FAQ’s on Changes at Gateway
On Sunday, October 22 we announced some important changes to Redemption Church (watch here).
This article is designed to answer more questions that we were not able to fully address in that message.
Also see this letter from the Redemption Management Team that includes additional details and a very helpful description of how Redemption came to these decisions.
What is Changing?
After much prayer, many conversations and in reliance on the Spirit, Redemption Church will move from a single entity, multi-congregational model to ten independent churches. Each church will have their own 501(c)(3), governing board, bank account, etc. Some of the churches will choose to be renamed.
Seven of the congregations (Arcadia, Gilbert, Peoria, North Mountain, Tempe, Tucson and West Mesa) will be working together to develop as a Family of Churches - a type of network with separate churches working together in voluntary partnership.
Alhambra and Flagstaff will partner together in a new model. They will be formally partnered with The Surge Network, which will now be its own 501(c)(3) entity.
Gateway will rename as Ironwood Church (beginning January 7) and will not move immediately into any formal partnerships, though we will continue to participate in some of the initiatives connected to the Surge Network (especially the Surge School, Church Planting Cohort).
is gateway changing our name? why?
Yes. As we go into a new future, a new name will provide clarity and reduce confusion for us and the other churches who have a shared history.
We are becoming Ironwood Church.
What is the significance of the name “Ironwood Church”?
The ironwood tree is a “habitat modifying keystone species” in the Sonoran desert — in other words, other plants thrive because of it. It’s a slow growing tree with extremely strong wood (some sculptors lose their blades because it’s so hard).
The big tree by our lobby entrance is an 80+ year-old ironwood, which we intentionally transplanted as a picture of how we are part of a longer, older faith tradition that has stood the test of time.
Ironwood is a picture of who we have become as a church and who we will, with God’s help, continue to be.
What does this change in redemption mean for me?
The most natural thing is always to wonder how changes impact you and your family. Here’s what we hope you’ll do:
Pray for Gateway/Ironwood and for the other churches who we love to experience this season of transition in a healthy way.
If you’re currently serving, giving, and investing your energy in the church and our mission to make disciples, please keep doing so.
If you’re less involved, consider this an invitation to join in the mission. Sign up for our next Start Here or Rooted class to discern how to “get your name on the fridge.”
Believe the best about other churches and leaders.
Bring any questions or concerns to a leader in our church who can help you get information and process with you.
Opt-in to our email newsletter so that you are always up-to-date on what’s going on and any additional communication related to this transition.
Weren’t we self-governing before? How is this different?
In many ways, it felt like we were an independent church. We’ve had our own local elders, established our own budget, determined our local ministry priorities, and made many decisions without input or regard for other congregations.
Though many people experienced Gateway as an self-governing church, we have not been. Redemption has been one 501c3 organization, had one official authoritative board, one bank account and balance sheet, one unified doctrinal statement, and one employee handbook. Redemption AZ’s leadership has always had technical authority over each congregation, though much local freedom was granted.
We used to say we were “better together.” What changed?
Redemption Church formed in 2012 through autonomous churches merging together in order to develop leaders and plant churches. By God’s grace, this happened with great effectiveness—going quickly from three congregations to ten.
While the number of congregations grew rapidly, the organizational and relational infrastructure and patterns did not keep pace. These weaknesses have been exposed since 2020, and attempts to address them has revealed that the solutions are not adequately workable for all ten congregations.
Since “Redemption exists for the congregations, not the congregations for Redemption,” a structural change is needed that allows local congregations to thrive.
What are we taking with us into the future?
Our last 12 years as Redemption has been amazing and we are grateful for it. On one hand, we’ve always embodied what Redemption Church was all about and it seems odd to highlight who we’ve already been. On the other hand, it’s important to draw attention to key aspects of Redemption’s culture that we intend to continue to pursue.
All of life theology and practice. The gospel isn’t just for Sundays, but for all of life.
Gospel-centered and outward-focused. Our identity comes from Jesus, and he blesses us to be a blessing to others.
Developing and empowering leaders. The church’s mission is furthered as new leaders grow develop.
The authority, sufficiency, and preaching of Scripture. A timeless God doesn’t produce dated material. We submit to God’s word.
Being a faithful witness in a changing world. In a world of rapid change, we will faithfully hold to the unchanging word of God and God’s mission.
Investing in churches in under-resourced and under-churched communities. We will invest in diverse and often-overlooked churches.
Appreciating how both men and women contribute significantly to the mission of the church. The church is a family of brothers and sisters, and everyone has a role to play.
Prayerful dependence on the Spirit. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.
Delight in Jesus as a person, not just a concept. He is our treasure.
Why isn’t ironwood church going to be in the new Redemption Network?
Luke and the elders sense a renewed calling to focus on our local mission. We have remarkable ministry opportunities that we want to seize: creating a new evangelistic ministry, growing our counseling ministry, developing the SeeJesus school and spiritual formation pathway, fighting for families and kids, expanding a digital resources ministry, and working towards planting new churches — plus all the normal work of discipleship, developing leaders, mobilizing people to serve, assimilating new people, forming new groups, and more.
Becoming an autonomous church will also require tremendous work to establish organizational, financial, and personnel systems.
