Madison’s Fountain of Life church building sits on a side hill overlooking the Beltline highway’s Park Street intersection. It’s visibility is blocked by a thicket of trees. The trees will disappear when a building program for a new facility breaks ground next spring. But meanwhile the congregation is raising its visibility in another way, by moving it’s worship services into one of Madison’s most challenging neighborhoods.
Fountain of Life moved into the Badger Road sanctuary in 1987, sharing it with a United Methodist congregation for awhile and then buying it outright. It hasn’t held Sunday morning services at the Badger Road building for several years though. 
Sunday morning attendance has grown to around 300, and that forced the congregation to seek a new meeting place. It found a good home at James C. Wright Middle School on Fish Hatchery Road but the Middle School could only allow a limited use of its facility, enough to accommodate the worship service. Which meant children were separated from their families as they attended Sunday School back at Badger Road. So the congregation has begun services in a new location this spring, the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County, at 4619 Jenewein Road in the Allied Drive neighborhood.
"The Boys and Girls Club allows use of the gym and most of their classrooms," says senior pastor Alex Gee. "So we have worship services, Sunday School and a prayer room all at the same location. Except for the parking, it’s ideal."
Parking is on the street. But Gee believes that could work in favor of visibility for the church.
"When neighbors see 150 cars parking along the street and people getting out, walking to the Boys and Girls Club, that alone is going to draw people from the community," he says. But he has an even more ambitious plan to increase the congregation’s visibility in the neighborhood, monthly block parties.
"When we go door to door with leaflets and fliers, we’re not just saying come to church. We’re saying come to our block party," he says. The block parties will follow the morning worship service and feature cookouts with free food, three-on-three basketball, and double dutch jump roping contests. In addition Gee is planning on tables that will have community resource information, including employment opportunities.
There are other churches doing ministry in the Allied Drive neighborhod. But Gee says, "We are worshipping in Allied Drive. And we’re positioned to address the issues there."
Gee is excited not only about the opportunities for ministry in the Allied Drive area, but also about the congregation members who are stepping up to embrace those opportunities. "We’re poised to reach out to the community," he says.
Gee says Fountain of Life attendees are about two thirds African American. The other one third includes a growing number of Latinos. He’s hoping to add a staff position who will help the church reach the Latino residents of the Allied Drive neighborhood.
The move to Allied Drive fits into Gee’s passion for urban ministry. "Not only is worshipping at Allied Drive a good thing to do, it’s a God thing to do," he says. When the construction campaign reaches its goal and the new facility on Badger Road is ready for occupancy, the outreach on Allied Drive won’t be finished. "When we come back to Badger Road we are leaving a remnant there," he says. "This will be our first church plant."
Alex Gee is the Guest Speaker at Madison’s annual Wisconsin Prayer Breakfast, which will be held Wednesday, May 23, 2007, at Madison Marriott West, beginning at 7am. The Prayer Breakfast is sponsored by The Jericho Project, Nehemiah Ministries, and www.madisonchristians.com. For tickets and further information go to http://www.thejerichoproject.net/wpb2.html .