We praise God for the incredible growth He has brought our church in recent months. Many Sundays there are 900 to 1000 people coming to worship. 84 people went through Growth Track in the Fall of 2023. As we continue to grow, we need to make space for those God is bringing. With limited parking and facilities in downtown Alpharetta, a second location allows us to maximize our capabilities to serve those coming to 44 Academy Street and reach many more in a new community with the hope of Jesus Christ.

In a multi-site church, we are two locations, one church. Our second location will be an expression of our church in a new community, with worship, programs, and outreaches that mirror 44 Academy Street. All of the ministries and worship experiences that you and your family have grown to love will be available in this new location. Worship will be live and in-person, just like the current experience in the Auditorium on Sundays. Major ministry moments like VBS, First City Fair, and more will also be done at the new location to minister to our family and reach out to the community.

There are more than 200 people who regularly drive from Hickory Flat and beyond to be a part of our church. Many of these are strong leaders making a big difference in the ministry of our church. In addition, this community in Cherokee County is growing by leaps and bounds and needs more places where people can engage in church. Since we have many church members in the area and a community in need, we sensed the Lord leading us to Hickory Flat.

We have been blessed to work with the amazing team at Cherokee County Schools and are working toward the opportunity to meet at Dean Rusk Middle School. This provides us the space for worship and next generation ministries on Sundays.

In addition to our amazing volunteers who lead out in ministry each week, this location will have a five-member staff team that includes a Campus Pastor. This staff team will lead the way with Worship, Groups, Kids, Students, and more. The team will be local to Hickory Flat.

Preaching will be broadcast from Alpharetta to Hickory Flat during the message time of our worship service. This is similar to how the message time is done currently in the Chapel on Sunday mornings. The Campus Pastor will preach on Sundays when Pastor Steve is not speaking.

We are planning toward a Fall 2024 or Winter 2025 launch of Sunday morning worship services.

Our pastoral leadership team began praying about the possibility of a second location in early 2023. Once we felt the that the Lord was prompting us toward next steps, we took time to meet with various leadership teams of our church through the Fall of 2023: Church Ministry Council, Long Range Planning Team, Human Resources Team, and Finance Team. We also met with our Deacons in an extended special meeting. These meetings continued to shape the vision for what could be accomplished in starting a second location. At the end of weeks of discussion, the Church Ministry Council, Long Range Planning Team, Human Resources Team, and Finance Team unanimously voted to affirm the direction in starting a second location in Hickory Flat. These teams continue to be an important part of helping to implement the plan.

Several options were considered:

• Relocation of our Church – While this has been considered in the past in the life of our church, we have been blessed to stay in the midst of a thriving downtown area. We felt that to leave the downtown would be to leave the opportunity God has placed before us in Alpharetta. In addition, the financial burden of relocating the church was determined to be too heavy. Even if we sold the current church property, the cost of purchasing property and building an adequate space for ministry would immediately place the church in a position of long-term debt.

• Campus Expansion – Through the noble efforts of our Long-Range and Finance Teams, attempts have been made to purchase adjacent land to our current church property. In each case, we have encountered closed doors. There is currently no property adjacent to our property available.

• Building More Facilities – Several considerations have been made over the years of building parking garages and more buildings to create additional space. The last proposal was valued at more than $25 million (and that was prior to COVID). The cost of expansion to meet the need would place our church in a position of long-term debt.

After all options were weighed, a multi-location solution seemed the most prudent. This also affords us the amazing opportunity to reach a new community!

This is exciting… Yes, we did make an investment in a new parking lot and shuttle system to bring people in from off-site parking. It has worked, allowing our church to grow by more than 200 people since the project was completed in 2022. All of this additional capacity has quickly been filled bringing us back to the point of need.

When you are in worship there are hundreds of other people gathered in groups and next generation ministries. While there may be a seat in worship, there may not be very much space in our parking or other areas of the facility. Other attempts to start additional service hours have been minimally attended and have not generated a long-term solution to creating space to reach more people with the hope of Jesus.

A church plant is a completely separate church with its own vision, values, and leadership. We believe in church planting and will continue to participate in planting churches in the future (like our Atlanta church plant in the Summerhill Community in 2024 with Dr. Allen Hollie).

This second location is still under our church leadership with a staff that is interwoven between both locations. Our vision and values are the same. Our ministry programs and approach are the same. We are truly one church in two locations.

In our history of church planting, we have been blessed to send a number of people out to churches such as Bridgeway (now Radiant) and Grace Point. In these instances, a few dozen people sense the call to go to start a brand new work. We will continue to do this kind of important ministry in the future.

A second location provides a unique opportunity for those who still want to be a part of our church, while reaching a new community. It also provides the best possible opportunity to send out 100+ people to a new location. In this way, we create much more space and capacity to reach people through our church.

Of all the options considered for growth, a second location was by far the most financially sustainable approach. Our finance team has reviewed the plan and affirmed the direction. As we began to sense the Lord’s leading to start this location, we began structuring our financial plan so that we will not have to take on any debt and cover the start-up expenses. Thanks to the amazing generosity of our church family, we are ready for this opportunity. As always, we will continue to encourage our church family to give faithfully and generously to support the work of ministry. (If you would like a more detailed version of the financial plan, please feel free to email our Pastor of Mobilization and Administration, Jim Mason at jim@fbca.com)

Launching a second location is a A Values-Based Solution for Growth.

• Live Sent – 100+ people sent to a new work to reach a new community.

• Experience Family – Smaller venues for increased intimacy and continuing multiplication of Groups.

• Discover Hope – Continue to disciple those who have come and are coming.

• Know Jesus – Allows us to continue to reach the lost here and in a new community.

Our church is a Bible church. We are committed now more than ever to continuing to proclaim the Bible and call people to follow it’s teaching. We believe that the Gospel is the only hope for every person in our community, so we will faithfully continue to share it.