A Note from our Owner and CEO Chris Tindall about the burden of our hearts:
Good Morning, and thank you for taking the time to read this note. My name is Chris Tindall, and I am the Owner and CEO of Fresh Rain Studios, the company that has developed NWChurches.com. I am writing this letter to address a concern that has been brought up, to bare my heart to you, and to ask for your action and support.

As we have developed this technology over the last four and a half months we have been seeking partnerships that would help us accomplish two things: reach you, the churches of the region, to inform you of the service; to help spread the word to the public about the service so that it can benefit the local society. In the course of developing this technology and these partnerships we have run across a general sentiment: we are a "for profit" business just trying to make a buck. That said, let me move on for a moment and address this issue a little later.

Since I first began taking classes as Seattle Pacific University I had a burden placed on my heart to develop technology and services that would help the church population. God has blessed me with experience and skills in technology, especially in the area of web and graphic design - I NEEDED to give that back to God and do something that would benefit people for the greater good. At that point in time I had an idea - and PART of that idea was NWChurches.com - a searchable database of Christian churches. Although my dream is to be able to spread our service to the entire United States, region by region.

In short, we have not developed this service to "make a buck." I would LOVE to give this and many other services away for free. The problem is the realistic needs of life - as a business (ANY business, whether it be for profit, non-profit, secular or Christian) we have costs that need to be met (continued development and support is a full time job!). My team (two SPU graduates and myself) believe so much in this service that we have gone without pay since day one. Unfortunately, the costs of life dictate that we cannot continue in this matter - we need to eat, too!

The money that you spend on an Advanced Listing will go first and foremost to cover our costs. Above and beyond that, money will be put aside to guarantee continued operation of the service. Additional money that comes in will then be used to purchase as much advertising as can be afforded - in order to blanket the entire Northwest with knowledge of this service - because that's when it will become useful and beneficial. Money will also be spent to spread our service coverage to other regions, so that hopefully eventually the entire USA will be represented.

As more churches come on board, and other regions are finalized, subscription money that continues to come in will pay for additional advertising - and continued development of this service as well as other services for churches and the Christian community. Our goal? To help the Christian community "LEAD the Pack" in technology - not to always be catching up!

Many parts make a whole - each church that subscribes with an Advanced Listing is contributing to our ability to spread the knowledge of the service. The price for the service has been set to be as inexpensive as possible (it is cheaper then a Yellow Pages ad!) - but the value received is tremendous!

So please - talk with your board, pray for guidance, and if so led subscribe for a basic listing! And if you can afford to - sponsor another church! We're all on the same side here - help people find a church that meets their specific needs!

Thank you for your time, and God Bless His Kingdom!

Chris Tindall
chris@nwchurches.com
http://www.nwchurches.com
CEO / Owner Fresh Rain Studios