History

What started as a driving passion to help people discover the heart of God has evolved into a dynamic community of more than 500 adults, youth and children who regularly participate in our weekly programs.

The Early Years

In 1992, Carl and Jeannine Franco sold their home to raise funds for startup costs, recruited a small team and remodeled a rental facility so WellSpring Community Church could be born.

When the doors opened for the first few services, a group of 35 gathered to explore God in a church setting that at the time was totally unique to our community. Through contemporary live music, humorous anecdotes, thought-provoking dramas and impactful movie clips, WellSpring sought to convey Biblical principles that all of us could relate to our everyday lives.

Move to Current Location

In 1997, the members of WellSpring raised funds to purchase a 20-acre parcel of property. A 2,800 square-foot horse barn was gutted and remodeled into a Children’s Center with almost 100 percent volunteer labor. At the same time, an old country home also located on the property was refurbished into church offices.

Sunday services were held at the Lakota Freshman School until 2001, when our Worship Center was constructed. This allowed us to bring all of our ministries onto our campus.

A Thriving Community

Since that time, WellSpring has continued to use our resources as creatively as possible to meet the needs of our growing church. When expansion has become a necessity, it has been made possible by gifts of money, time and talents of our members:

  • In 2003, a Leadership and Discipleship Center was built to provide more space for classes, workshops and community-building activities.
  • In 2005, the Children's Center was expanded to increase capacity and provide a more fun-filled, technologically improved environment for our dynamic Children's Ministry.
  • In 2006, WellSpring's Connection Center was built – a building that connects the Worship Center and Children's Center and provides a place for people to "connect" with each other before and after services.
  •  In 2007, WellSpring deepened its missional perspective as we began to divert more of our attention and resources away from our campus and out into the community and world.
  • In 2008, we launched the Welcome Home Ministry, providing transitional housing for families in need.
  • In 2009, we established a nonprofit organization to serve the youth in our area and helped raise seed money for EDGE Teen Center.

WellSpring continues to plan for the future and long-term growth needs of the church. Currently we are evaluating opportunities to expand on our 20-acre campus to both accommodate our growth and serve the needs of the community.

A Missional Perspective

In recent years we have felt God’s calling to direct more of our resources (time and financial) to serve the critical needs of people out in our community, region and world. Our thriving outreach initiatives reflect this journey.

Also in recent years, we’ve been led by God to think hard about the needs of the teens in our community. WellSpring has played a leadership role in the vision and creation of EDGE Teen Center, a youth-driven center for high school students dedicated to creating life-on-life mentoring relationships with caring adults through community service opportunities, social activities, tutoring, counseling and life skills courses. We diverted significant financial resources to help fund the building of EDGE in 2009 and continue to provide financial support, along with many other organizations.