A MOVEMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY, FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

I am so thankful to be part of the WellSpring family. As we approach this strategic time, dream with me about this vital opportunity to put down roots:
IMAGINE IF THIS PROJECT HELPED US TO PUT DOWN ROOTS HERE IN SPRING HILL
Many new businesses (and churches) open in Spring Hill...only to close a few years later. Before investing their time, energy, and relationships, local families must ask, Is this church going to be around ve years from now? We desire to send a strong message to the community that WellSpring is Putting Down Roots and is here to stay.

IMAGINE IF WE COULD BRING JESUS INTO THE EVERYDAY LIVES OF LOCAL RESIDENTS...
In The Externally Focused Church, Rick Rusaw tells a parable about a church building located beside a polluted stream. The churchs leaders preach against the evils of dirty streams and eventually build their own Christian stream away from the polluters. Rusaw asks, What if the church had simply cleaned up the polluted stream? How would the community have seen that churchand Jesusdifferently? Our facility will put down roots into the stream of peoples everyday lives, instead of standing back and waiting for people to come to us.

IMAGINE IF THIS PROJECT CHALLENGED PEOPLE TO PUT DOWN RELATIONAL ROOTS

In the New Testament, the Christian faith thrives in a culture that values community. As people gather to spend their time talking about and listening to the latest ideas (Acts 17:21 NIrV), the Gospel has a platform to prosper. We desire to create a similar environment to inspire transient residentsinside and outside our churchto put down relational roots here in our community.

IMAGINE IF THIS PROJECT GAVE PEOPLE ROOTS BACK TO THEIR FATHER

Church studies have shown that building a ministry facility prompts curious local residents to come and visit. Many will be people who will connect to God for the rst time during this next phase of our ministry. Were developing a campus that will help scores of new people develop roots back to their Father. Thats a cause worth every last bit of our striving! We have the opportunity to spread His fame throughout our city and impact many households both now and into eternity. Come join me in this exciting venture!

Andy Hudelson, Senior Minister

Planted
&

GROWING

The Spring Hill area looked a lot different in 2003.

here was no Target and no Starbucks... and there was only one Kroger. However, there was phenomenal growth. Drawn by affordable housing and easy access to Nashville, thousands of young families chose to settle down in our community. It was in this environment that God planted our church. Knowing that the huge inux of new residents created an urgent need for new churches, Stadia and Franklin Christian Church partnered with Andy and Amy Hudelson to launch WellSpring. Starting in April of 2003, a core group of fteen local believers began to meet and pray together for God to move in our city. Six months later, we opened Spring Hill Elementary on Sunday morning for the rst time, and over 150 people came to worship God together. Our community has grown a lot since then... and so has our church. Roughly 350 people now gather on Sunday mornings through our two worship services, and fourteen LifeGroups meet throughout the week to deepen the spiritual and relational roots within our church. But here's whats even more exciting: Since we were planted, 125 people have been baptized into Christ. Numerous marriages have been reconciled. Dozens of children have been released from poverty through Compassion sponsorship. And several children have even been adopted into WellSpring families in a touching expression of God's love.

Steve Fleet came up with our churchs name. Its derived from John 4: 13-14. Before that, our support team referred to us as The Spring Hill Project.

SOWING SEEDS
The mission of WellSpring is: Helping People Follow Jesus. Check out these ministries to see how God is using WellSpring to sow seeds of faith in the hearts of people in our area.

SPRING STREET CHILDRENS MINISTRY

Jesus said, Let the little children come to me...for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (Matthew 19:14). So we take our childrens ministry seriously. And by seriously, of course, we mean dancing, singing, laughing, and telling wonderful stories of Gods love. Each Sunday morning, nearly forty Spring Street volunteers become like little children (Matthew 18:3), joyfully doing whatever it takes to help over ninety children learn what it means to follow Jesus.

WELLSPRING STUDENT MINISTRY

Middle school and high school can be a blastand a challenge. The WellSpring Student Ministry is committed to helping students follow Jesus. Students in The Herd (Jr. High) and The Scene (Sr. High) get to hang with each other and with adult sponsors at our Sunday morning and Wednesday night meetings, and at numerous events held throughout the year. Its not uncommon for over thirty students to attend our Wednesday night gatherings, and forty students attended a summer camp with our group last year. These diverse students learn from each other and from our adult sponsors, open Gods Word together, and work through what it means to follow Christ in todays world.

LIFEGROUPS
Sunday mornings cant provide you with everything you need to enjoy a full spiritual life. From the very beginning, church was a community of believers, not a physical building or a Sunday morning experience. God created us to share burdens, meals and laughs encourage each other in His Wordand pray together. Its just not easyin fact, its nearly impossibleto get personal like that in a large group setting on Sunday mornings. The lack of strong, honest, interpersonal relationships with other believers often keeps people from the full life that God desires. At WellSpring, these relationships are built in what we call LifeGroups, which consist of 10-12 adults who go through life together andin a waybecome a spiritual family. Right now, we have fourteen LifeGroups meeting throughout the week in our area.

