2018 Marks 5 Years of The Redemption Movement and #OneontaRides

This upcoming Spring, The Redemption Movement will celebrate our 5-year anniversary of the public launch of our church, as well as the #OneontaRides ministry. The growth of these two ministries actually parallel each other in such a unique way that it’s impossible to tell the story of one without telling the story of the other. In fact, when I’m out giving rides on Friday nights and I’m asked, “How did this free ride service get started?” This is what I tell people:

When my wife Laura and I started the church in 2013, we were looking for a way that our new church could serve the community. In particular, we wanted to meet a need that wasn’t already being met, as well as have it be something that our small church with its limited resources could actually do. During this time, we took an assessment of the community’s needs and prayed about ways we could help.

We came up with a list of 30 different outreach activities we could do. Giving free rides home from the bar was one of them. We then organized the different activities into a community service campaign called “30 Days of Kindness.” 

For the campaign, a night of designated driving was scheduled for Saint Patrick’s Day, and the public launch of the church was to be held on Day #30, Good Friday, 2013.

Out of all 30 service projects performed, the night of designated driving was the biggest hit. Giving the public free rides home made the biggest impact as far making a difference and connecting with people. Therefore, a few months later we scheduled a second designated driving outing, and then a few more outings a month or so after that. It didn’t take long before we found ourselves downtown offering free rides every weekend, thus making it a full-blown service.

#OneontaRides continued to grow in some exciting ways, like the addition of multiple vehicles, and adding a Kindness Station in 2015. Today, it’s a ministry that’s credited with providing more than 6,000 safe rides home to the local community, and it’s super exciting to see new people volunteer and more community groups get involved.

It all makes for an exciting story that we’ve documented extensively with our Ride Reports blog articles.

All the while, The Redemption Movement continues to host weekly worship gatherings. It’s here where a community of servants gather and where the vision, co-mission, and passion for the free ride outreach comes from.

Five years in and #OneontaRides is such a big part of The Redemption Movement that it’s what our little church is known for. Subsequently, it’s grown into such a major activity that it literally takes more resources to operate than what our little church can come up with, requiring us to regularly seek out help and funding from outside of our congregation. But no worries, the impact of this exciting outreach continues to be worth the work, and we’ll continue to expand it in ways that the Lord allows for. 

As we think about the next five years of The Redemption Movement, the continuation of #OneontaRides is a given. That said, the vision for the future is for us to be a church that does much, much more than just take people home from the bars, especially when it comes to discipleship. What other ministries and services will come out of The Redemption Movement in the next 5 years? Why, that depends on the gifts and talents of the people that grace our doors!

If you’re looking to grow in the Lord and have your passion for helping people get plugged into a movement that’s changing lives and giving people hope, then volunteer with Kindness Team and check out the next Thursday evening gathering at 148 River Street. It’s never too late to get plugged into our “loving community, that loves the community.”