Who We Are
At Hershey Free we believe a disciple of Jesus is someone who lives with Jesus, loves like Jesus, and leads others to do the same. Simply put, this means we want to be a place where you can learn about Jesus and connect with him. We want you to experience God’s love and find opportunities to share that love. And we want you to discover your gifts and be able to serve within the church and in the wider area.
Each of us is on this same journey and have found hope in Jesus. We want others to experience this same hope and joy.
Where We Come From
Hershey Free Church is part of a larger association, the Evangelical Free Church of America. As a denomination, “We are a community of believers who are committed to Jesus Christ, the gospel and to one another. Connected by our theological convictions, we exist to glorify God and multiply transformational churches among all people.”
The following links will provide info about the EFCA and the Eastern District of the EFCA.
Where We're Headed
Building Bridges with Future Generations
Throughout the next five years, it is vital for us to focus on young adults. In saying this, we are not moving away from being a multi-generational church. We want to leverage our multi-generational reality. We want to build bridges with future generations. We live in a time where it's very easy to walk away from church, and it can be even harder to engage church. If we are truly going to be a community of multiple generations coming together, we must ensure that young adults are invited, equipped, and empowered to be a part of our gospel mission.
In five years, we envision a future where people can ask hard questions about life, faith, meaning, and purpose and encounter the transforming work of the gospel in community with others. We anticipate seeing relationships built across generations so we can learn from each other. We see a body of people equipped to discover how God has wired them to serve. We believe our five-year vision culminates with many young adults joining us as we Live with Jesus, Love like Jesus, and continue to Lead Others to do the Same.
“Leveraging our multi-generational congregation, we will build bridges for the transformation of young adults in our church and community so that together we can engage the gospel and be equipped and empowered to live as part of God’s mission, both locally and globally.”
Five-Year Vision
Why does the five-year vision focus on young adults?
We live in a post-Christian culture. Young people are leaving the church or have never had the opportunity to have a positive experience with a follower of Christ. They don't feel like the church is a safe place for them. It's never been so easy to leave the church and never so hard to engage. Young adults are setting the tone and direction of culture from entertainment to business to politics to social habits. We want to help young adults have a gospel influence on our culture and around the globe.
How can all generations get involved?
We need to engage younger people - to listen and learn about their thoughts, ideas, and culture. Sometimes that means being a trusted sounding board and just listening. We can carefully choose our words to be more affirming and less critical about young adults and while around young adults. Be generous with your resources and willing to learn. Talk to your children and your grandchildren. What weighs heavy on their hearts? What brings them joy and fulfillment? Above all, pray!