There are plenty of opportunities to serve in the church—working with children, leading worship, ushering, serving donuts and coffee, and so much more. Check out these opportunities and get involved!
Nursery Caregivers
Cuddle newborns, smash playdough with toddlers, and sing songs with preschoolers! Nursery Coordinators and Preschool Leaders guide the morning (and handle all diaper changes and any meltdowns) while you enjoy all the joy and energy of our youngest churchgoers! Get to know other adults and youth as you serve together, read stories, help with crafts, and participate in fun Bible activities. Serve 1-2 times per month with flexible scheduling. Email the Nursery Director: stacey.urbanz@firstfreechurch.org
Creekside Kids Bible Time (Sunday mornings)
Join the Creekside Sunday team as a greeter, assistant leader in a classroom, or hang with the babies or preschoolers. If you love kids, we have a place for you to serve. Our elementary kids love buddies and you could jump into a classroom on a regular or semi-regular schedule to assist the classroom leader. Creekside could use leaders during the Community Hour and during the Worship Hour. Contact Carrie Boyum at carrie.boyum@firstfreechurch.org for more information and details.
Creekside Clubs (Wednesdays)
Clubs are for kids in first-fifth grade and meet on Wednesday nights from September-April. Boys and girls are divided by age and gender and have leaders who invest in them on a regular basis. Join the Club team and be a greeter, game leader, classroom leader, service project assistant, supply organizer, or help with security. Interested or want more information? Contact Carrie Boyum at carrie.boyum@firstfreechurch.org.
Creekside events
We have fun special events throughout the year, such as the Advent Festival, Creekside Family Party, Creekside Family Hikes, Retreat46 at Shamineau, and Vacation Bible Camp. Jump into the fun and be on a team to help organize an event, help with supplies, work in the kitchen, be a photographer, hang out with kids, and physically set-up and clean-up events. There is a place for everyone to serve! For more information on how you can serve, contact Carrie Boyumat carrie.boyum@firstfreechurch.org.
Velocity Student Ministry
Velocity is the name of our grades 6-12 student ministry. If you feel called to work with teens and preteens and to help disciple them in the stage of life where they are discovering who they are and need consistent, dependable role models, then this is for you! Right now we are looking for people who would be interested in getting involved in small groups or joining the Sunday morning teaching time and becoming a part of that teaching rotation. If any of this is of interest to you, or if you are interested in getting involved but aren’t quite sure how, then contact Pastor Jake at jake.weikel@firstfreechurch.org
MomCo childcare
You can support MomCo (formerly MOPS) by joining if you are a mom, telling your neighbors and family about us, providing a scholarship for a mom to join MomCo, or by volunteering in KidsCo. KidsCo is a preschool style nursery and childcare for our MomCo meetups. Neither would be possible if it were not for our VolunteerCo. Come be a part of ours!
Are you an experienced mom with the time to invest in young moms? Be a mom mentor and come hang out, listen, laugh, pray, and share your experience! Contact Jeanine Bruen at momco@firstfreechurch.org.
Worship Team
Our Worship Team serves in leading our congregation in song, Scripture, and prayer every Sunday. We have musicians and vocalists across multiple generations which strive to present a sonic expression of contemporary music that can resonate across generations. Our songs capture rich theological truths and invite whole-hearted responses to the Gospel.
Those interested in serving as a musician or singer should have prior church or other public performance experience, be competent in playing with chord charts, have an understanding of basic music theory and improvisation, and be a follower of Jesus that leads not just with song but with Christ-like character in the community. Contact Paul Anleitner for more information: paul.anleitner@firstfreechurch.org
Tech Team
The Tech Team plays an integral role in Sunday worship. Audio techs help set-up and put-away the equipment and monitor the mixing board during the service. Media techs run slides and control the lights. Video techs switch operate cameras and monitor the livestream. The time commitment is typically no more than one sunday a month for those interested in volunteering. No experience is necessary—we'll teach you everything you need to know. If you're looking for a fun and unique way to get involved in worship, consider joining the Tech Team! Contact Dan Fergus (dan.fergus@firstfreechurch.org).
