40 Years Old. This year we’re celebrating a milestone birthday in the life of FCS. When people turn forty, we make jokes about “over the hill” or buy balloons with wildly premature tombstones on them. But as those of us who’ve entered our forties may know, it doesn’t feel like the start of a decline. It feels like a step into a new, more mature, and very exciting phase.
FCS is embarking on its fifth decade of community development and ministry work, and in many ways it feels like we’re just getting started. We’ve learned so much from our years of experience, but we’re stepping forward into energizing territory that can impact our neighbors and our neighborhood for good. Here are a few things I’m excited about as we celebrate 40 years!
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Our foundation – Over the last 35 to 40 years, our founder Bob Lupton’s thinking and leadership kept FCS on the cutting edge of the neighborhood development and formed a strong foundation for us to build on.
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Our staff – The FCS team is packed full of young, strong, and diverse voices of leadership that are taking Bob’s concepts of helping and deepening them in the current cultural context.
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Our board – The FCS board represents some of our greatest support. They also allow me to lead innovation in the organization, researching and designing new ways of alleviating poverty through faith-filled, place-based development.
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Our neighborhood – In our history of projects and neighborhoods served, the work happening in South Atlanta is our most robust and fully developed yet.
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Our future – We have strengthened the organization and built upon its original foundation. The next decade is going to be phenomenal!
Of course, no birthday celebration would be complete without a party. And we plan to have a great one! Join us on November 15th and be a part of this important milestone in the life of FCS. Bob Lupton and his wife Peggy will be there, and we look forward to honoring their legacy in this ongoing work as well. We invite you to join us, and you can read more details in this newsletter. Thank you for your support throughout the years and into our next phase as an organization!
