Redeemer Indianapolis will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first church I served as lead pastor. I was thirty-three years old in June 2002 when our family moved from Seattle to Indy. Redeemer had been planted in 1996 and when I arrived it was a mission church with a congregation of 100 people. Before I arrived, by a miracle of God, this little congregation who didn’t have a pastor at the time, in great faith stepped out an purchased the historic First Presbyterian church building a 56,000 square foot building sixteen blocks north of Monument Circle at the center of Indy. The church had been leasing space in the building among other tenants. Now Redeemer owned the building. After I arrived the church elders wisely established a separate not-for-profit, the Harrison Center for the Arts, to work with the tenants. The Harrison Center for the Arts became a thriving art center and cultural development organization. Slowly but surely the congregation grew too.
Our thirteen years in Indianapolis were a big time of growth for me personally. I made a lot of mistakes as pastor. But church leaders were gracious to walk with me in the love and grace of Christ. We grew together. Being so far away from our biological families, the church was our spiritual family. Our church family supported our involvement in Indianapolis Public Schools even when most of the church kids didn’t attend IPS. Church leaders never told me to stop my advocacy for IPS, and even cheered me on. Our family’s last Sunday at Redeemer was sweet. After I preached, the congregation came around us and prayed. Saying goodbye was hard. Tears fell. We loved our spiritual family, and they had loved us, and me, broken man that I am well over those thirteen years.
So when it came time for me to reach out for sponsors I contacted Redeemer’s lead pastor, Rev. Charles Anderson, and asked him if the church would consider being a sponsor. Charles said he would talk with the elders. He got back to me and said that the elders and Redeemer would love to sponsor the We are Family exclusive screening at the Toby Theater, Newfields. In fact, they would cover the whole of the cost of the theater, 2K!
Their support made tears of gratitude and thankfulness well up, once again, in my heart. I’m thankful that though I am no far away, the Redeemer Indy family still stands with me and my advocacy for IPS in such a strong and tangible way! Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
With that the final logo is in place. I’m so grateful to all our sponsors, and on this day, especially to my Redeemer Indy family.
If you’re interested in more information on the exclusive screening you can find it here: