Greater Things FAQ
GREATER THINGS CAMPAIGN
Greater Things is a faith-raising initiative for Soul City Church with two goals. Our primary goal is 100% engagement. We want every person who calls Soul City home to ask the question, “God, what is the greater thing you want to do in me and through me?”. Our secondary goal is to raise $15 million, which will provide our ongoing budget at both churches for two years, launch expenses for our new church, and give seed funding to all the other initiatives in our five-year vision.
The vision of Soul City Church has always been to be one church in multiple locations. We exist to be a place where people can come for hope and healing and to have the resources to reach people beyond our walls with the transforming love of Jesus. After significant research and lots of prayer, we are compelled to continue the biblical model in the New Testament of starting new churches, extending our ministry into the community, and releasing resources throughout the city, country, and world.
Soul City’s leadership prayerfully and strategically considered this faith-raising campaign to support the launch of the new location. Fundraising experts from within and outside our church helped guide the process with Soul City leadership. We believe the vision of Greater Things will stretch and renew our faith and grow all of us to become more kingdom-minded followers of Jesus.
This powerful prayer process can be summed up in three letters – A, B, C.
Ask God to speak to you. Invite God to lead you towards a financial amount to trust God with for the next two years. Believe that God will lead, guide, and provide you with resources to see this commitment through. Commit to giving God all the glory for writing a GREATER THINGS story in and through your life.
Greater Things is a two-year faith-raising campaign from May 2024-May 2026. You can complete a digital commitment card and start giving today. If you are attending a gathering on a Sunday, you can pick up a physical commitment card at Soul City Church from the 1st or 2nd-floor information racks.
KEY DATES
Greater Things Teaching Series – April 7th
Advanced Commitment Night – April 23rd
Commitment Sunday – May 5th
Celebration Sunday & First Big Give – May 19th
You can start giving today here. We are SO excited that you are willing to trust God like this. We have no doubt that God will use this to grow your faith like never before!
This is an opportunity to stretch your faith. We invite you to pray and invite God to guide you in your giving.
Yes. We welcome gifts of appreciated assets and gifts-in-kind. If you would like to talk more about this, please contact us at garenmcconnell@soulcitychurch.com.
Soul City Church will send out regular campaign progress that will include Greater Things giving updates. We will also share campaign updates and developments during our Sunday gatherings. If you miss a Sunday gathering in person, or aren’t able to attend, you can always catch the live stream or replay it through our website.
A ONE FUND initiative refers to a faith-based financial approach where a single, consolidated fund is established to cover all expenses over a two-year period. This includes the operating budget for two churches – West Loop Church and the New Church to the West – as well as start-up costs for the New Church to the West, capital improvements at West Loop Church, and seed funding for the other initiatives in our five year vision. Essentially, this strategy relies on trust in divine provision to meet these comprehensive financial needs.
NEW CHURCH TO THE WEST
We plan to launch in the next year. Once we find the right facility, our timeline will be clarified.
Not yet! We have built a dynamic real estate team made up of real estate professionals who are a part of Soul City Church and outside experts to identify potential locations. Our plan is to lease or purchase a space that would give us the ability to do ministry seven days a week, but we are always open to God surprising us with something beyond our best plans. If you have suggestions for potential locations, please email us at garenmcconnell@soulcitychurch.com.
The exact location for the new church has not yet been identified, but we are looking between Oakbrook and Oak Park. The new church to the west will serve the neighborhoods in the western suburbs of Chicago.
Yes, the new church will have live worship, led by a local Soul City Worship team, and live teaching by our Lead Pastors and teaching team, including the local pastor. In some instances, video teaching will be utilized. Each church will follow the same teaching plan each week, but it will be delivered by different members of our teaching team. This allows the teaching to be unique to the location.
We know that the new church’s local pastor will be someone currently on the Soul City staff team.
Soul City will operate with a centralized leadership model that consists of the founding lead pastors, directional team, and a local pastor for the new church that will oversee the vision and strategy of the church. A portion of the staff will represent “shared services” and support both churches in areas such as operations, accounting and human resources. Soul City will continue to be governed by one common elder board with representation from each of the two churches.
Each church will have the responsibility of contextually living out Soul City’s mission and vision through worship, teaching, table groups and ministries such as Soul City Kids and Alpha. These are the parts of our Church that are core to our mission and have fueled our growth over the last 13 years.
Soul City’s mission, vision, values, transformational teaching, worship, and look and feel will be consistent throughout both churches. There will be differences as each of these churches continue to grow and develop. The common Elder Board, centralized leadership and oversight from our founding lead pastors and directional team will also ensure that the new church are launched and growing, that it is 100% “Soul City” while also being uniquely contextualized to its local community.
WHERE DO I GO IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
We welcome any additional questions you may have. Simply email us at greaterthings@soulcitychurch.com
