Has the direction and vision of our church changed?
We remain fully committed to reaching people with the hope of Jesus through life-giving weekend services, investing in the next generation, serving our community through outreach, and planting churches and future locations that help expand God's Kingdom.
While some of the methods and opportunities may look different from season to season, our vision and mission as a church have never changed. The challenges and transitions we've experienced have not altered our calling. If anything, they have strengthened our resolve to continue being a church that loves God, loves people, and helps people take their next step in following Jesus.
Our mission is the same. Our heart is the same. Our commitment to reaching people and helping our church family walk with Christ is as strong as ever. Together, we want to inspire people to become fully engaged followers of Jesus!!!
Why did we not particpate in the Rum River Parade this year?
The decision not to participate in the Rum River Parade this year was not made lightly.
Earlier this spring, our leadership team evaluated our summer ministry calendar and the volunteer capacity needed to support various outreach efforts. While participation in the parade was something we were strongly considering, we did not have a volunteer leader in place to coordinate the event.
As we were preparing to make a final decision, our church became the subject of significant discussion and concerning comments on local social media pages related to the conviction and sentencing of our former pastor. After prayerful consideration, we felt it was wise to step back from parade participation this year and allow time for tensions in the community to settle.
We remain committed to loving our neighbors, building relationships, and finding meaningful ways to participate in and support our community throughout the year.
What are we doing to reach our community this summer?
As a church, we are excited to participate for the second year in a row in the citywide "Acts of Kindness" day happening on Saturday, August 1! This fun time with other churches floods our city with kindness and God's love! Join us as we partner with churches in our city for an "Acts of Kindness" serve day, and we love our city in a really FUN way by serving root beer floats to those in our community!!!!!
Are we doing Summer Kids Blast this year?
Yes! Summer Kids Blast is happening this year through an exciting partnership with Free Grace United in Princeton.
After evaluating the past few years of Kids Blast and meeting with our Kids Ministry team earlier this year, we felt that partnering with another church would be the best way to provide an excellent experience for children and families this summer. We reached out to several churches and were excited about the opportunity to work together with Free Grace United.
Summer Kids Blast will take place July 6–9, and we believe this partnership will be a win for everyone involved. While the location and format will look a little different this year, our heart remains the same—to help kids grow in their faith, build friendships, and have an unforgettable week of fun. We can't wait to see what God does through this special time with other churches!
Click here to learn what's new and find all the details: https://soulschurch.org/summer-kids-blast
Is the venue our new focus?
While our wedding venue has become a unique and meaningful extension of our marriage ministry and community outreach, it is not the primary focus of our church.
Our mission remains the same: helping people find and follow Jesus. The venue is simply one of the tools that helps us carry out that mission. It allows us to maximize the use of our facility throughout the week, be good stewards of the property God has entrusted to us, serve couples and families in our community, and generate additional revenue that helps fund ministry initiatives.
We believe God has called us to a mission, and that mission is non-negotiable. However, the methods we use to accomplish that mission may change over time. The venue exists to support the mission; the mission does not exist to support the venue. As we often say, we are married to the mission, but we will date the methods. The venue is one method that currently helps us extend our reach, serve our community, and strengthen the ministry of our church.
Do we host same-sex weddings in our venue?
No, we do not host same-sex weddings.
We believe that God’s beautiful design for marriage is a sacred covenant, created and ordained by Him. In accordance with our faith and biblical values, we define marriage as the exclusive, lifelong union of one biological male and one biological female. At the same time, we seek to treat every person with dignity, respect, and love as someone created in the image of God. We welcome all people to attend our services and be part of our church community as they explore faith and grow in their relationship with Christ.
Is there any update on the ongoing litigation?
There are no new updates to share at this time. As you may be aware, Souls Church was served earlier this year with a lawsuit involving two individuals claiming they were abused by former Pastor, Jeffrey Charles, dating back to 2005-2010 when they were minors.
This matter was turned over to our insurance carrier at the time, Church Mutual Insurance Company, which has retained the law firm of Waldeck & Woodrow to represent our church and is handling the situation. This is in active litigation at this time, but we will share further updates and steps moving forward as needed in the future, as we are able. In the meantime, we are asking you to continue to join with us in prayer during this difficult season.
As we have shared before, as people of faith, we will continue to look to God for wisdom, comfort, strength, guidance, and His grace in this time. Though we are shaken, our faith in God is not.
If you would like to connect with us about anything or have us pray with you, our door is always open so please don't hesitate to reach out. We are all in this together! The best is ahead! ~ Calhoun's
