Our Vision

Our vision at K1 is to help people:
Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose and Live it out.
Our vision comes out of the four promises that God gave to the Israelites when He freed them out of Egypt. We believe that these same four promises are available to us now through the grace of Jesus Christ. 

6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."

Exodus 6:6-7, NIV

"...I WILL BRING YOU OUT..."

This is God's promise of salvation. God promises to save us from our slavery to sin through believing in Jesus with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. We say it like.....

KNOW GOD

SUNDAY SERVICE

"...I WILL FREE YOU..."

This is God's promise to not only save us from being slaves to sin, but to free us from our slave mentality through the work of the Spirit who transforms and sanctifies our hearts and minds. We say it like...

FIND FREEDOM

SMALL GROUPS

"...I WILL REDEEM YOU..."

This is God's promise to redeem us back into the person He created us to be, before the sinful world devastated our identity and purpose in life. We say it like....

DISCOVER PURPOSE

LIFETRACK

"...I WILL TAKE YOU AS MY PEOPLE..."

This is God's promise of calling, to be an extension of His holy presence on this earth to help reach the lost and broken world. We say it like....

LIVE IT OUT

DREAM TEAM

This vision, along with our Core Values, dictate how we expand God's kingdom individually and as a community of faith.

To understand how we live our our vision, we invite you to participate in something called LIFETRACK.

Lifetrack is a four-step process that helps you discover your redemptive purpose and live the life God created for you. You will learn more about who we are as a church and who God has created you to be.

Lifetrack meets every Sunday at 12:00p in room 109. Lunch and Childcare provided. 

STEP ONE : KNOW GOD

Discover the spiritual journey that God has for each of us and learn how K1 will help you live it out.  Step One happens the first Sunday of the month.

STEP TWO: FIND FREEDOM

Learn how to experience God's transforming power in your life and how joining a Small Group can help you find freedom.  Step Two happens the second Sunday of the month.

STEP THREE: DISCOVER PURPOSE

Discover our purpose as God’s people and how we are created to bring God’s healing and restoration to this world. We will talk through some fun assessments and see how they reveal our purpose in life and our best fit in ministry. Step Three happens the third Sunday of the month.

STEP FOUR: LIVE IT OUT

We help bring together all that was discovered in Step Three and connect it with the right Dream Team opportunity at K1 so that  you can live out your purpose for God's kingdom. Step Four happens the fourth Sunday of the month.

What we believe

As a part of the Nazarene denomination, we align with the beliefs stated in the Articles of Faith.
Statement of faith

OUR MINISTRY TEAM

At Kankakee First, we believe in unity, teamwork, and inspiring the "leader" in each other. Our team is committed to using our gifts, abilities, passions, and experiences to their fullest in order to create an atmosphere where people can begin and grow in their journey of being used by God to expand God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven.

Dave Anderson

Lead Pastor

Ashley Summers

Worship Pastor

Jenna Luoto

Executive & Spiritual Formation Pastor

Lindsay English

Youth Pastor

Julie Ferris

Kids Ministry Director

Maddi Spacht

Outreach Pastor

Leon Blanchette

Kid's Worship Pastor

Cindi Schimmelpfennig

Senior Adult Pastor

Sean Curbow

Operations Pastor

Brock Kant

Sports Pastor

Willy Canales

Hispanic Ministries Pastor

CORE VALUES

To Grow Spiritually

We are called to become disciples of Jesus Christ so that we can show the world who God is, what God cares about, and who God cares about. As such, we encourage and help each other in becoming more like Jesus through Sunday worship, Spiritual Practices, Small Groups, and Serving.

To Develop Relationships

God desires for us to live life together -- sharing hurts, speaking life into one another, celebrating joys, and facing struggles on our lifelong journey with God. Therefore, we encourage everyone to become a part of a Small Group at K1 and to invite others to join us on the journey.

To Be Intentional

We don’t just do “ministry”; we are intentional about it — focusing on ministries that enable us to grow in our faith and be equipped to go out into the world. Bottom line, we want to be people who are intentional about expanding God's kingdom.

To Have Fun

Being a part of the body of Christ is meant to be fulfilling, joyful, and exponentially life giving. Church should NOT be boring!In a heavy and broken world - people need to experience the JOY of the Lord! At K1 we value having fun with one another as we live the God adventure!

OUR Lay leadership council

Our lay leadership council is elected by the members of  K1, holds our lead pastor accountable, and partners with our pastoral team to help K1 live out its vision.

Tim Schweigert

Prayer Team

Sarah Bugajski

Outreach

Matt McAllister

Finance Team

Matt Steinacker

Worship Team

Joel Greer

Facilities Team

Hector Chaparro

Adult Discipleship

Dave Cagle 

Welcome Team

Dave Johnson

Kids/Youth Discipleship

Chris Gibson

Safety Team