(repost) ridge church - a movement of God in charlotte

*This was my 6th post ever on renown way back on January 8th, 2008. Ridge was just a couple months old then. God has done so much since i wrote this article over 2 years ago. I was looking back on it after Throwback this past Sunday and thought i would just repost this... Enjoy.

Crystal and I are really stoked to be part of an amazing community called ridge church. We launched the church to the public just a few short months ago and God is already doing some amazing things! Ridge is made up of an incredible group of Jesus followers who want to see God's fame break out like an epidemic throughout Charlotte. God has also blessed Ridge with an amazing staff that I am privileged and humbled to be a small part of. The vision for ridge began years ago in the heart of our fearless leader and stellar lead pastor Chris Brown who also has a black belt in karate (just kidding about the karate part).

Maybe you're asking - "Why start a church in Charlotte of all places?" From the beginning Chris has made it clear that "Charlotte doesn't need another church. You probably drove by several today. Charlotte does need relevant environments where believers can feel confident and safe to bring their unbelieving friends." These relevant environments set us up to accomplish our mission which is to "lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ - through intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders."

(Check out this video of our 1st 2 gatherings.)

This is the healthiest church I have ever been a part of or seen and I'm so thankful to be part of the team. My heart was drawn to Ridge when I heard Chris say things like - "We don't want to raise a banner in Charlotte that says 'Ridge Church' but one that says 'Jesus'" & "We just want to build a platform for Jesus to be made famous in this city." Pimp stuff. That's what I'm all about, so it was a natural thing to jump in with Ridge. Now, I'm all in!
Ridge is a strategic partner of Northpoint Community Church led by Andy Stanley. Our DNA is identical to Northpoint's and we function like a home just like they do - you can read about our foyer, living room, and kitchen environments here. We also have the same 7 core values as Northpoint that I was so stoked about when I first came to Ridge = Authentic Community/ Relational Evangelism (Evangelism is NOT an event or something we do it's simply who we are)/ Intimacy with God/ Relevant Environments/ Biblical Authority (what else would the authority be... a deacon board?)/ Strategic Service/ & Intentional Apprenticing. (you can read more about these core values here.) I can't explain how refreshing it is to be a part of a church that is all about these 7. We also follow 7 practices that will absolutely rock your world when I write about them in depth in a later post.

(check out this video of our amped kid's environments)

Ridge is a church that is committed to life change. We are all about the stories... stories of people's lives being changed by God - & those stories keep rollin' in. There is SO MUCH more I would love to tell you about this movement that is about to rock Charlotte for God's glory... but this post would be WAY too long. But don't worry, I'll be writing A LOT more about Ridge church. For now, why don't you check it out for yourself if you live in the Charlotte area + everybody should definitely visit our website at ridgechurch.net. If you have any friends in Charlotte who are unbelievers or are burnt out on "church" then Ridge is the perfect place for them... in fact our worship gatherings are designed specifically and unashamedly for them.

You've also gotta read our lead pastor's blog - Ridge Behind the Scenes. He's an amazing leader and God has His hand and blessing on Him in a special way. His passion for God and this city is infectious. (+ I think he's giving away a free 52" plasma TV to the very next commenter... totally just kidding.) Click here to listen to all of our talks from the awesome communicators at ridge church. You'll love them!

Also, consider this your own personal invitation with the fancy calligraphy & everything to come join the Ridge Church facebook group! (of course without the calligraphy - I never learned how to do that.)

God gets all the glory for what He's doing in Charlotte & I am flippin' pumped to be a little part in the story!