

God’s Will for Provision: It is the Father’s will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life. But because of the fall, many may not receive the full benefits of God’s will while on Earth. That fact, though, should never prevent all believers from seeking the full benefits of Christ’s provision in order to better serve others.

• Spiritual (John 3:3-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:9-10).
• Mental and Emotional (2 Timothy 1:7, 2:11; Philippians 4:7-8; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3).
• Physical (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:17; I Peter 2:24).
• Financial (Joshua 1:8; Malachi 3:10-11; Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6-10; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 34:10, 84:11; Philippians 4:19).

Resurrection: Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both The Saved and The Lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation (Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21).

Heaven: Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ . Heaven is a place where believers will enjoy fellowship forever with God. (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; 1 Peter 1:4).

Hell: After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to Hell where they will be eternally tormented with the Devil and the Fallen Angels (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8).

Second Coming: Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures (Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; I Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7).

Freedom Church, established January 13, 2008 – Our Story

Freedom Church began as a seed planted inside of Pastor Shane’s heart by God while attending a conference in 2005.

This seed began to grow throughout 2006 as he asked the Lord for clarification of His dream.  Through a series of relationships that the Lord brought into Shane’s life in conjunction with more direction, the message was clear.

“Things were going so well in my current position, but God wanted me to do something new.” Shane said about how this all began.  He continued: ”After the Lord revealed to me what He wanted me to do, it took me about 11 months to pray and process it all.”

Then, through divine relationships and confirmations in his life, Shane knew that there was no turning back.  “I couldn’t believe how my whole focus in life began to shift once I got on board with what God wanted.  It was as if He pulled up to the dock and asked me to jump in His boat.  Once I jumped in and we sailed away from the dock, I began to see things I never could see before.”

Some of what Shane was able to see has shaped his vision for Freedom Church.  He explains it this way: “I just can’t get out of my mind that people are not fed up with God, but they are fed up with the church.  The legalistic, hoop-jumping, life-draining churches that do a lot of what Jesus did, but they don’t look like Him.  They don’t have the personality of Christ that exudes love, compassion, acceptance, fun, authenticity, relevancy and many other qualities of Jesus.  I knew that the church, according to Jesus, was suppose to look like Him, so I will do my best to help make that happen.”

Shane has a heart for people to live the abundant life that Jesus said He came for them to have.  He is convinced that the enemy has been working overtime to remove that promise from families today.  Freedom Church will remind every man, woman and child of this promise often, and together with all the people who love Jesus Christ, we will proclaim freedom to the captives and take back the land that belongs to the King.