The Next chapter for Redemption Church
October 23, 2023
Hello Redemption,
As we enter the last few months of 2023, we are thankful to God for the ways he’s moved in our ten Redemption congregations and Surge over the last twelve years. He has been faithful to lead us as we’ve centered ourselves on God’s word, deepened our friendship with the Spirit, and continued to become more formed in Christ’s image.
For a number of years, our senior leadership has talked about how Redemption Church would need to be restructured to best accomplish our mission in the future. This year, those conversations reached a critical point.
After much prayer, many conversations and in reliance on the Spirit, Redemption Church will move from a single entity, multi-congregational model to ten independent churches. Each church will have their own 501(c)(3), governing board, bank account, etc. In addition, the partnership between congregations will undergo major transition.
Seven of the congregations (Arcadia, Gilbert, Peoria, North Mountain, Tempe, Tucson and West Mesa) will be working together to develop as a Family of Churches - a type of network with separate churches working together in voluntary partnership.
Alhambra and Flagstaff will partner together in a new model. They will be formally partnered with The Surge Network, which will now be its own 501(c)(3) entity.
Gateway does not have plans for any formal partnerships at this time.
Some of the churches will choose to be renamed.
Below is our attempt to provide context and answers that will help us all move into this next season.
This decision impacts some in Redemption deeply and others hardly at all. In ten congregations who have been interconnected for over ten years, answering the question of “what really happened?” is complex and varies from person to person. Every leader’s unique vantage point will shape their perspective. But everyone agrees: there is not a single issue, event, or person that can be pointed to as the explanation for the moment in which we find ourselves. As you read on, I hope you sense the deep charity, love, and affection the leaders of Redemption Church have for one another.
So, how did we get here? Why did we make these decisions?
How did we get here?
Redemption Church was formed in 2011 through a merger of two churches, East Valley Bible Church (R/Gilbert) and Praxis Church (R/Tempe & R/Arcadia). A new, growing trend in those days was video multi-site, where churches could start new locations that were relatively identical to existing ones.
In contrast, Redemption aimed to multiply by planting new congregations with similar DNA but unique local expression shaped by the context and leadership and to do it as one church entity, in order to share resources and decrease the administrative load of new church plants.
Over the next five years, Redemption rapidly adopted (R/Gateway & R/Alhambra) and multiplied congregations (R/West Mesa, R/Tucson, R/Flagstaff, R/Peoria; with R/North Mountain planted years later in 2021). Folks who visited multiple congregations would always notice some family resemblance, but often remarked how different each congregation felt — a dynamic we delighted in.
The high level of local autonomy with customized expression had to be held in tension with the reality of one shared organization, name, reputation, and bank account.
For a long time, the tension between these dynamics was minimal, which allowed Redemption to add new congregations, incubate and create shared initiatives in Arizona, and grow in depth and breadth.
While these two dynamics sometimes caused disagreement, the issues were relatively simple, required little discussion, and came to simple compromises. However, that changed in 2020 when Redemption faced several years of unprecedented challenges not only in our congregations, but that were widely felt in America, the world, and the Church.
As we faced complex discussions of race, masks, mandates, and politics, some congregations felt the need to lead their churches in responses that differed from other congregations. Some felt that regardless of different preferences others held, we should all compromise in the name of being a part of a unified whole. The combination revealed (1) how our single entity structure did not allow for the kind of contextual responses some desired and (2) how our multiple, contextual congregations did not allow for the unified response and action others desired.
This tension is at the core of the challenge of remaining one organization for the future.
Why did we make these decisions?
Local Needs of the Congregations
Today, Redemption Church has close to 100 full time employees (300 total employees), five congregations with owned real estate, and reserves. The consistencies needed across a large organization like ours, limits the flexibility and customization for an individual congregation.
At the leadership level we became increasingly inwardly focused to address our internal organizational issues at the expense of leadership focus on local congregations, outward focus and mission. The time and energy required from our pastors and leaders to foster a one church, single entity took away from investing in their local congregation. We believe this reality exceeds the benefits of working together as a single entity.
We believe each congregation becoming its own entity will allow leaders to better focus on their congregants and leaders - and will better nurture the unique God-given mission of each church.
An Established Organizational Culture of Independence
Over the years, Redemption Church has felt like a ten-passenger van with all congregations riding together towards a destination. However, each passenger has their own “brake pedal” under their foot, ready to press when the van is going somewhere they don’t feel their congregation should go.
Additionally, some congregations wanted to be able to express local ministry priorities or adapt second-tier theological convictions but couldn’t do so without creating challenges for other congregations - thus limiting their ability to discern what is best for their local congregation.
In our conversations this year, it became clear that we either needed to turn in our “brake pedals” or get into ten separate cars. We concluded that our current model requires each congregation to give up a level of independence and autonomy that exceeds their desire.
