For the past half-century, First Free hosted a multi-week, summer day camp for kids. And for most of those years, it was called Summerama. As times change along with family and community dynamics, our church has retired Summerama for 2025. Instead, Kids Ministries...
With Easter approaching, we spoke with two of our First Free staff members: Toni Rowley, Kids Ministries coordinator; and Erin Hildreth, Mom’s Day Out coordinator. Both are moms always on the lookout for new and creative holiday ideas for their own families as well as...
Tables full of donuts. Tables and chairs full of people visiting. Starting this Sunday, a table and hosts featuring a different First Free Rockford ministry every month. What once was flyover land on the way into the Sanctuary now buzzes with community. We spoke about...
In 1969, Associate Pastor Jim Forstrom came to First Free with lots of ideas, including expanding the church’s vacation Bible school into something new. He saw something in Jim Rosene, then a 16-year-old high school student, and asked him if he’d like to help. “I...
The world looked a lot different in 1989. The Berlin Wall was about to fall. The Cosby Show was the top-rated TV program. General Motors was America’s largest corporation. Gasoline cost $1 a gallon. That year, Patti Clauson got a phone call from a friend at church,...
Two upcoming opportunities at First Free are aimed at adoptive families and those considering adoption or foster parenting. Wednesday Conversation Next Wednesday, March 29, Toni Rowley will lead the Wednesday Conversation by telling her family’s story. She and her...
