Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly
BEYOND
all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
Ephesians 3:20-21
THE STORY OF THE NAPKIN
with Pastor Wade
In 2010, I flew to Dallas to meet with some pastor friends. I was very discouraged. As a church, we definitely weren’t where I thought we’d be after six years. I left the meeting early and found a Starbucks to kill some time before I flew home that day.
The question I kept asking myself was, “If our church didn’t exist or had to shut down, would the community even know that we had been there?” I couldn’t help but think the answer was “no.” What followed was a prayerful moment at that table. I felt like the Lord began to redeem why He called us to the Northeast, and I had this vision—a dream of something that was bigger than where we were currently. It was bigger than what I had personally seen in my past church experience. I had to write it down. With no paper, I grabbed a napkin. I started with that question and wondered if God wanted to grow us and change us. God began to give me the names of cities where Freedom Church (at that time, Way of Life Community) would make a great impact. I wrote them in order. Bel Air was the first one. I even had a number come into my heart. We would launch a second campus when we reached 250 people.
I returned home and God continued defining our vision and mission, and we worked toward a launch on February 6, 2011. Within six months, God brought us 300 people. We were doing three gatherings since our room only seated 110 people. Several families were driving in from the Cecil County area, so on February 5, 2012, we launched the Rising Sun campus with 259 people on the first Sunday.
Just a short time later I was meeting with a pastor from Middle River who asked if we would consider taking over their church. That was number three on the napkin list! Miraculously, on February 3, 2013, we launched our Middle River campus. That original building is now our Freedom Outreach Center, serving hundreds of meals weekly and offering care to that community.
Only God could have pieced this vision together and now calls us to go beyond where we are.
We are grateful for the past...
Faith has been the story of Freedom Church from the very beginning. Pastors Wade and Dawn followed God’s call to Maryland in 2003. With a small group of believers called Way of Life Community Church, we met together in basements, hotels, and schools over a seven-year period. During this time, God established us and built a strong foundation, but we began to wonder if we were making any real impact in the community. We restructured as a church and publicly launched in 2011 with fresh vision and purpose. We confidently set out to honor the call of God: to help people know God, find freedom, discover their purpose, and make a difference in their world.
God truly multiplied and breathed on His vision. Within a two-year period, two more campuses were launched from a God-sized dream: Rising Sun and Middle River. Several years later, we watched God expand to an incredible partnership with a campus in Nairobi, Kenya. This past decade has been monumental and we have seen the vision come to pass exponentially. Thousands of people have since come to know Jesus and experience true freedom. That led us in 2017 to change our name to Freedom Church to better reflect what was happening before our eyes.
In the coming years, Beyond will serve as the pathway to accomplish the God vision that He has placed in front of us. Until Jesus owns our cities, we will keep working to accomplish what He’s asked of us. We will leverage our efforts, our finances, and our lives until His kingdom comes, on earth as it is in heaven.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO THE FUTURE...
The Plan
We have never dreamed small. Bold and big prayers honor God, and God honors bold and big prayers. Here is the dream to help others know God, fulfill their potential and make a difference with their lives.
BEL AIR
We are ready to further develop what was a car dealership and expand it to meet the needs of our growing community.
• Double our seating capacity up to 1200 seats
• Create a next level Kids/Students space
• Increase office space
• Establish a designated prayer space
• Pursue the purchase of more property that is connected
• Potentially create a recording studio for songwriting and
producing
RISING SUN
• Expand parking lot
• Update and improve interior and exterior
• Increase seating in auditorium
• Create a next level Kids/Students space
• Pursue the possibility of purchasing the property
MIDDLE RIVER
• Expand our Outreach Center to include more grocery distribution hubs
• Pursue the purchase of transitional housing for homeless individuals and families
NAIROBI AND BEYOND
• Continue to support the Nairobi Campus with funds and leadership development
• Send mission and medical teams to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the adults and
children of Nairobi
• Launch 3 new Hope Centers in Kenya and the Dominican Republic with our One Child
Partnership to increase our sponsorships to 500 children
• Continue to partner with the mission arm of Freedom Church, the Amani Foundation, to bring
education, clean water and sustainability in Kenya and beyond
FUTURE CAMPUSES
The dream has always been to move beyond where we are and truly see transformation in peoples’ lives across our region.
• Launch two more campuses
• Our prayer is for Abingdon/Aberdeen and the Elkton/Northeast areas along the
I-95/Route 40 corridor
FUTURE PROPERTY
We are believing for a property in northeast Baltimore city. This has the potential to be a Prayer Center, a hub for Freedom School of Ministry, and an eventual campus. The property we envision isn’t currently for sale, but just like we believed for the BMW dealership that became the Bel Air campus, we are believing for this. Join us on this journey of faith.
The way your generosity makes an impact
Beyond involves financial investment. The movement is not about money but about ministry. We choose to see this opportunity not merely as an expense but as EROI, an eternal return on investment. Any time we invest in building God’s Kingdom, the return is always exponential and eternal.
Approximate Anticipated Cost:
$12 million
This allows us to lean in to accomplish this great God vision. We are believing God will provide above and beyond, because that’s who He is.
The potential funding will come from two sources:
- Engaging the people of Freedom in a 2-year giving initiative. As a church we will make a commitment to give above our tithes from April 30, 2023 through April 30, 2025.
- A bridge loan. Our philosophy is to avoid accumulating too much long-term debt. With receiving giving commitments from our church, our financial partner will then allow us to get the expansion started sooner, instead of waiting the two years.
We will kick off the Beyond Giving Initiative with a seed offering on Sunday, April 30, 2023 and make our 2-year commitments that same day. Ask the Lord how you and your family can be a part of what He is calling us to do.
Secondary Title
Beyond will
take a step of
audacious faith.
Imagine the incredible opportunity we have to impact all generations through each person’s sacrificial giving from April 2023 to April 2025. We will have the means to change the spiritual destiny of thousands.
Next Steps:
• Spend time with God through prayer and with the Holy Spirit’s guidance to determine the size of the gift He would have you give.
• Discuss your thoughts with your family as to the changes and sacrifices you could make to give a significant gift towards Beyond.
• Determine your potential for giving by thinking outside the normal income stream.
• Decide on a personal giving plan–whether weekly, biweekly or monthly for the next two years and then follow through.
See the chart for possible plans to choose from. You can also download this chart here.
It’s not about equal giving, but about equal sacrifice.
Once you decide on your giving level, make a commitment to give to the Lord through our church. To register your financial commitment, please complete the Beyond Commitment Card.
On behalf of all who will be forever changed in our region and beyond, thank you!
As a church, this is our prayer for these two years:
“Jesus, thank you for increasing my ability to see and believe beyond where we’ve ever been before. I receive Your courage for taking new ground with my church family. Amen.”
What would it look like if we all prayed this together?
BEYOND UPDATES
Stay up to date on BEYOND's progress.
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After Easter weekend, some of the Freedom Staff met with architects from the Live Design Group for an immersive dream and design process. We can't wait to share with you the coming plans.
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Accelerate the Vision