Each congregation becoming its own entity, in a lot ways, is not so much a change, as it is identifying the reality of how we have operated together. Local congregational leadership, particularly local elders, are eager to have the theological, ecclesiastical, financial, and practical authority that is currently limited by our multi-congregational model.
Multi-Congregational Trends
During this past season, Leadership began inquiring with other churches who were working together in a multi-congregational model across the country in the same time period we were. We found that, for many of the same reasons as Redemption Church, other churches moved from a single entity model to separate churches.
Redeemer Bible Church in New York became individual churches, who share a name, and work together as a network. The Village Church, Trinity Grace, and Sojourn Church became individual churches no longer sharing a name.
As we had conversations with leaders from several organizations, we heard much of our story in theirs - including both the beauty and the challenges. The beauty being the expressions of unity, connectedness of leaders, and strength of resources. The challenges being the strong need for congregational autonomy and complex needs of a large organization.
Observing similarities with these churches has shown us our tension points are not unique to Redemption Church and has validated our feeling of being stuck.
A New Season
While many churches split apart through disintegrating relationships, misrepresenting the perspectives that diverge from their own, and assuming the worst – our lead pastors, local elders, and Redemption leadership have already made decisions, big and small, that have allowed us to move forward with reconciliation, charity, and confidence.
Sharing a 501(c)(3) status, governing board, leader, or even logo is not what binds us together. For a season, those things were used by God to allow for substantial growth and fruit as we lived into unity with one another. We are bound together as Christ’s Church and co-heirs no matter our organizational connectedness. While we lament the ending of something meaningful and beautiful, we also confidently say that it seems the Lord is bringing us to the end of one good thing to lead us into the next.
From the beginning the mission of Redemption Church was to birth and strengthen healthy local congregations. Over the next year, our work is doing just that, as we send our congregations well.
Letters from Congregations
We thought it was important to include letters that Lead Pastors shared with their respective congregations addressing their specific reasoning and thought process in making their decisions. These letters reflect our current reality as a multi-congregational church. There are different viewpoints and perspectives among our leaders. We ask that you accept these as true and honest, replacing any other narratives or sound bites you have heard.
Information about The Redemption Network
Letter to the Gateway Congregation from their Elders
Letter to the Alhambra Congregation from their Elders
Letter to the Flagstaff Congregation from their Elders
All of Life is all for Jesus,
Redemption Church’s Management Team
Gary Mayes (Interim Executive Director)
Todd Hauge (Executive Pastor)
Katianna Strunk (Communication Director)
Frequently asked questions
Timeline
In 2024 each congregation, with Redemption support team assistance, will begin a thoughtfully-paced process of establishing the systems and structures of independent operations.
We’ve created a long runway to ensure we have an orderly and cooperative process.
Congregation’s may be moving at different paces but we are in this together.
Redemption Church’s Support Team (centralized services) will continue to provide administrative support until each entity is established and transitioned.
Which Redemption congregations are changing their names?
Gateway and Alhambra have plans to rebrand to new names and logos.
Will our supported congregations be cared for appropriately?
As one of the resolutions approved as described above, a methodology for allocating our cash reserves called the “Asset Allocation” has already been approved and was known before congregations made their decisions about future structure.
While we will be working to move into new structures well into 2024, what has been a contentious issue when other organizations separate has been largely settled cooperatively by this approved resolution of a methodology.
The Supported Congregations (i.e., those that have received support to fund their annual operating budget) were given special consideration in the allocations in recognition of their context to send them well.
This includes an allocation for the next church plant to perpetuate something that Redemption has been part of birthing.
Many of the Supporting Congregations have indicated an initial desire to continue in partnership with those Supported Congregations.
What happens to our supported partnerships (CGI)?
Initiatives supported by our current CGI (Community and Global Initiatives) budget will continue to receive ‘23 budgeted amounts through June 30, 2024 subject to specific circumstances.
After that date, local congregations will have the option, but not a mandate, to directly support any of these partnerships as God directs them. Each congregation will be provided information about their pro rata allocation of CGI’s current support so they are clear about what support has been provided in Redemption Church’s name historically.
What happens to Redemption properties?
Currently, as one corporation, real estate is owned by Redemption Church. During the process of putting each congregation into separate entities, property ownership will be transferred to their respective congregation.
The local congregation receiving property will be responsible for the related mortgage obligations. This is something that was resolved in the Asset Allocation described above.
How will this impact our congregation financially?
Each congregation will be distributed their congregational reserves
Money that was accumulated in prior years from each congregation's past financial results (undesignated funds) and funds specifically designated for a purpose.
Each congregation will receive undesignated funds equal to at least 120 days of operating expenses. This is a common church metric for financial health. Those congregations who did not have 120 days in their existing (undesignated) congregational reserves will be distributed additional cash from Redemption Church’s unallocated reserves to meet this standard.