VISION 923
On the 16th of July 2020 God awoke me at 4:00 AM and provided the church’s 5-year plan to focus the ministry in the Cullman area. God provided a distinct plan called “Vision 923!”
This scripture closely aligns to what God seeks from us. Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23 NKJV.
This vision detailed out the use of the current property for the addition of a Student Life Center, a “Bright Minds” Center to minister to the special needs community, and the development of a discipleship training center.
Likewise, the Lord provided the vision for the “Spirit Life Outreach Center” or SLOC. This future center God defined as a place where we will minister to the addicted imprisoned generations in the Cullman region. Drug/alcohol and many other crippling addictions are claiming generations of adults and children. Children of addicted parents are being left to fend for their own or are being sent to live with grandparents who scarcely can afford to support the children or are sent to other relatives. This abandonment of the children leads to a generational curse of addiction and the impacts of addiction that are lifelong if not acted on.
Our church has been called to action by God to impact this community through the SLOC. This future center will have an addiction ministry that will seek to minister to this group throughout the cycle of recovery and restoration. We will implement a faith-based program that will help the addicted through breaking the cycle of abuse.
How will we do this?
1. We’ll seek to assist the addicted with moving from the current environment that prompted the need for the chemical escape into a safe, loving, faith-based environment.
2. We will seek to minister to the children of the addicted as we work with the families, local and state agencies.
3. We will provide up to a year housing to those selected to enter our faith-based recovery program.
4. We will teach and implement a culture of servitude through a confidence building program of on-site employment and skill – enhancing programs. The residents will work in one of the ministries for which there is a need and/or the resident has a calling.
5. There will be ministry to the homeless through providing clothing, food and temporary housing during times of extreme weather or defined needs.
6. We will minister to our community through a program called Crisis Action Response Emergency Service or CARES. CARES will provide teams to disaster areas in our region to assist with the trauma of the event. CARES Teams will be equipped with essential survival resources to give to the community i.e. water, food, blankets, etc.
Phases of build of the Spirit Life Campus
Phase I Defined:
Once initiated Phase I of this program will consist of the building of the Student Life Center, building and outfitting the Bright Minds Center, staffing of these facilities and the acquisition of the adjoining property for the SLOC.
1. Bright Minds Center – will serve as our ministry to the very special members and friends of our ministry. We understand the special needs of this community and we will staff to meet these needs and minister to the whole family. This center will be equipped to serve our guests with professionally staffed and certified care givers. We will provide a secure, safe and caring environment that exudes the love of Jesus! This center will allow parents the confidence to bring their children to an environment they know will take care of them! The Bright Minds Center will provide our congregation members and guests an opportunity to attend a worship service or work a ministry on campus without the concern of whether their family members are being cared for properly.
2. Student Life Center – will host the student ministries and will house distinctly the children’s ministry, youth ministry, college and young adult ministry.
Phase II Defined:
Phase II will involve distinctly the SLOC. We will build the men’s and women’s dormitories, the recovery ministry center, local/global missions center, the Heart Warming center (houses the commercial kitchen, Grace Ministries, Kids Loving Kids, soup kitchen, warming center and homeless ministries center). The bus and van ministry facility will be built with a 10-bay maintenance and storage garage. Likewise, the dormitory office and staff apartment building along with the operations and administration office building.
Phase III Defined:
During this phase of the building program will involve the new church building on the original property which will encompass a new 1500 – seat auditorium. Likewise, parking will be added to accommodate the larger facility. We will then convert the original church building into a discipleship training center in order to teach and equip our teams to do God’s work.
SLOC Defined:
The SLOC as mentioned above will be the center for our outreach ministry and getting beyond the walls of the church! This will be our core ministry as we demonstrate the love of Jesus in loving on society’s outcasts. This center will place us exactly where our Lord would be and where we are called. Jesus calls the church to be a center for healing of the body, soul and spirit. We will be that church!
The Recovery Ministry Center:
This center will be the caretakers for the faith-based program for the healing of addictions and abuse. We will house in two separate dormitories both men and women for up to a year as they work to gain a walk with our Lord and get back on their feet as productive members of society and free of the oppression of drug/alcohol abuse. We will house up to 24 men and 24 women that are actively enrolled in the program and performing to the program goals. All ministries within this facility will be staffed by our residents from the Recovery Ministry Center and augmented by paid staff as needed.
Local/Global Missions Center:
The missions center will be responsible for the planning and administration of our local and global mission efforts as we work to transform this world through the love of Jesus. This center will also manage our support program for Israel. Genesis 12:3 states “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” We will bless Israel through our support and giving. All mission trips will be planned, organized and administrated out of this facility. Likewise, this facility will house the CARES Ministry. All ministries within this facility will be staffed by our residents from the Recovery Ministry Center and augmented by paid staff as needed.
Heart Warming Center:
The warming center will host the Grace Ministries, Kids Loving Kids Ministry, the warming center and soup kitchen for the homeless. The commercial kitchen will serve meals to the homeless and provide the meals for the staff and residents of the SLOC. Grace Ministries will be the center for donations of gently used clothing. This clothing along with purchased items will be used to cloth the homeless and those in need of assistance in the Cullman region. The ministry will also provide the supplies to the CARES Team when the team is deployed for disaster relief. Kids Loving Kids Ministry will be the donation center for toys and clothing for children. Annually, just prior to Christmas, we will hold a gathering for the children from the housing authority areas around Cullman and those determined in need of assistance. The center will also house the Food Bank and provide the service on a monthly basis. All ministries within this facility will be staffed by our residents from the Recovery Ministry Center and augmented by paid staff as needed.
Bus and Van Ministry Center:
This center will provide the buses, vans and drivers to support each of the various ministries on the campus and the Cullman region. The 10-bay garage will house the vehicles and serve as the central maintenance facility for the campus. The BVM will host the mechanical ministry, training the residents in vehicle and small engine mechanics and will serve as an ASE Training facility providing certifications as a means to enhance the skills for our addiction ministry residents. (ASE is short for the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. Since 1972 this independent non-profit organization has worked to improve the quality of vehicle repair and service by testing and certifying automotive professionals). Likewise, we will certify our team with commercial driver’s licenses as required and as small-engine mechanics. All ministries within this facility will be staffed by our residents from the Recovery Ministry Center and augmented by paid staff as needed.
SLOC Operations Center:
The operations center will house the administration offices for the SLOC and host the operations and planning team. All operations within the SLOC and deployed ministry teams will be monitored and managed out of the operations center. All ministries within this facility will be staffed by our residents from the Recovery Ministry Center and augmented by paid staff as needed.