All of this means that we do not want to focus our energy right now on developing a new network. We will put our oxygen mask on first and, down the road, see if joining a network makes sense.
Why couldn’t one structure work for all ten congregations?
Over the years, Redemption has often functioned relationally as cousins, but financially as a marriage. Each congregation has selectively leveraged one or the other depending on their local needs, but rarely at the same time. When some congregations think, “We should all do X,” other congregations think, “X won’t fit here.”
One Redemption leader said, “It feels like we’re riding in a ten passenger van where each seat has a brake pedal.”
To solve this requires either (a) each passenger to turn in their brake pedal and give authority to a centralized “driver,” or (b) each passenger to get into a separate vehicle. Having a highly-authoritative centralized leadership has run philosophically against the local contextualization many congregations valued, so we have opted for congregations to operate as self-governing churches.
The multi-congregational model seemed to be working. What changed?
Across the country, many multi-congregational churches are struggling to remain one entity as they expand. This “collective model” is especially dependent on close relationships with the congregational leaders (rather than authority or policies). If any of the following happen, we observe that it often becomes very challenging to remain one entity:
Growing beyond 4-5 congregations.
Significant turnover among lead pastors.
A key leader who was the “relational glue” no longer can or wants to function in that role.
Congregations become significantly different from each other in size, philosophy, or contextual emphasis.
Redemption has experienced all four, which led one prominent multi-site expert to say, “I’m impressed that Redemption lasted this long.”
OK, but What Really Happened?
Anytime a big change happens, people look for more (which is understandable). For a detailed description, read this from the Redemption Management Team.
What is and isn’t changing?
Is Changing:
Name
Organizational entity (new 501c3)
Responsible for support services
Full-responsibility for the church
Greater freedom to emphasize contextual priorities
Senior leadership focused 100% locally
Fewer external opportunities and responsibilities
Isn’t Changing:
Doctrine
Convictions
Mission & vision
Senior leadership
Heart for churches beyond us
Focus on reaching our community
Commitment to the Scriptures
Commitment that “All of life is all for Jesus”
How will this impact our partnerships & outward focus?
We intend to continue nearly all of our current partnerships and to not reduce our financial support to these partners.
We will continue to give 10% of our budget to church planting and outward focus ministry. Having more direct connection to these partners will also allow us to design outward focused partnerships in a way that better engages our congregation.
How will this impact us financially?
Our financial situation will transition over the course of 2024 and we will do it in a measured, wise manner.
Right now, about 18% of our budget goes into all-Redemption pots:
7% for outward focused — we will continue to give that money, but will have direct control of where it goes.
11% for the support services (HR, payroll, insurance, legal, credit card processing, etc.) — we are confident that we can provide similar services for the same amount of money or less.
We will own our property and will work with the bank to discern the best way to transition ownership.
How will this affect accountability for the pastors?
The external (i.e. beyond-Gateway) accountability in Redemption was most often informal and relational.
The formal accountability of Luke and the other pastors has always been the responsibility of our local elders. This will continue.
Why did this take so long?
This question came up multiple times from leaders who became familiar with the challenges of maintaining one multi-congregational church entity.
It took long because (a) the leaders of the congregations care for one another, (b) a lot had been invested into our multi-congregational vision, (c) separating into distinct entities is a significant effort and not easy, and (d) we wanted to figure out how it could work.
What should I do with all my Redemption t-shirts?
Ha! It’s true… many of us have a lot of them. Keep wearing them with joy and gratitude. Being part of Redemption Church for the last 12 years has been an incredible blessing and journey. We are so thankful.
Additionally, many of our favorite people are keeping the name Redemption — these are solid churches that we love, recommend, and will continue to relate to.
What are the implications for our relationship with Josh Watt and North Mountain?
Josh and North Mountain have been especially close to our hearts, as a church that was birthed from Gateway. Our relationship remains strong. Luke and Josh have had extensive conversations and understand why each congregation is making the decisions we are. We support and bless each other, though there is tremendous sadness.
We have communicated to Josh that if they need help with establishing their organizational systems, we’re available to help. Additionally, as North Mountain uncovers potential opportunities for property, we would like to do whatever we can to help them secure ownership when that becomes possible.
How will this affect the supported congregations?
The supported congregations are those who are not entirely financially self-supporting and have been receiving funds from the other congregations (West Mesa and Alhambra).
Each of these congregations will receive substantial money as part of the planned asset allocation. Additionally, the Surge Network is creating a new entity that will allow established churches to give money to support churches in under-resourced communities.
For Gateway, we are planning not to decrease our financial support West Mesa and Alhambra at the levels we have been for at least the next few years.
Will Ironwood be an isolated church that only cares about itself?
Absolutely not. We will continue to have friendship with many churches — especially those in the Redemption and Surge Networks. Over the years, Luke has built significant connections with other local churches and pastors, as well as churches around the country that we will learn from and be able to invest in.
We are excited to be able to be relationally connected to many other churches and leaders without having to be organizationally connected to or responsible for other churches.
What is the timeline for these changes?
Redemption Gateway will publicly begin using the name Ironwood Church beginning on Sunday, January 7.
Over the course of 2024, we will work closely with the Redemption Church Management Team to transition all of the systems, processes, and organizational needs to become a fully self-governing church.