For Katie Townsend, there’s no faith vs. works conversation. The two exist together always, organically. To explain it, she uses the idea of a bean planted in a field. “Plants produce oxygen and good food,” she says. “And underneath, the roots are interacting with the...
Laura and Aaron Biby have been married almost 20 years. Their three boys are 9, 10 and 12. This past year they have faced the biggest trial of their lives. After Laura’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2021, she and Aaron weighed the options with her doctors. They decided...
Rich and Jackie Mansen’s lives had been on parallel tracks, but they didn’t intersect until each of them lost their spouses to cancer. Jackie and her first husband, Skip, had worked for decades as Wycliffe Bible Translators missionaries among the Rotokas people of...
As we begin a six-week teaching series in the Book of James, we spoke with Pastor Luke Uran about the series’ theme, and how both faith and works mark the life of a Christian. How has God led you to this series right now for our church? One of the things I have been...
If you’ve shopped for groceries in the past six months, you’ve noticed occasional empty shelves, with staples like bread, dairy and meat in short supply. What you might not realize is that those shortages have a ripple effect, and it’s hitting needy families...
My wife and I will be decorating eggs this week with our grandkids, using virtually the same method my parents and grandparents used. The smell of vinegar immediately takes me back to my childhood, dyeing hard-boiled eggs with those cheap Paas kits. Even today, you...
First Free’s Habitat for Humanity team is looking for volunteers to help with this year’s house build. A free, informational breakfast will be held at 9 a.m. this Saturday in Fellowship Hall, and there’s still time to register. Habitat for Humanity is an international...
We spoke this week with Lead Pastor Luke Uran about Greater, the sermon series just concluded, and Behold the Lamb, which launches this Sunday—plus topics like our media consumption and the importance of gathering in person. This past week was the last Sunday in our...
The Winnebago County court system has more than 1,000 kids involved in child abuse or neglect cases. One. Thousand. “That number should shake us to our core,” says Abby Finley, who attends First Free and who volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA....
Slovakia shares 60 miles of border with Ukraine, meaning it has been a first stop for more than 200,000 refugees since the Russian invasion. As a first wave of refugees has moved through, a second wave is arriving … with little idea where to go next. These include...
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