H7 Story: Kingdom Purpose

Daniel and Meredith Shrader may make amazing Small Group Leaders for 180 on Wednesday evenings. However, their day job involves running a wedding venue: Greenwood Oaks. Recently, the Shraders had the opportunity to combine these two passions to help FCC students defray the cost of 2024 summer camps.  

On Friday evening, February 9th, FCC 180 held a Valentine Barn Dance at Greenwood Oaks.  “When we bought Greenwood Oaks our family dedicated it to the Lord,” Meredith Shrader remarked. “We acknowledge every day that it is His, we are only stewards for a time, and we truly desire it to be used for kingdom purposes.”

Meredith continued by saying, “As we work with the Students at FCC 180, our hearts are to help each student Find and Follow Jesus. The Valentine Barn dance gave us a great opportunity to use Greenwood Oaks for this kingdom purpose and to help these students attend summer camp affordably so they can grow in their relationships with Christ.”

In the end, 45 people attended raising $1,500 for the students, and Student Director Travis Chapman added that in addition to the money raised, “A whole lot of boot scootin’” went on.

Student Leader Jonathan Bowlin had the opportunity to speak to those in attendance and share what being a part of 180 has meant to him. Jonathan has been a part of 180 since his first summer as a sixth grader. “I’ve had the opportunity to attend four of these camps with 180 throughout middle school and high school and have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it,” he said. “Through attending these camps, I’ve built a ton of relationships within my small group and have experienced a lot of spiritual cultivation due to the daily sessions that contain rich messages and powerful worship.”

Jonathan concluded by saying that the fundraiser was a wonderful opportunity to share with others “the wonderful blessing 180 has been to me and my peers.”

Thank you to everyone who participated. If you are interested in helping donate to the 180 summer camps (or if you have a great fundraising idea!), please contact Travis Chapman at travis@fccgreene.org. We want to make these camps as affordable as we can so that any student who wants to attend will have the opportunity to do so.