This church has been a God-send into our lives. We had recently left our old church, due to MANY reasons (but poor leadership was #1), and my husband and I were both very discouraged. We had both been at that church for over 20 years, and we tried 10+ churches but none of them fit what we were wanting.
Some of our wants were obvious; genuine people, strong Biblical leadership, messages that actually speak truth even when it's counter-cultural, good stewards with money, importance placed on safety for children, etc.
But some of what we wanted was very specific, and it seemed unlikely we would find any church that had them; this included not playing Bethel or Hillsong music, smaller in size, pastors that actually speak to you when you make eye contact (yes, sadly this wasn't expected, this was optional since so few pastors at churches we visited would greet us).
One night we drove past Redeemer Bible... As we went through the Culvers drive-thru, I pulled up the reviews to this church and was very impressed with what I read, so we decided to check it out.
Let me tell you, the first Sunday we walked in was so incredible. The first thing that happened once we sat down was a nicely-dressed man walked by and said good morning. I was caught off guard when he got up to lead us in worship! (I know it's silly, but some worship pastors have this rockstar "too cool for you" persona, and I loved that this guy was professionally dressed and friendly)
He led us in the most authentic worship I've ever experienced, and a blonde girl with the voice of an angel sang too.
Next, pastor Jon stood up and he gave us a message from Titus on how to be a good employee... Seriously, the most boring topic ever, yet I was riveted by everything he said. I took pages of notes, and he easily had a dozen verses to back up every point. It had such an impact on me, that the next day I went into work and had a meeting with my boss (who is also a Christian) on how I can improve and be a better example at work, to non-christians. I even pulled out my notes from the sermon to reference! It was THAT good, and changed my entire outlook at work. Anyways, back to that Sunday... After the message was over, a family sitting down our row came over to say hi and welcome us. Pastor Jon also stood at the door on the way out, and shook everyone's hand as the exited, which I appreciated.
Before leaving for the day, my husband and I ended up touring the children area. Once again, it had the friendliest people I've ever met at a church. We met this sweet lady (I think she was the children's director?) who answered all of our safety questions, program questions, etc. And one of the pastors came in to pick up his kids (pretty sure it was Costi) And we got to talk to him about the church. He was really personable, and the lady and him talked to us for probably 20 minutes. It was a completely new experience for us.
We have been attending for the last three months or so, and every week I am blown away by the message and worship. I follow this church on YouTube, and the pastor's post weekly videos discussing a variety of topics, and answering questions. It makes me emotional to think of how grateful we are that we found a church that has the same values we do, and that they don't compromise on the truth. This church fulfilled every single one of the needs/wants we had, and even some we didn't know we wanted! I have the utmost respect for everyone I've met so far, and I'm PROUD to call this my church home. I've even seen a difference in my husband and our marriage. Since we've started attending here, he has had more of a passion to read the Bible, be more accountable and improve his leadership (based off another message Jon gave from Titus, about the Biblical role of men).
I am so thankful to God for this church, and all the people in it. And if you are going through the Culvers drive-thru right now, reading reviews on this church, I hope I see you next Sunday. :) read more