Farmington’s Abundant Life Church Celebrates 10 Years

FARMINGTON — Abundant Life Church of Northwest Arkansas started 10 years ago with eight people meeting together for the first time in Fayetteville.

The church celebrated its 10th anniversary on Oct. 14 and today averages about 150 people, coming together on Sunday mornings at Folsom Elementary School in Farmington. The church is affiliated with the Church of God, which has its international headquarters in Cleveland, Tenn.

Lance Arguello, lead pastor, said he believes the church has grown because of its family friendliness.

“Our goal is to make you feel at home,” Arguello said.

The church is a younger congregation, with the average age ranging from 25-32 years old and has a lot of young couples and children.

Arguello described the service as nontraditional with modern music.

He doesn’t wear a tie and said he wants people “to come as you are.” He said he realizes some people want a more traditional church and he will tell them about other churches in the area.

“Our center is Christ,” Arguello said. “We’re all one big church and where we should be is that our center is around Christ.”

Others on staff are Brad Sugg, associate pastor and youth pastor, Nathan Smith as college pastor, and Angelia Arguello and Donna Sugg as directors of the children’s ministry.

The church has a 10 a.m. service on Sundays at Folsom Elementary and has smaller, life groups on Sunday nights that meet in different locations. The college ministry is called the LIFE, youth ministry is Ignite and the children’s ministry is Kids Life.

A Wednesday night program is held at the church’s building at 141 White St., in Farmington. Abundant Life bought this property from Farmington United Methodist Church. The Wednesday programs focus on children and youth, along with an adult Bible study.

Arguello has been a youth pastor with the Church of God since 1990 and served as the youth pastor for seven years with his father-in-law, Cecil Sugg, at Centerpoint Church of God in Prairie Grove. He was serving with a church in Little Rock when he said he felt a stirring to do something new.

“I knew something needed to happen,” Arguello said.

Abundant Life first met at Fayetteville Church of God and then moved to a building on Township Avenue in Fayetteville. The church bought the Farming- ton property and moved to Farmington eight years ago. The congregation outgrew that space and started using Folsom Elementary School in October 2011.

Along with its weekly services, the church also is active in the community. It has provided backpacks for children going to school and sponsored community Easter Egg Hunts. Through the church’s “Servolution” weekends, members volunteer on many different community projects, such as pumping and buying gas for people, visiting nursing homes and community centers and cleaning up the community.

Arguello is not sure what the future holds for Abun- dant Life but the plan is to one day build so the church will have its own place to meet. The church owns about three-fourths of the block on White Street and has been trying to sell that property for six years. He said church members are praying to see where God leads them, whether it is building something on the White Street property or somewhere else.

However, he said he knows that God wants them to continue.

“I knew we would last because when God gives you a calling, he makes it last,” Arguello said. “We’ve had our ups and downs. We’re excited to see what the next 10 years will bring.”