Our Story
Our story is a journey and a mission. A group of us began meeting in October 2009 to dream about starting a new church in our community of Downers Grove, Illinois. The dream turned into reality when we launched Redeemer Church on September 12, 2010.
Our journey is characterized by both frustration and hope. We are frustrated with the way Jesus’ message of redemption is often lost in the clashes of our culture, while frequently being replaced with angry politics or hurtful condemnation. Many of us have at times found the churches we always knew to fall short in connecting with us and our questions. We do not believe most churches are “wrong” and that we are “right.” Instead, we are simply trying to create a place where our questions and faith can be pursued with words and experiences that make sense to us. In doing so, we want to show respect both for Jesus, and for those who disagree with us. We have hope that we can still hear Jesus’ message, and that we will all benefit from the conversation we engage in with each other. We view ourselves as members of the worldwide Church, and we value the diversity of styles, traditions, and emphases found in other local churches.
As individuals, we are all at different places in our faith journey. Some of us already have been and continue to be transformed by Jesus. Others are returning to him following explorations elsewhere, and still others of us are engaging with him for the first time. Regardless of where a person is on their faith journey, all are welcome to join the conversation at Redeemer.
To further describe our story as it has led to where we are today, we point to the fact that in his own day, Jesus was viewed as a subversive revolutionary who primarily reached out to the oppressed and marginalized of society. He offered them redemption and transformation, which he based upon his claim to be God. His empowerment of the weak and his undermining of the reigning political and religious structures led directly to his execution by those in power. Even still, the movement he sparked has transformed the world, bringing justice, healing, and liberation to millions. Today, we continue to see injustice, disease, and poverty running rampant. First, we are willing to admit that we are part of the problem. We affirm that there is something broken in the core of all human beings, which competes with our capacity for beauty and goodness. This brokenness is what strains and even severs our relationships with each other, and, more importantly, with God. Second, we have a desire to be part of the solution. We see personal redemption and social redemption working hand-in-hand, rather than independently of each other, and we resist an approach to faith that would only seek to benefit ourselves. As Jesus changes us from the inside out, we then are empowered to become catalysts as well for the redemption and transformation of the world.
We trace our story back to Jesus, and see ourselves as part of the ongoing mission of God to redeem and remake the world. Based on our premise that Jesus is God, thus giving him redemptive power over all that he has made, we have hope that he can transform our world, radically subverting the oppressive power structures of our time while healing the brokenness in us individually, and reconciling us with each other and with himself.
