Who We Are
Core Values
Redemption Christian Church exists to lift up Christ by telling those who don’t know Jesus about Him, encouraging those who are followers of Jesus, training everyone for His service and ministering to those in need.
We believe the best way to accomplish this is by loving God, loving people and changing the world. We are committed to helping everyone know and understand God’s love for each person. We hope you will find a home at Redemption and begin to connect to the family of believers through services each weekend, Community Groups and through serving others in the community.
Our core values reflect our mission. We love God through worship in every part of our lives. We love people through outreach at home and abroad. Finally, we believe discipleship is essential because fully-committed disciples of Jesus change their worlds.
Gather
Worship: We are all born worshipping. At issue, however, is whether we worship the Creator (God) or the created (anything else). At Redemption, we believe worshipping God— the Creator of all — is the primary purpose of our lives. We seek to worship God (God the Father, the Son — Jesus — and the Holy Spirit) in everything we do in all parts of our lives. One way we do that is through worship services where we can gather to celebrate God’s mercy toward us. You see, while we were still sinners, Jesus Christ (the God-man) died to pay the penalty for our sins (past, present and future). We believe this is worthy of a set-aside time each week to join one another to learn, remember and celebrate through listening to preaching together, singing together, taking communion together, celebrating baptisms together, and giving to advance God’s mission.
Grow
Discipleship: Jesus commanded us to go into the world and make disciples. One of the most important — and often most overlooked — purposes of the church is to disciple people into a closer walk with God. So the goal of Redemption is to help individuals grow beyond who they are into who God wants them to be. We believe fully-committed followers of Jesus can change the world one person at a time.
Through our different types of small groups (community groups, discipleship classes, care groups) and in involving people in ministry together, we hope to help individuals grow to be completely committed followers of Christ.
Go
Outreach: Jesus said to go to the whole world and make disciples. In fact, Jesus came to seek and save the lost and He gave us the task of continuing that ministry. People matter to God so we want to be a church reaching un-churched and never-churched peoples. We intentionally and creatively reach out into our communities and around the world.
Redemption creates events, trains our people, and gives our resources heavily to carry out the love of Jesus Christ locally and around the world.
Beliefs
A church is defined by its beliefs — its doctrine. It matters. These are the beliefs we will not compromise. They are the foundation of our faith, who we are, and what we do. Below you will find a few of our core beliefs.
1. Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God, who died for our sins and rose from the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8, John 3:16)
2. Jesus is the unique Son of God, and one of three essential parts of the Trinity. As God, Jesus is perfect and without sin. (John 1, John 9:38, Colossians 1:15, John 14:26, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Peter 1:19, Hebrews 4:15)
3. The Bible is the inspired word of God “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.” (2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 119:105)
4. Every person has worth as a creation of God, but all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
5. Forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life are available to those who trust Christ as Savior and Lord. (John 3:16)
6. All should repent of sin, confess their faith, and be baptized into Him. (Romans 10:9, Acts 2:38) NOTE: Want to know more about Redemption’s beliefs about baptism? Check out this document.
7. The church is the body of Christ on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit and exists to evangelize the lost and edify the saved. (Ephesians 4:1-16)
8. Jesus Christ will one day return to earth and reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Our Story
There is much to celebrate in the history of the Redemption Christian Church (known as Christian Church of Jasper — or CCJ — from May 2000 to May 2016). Down through the years God has blessed Redemption in a way that has allowed us to have a huge impact on this part of Indiana. Redemption began May 21, 2000, by holding services at the Days Inn in Jasper in the meeting/conference rooms.
Fourteen local, charter members and 20 visitors from supporting churches attended. In reality, it was a pretty rough service (we often wondered why anyone would return). However, there was a sense God had something special in store. From the very early days of Redemption, the leadership felt a calling to live out the mission of Jesus Christ and to “do church” in a way that would reach the unreached people of this area. There was a desire to be a part of growing the Kingdom and impacting the world. Redemption continued to hold worship services at that location until August 2000, when we moved to the Jasper 8 Theaters.
In August 2001, Redemption purchased our first building, a warehouse on Cathy Lane in Jasper. This was a completely industrial neighborhood. There was no earthly reason why the church would grow in that location. Again, however, God grew the church — teaching everyone He really is the greatest determining factor in the growth of the church (universal).
After six years of substantial growth in the warehouse, we built a new facility on the south side of Jasper to allow for room to grow even further. We held our first service in our current Jasper location (1450 Energy Dr., off of the Hwy. 162 by-pass) on February 4, 2007. It was amazing to see God at work through the ministry of Redemption. It was evident that at every turn God would bring just the right people with just the right gifts to lead and do the necessary work of the church.
After only a year in the new building, the leadership began to make plans to expand in order to facilitate the growing ministries of Redemption. In late 2008, the church began an extensive, two-phase, expansion project on the current facility to accommodate for growth experienced in the first two years as well as future growth. This project, dubbed “More Than Walls,” was divided into two phases. Phase One was a wing of children’s classrooms, children’s worship area, adult classrooms, a large lobby and office space. It was completed in July 2011. Phase Two, dubbed “24,000 Reasons,” was a 1,000-seat worship center. It opened for services on November 16, 2014.
On the final Sunday of 2015, Senior Minister Darrel Land announced the vision moving forward. After much time of prayer and discussion, the leaders and elders of Redemption decided going multi-site was the way to continue advancing God’s kingdom in southern Indiana.
Because of this change, in May 2016, Redemption formally changed the name of the church from Christian Church of Jasper (CCJ) to Redemption Christian Church.
Redemption’s first additional campus opened in Loogootee, Ind., in a former Shopko/Pamida building on Dec. 4, 2016. On Nov. 13, 2022, Redemption opened a third campus campus in Tell City, Ind., in the former Tell City Junior High building.
Throughout the first two decades of Redemption’s history, God has continually blessed beyond what we could ever ask or imagine in countless ways. The Redemption vision to love God, love people and change the world is continually at work with the power of Christ’s Spirit as our guide.
As we continue the pursuit of God’s kingdom, we know there’s more to be done. Even as we look back, we know God has an awesome plan for Redemption’s future.
BE THE BRANCH
FOUNDATION
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." — John 15:1-5 (NLT)
WHY IS THIS WORTH REPEATING?
It all starts with Jesus and being connected to Him. We can do nothing of real value apart from Jesus, and — since we’ve been grafted into Him together — we can’t do anything of real value apart from each other. We must “be the branch” to others.
CATCH THE WIND
FOUNDATION
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” — John 3:1-8 (NLT)
WHY IS THIS WORTH REPEATING?
We are not creating momentum as a church by our practices, we are following the Spirit of God and following Him where He wants us to go.
GRIP THE PLOW
FOUNDATION
As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” — Luke 9:57-62 (NLT)
WHY IS THIS WORTH REPEATING?
We must not look back. Instead, we must always keep pressing ahead with the work of God’s Kingdom.
EMPTY THE JAR
FOUNDATION
As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.” Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head. Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly. But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.” — Mark 14:1-9 (NLT)
WHY IS THIS WORTH REPEATING?
Jesus calls us to empty our metaphorical jars. The gifts we bring don’t just glorify Him — they transform us.
WRECK THE ROOF
FOUNDATION
When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” — Mark 2:1-12 (NLT)
WHY IS THIS WORTH REPEATING?
As followers of Jesus, we strive to remove all barriers between Jesus and people — while having faith enough to do so.