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: