Over the last several years, our numbers at FCC have continued to grow and grow. It has been amazing to see all that God has done with this growth. But because of this, we consistently have more kids and youth than our spaces can effectively fit. “Do Something” was born out of the idea that we, as a church, can do something to accommodate this growth! So in 2019, we launched this campaign with the dream of accomplishing a massive, multi-phase, campus expansion project.

The plan is to complete the campus expansion project in phases.

Phase 1: Phase one includes a new roof for the entire church, completely redoing our west parking lot which consists of a new porte cochere, handicap entrance and parking spots, and a basketball court. This phase was completed in 2022.

Phase 2: Phase two includes a brand new building for our Kids World ministry- including necessary site work and a retention pond and a complete remodel of our east parking lot and entrances. We are currently in the middle of this phase.

Phase 3: Phase three will include converting the old kids world space into small group rooms for our student ministry (6-12 grade) and office space for our staff.

Phase 4: In phase four, we will convert our old office space next to the Worship Center into an updated nursery and family space.

The campaign was launched in September of 2019 with the goal of accomplishing this expansion with as little debt as possible. As you may recall, in Spring of 2020 the Covid pandemic completely changed our world… but God worked in a mighty way and we were able to complete Phase 1 with NO DEBT! In that period of global turmoil, our church raised 100% of the funds needed to completely restructure our west parking lot- adding a handicap accessible entrance and parking spots, a covered porte cochere, and basketball court.

Now in 2024, we’re in the middle of Phase 2. We have already completed the site work for the new building and hope to begin having the building erected in Summer of 2024. The graphic below breaks down the major parts of Phase 2 and where we are in funding those steps.

PRAY! We would love for you to join us in praying for this campaign- we know that this is big dream that only God can accomplish!

Give! Our 24 month pledge period began in January 2024, but you can still make a pledge for the remaining time. There are a few different ways you can submit your own pledge:

1. We still have pledge cards at our connection center. Fill one out and drop it in the one of the black boxes by the Worship Center doors.
2. Call the church office at 863-773-9243
3. Fill out this online pledge form

Throughout this campaign we have used the phrase “not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice” because every contribution makes a difference. We believe that through all of us coming together, giving sacrificially, God can use our efforts to make a big impact for His Kingdom right here in Hardee County!

To the incredible church family here at FCC,

I wish I could sit down with each one of you at a table and share my heart and excitement for what God is doing in our church because each one of you play such a vital role in making FCC the wonderful church that it is. I feel so blessed that God allows me to serve alongside you all, people who Jen and I literally consider our family.

Well, family, as most of you are probably already aware, we have a problem to solve. Though we often refer to it as a “good” problem, it’s still a problem. So, like you would in a normal family when there is an issue, you come together, talk it out, pray about it, and seek God for the solution. And that has been our desire with our current problem.

We are out of space in our Kids World ministry and youth ministry! We currently average 88 Nursery-5th Graders each Sunday morning and 127 on Wednesday nights. This has caused us to need constant rotations inside and outside to accommodate for the lack of space. Our youth ministry has also been averaging 102 students every Wednesday night. Meanwhile, we have already moved all our adult D-groups to homes to create more space for youth small groups on Wednesday nights. Praise God for all of this! But now God is calling us to, “Do Something” more!

If you have been around FCC long, you know this isn’t a new problem, only a growing one. Back in 2019 we launched our first round of our “Do Something” Campaign – an effort to expand our campus through a multi-phased strategy to solve our space issues. As you all know, that is also when COVID hit and changed the world as we know it. However, we pushed through. To date we have raised over a million dollars and completed and paid for all of Phase 1. This included: a new roof, a new parking lot on the west side, a new Porte Cochere with automatic doors for our elderly and handicapped, as well as a much needed fenced-in basketball court for our youth and kids. All because of your sacrifice and giving in the past, we were able to complete Phase 1 and stay debt free as a church!

Now we are about to embark on Phase 2 of this campus expansion, which happens to be the most expensive of all the phases. However, this phase will solve our space issues for our Nursery-5th Grade kids because it includes an 11,000 square foot Kids building! We have been working so hard on this over the last 4 years and now have all the drawings, permits and construction team in place! As you may have already seen, we have broken ground to build out the needed retention pond and create the dirt foundation for the future Kids World building. All those projects were also paid for by the money given during our first campaign. So now, to continue moving forward, we will all need to come together and raise 2.2 million dollars beyond our normal giving.

I know that is a really big number, but I also know we serve a really BIG God! I believe with all my heart that God wants to bless Hardee County through First Christian Church. I am asking you to consider joining us and being a part of something that will forever be a turning point in our church and our community, something that will long outlive each of us. God is giving us a chance to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. I love you guys so much, and I am so proud to be a part of this journey with you!

-Pastor Darin