Our hosts at Abundant Life Church started with a tour of the Daycare facility, which serves around 85 young children from babies to preschool and includes a 4K program. We got a look at the rooms and equipment suited to the various ages of the children. We toured in small groups to make it easier and less disruptive to the children and staff. The 4K program that prepares preschoolers for moving on to kindergarten. After our tour, we moved to the sanctuary, which doubles as the gym/recreation area for the learning center students during the school week. We were treated to an excellent breakfast as we started our meeting.
After the tour and breakfast, we heard a brief history of the church and learning center. ALC is 44 years old. We saw photos of the original building (1991). Pastor Kevin Humphrey described the history and growth of ALC. We heard on our tour that the layout of the learning center facility makes for large classrooms that give students and staff plenty of room both to learn and to be active. In addition to the retractable stage making it possible to use the sanctuary as the gym during the school day, ALC has 2 playgrounds suited to childrens’ age levels. During the summer, daily attendance swells from about 85 to more than 100 Angie told us that staff turnover is low, which is due to the culture of making the learning center a place where people want to work. The 4K program started in 2012, but it couldn’t operate in 2022 school year due to staffing. The 4K teachers are ALC staff and not part of the River Falls School District, which leads to challenges in hiring.
Some background on Ted for those who missed his Rotary classification talk 18 years ago: He started at ALC in 1992 after working at 3M in Stillwater, work that involved machine building for manufacturing plants. Ted’s first job at ALC was in maintenance. Ted became a licensed minister in 1996. Among the church's projects are new siding and roof and covering the asphalt parking lot. Inside the building there is lots of homebuilt equipment. Sound panels are an example of what they were able to do on their own using available materials. The stage in the sanctuary was built for maximum versatility from a design developed locally.
Here are a few photos:
