Our global focus is partnering with God’s Church in gospel movements around the world. We need to work together, with all our resources, to see the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission in our time.
First Free supports a number of missionary families who are currently working in the United States and in foreign countries. First Free also supports some missionaries who work in sensitive areas and have chosen not to be listed on our website for security reasons.
Our Missionaries
Rocky & Rachel Bliss
Global Fingerprints
Information Technology Specialist & Southeast Asia Advocate
Dave Boeltl
Doing battle Ministries
Providing Bible based Christian discipleship for youth and adults thru mentoring, music, & athletics
Dennis (Denny) and Nicole deBruyn
ReachGlobal
Disciple making, evangelism, leadership development and church planting in Berlin, Germany
Enrique and Becky Fernandez
Latin America Training Network (LATN) (Latin America and the US)
Providing training and teaching to Christian leaders in Latin America and the U.S.
John & Wendy Gerhardt
Urban Impact Ministries
Pastor of Castle Rock Community Church & Director of Urban Impact Ministries
Glenn & Teresa Kenadjian
China Outreach Ministries (Florida)
Evangelism of Chinese students studying in the USA
Rick & Becky Mackey
United World Mission (Dominican Republic)
Helping Dominican Christians grow healthy churches
Matt & Audrey Pound
Faithful Heart Foundation
Seeking to serve the poor and vulnerable children and families in and around Thailand
Grace Stoelzing
Campus Ventures
Disciples students, runs events for Campus Ventures, & serves on the staff team
Partner Organizations
Kids Alive
In 1997 a few adults and youth from First Free traveled to the Dominican Republic to serve with Kids Alive in the town of Jarabacoa in the mountainous central region of the island. Upon our arrival, we found a house full of exuberant children living in a crowded, rented, rustic, wood-framed dwelling; happy to be in the company of a loving household, to be receiving 3 meals a day, attending school and now finding themselves the subject of attention of these visitors from the US. We immediately set out to construct a new group home for them on a piece of property just outside of town, where they would have ample space to grow and play. As we worked side-by-side with the Dominicans, we made many friends. We got a good start on that new group home and then continued to return, year after year to help them expand the ministry. Out of that experience has grown a lasting relationship with the staff at Kids Alive, with local townspeople and of course with the children.
Our work in Jarabacoa was completed several years ago and we’ve moved on to the Kids Alive ministry in the nearby town of Constanza, where they are now expanding their school. On our trips we help with everything from construction to the children’s ministry, and many from First Free also support some of the children financially.
Castle Rock Community Church & Urban Impact Ministries
Some 22 years ago, our First Free youth pastor then, John Gerhardt with his wife, Wendy, and the first of their 4 children, moved to New Orleans to help a fledgling new Free Church, Castle Rock Community Church, serving the poorest of the poor in that city. That created a relationship that prompted First Free to regularly send teams to serve with Castle Rock, and its partner, Urban Impact Ministries. We do that in any way that we can be helpful. We clean out places, redeem buildings and locations that have been abandoned, love on people, play with kids, and generally do all we can to encourage that effort as well as see changed lives and redeemed people. As John says, "We want to transform our neighborhood into a place where kids can safely rides their bikes."