THE WELL OUTREACH

The Bible shows again and again that God has a heart for those who are hungry and in need. In 2006, a group of WellSpring families realized that there was no local food pantry to serve the hungry in our community. God led them to launch The Well as a tangible display of Gods love, and they provided foodand prayerfor nearly 80 hungry families in that rst year alone. By 2009, the number of families served had increased twelve-fold, and The Well Outreach received its own 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. WellSpring still has close ties with The Wellits ofce is in our Farmhouse, many of our families volunteer there, and our church still nancially supports it. But this ministry is now bigger than any one churchits a kingdom movement. Indeed, over fty local civic groups, churches, and organizations now partner with The Well to care for those in need in our community.

THE JETPACK PROJECT

Around 45% of the children who attend Spring Hill Elementary School benet from a free or reduced lunch program. This ensures thatat the very leastthese children have one good meal each day. But those same children may not get a good meal on the weekends, when school isnt in session. When they return to school hungry and distracted, lower grades and discipline problems often follow. Recognizing the long-term implications of this problem (including lower quality of life, increased rates of addiction, and higher instances of gang involvement), WellSpring partnered with The Well in 2011 to launch The JetPack Project. This innovative program now provides nourishing weekend food for children who are on free and reduced lunch programs at Spring Hill Elementary School. Were praying for God to open doors to bring a similar program to additional area schools, through similar partnerships between The Well and other local churches.

Before we built the storage shed at Spring Hill Elementary, all of our equipment had to be loaded out of a trailer every Sunday morning (and back into it every Sunday afternoon).

BRANCHING OUT
INTO THE COMMUNITY
Could we continue doing what were doing now...meeting in a school on Sunday morning and only having our church ofce open to the community during the week? Perhaps. But we feel that God is calling us to put down roots...to build a ministry facility that is truly in our community and for our community. Its a way for us to tell our neighbors, Were here for the long term. And youre welcome here throughout the week, not just on Sundays. This wont be a monument to ourselves; it will be a place of community and outreach... a safe place to meet Jesus for the rst time. Imagine a property that connects to neighboring trail or sidewalk systems, so that families can walk, jog, or bike right up to our facility. Imagine a peaceful place where friends and neighbors can share coffee and conversation...where frazzled parents can get away for a few minutes to pray or read a book. Imagine an auditorium where local families can come enjoy safe movies together at little or no cost. Most of all, imagine a building that doesnt exist solely for the benet of the church, but also for the benet of those who arent yet in the church.

CHAPMANS CROSSING CHAPMANS CROSSING

SING S O R C ANS M P A CH

Existing WellSpring Farmhouse

These renderings arent nal. The exact scope of the facility is pending zoning approval and the nancial results of the Putting Down Roots movement.

When we purchased the property, The Farmhouse back deck originally led down into an out-of-service swimming pool.

Our vision for this facility is for it to be a self-sustaining building that serves the city, builds community, and advances our mission. Heres what that means:

SELF-SUSTAINING
To help offset the nancial expense of our facility, well put it to work in creative ways. Pending budget and zoning approval, current plans and ideas include offering a Christian pre-school or mothers day out program in our childrens area, setting up a family-friendly theater in our auditorium on weekends, and using our main lobby area as a cafe or small bookstore.

SERVES THE CITY

Throughout this process, weve asked, How can this facility serve the needs of Spring Hill? The pre-school/mothers day out idea is one example; most local options are booked to capacity. Were also hoping to become a connection point for trails and sidewalks. If current plans materialize, a continuous network of sidewalks and trails will connect Summit High School and Chapmans Retreat Elementary School through our property.

BUILDS COMMUNITY
People live in one place and work somewhere else, but they spend time with friends at a third place (like a coffee shop, town square, or park). We want to become a third place for local residents...a setting where you can bring friends who may or may not follow Jesus. It will be a facility where kids can play, neighbors can meet, and friends can share stories of lifeand faithtogether.

ADVANCES OUR MISSION

Everything we do points back to our mission: Helping People Follow Jesus. Whether we are holding Sunday morning worship services, opening a pre-school, or pouring a cup of coffee, we pray that God will use it to draw people to Him.

PUTTING DOWN ROOTS

Admittedly, this facility is a pretty lofty dream. But its only part of Putting Down Roots, a movement that we feel God is beginning in and for our community. This movement has three main tenets: 1) We need to build relational roots with our neighbors. Many of us work in different cities, and our extended families are often hours away. Its not easy, but we need to build deep, meaningful relationships right here where we live. 2) Everyone needs to be spiritually rooted to God by surrendering to (and living for) Jesus. WellSprings mission, quite simply, is: Helping People Follow Jesus. This movement is part of our larger mission. 3) Its time for WellSpring to put down roots in Spring Hill by building a permanent ministry facility. After eight years of renting space for our Sunday morning worship services, were going to build a community-oriented ministry facility. Its simply one of the best ways for us to deepen the spiritual and relational roots in our city. Its also a way to tell our neighbors, Were here to stay, and were going to be here for your family for years to come. Putting Down Roots doesnt mean that weve stopped growing. And having a building doesnt mean that weve arrived or that were nally a real church. In fact, were condent that God is just beginning His work in our community through WellSpring.

Weve taken church mission trips to Haiti and Mexico. Another one is in the works for the Lakota reservation in South Dakota.

DIGGING DEEP
The Putting Down Roots movement is going to stretch us all. Well be challenged to re-think how we view our friends and neighbors, and to consider how intentional we are in building relationships outside of our comfort zone. Well ask ourselves if we are doing all that we can to deepen the roots of our faith, and well ask God to make us more steadfast in our commitment to help others become spiritually rooted to their Father in heaven. Were also going to be challenged to make a nancial sacrice in order to bring this ministry facility to fruition. If youve ever had any luck growing grass, shrubs, or trees in the clay soil of the Spring Hill area, you know this: Lots of dedication is required on the front end to build the strong roots necessary for a plant to grow and thrive. The same holds true for this facility. We have the opportunity to see something remarkable rise from the ground that will impact our community for generations to come. But for that to happen, now is the time to dig deep, pray hard, and give sacricially. On March 11, youll receive a card at our Sunday morning worship services like the one shown here. Youll also receive a Family Meeting Guide, which will walk your family through a special devotional and discussion time. At the end of this family meeting, youll record your condential nancial commitment (a one-time gift, a three-year pledge, and donations of non-cash gifts) on your card and seal it in the corresponding envelope. Be sure to bring this sealed envelope to our Sunday morning worship services on March 18, which is our Commitment Sunday!

COMMITMENT CARD SAMPLE

EVEN THE SMALLEST SEED GROWS OVER TIME.

This chart shows the weekly, monthly, or yearly gift that will allow you to reach your total three-year commitment amount. We wont all make equal gifts, but we will all equally sacrice. Dont be impressed (or depressed) by the numbers shown below; remember, God is more interested in the heart of the giver than the gift itself!

A COMMITTED RESPONSE
Name(s) Address 1

Weekly (156x)

OR

Monthly (36x) 22 44 65 87 109 130 152 174 195 217 260 304 347 390 434

OR

Yearly (3x) 260 520 780 1,040 1,300 1,560 1,820 2,080 2,340 2,600 3,120 3,640 4,160 4,680 5,200

3 Year Total Commitment

Address 2

5 10 15 20 City 25 30 Zip te Sta 35 40 E-mail 45 ) 50 Phone ( 60ily, God is r fam ou in n sio cus dis and 70 wn Roots. After much prayer g Do ttin Pu in g rin llSp tment above calling us to join We this nancial commi80 g 90 Were joyfully makin r giving: ula 100 and beyond our reg

780 1,560 2,340 3,120 3,900 4,680 5,460 6,240 7,020 7,800 9,360 10,920 12,480 14,040 15,600

Growth
&

GIVING

Jesus tells a parable about a mustard seed. Its the smallest of all seeds, butonce its plantedit grows to become the largest of the garden plants. Acts 4 records that believers sold houses, land, and elds...then gave the proceeds to the apostles for kingdom use. Maybe you can plant a mustard seed by making a small monthly nancial gift; over time, its growth will be incredible. Or maybe you can make an Acts 4 gift; perhaps theres something that you can sell or donate for kingdom purposes. Heres the beautiful thing: The size of the gift really doesnt matter in Gods eyes! Luke 21 shows us that God cares most about the heart of the giver. He loves to see us joyfully sacrice in faith, and to trust in His provision. We wont all make equal gifts, and thats okay. Instead, lets just strive to equally (and joyfully) sacrice. Looking to free up some cash? These ideas save thousands of dollars (really) over the course of three years: Dumb down your cell phone plan - Do you really need immediate access to every piece of information at all times? Depending on your contract, you might be able to ditch your data plan but keep your text messaging. Start clipping coupons - The most valuable part of the Sunday newspaper isnt the headlines or the sports sectionits the coupons! Contact the church ofce and well put you in touch with expert couponers who can show you the ropes on how to rack up BIG savings. Cut your cable or ditch your dish - Television networks now transmit a free, over-the-air high denition signal. Trust us...broadcast TV still provides PLENTY of opportunities (for better or worse) to veg out and be entertained. If youll cancel your cable or satellite service and commit that money to Putting Down Roots for three years, well try to provide the expertise needed to set you up with free over-the-air television.

We didnt know it when we purchased the property, but the creek on our land (where we baptize folks when its warm enough) is named Aenon Creek. Look up John 3:23 to see why thats pretty remarkable.

PUTTING DOWN ROOTS | A MOVEMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY, FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

A MOVEMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY, FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

1001 Chapmans Crossing Spring Hill, TN 37174