Flourish Community Development Corporation has a mission: “Following Jesus, Flourish STANDS with neighbors in need, pursues HEALING through relationships of reconciliation, and INVESTS in economic and leadership development.”
This mission stems from the history, work, prayers, and input of Schweitzer Church.
Schweitzer’s beginnings were visionary. God planted a notion that a strong church would be essential to new families, new homes, and a new community. The families that came appreciated the vision and invested in it. From the start, the little church on Oak Grove began Standing, Healing, and Investing in people as they shared Jesus and the life He gives.
As Schweitzer grew, its opportunities for impact expanded. In 2003, the Food Pantry launched out of a small closet on campus. By 2004, Disaster Relief efforts were reaching beyond Missouri, touching Mississippi in 2005, providing chainsaw ministry during the 2007 Ice Storm, and lending support after the 2011 Joplin Tornado.
In 2010, Schweitzer entered a season of refocusing around one question: what fruit are we bearing? By 2013, two initiatives emerged: Church at the Center and The Transformation Hub. Church at the Center consisted of an evening worship service connecting people in recovery and transitional housing with the hope of Christ. The Transformation Hub repositioned the food pantry as a crisis pantry and introduced practical classes like Jobs for Life, Faith and Finances, Boundaries, and The Story of God. The secret sauce wasn’t just the content; it was going through it with a mentor who believed you could see transformation in your life.
In 2020, COVID revealed the deep challenges facing our neighborhoods and the unmistakable calling of God to follow Jesus in Standing, Healing, and Investing across Springfield. If a person, a family, or a neighborhood is going to flourish, it happens as the people of God draw close, move in, and share the hope and healing of Christ.
Flourish stands on the visionary shoulders of Schweitzer, connecting with young people aging out of foster care, conducting leadership development with Flourish girls, and blessing the Heart of the West Side. Each of these efforts helps people move toward the day when people say, “I love my life, my family, my neighborhood.”
Flourish celebrates where we’ve come from and what the Lord has ahead. We are grateful for Schweitzer’s vision and partnership as we strive to follow Jesus.
