OUR MISSION
About Us
I would describe Feed Christ's Lambs and the endeavor I am proposing as “A collaborative effort of the Emporia/Flint Hills area churches to provide Events & Activities to Spiritually Feed Christ’s Sheep as directed in John 21:17. I have two goals which I believe God has set before me.
First, I would like to see a day when a person could go to the “Feed Christ’s Lambs” Facebook page and find a Christian event or activity to attend 365 days a year. There would literally be something available on every day of the year, with some days having multiple opportunities from which to choose where Christians could worship, fellowship, learn, and commune with fellow Christians and hopefully bring non-Christians into a relationship with Christ. So far, a few of the Emporia and area churches have asked for permission to post to Feed Christ's Lambs as an editor and can thus publicize their churches events on the website. While it has been used some, it is my prayer and sincerest hope that it will be utilized much more than it currently has been. Church staff or Clergy message us on Facebook or email us at [email protected] for information regarding posting to the Feed Christ's Lambs Facebook page.
Second, I want to bring more Christian events to Emporia. I want to bring more Christian movies. I want to bring revival speakers to speak in front of packed audiences. I want to bring Christian music groups like Newsboys, Mercy Me, Casting Crowns, etc. to Emporia.
So far, Feed Christ's Lambs has brought 5 movies to Emporia. "God's Not Dead" showed in the Flinthills 8 Theatres in March of 2014. On February 14, 2015, "Old Fashioned," a Christian romance movie was brought to Emporia to combat "Fifty Shades of Grey." Sadly, "Old Fashioned" did not do as well at the box office and I took a hit to my personal finances for the difference between the tickets sold and the minimum tickets required to bring it to Emporia, which was 500 tickets. The next movie, "Do You Believe?," was released on March 20, 2015. It sold well and too my surprise, Pure Flix Entertainment sent me 500 wooden crosses, like those used in the movie, to accompany the 500 tickets I had guaranteed would sell. I asked the theatre for permission to set up a box in the back of the theatre showing the movie so people could take a cross. They, however said "No, we will just hand them out at the ticket counter with every ticket we sell until they run out. In July of 2015, I passed on a movie called "Faith of Our Fathers." While I liked the movie, I didn't think that I could get 750 people to come to the theater with it opening on July 1, 2016 and all the outdoor activities and vacations that summer brings.
The financial obligation for bringing a Christian movie to the theater runs between $4000 and $6000. If the film doesn't sell the minimum tickets, then I lose money. Therefore, I can't always bring every movie to Emporia for its theatrical release. However, there are still some really good movies I would like to share with the people of Emporia and the surrounding area. An example, "Faith of Our Fathers," was a good Christian movie, but after prayerful consideration, I did not think I could get 750 people to attend its theatrical release in Emporia beginning on July 1, 2015. I am working on trying to find a venue to bring movies into Emporia to show after their theatrical release. This would require a site license which generally runs in the $300-500 range instead of thousands like the theatrical release. While some these events/showings may be held at local churches, I am trying to stay non-denominational and use a non-church venue. This will hopefully alleviate some denominational tensions as well as foster attendance of some people who might not feel comfortable in a church setting.
In August of 2015, we brought the movie, War Room to Emporia and it did very well. I am told that the theater only had a few seats on the front row left for the ~7 p.m. show on opening night. I have heard some stories about how War Room impacted the lives of moviegoers in Emporia, but would love to hear more. Following closely behind War Room, we brought the movie Woodlawn, which opened on October 16, 2015, to Emporia. We sponsored a challenge to area teams and area teams attended the movie together. Woodlawn touched a cord with lots of youth in our area and had a powerful Christian message.
I am also still working on lining up musical groups and quest speakers to come to town. These generally will require more capital to host, so I am hoping to turn Feed Christ's Lambs into a non-profit to possibly attract some business support with tax breaks and to allow for building up funds from donations from non-theatrical showings of movies to help finance more costly events and activities.
When this first began, it was simply an idea and a Facebook page, however God seems to have larger plans. So far, this has mainly been my own personal endeavor with some help from Christians in and around Emporia. I titled this "Who We Are" because I soon hope to have a core group working together on Feed Christ's Lambs. The financial risk has been mine, but Twelfth Avenue Baptist has created a fund to allow people to support Feed Christ's Lambs with tax deductible donations in hopes that others will want to help further the vision and the work that I have started.