after leaving the denomination we grew up in, we moved to Arizona. for the first time in our lives, we found ourselves looking for a church.

it was harder than we thought.

we grew up in churches that condemned everyone and called everything they did SIN, so walking into these churches was like entering another world. we were so green we didn’t even know how to “judge” what mattered & what didn’t.

what was biblical conviction?

what was just what we’d been taught?

eventually, we got comfortable with different Christian traditions & landed at a megachurch. there was a lot we genuinely loved about it, but after our family fell on hard times, we saw the side of modern church culture we couldn’t ignore: how corporate & commercialized church was.

we’d spent years doing “church” how we’d been taught—programs, committees, budgets, boards. calling corporations “churches.” calling paid staff “pastors.” calling 501(c)(3)s “church family.”

we’d been pastors for +10 years, never seeing that we were auctioning ourselves when churches hired us—we were basically selling the gospel. or how important money was when churches interviewed us. or how much we’d twist scripture or please people in order to keep our ministry jobs.

now, we were seeing it from the other side. not as paid pastors but as tithing churchgoers.

church feeling less like family & more like another religious organization. people became attendees, customers, donors. ministry became programming. giving became fundraising. pastors became executives & bosses. worship became production.

somewhere between the branding, budgets, & buildings, we found ourselves wondering where the gospel life of the church had gone.

so we started “church hopping.”

then we stopped going anywhere.

we tried joining social media groups to find people who understood. but so many of them had thrown the baby out with the bathwater—in escaping bad religion, they’d thrown out Jesus.

we didn’t know what the gospel was anymore. we could tell you about church theology, but we couldn’t tell you about the gospel. we knew the book, but we didn’t know the man.

we knew scripture but not Jesus.

for a while, we had no intention of going back. but after some time, we gave church another chance. we wanted our kids in church, around believers. and, honestly, we missed the church.

we visited churches, connected, tried small groups, took recommendations. but we kept walking away feelings like church was transactional. go to church. attend program. join group. give money. sign up for the next thing. come back next Sunday & do it again.

we asked God, “is this church? are we supposed to buckle down, pick the corporation we like best, & learn to live inside the American church system?”

we wondered if we'd ever followed Jesus or just religion? if we had faith in Christ or “Christianity”?

then it hit us…

maybe church isn’t supposed to operate like a federally tax-exempt charitable nonprofit?

maybe we didn’t need to find another “church” (corporation). maybe we needed to be church.

Jesus was there. in churches we’d gone to. not in corporate superstructures imposed over the churches, but in the people themselves.

people like us weren’t losing faith, they were just losing trust in man-made, religious institutions—in the religious businesses & corporate employees calling themselves “church” & “pastor.”

millions leaving “church” & finding Jesus. most aren’t leaving God. they’re leaving corporations calling themselves “church.” they’re not looking for less church. they’re looking for more Jesus.

Jesus, not “Jesus.”

God had given us +15 years of experience in “church”—as pastors, teachers, leaders, members. maybe our experiences could be used to gather some of His children who feel the way we do.

we feel like sheep without shepherds. lost in the wilderness. burned out believers. church dropouts.

people who love Jesus but who aren’t looking for another good religious product to consume—not another corporation to join, another polished, one hour Sunday production, another pre-packaged small group to go to.

we know no church is perfect. but perfection was never what we were looking for.

we were looking for something real. something like family. a table instead of a stage. people instead of programs. participation instead of production. a church where Jesus—not brands, buildings, budgets, or business—is its heart.

if you understand what we mean, there’s a good chance you’re who Jesus is calling.

maybe our church won’t have all the bells & whistles. maybe we won’t have everything figured out. we certainly won’t have anything fancy. but if God gathers us together, we’ll have one another. most importantly, we’ll have God’s Spirit with us as we live out gospel living as God’s Church.

people say, “if you want a small group, start one.” invite a couple of friends over, open your Bibles, pray, eat together, & keep showing up regularly. that's us. but instead of small groups, we’ve planted a church, where we love one another & live out the gospel together, one & many relationships at a time.

Christians led by Holy Spirit to join or support us, we’d love to connect. text us 520.543.5401.