H7 Story: 5 Years of Multisite
God’s timing is so cool! Our current sermon series is taking us through the book of Exodus and we’re marking the 5 year anniversary of worship at the Afton campus. What does one have to do with the other? It’s not a stretch to compare how the Christian life is like moving forward in the spiritual wilderness of the world waiting for the return of our King. During the Israelite wilderness waiting period, God gave specific instructions to His people for the construction and setup of the tabernacle, the place where His Spirit would dwell with them. Each time Israel would move to a different location, there were important tasks to make it all come together for their worship. That’s exactly what we do each Sunday when we show up early for setup and/or stay afterwards to help with cleanup of the campus. We’re helping to provide a place for those who may not know the True God to come and be part of an assembly of believers whose highest desire is to Help People Find and Follow Jesus. We have a purposeful way of doing it and no animal sacrifice is necessary! Do you see the connection?
In 2018, FCC’s Greeneville campus was ‘busting at the seams’ with people. After some efforts to rearrange service times and spaces, it became clear that something had to change. Through God’s provision, guidance and much prayer, the way was prepared for about 125 people to move out of the Greeneville campus to make room for more people to be there. The way that God worked out the opportunity to meet at Chuckey Doak High School was nothing short of a miracle. The commitment to the Afton community was no small endeavor for Tommy, Afton Campus Pastor, yet he found a way to encourage and motivate volunteers to see the importance of being part of what God was doing.
Did that call for sacrifice of time? Yes.
Did it call for willingness to step into something uncomfortable? Yes.
Was it a beautiful thing to see God’s people come together for something that goes beyond the temporary in order to make an eternal difference? 100% YES!
On the official Launch Day, the atmosphere was absolutely invigorating! The unity of purpose for those who were present was inspiring to see. Five people were baptized that day and thanks to the efforts of a small group of men willing to heat water on a stove, the water temperature was comfortable for those 5 people. Since then, there have been many hours devoted to trailering cases, setup of Kids Min environment, coffee station, Tech and Worship components, indoor and outdoor signs, baptistry setup, cleaning of floors and bathrooms, and each of those is equal in importance for the guest’s experience.
Over the past 5 years we’ve helped to revamp some needed areas in the school: our Tech Team installed permanent sound equipment in the auditorium and they occasionally run the tech for local events; volunteers have painted bleachers at the football field and help to run chains during football games; during special events we’ve provided refreshments and served students, parents and teachers; and Tommy serves as the CDHS Football Chaplain, giving him the ability to connect with those young men in a way that imparts truth and has allowed him the opportunity to minister to students when there has been tragic loss of one of their classmates.
When the South Greene campus launched in 2022, we sent a good number from the Afton campus to begin ministering in that community. Since then, God has replenished our lack, and brought more folks to Worship and Serve. We’ve continued to see His kindness and faithfulness as He brings new people in from the surrounding area to build His church.
In the Habit 7 Next Steps video, Scott rhetorically jokes,
“How does this multi-site campus thing work? We have no idea! Just kidding.” Although that might have seemed true at the beginning of the venture, it has become clear that this multi-site campus thing works because people are willing to respond to the call to action to pursue the mission of FCC: Helping People Find and Follow Jesus. If you’d like to know how you can get involved in serving, let us know you are interested here.
In 2018, FCC’s Greeneville campus was ‘busting at the seams’ with people. After some efforts to rearrange service times and spaces, it became clear that something had to change. Through God’s provision, guidance and much prayer, the way was prepared for about 125 people to move out of the Greeneville campus to make room for more people to be there. The way that God worked out the opportunity to meet at Chuckey Doak High School was nothing short of a miracle. The commitment to the Afton community was no small endeavor for Tommy, Afton Campus Pastor, yet he found a way to encourage and motivate volunteers to see the importance of being part of what God was doing.
Did that call for sacrifice of time? Yes.
Did it call for willingness to step into something uncomfortable? Yes.
Was it a beautiful thing to see God’s people come together for something that goes beyond the temporary in order to make an eternal difference? 100% YES!
On the official Launch Day, the atmosphere was absolutely invigorating! The unity of purpose for those who were present was inspiring to see. Five people were baptized that day and thanks to the efforts of a small group of men willing to heat water on a stove, the water temperature was comfortable for those 5 people. Since then, there have been many hours devoted to trailering cases, setup of Kids Min environment, coffee station, Tech and Worship components, indoor and outdoor signs, baptistry setup, cleaning of floors and bathrooms, and each of those is equal in importance for the guest’s experience.
Over the past 5 years we’ve helped to revamp some needed areas in the school: our Tech Team installed permanent sound equipment in the auditorium and they occasionally run the tech for local events; volunteers have painted bleachers at the football field and help to run chains during football games; during special events we’ve provided refreshments and served students, parents and teachers; and Tommy serves as the CDHS Football Chaplain, giving him the ability to connect with those young men in a way that imparts truth and has allowed him the opportunity to minister to students when there has been tragic loss of one of their classmates.
When the South Greene campus launched in 2022, we sent a good number from the Afton campus to begin ministering in that community. Since then, God has replenished our lack, and brought more folks to Worship and Serve. We’ve continued to see His kindness and faithfulness as He brings new people in from the surrounding area to build His church.
In the Habit 7 Next Steps video, Scott rhetorically jokes,
“How does this multi-site campus thing work? We have no idea! Just kidding.” Although that might have seemed true at the beginning of the venture, it has become clear that this multi-site campus thing works because people are willing to respond to the call to action to pursue the mission of FCC: Helping People Find and Follow Jesus. If you’d like to know how you can get involved in serving, let us know you are interested here.