The Redemption Movement

It is finally time to reveal the name for the new church! Henceforth, we shall be known as The Redemption Movement!
One of the greatest luxuries a church planter has is to give the church a name that will communicate the churches values, vision, and purpose. I believe "The Redemption Movement" captures these ideas beautifully. Each word has deep meaning, I want to briefly explain "Redemption" and "Movement," and then show how a combination of the two creates a mission statement for the church.

REDEMPTION

This word is a theological term that answers the "why?" to the Gospel story. God interacted with history, sent Jesus to die on the cross, in order to redeem His people. The idea of redemption overlaps meaning with the words "atonement" and "salvation," two other theological ideas crucial to explaining the Gospel. Here are two definitions of "redemption" by real theologians.
1. Christ's saving work viewed as and act of "buying back sinners" out of their bondage to sin and to Satan, through the payment of a ransom.--Wayne Grudem
2. The work of Jesus on the cross results in the deliverance from bondage, and a freedom which means a reconciliation with God, of slaves who had been freed by him and are now his adopted sons, in the Son who ransomed them.--James Atkinson
I think culturally, redemption is a safe word. Everybody enjoys saving money redeeming coupons, and what's not to like about Bob Marley's "Redemption Song"?

MOVEMENT

There are three ideas that I want to communicate with "movement".
1. In the Bible, the way the church grows in the book of Acts can be classified as a movement. For example, Jesus commands his followers in Acts 1:8, "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." In today's context, it is like Jesus is saying He wants His Gospel message to begin in the city, spread to the county, to the state, to the nation, and to the world. Jesus wants His message not to just be told and retold in a single church building, but He wants to see His Gospel spark a movement that engulfs the world.
2. The movement that we see in Acts can be classified under this definition: "a series of organized activities working toward an objective." The objective: spread the Gospel, the means of spreading, church planting. At the Redemption Movement, we share the same objective as the church in Acts, and everything we plan and do will be to further the Gospel.
3. The world of art also lends us great meaning to movement: "a distinct structural unit or division having having it's own key, rythmic structure, and themes and forming part of an extended musical composition." I believe God's plan to redeem humanity can be compared to a well thought out and composed work of art, there is movement, beauty, truth, and eveything works together for God's purposes. The church and it's activities, or movements, should reflect the beauty of a living God that is always moving throughout His creation.
Culturally, I think the term "movement" is more acceptable then "church." I believe in church, and by every definition the Redemption Movement will be a church. But when our culture thinks of "church" they think of buildings, suits and singing, or even scandals or how organized religion is unnecessary for today. "Movement" is a bold word that lets everybody know that we have big intentions to start a movement that changes how things are done around here.

If we combine these ideas of "redemption" and "movement," we come up with this as our church mission statement. The Redemption Movement: a participation in the Divine movement, composed to restore lost and hurting people who are valued by God, with the hope and freedom paid for and found in Jesus Christ.
The Redemption Movement begins 2010 in Oneonta New York.

Approved!

On September 16 Laura and I went before the Oneonta city planning committee concerning the possibility of using the River Street property for the new church. It was a fairly nerve-racking meeting, I've been living in New York now for about one month and I did not know anybody on the committee. But God is good, He answers prayers, and we were approved!
Read the full article here: The Daily Star
There were a few neighborhood residents that voiced concerns, and that is understandable since nobody knows anything about us or what our plans are. I tried my best to answer questions from the committee and local residents, and I think overall it went over well and nobody was bent on stopping us. It was good to see the neighbors and I will make efforts to get to know the neighborhood better as Laura and I move into the building and make it our home--fruit baskets, dinner invites, whatever it takes. Getting to know the people of Oneonta is pretty much our mission right now anyways.
In the end a vote was taken and we were approved by a 5-2 vote!
That's the latest, three steps down and 25 more to go until we can kick off this church in Oneonta. God has been incredibly faithful every step of the way!

Buildings and Newspapers

One of the biggest challenges for a new church is finding a place to meet. There are several options to consider: you can meet at the pastors house with a small group, you can rent a movie theater or school auditorium, share the building with an existing church, the possibilities are quite vast really. There is one place in Oneonta that Laura and I feel would be very practical for our needs, it is an old grocery store on River Street with an apartment upstairs that we could live in. It is a building that needs work but would be great to get us started.
We have not purchased it yet, but are going through the proper channels in order to do so. This means real estate agents, finical brokers, lawyers, engineers, contractors, and city offices. Please pray for us about all this, especially for Wednesday, September 16 when we have a public meeting with the Oneonta Planning Committee about the proposed River Street property.
If this meeting goes well, then Laura and I can proceed, move to Oneonta, and have a central location for our ministry.
I received an unexpected surprise in the middle all this when I got a call from Jake Palmateer, a local news paper reporter, about our plans. I answered his questions and to my surprise, the next day there was a generous article about our building plans and the backgrounds of Laura and I.
You can read the full article here: The Daily Star
Here are the highlights:

ONEONTA _ The city Planning Commission will consider a proposal for a new church in the Sixth Ward when it meets Wednesday.
A couple from Missouri who recently moved to the area are proposing to convert a former grocery store at 148 River St. into an independent church and residence.
Proposals for a coin-operated laundry on Chestnut Street and a new restaurant on Main Street are also on the agenda for the meeting, which will start at 7 p.m.
Kaler Carpenter said he and his wife, Laura, did a national search for a small college community in which to start their church. They discovered Oneonta and visited in July before permanently moving to Otsego County a month ago, he said.
“Oneonta had everything I was looking for,” Kaler Carpenter, 26, said. “It just came across methodically through research.”
Carpenter said the name of the church will likely be The Redemption Movement and said it would be a “Christian Protestant Bible church.”
The church would have seating for 10 people in the 26- by-30-foot building, according to the site plan submitted to the city.
The building would serve as the meeting space as the congregation gets started ,and the church would look to move to a larger space after it grows, he said.
Carpenter said once the church has enough members, he would look to have it legally recognized as a church. Carpenter said he and his 28-year-old wife met while they were students at Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo., and married three years ago.
The purchase of the building from owner Donald Lindberg would occur only if the site plan is approved by the city, he said.
If the site plan is not approved, he and his wife would look for another location in Oneonta, he said. The couple is renting an apartment in the town of Maryland pending their move to Oneonta.

So there it is! I don't won't to go too far into building details right now, since nothing is official yet. But who knows, this old vacant store might be the home of the new church. It is neat that something good came out of this long and complicated process. God is faithful!