The Redemption Project!

The Redemption Project! It starts tomorrow, September 1st. For a church of 500 or so, this is a major leap forward and a huge milestone in the short 5+ year history of our church - Summit Crossing Community Church (SCCC), in Madison, AL. Tami & I looked for almost 1 year in Madison, Huntsville, and surrounding communities for a church before we found SCCC. Remarkably, it is only 2 miles from our home. We would actually attend an early service at a church on one side of town, and then drive to the other side of town to attend a later service somewhere else in our attempt to find a church home.

When we lived in Lexington, KY, we attended Southland Christian Church for over 20 years. It is your classic contemporary mega-church (~8000 people) with facilities, programs, and staff that most other churches would envy in a heartbeat. Something right is going on there, because it continues to flourish and thrive as one of the most effective Christian churches in the country. The church has expanded and refreshed several times thus requiring at least two capital campaigns.

Maybe we were looking for something similar to Southland as we searched the Huntsville area. There are no churches here that are the size of Southland, but we have found a smaller group of believers that are authentic, Bible-believing, and loving. We were looking for a place that taught from the Bible, had up-to-date contemporary praise & worship, was mission-minded, loved God & people, and had places for us to plug-in and serve. We found it at SCCC.

We attend church on Sundays at 5 PM, co-lead & host a group of Young Adults (18-25 people) at our home each Monday night, and attend a community small group (our age) each Wednesday night. We are plugged-in and lovin' it! Our current church facility is not large enough for small groups to use on Sundays. We have maxed out our space, even with three identical services. So, the leaders have been looking for alternatives for some time now. This brings me back to The Redemption Project....

The facility used to be a Sunbeam bread-making company. Then it was used as a party place - not birthday parties, but a strip club and dance club. We will be renovating the facility... kind of like "redeeming" it. We hope that this newest use of the building will redeem hearts, lives, and relationships. One of our ministers stated that he hopes the same women & men that frequented the club, would one day revisit this location and change their lives for eternity.

We are trying to raise $300K for renovations. Today was the day for our Redemption Project offering. I pray that we get off to a great start, and never look back. We are excited about the future and hope that this Redemption Project will not be only about buildings and money - but about changing and redeeming lives - starting with ours. Stay tuned....