How Did Thrive Begin?
Our history is relatively short, but super exciting. Thrive was launched in March of 2007 by a few dedicated people hungry to see God work in the lives of those who needed a church. Pastor Mark Hale and his wife Lisa, along with their four children, moved to the area to start Thrive. Mark had spent the previous 17 years serving in mostly large churches, but also a smaller one. What he realized is that most churches are built to cater to “church goers”. It seemed to him that there was a huge segment of the population that hadn’t gone to church, or was disenfranchised with traditional churches. For the last seven years, Thrive has been an outreach to them.
The Building:

The Staff:
Thrive employs 2 full time staff and 6 part time staff. Each staff person oversees a vital area of ministry. The staff is the heart of the day to day operation of the church while our Leadership and Finance Teams oversee and protect the vision and help make major decisions.
Our Beliefs:
- There is only one God and He made everything. God is a Trinity of persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- Jesus, who came from heaven to earth about 2000 years ago, is fully God and fully man at the same time. Jesus came to save us and give us eternal life through His death and resurrection.
- God’s Holy Spirit is active in our world and helps lead us toward God.
- The Bible is our instruction manual outlining all we need to know in life about how to live right by God and gain eternal life.
- We have all sinned and need God’s forgiveness.
- God invites us and enables us to turn from sin, but it is our choice.
- When we repent and turn away from our sins, trust in Jesus to accept us, and make a complete commitment to God – He will purify our hearts and set us free to truly love God and one another.
- Heaven and hell are real places.
- Jesus is coming again.
Our Core Values:
These are the guiding principles that dictate behavior and action at Thrive.
- We value the application of scripture: Teaching is for life change.
- We value growth: Real Christian followers grow.
- We value Grow Groups: As a church gets bigger, it must get smaller.
- We value excellence: God is honored in excellence.
- We value service: Every believer is a volunteer.
- We value creativity & innovation: Changing methods – unchanging message.
- We value unity & diversity: Focusing on the things that unite us – not on the things that divide us.
- We value being ‘high tech’ & ‘high touch’: Utilizing technology & relationships.
- We value all people…but we are a church focused on the next generation: Kids, youth, college age & young families are our future!