The Freedom Hall Story
I need to start by saying that initially I did not want to have anything to do with the building we now call ‘Freedom Hall’. It was simply a mess…there was too much to do in the way of making it presentable not to mention useable. You couldn’t even walk into the facility without frequently being overwhelmed by sewage gas. There were holes everywhere. The exterior paint was peeling…the parking lot looked like an asphalt quilt. The building was listed for sale and for close to six months there wasn’t even a ball park offer made.
In spite of this, I would frequently have my devotions there in solitude. And it happened one morning while reading the account of Jesus healing the disabled woman in the synagogue that the text Luke 13:12-16 caught my attention. The words, ‘Woman, you are freed of your sickness…And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond…” pierced my heart. This building was to be used for the purpose of setting people free – free spiritually, socially, emotionally, and yes even physically.
I shared this with Fred King our District Superintendent and asked if we could remove the property from the real estate market. After due consideration, the request was granted and immediately there were inquiries from two organizations hoping to purchase the property. In the midst of this, a roofing contractor (unbeliever) stopped in to provide an estimate on repairing the roof. After hearing what I intended to do with the building, he told me emphatically, ‘you can’t sell this building. We need it, the community needs it. You have to continue on with what you believe God has placed on your heart.’ He proceeded to patch the roof leaks without charge and without my knowing.
Three months later I was serving as
a Gulfport police officer and was conducting street interviews with a fellow
officer, looking for people who looked like they were out of place or acting suspicious. We found a young lady in her early twenties that
was known to be a crack prostitute. It
is said that the eyes are a window into the soul, and I found this to be so
true on that day. Although her driver’s
license indicated she was young, she looked twice her age. She would not look at me when I talked to
her…instead she would look at the ground or stare across the street. When she finally made eye contact with me, it
was if I was looking into the eyes of a zombie.
Here was a young girl with no hope, absolutely no self confidence and no
sense of dignity. My partner proceeded
to tell her to ‘get her act together, get off the street, and get into a
church’. He meant well, but it did
nothing to help her. My heart was
pierced. Here I was a church planter and
police officer and I couldn’t help her.
What some people saw as pathetic and trash, a person to be used and
abused, I saw as someone’s daughter.
Somewhere there was a father and mother with no idea where their
daughter was. But I also saw her as a
young lady made in the image of God.
As I went back to my car I was broken by the fact that I didn’t know how to help her. Our congregation didn’t have the resources or training to help her and neither did any other church that I knew. I failed her, her family failed her, her friends failed her. And it was then that I knew Freedom Hall’s purpose was for folks like her. People who are not going to simply walk into the local church but are desperately seeking help.
The building in fact was a perfect illustration of both us and the community – it was a real ‘fixer-upper’ a project that many would simply evaluate as not being worth the time. But God uses things like a neglected building and delights in using people of no reputation to manifest His glory.
Freedom Hall is a dream that I believe originates from the heart of God. He plans on using this building as a means of proving to believers and unbelievers alike of His faithfulness and love.
It is His desire for all people to see authentic faith, a living hope, and undeniable love displayed not only on bulletins and signs, but through the lives of the Church. Our passion is Christ. Our purpose is changing the world…and for us, it starts here in Gulfport and ripples out to those around the globe that are abused through the many forms of oppression and human trafficking.
You can be a part. Every nail you pound, every gallon of paint you put on the wall, every prayer you utter, and every dime you donate is a means of establishing a bridge of hope into the community. And inevitably as you serve to bless others, you find yourself being the one being blessed.
The building has a clear title and our district invested what it could as a ‘seed start’ knowing that we could not afford to underwrite the complete project. But we trust that as we step out in faith and obedience in honor of God, He will bring this to completion.
In Christ,
Darren Sandford