Visitation Team
Joining the visitation ministry is a great way to develop lasting relationships with others at church. We often visit with an individual or family in the congregation who is not able to attend church on a regular basis, or who may need extra support. Being a visitor at First Free involves a commitment of a one-time training session and visiting an individual or family ideally every 6–8 weeks. During a visit, we visit socially and spend time to pray and share a scripture or a devotional. We find that our visitors often leave feeling encouraged in their own faith walk with God. Another meaningful way to be a part of the visitation team is to help make prayer shawls. Prayer shawls are special gifts that are given to those going through hard times to let them know God and their church family cares for them. Contact: nurses@firstfreechurch.org
Wellness Advisory Team
The Wellness Advisory Team meets three times a year to provide input to the Faith Community Nurse ministry. Some of our members have a medical background and others don’t; we welcome all. If you are interested in joining the group, please contact Faith Community Nurses. Contact: nurses@firstfreechurch.org
Prayer Team
If you have a heart to listen to others and to bring their concerns to God in prayer, then First Free’s prayer team may be a place for you. We offer prayer up front for a short 10-15 minute window after the service two times a month. Your commitment would involve a short training period and being available to pray monthly, as well as attending a 90 minute quarterly meeting to connect together as a team. Contact Melia Ives at niceandcozy@gmail.com.
Kitchen Team
Fellowship Time would not happen without the fabulous kitchen crew! Join our team and you will personally be responsible for the smiles you see on everyone’s face between 10–10:30 every Sunday. We work together, on a rotating schedule, to make Fellowship Time happen. This crew picks up and prep donuts, brews coffee, makes juice, and then sets-up & cleans-up the serving tables in the gym. Bonus—you get first pick of donuts!! Join our team for a fun way to serve your church family!! Contact Courtney Hunter at lutcou@hotmail.com.
Welcome Team
Our ushers and Welcome Desk volunteers are often the first people that visitors meet when they come to our church on a Sunday morning. Join our team as we welcome people to church and hand out bulletins. Be a warm and welcoming presence to newcomers, answer questions about First Free, and direct folks to where they need to go.Contact office@firstfreechurch.org.
Crosswalk volunteers
If you loved being a crossing guard in your elementary days, you can be one again! Our church and parking lots are divided by a highly trafficked road. We have many families, young children, and members who need assistance getting safely into our building. Consider volunteering with our crosswalk crew on Sunday mornings. A rotating schedule is put together 3–4 times a year based on volunteer availability. Contact office@firstfreechurch.org.
Safety Team
Play a crucial role in providing safety and security to the congregation and church premises. This role is primarily on Sunday mornings in a rotating volunteer schedule. Be the first point of contact at front entrances, identifying and welcoming people. Provide assistance to people in need, while observing all activities to identify suspicious behavior or high priority issues. Carry out occasional building patrols and write incident reports when needed. Must be able to effectively manage conflict and/or tricky situations. Volunteer must be 21 years of age, possess mental acuity, and be physically sturdy. For more information contact Jeff Knecht at jeffreyknecht@gmail.com.
Housing Team
Get involved in the vibrant ministry happening right across the street from church. You can help us to be good stewards of the 3 houses owned by First Free and impact our neighbors for Christ! Join us for work days throughout the year as we do basic yard work and landscaping. Help us move new families in or out of the houses. Lend a hand painting, cleaning or doing repairs to keep our houses in top shape. Join the Housing Committee and attend monthly meetings. No experience is necessary just a heart to serve. All ages and abilities are welcome, great opportunity to serve together as a family or small group. Contact Hong Gu to be added to our email list for upcoming opportunities. For more information contact Hong Gu at guhong@hotmail.com.
Good Neighbor Team
Did you know First Free Church is actively involved in a housing ministry for refugees, right here in our neighborhood? One aspect of this ministry is making a commitment to befriend our new neighbors and walk alongside them regularly during their first year in America. It’s called our Good Neighbor team, and we partner with the Christian nonprofit Arrive Ministries. Contact David McCoy if you’re interested in being a part of the Good Neighbor team, or just want to learn more about First Free’s housing ministry and how we can be involved in serving new immigrants in our community. For more information contact David McCoy at mccoy.david.william@gmail.com.