Have you ever been owned?

There are just some people or some things that have our number. They own us. And there are days we feel just as powerless by the challenges we face in life. Some of us are owned by our past regrets. For others it's the uncertainty of the future. Regardless of what owns us, we all want to be free. That's what this new 2-part series is all about. Join us at Ridge Church  as myself and Patrick Mitchell dive into this concept. Spread the word!

Having fun at Church!

One of our core values as an organization is "Fun". Our filter for this is the question, "How are we creating memorable experiences?" In our creative and planning meetings we often talk about that one moment that people will want to tweet about or tell their co-worker about. Fun is disarming and typically engaging. We did a free, fun, family, photo booth in our foyer during our recent "Future Family" series. It turned out incredible. It was so fun watching families "have fun" together. Check out the highlight video!

Creating a Place where people can belong before they believe

We have two phrases that we've adopted/crafted over time that capture the full heart and intentions of our church. One of those phrases is that, "We want to create a place where people can belong even before they believe." It sounds good on paper and makes for a good tweet or facebook status but to be completely honest, in reality it's messy. When you create an environment that actively pursues this you can no longer make broad sweeping agenda statements about categories of people---instead you are forced to have conversations with "friends". Sometimes the conversations are hard and emotional! It's messy, but when you get it right---It's powerful and the result is epic life change. We have embraced our destiny to move toward the messes. As a result We've seen a lot of life change in the last 5 years. Can't wait to see what the next 5 years hold in store. Here's a snap shot of our 5 years of since our first Sunday morning service at Ridge Church:

Celebrating 5 years of life change!

It's surreal looking back to our humble beginnings. We had 12-13 people at our very first interest meeting for Ridge Church in 2006 (we didn't even have a name yet). Between 2006-2007, through a series of about 40 evening pre-view services and worship gatherings, we developed a core team of about 30-40 people to help launch Ridge Church. Then in 2008 we had our very first Sunday morning worship service. Since that time our people have truly committed themselves to doing literally all that they could do to support this mission AND we have watched God do what only he can do...over and over again. This Sunday we'll celebrate 5 years of life change. It is literally remarkable how much things have grown and changed. This will be an epic celebration. Don't miss out! The next chapter is yet to be written. We would love for you to be part of it...show up early if you want a good parking spot. The opener will be too good to miss!