Today we’d like to introduce you to Leon McKenzie and Drew Henley.
Leon and Drew, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Redeemer is a church that was birthed out of a love for our community. In 2007, under the leadership and guidance of Trinity Anglican Mission, a small group of individuals began living in the Vine City community with the simple purpose of being a neighbor. Over time, their presence in the community allowed them to build friendships, begin to understand the needs of the community and grow in appreciation of the beauty and history of the neighborhood.
Since 2007, more and more families and individuals, have relocated into our community with a similar heart and mission: to know and love their neighbors. In this process, we have met and built friendships with some amazing neighbors who have called our community home for 10/20/30/40+ years! We have heard our neighbors talk with great pride about our community while also being honest about the plight our community has gone through and the challenges that we now face. In the last 5-6 years, God has done some amazing work to build true friendships in our community that cross cultural, economic, and racial barriers.
In 2012, a small group of Christians from our community began to pray and dream about being a part of a church plant that was “in and for” our community. After being present for 5 years, it was clear that there was an opportunity to plant a church that would seek to love our neighborhood, welcome our neighbors and share the Good News of the Gospel with our words and our actions. At that point, we had way more questions than answers (we still do!), but were hesitantly excited about moving forward. On December 16, 2012, we had our first worship gathering at a neighbor’s house and it was a beautiful night. With couches pushed against the walls, and folding chairs throughout the room, neighbors worshiped God alongside each other; we heard about the wonderful news of our Savior being born and ate some delicious desserts afterwards! Neighbors (both new and old), wanted to come back together again soon, so we started having a worship service once a month at another neighbor’s house.
As time progressed, the monthly church services continued to gain momentum, we secured (and renovated) a building, and launched with a weekly service on June 8th, 2014! It’s been incredible to begin worshiping in our church home and dream about what God will do in and through this church for years and years to come!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Ha! There’s been many ups and downs! As a church in and for our local community, TRUST is absolutely essential in our community. Since people have had different experiences with “church” in the past (both good and bad), we have to work exceptionally hard to build (or re-build) trust that the our Church is absolutely about the work of Jesus and a place where people can come to fill loved.
As a multi-ethnic church, we openly embrace dialogues concerning race, class, and culture. Given the history of our country and, specifically, our city, in regards to race, we recognize that we have a LONG way to go in true healing from the scars and wounds done over the last 2-3 centuries. The only way to move forward is through healthy and honest dialogue. However, when we enter into these dialogues we are opening ourselves up to misunderstandings, hurt, and pain as part of the process. These conversations have been sharpening for all of us, though they are not always easy.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Redeemer Community Church – what should we know?
At the core of everything we are, and everything we do, is the GOSPEL: the Good News that in the midst of our brokenness, and hopelessness, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save sinners like us. We want this promise to be at the center of the life of Redeemer.
In response to God’s generous love for His church, we are called to generously love one another and live out the call to COMMUNITY. In order to love each other well, we must be willing to both know and be known by one another. At Redeemer, we place a high value on gathering to share meals, popsicles, laughter, tears, and life together. Through the Good News of the Gospel, we are learning how to be honest with each other, how to grow in vulnerability, forgiving one another (and seeking forgiveness) and truly encouraging one another towards Jesus. We’re far from perfect, but we believe that true change always happens in the context of community and we’re expecting to see God work through our messiness to heal and restore broken people.
The Gospel brings us into a relationship with Christ and also calls us out into our community to “love our NEIGHBOR as ourselves.” However, before we can start loving our neighbor, we must first know our neighbor. Therefore, we place a high emphasis on simply being present in our community and specifically on our streets. We love living in a diverse community because it allows us to learn from each other, including people who may have grown up very differently from each other. Also, by seeking to truly know and love our neighbors, we can come alongside them to help meet the needs of our community in the most appropriate and dignifying manner.
Simply put, we are a church that seeks to love our neighbor well, with a love that comes from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our parent church, Trinity Anglican Mission. Trinity helped to financially support us as a church plant.
Our partners: Desire Street Ministries, Beloved Atlanta, Urban Perform, Peace Preparatory Academy
Desire St., provides care for our leadership. Beloved shares office space with us at the church. Urban Perform operates their non-profit gym out of the church during the week. Peace Prep is a partner of the church in ministry to and with the community.
Contact Info:
- Address: Physical: 128 Vine St NW, Atlanta, GA 30314
- Website: www.redeemeratl.org
- Phone: 4044239547
- Email: info@redeemeratl.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redeemeratl/
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