The Start
Thrive Church has existed as a portable church in the Central Michigan area since 2013, with a dream of helping people find and follow Jesus by creating environments that people who have given up on God would find irresistible. Since then we have seen hundreds of people make significant spiritual decisions, families have grown together in faith, and countless hours have been spent serving the Central Michigan community. God has been laying the foundation for us of what He has next, and it’s finally time to place a HOME on that foundation!
Summer/Fall 2013
Thrive Church launched as a brand new church plant, meeting in the back room of the Shepherd Bar
Thrive found regular meeting locations at Celebration Cinema, Central Michigan University, and Online. Following a global pandemic, Thrive began meeting at the Central Michigan Youth For Christ facility.
November 2020
Founding Pastor Jason Raitz passed the baton of leadership to Dave Shephard
December 2020
After years of searching, Thrive purchased 10 acres of land in Mt Pleasant to build our future HOME
The Vision
When we look around at the families in our community, we realize that what we do today will impact generations. That’s why God is leading us toward the vision of creating a permanent HOME for our church and a 24/7 community-center resource that will make a lasting difference in people’s lives. The reality is, a church can be an intimidating place and many people find it difficult to even walk in one. That’s why we want to create free community-center spaces where people can gather and ask hard questions. From indoor playscapes to fields, from a cafe to an auditorium, and meeting rooms that feel like living rooms, we want to provide irresistible environments where people feel welcome and safe to play, work and relax.
This project will have three phases.
Phase 1: Our New Home … a starting block for our church to build a permanent HOME.
Phase 2: Our Neighbors … additional community rooms & kids environments.
Phase 3: Our Community … indoor recreation areas, expanded worship facilities, care center
Not Equal Giving... But Equal Sacrafice
To reach our goal it is important that everyone in the church is involved. Every gift will not be the same, but each gift is vital.
This chart is a projection of the number and size of gifts necessary to reach our Dream Goal.
This chart may be helpful to determine the amount of your gift on a monthly basis that is above and beyond your regular giving.
Consider Giving Three Ways
Courageously
Kick Off Gift
Consistently
Monthly for 25 Months
Creatively
Stock/Bonds/Assets