Anchor Community Church is a non-denominational Christian church at 20270 Iberia Ave in Lakeville, MN. It is known for a deliberately welcoming 'no matter' approach: people who did not grow up in church, were hurt by church, or simply are not sure they fit are invited to come as they are, ask honest questions, and take a next step toward Jesus. Sunday services at 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. pair live worship with practical, Bible-centered teaching, while ministries for children, youth, groups, care, and service extend the focus beyond Sunday.
A No Matter Church in Lakeville
Anchor launched on September 13, 2026, with a simple passion: to help people find a church they can truly call home. The church calls itself a 'no matter' church becoming 'no matter followers of Jesus,' with particular attention to people who may not have grown up in church, have been hurt by church, or are not sure they fit. Lead pastor Ryan Widdel did not grow up in church either. His experience helped shape a place where people can come as they are, ask honest questions, and take a next step toward Jesus without having it all figured out first.
Five practices shape the life of the church
- Belong: Find people and a place through small groups, serving teams, and showing up in community.
- Reaching: Seek and send, with an outward posture expressed through prayer, invitations, service, care, and sharing a story.
- Growth: Stay rooted in God's Word and walk alongside others, pursuing progress rather than perfection.
- Service: Use the gifts God has given in welcoming, children's ministry, behind-the-scenes work, and meeting practical needs.
- Generosity: Give open-handededly with finances, time, talents, and treasure.
Sundays at 9:00 and 10:30 a.m.
Both Sunday gatherings take place at 20270 Iberia Ave in Lakeville and last about 60 minutes. The service is simple and welcoming: live worship music, usually around three songs, a short welcome from a host, and a practical, engaging message of about 30 minutes that connects biblical truth to everyday life. The aim is to help people connect with Jesus and understand God's Word so they leave equipped for the week ahead. Anchor celebrates communion every week. People who have placed faith in Jesus may participate, while those still exploring faith are welcome to observe without pressure.
First-time guests are welcomed as they arrive and will not be pressured, embarrassed, or put on the spot. Check-in opens 15 minutes before each service, and visitors may pre-register online or use the kids' kiosk in the lobby. Arriving about 15 minutes early also gives time to find parking, get free coffee and donuts, and settle in. After the service, the Connections Desk is a place for coffee, conversation, and a low-pressure invitation to get connected. Leaving early or arriving late is also treated as completely fine.
Wear what feels comfortable
Anchor keeps the dress code relaxed. Jeans, sweats, and shorts are often seen, and the church recommends whatever clothing feels comfortable. The atmosphere is designed to help first-time guests relax, feel welcomed, and be themselves instead of having to perform or fit a particular mold. Plan your visit for the address and Sunday gathering times.
Anchor's messages are also available on YouTube for people who want to hear a message later.
Anchor does not pass an offering plate during services. Visitors are not expected to give, while people who call Anchor home can give voluntarily online or through secure boxes and kiosks around the building.
Harbor Kids and Anchor Youth
Harbor Kids serves children from birth through 5th grade during every Sunday service. Children hear age-appropriate Bible teaching, participate in worship, and join hands-on activities designed to help lessons stick. Caring, background-checked volunteers, essential safety protocols, and secure check-in and check-out with matching parent tags shape the environment. The check-in area opens 15 minutes before the service, and a team is ready to walk first-time families through the process and answer questions.
Anchor Youth is for middle and high school students. The Wednesday gathering runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Anchor and includes worship, teaching that challenges and encourages students, and time to build friendships. Its purpose is to help students discover their identity in Christ, navigate life with truth, and discover the purpose God has for them. Students above sixth grade are also encouraged to attend the main Sunday service with their families and become part of the larger church community.
Belong, Grow, Live
Anchor organizes discipleship around three movements. Belong is the starting point, where people who are new to faith or new to Anchor are supported rather than expected to have every answer. Grow describes moving deeper through biblical understanding and relationships. Live means carrying faith into action through service, generosity, and mission.
Belong through classes and groups
Anchor DNA is a 15-minute class that introduces the church, its mission, and ways to become involved. It typically meets on the first weekend of each month, starting 10 minutes after each service in the multipurpose room in the south wing, with no signup required. Small groups are described as the heartbeat of Anchor. They gather around God's Word, build friendships, and help people be known by name in the different seasons of life. One-to-one mentoring and group study are also offered as part of discipleship.
Grow with biblical teaching and tools
Weekday Bible classes are designed to teach people how to read, study, and apply Scripture. The church recommends the Bible App for reading on a phone, The Bible Project for animated summaries of each biblical book, and study resources including the ESV Study Bible, The Bible Project study notes, and Tara-Leigh Cobble's Bible Recap. Preferred translations mentioned are the NIV, ESV, and NLT. These tools help readers understand Scripture's context, meaning, and larger story, whether someone is new to the Bible or looking to go deeper.
Baptism is another step Anchor describes. Baptisms take place during worship with music playing, allowing people to participate without needing to speak into a microphone.
Live through service and mission
Serving opportunities include greeting, children's ministry, work behind the scenes, and using personal gifts to meet needs. Anchor also describes global mission opportunities in which people serve communities, pray with believers, and share the gospel. The church says what people experience on Sunday should make a difference on Monday and continue shaping conversations by Wednesday.
Care and Practical Support
The Care and Support ministry provides pastoral counseling and mentorship, benevolence that offers practical help for financial or physical needs, weddings and premarital guidance, and funerals and memorial services. The church frames this care as showing up for people during celebrations, seasons of loss, and unexpected crises. Its aim is that people do not have to face those seasons alone.
Community partnerships broaden that work. Feed My Starving Children provides meals for children around the world, 360 Communities supports families with food, housing, and crisis care, World Vision supports vulnerable children and families globally, and local food pantries help meet practical needs in the region. These are among the partners supported through Anchor's giving.
Generosity That Plants Churches
Anchor commits 10% of its annual budget to ministry beyond its walls. Globally, its partnership with The Timothy Initiative supports church planting in least-reached places by working with local believers. Regionally, the church's connections with Converge support new church plants in the Twin Cities and across the United States, with an emphasis on equipping leaders, sending teams, and establishing Gospel-centered communities.
Giving can be made once or set up as a recurring gift through the church's online giving option. In-person gifts can be placed in secure boxes or kiosks available Sunday morning. Anchor teaches that a tithe is 10% of income and an offering is anything given beyond the tithe. It also recognizes giving time, resources, and prayers as meaningful forms of generosity for people who cannot give financially.
The emphasis on multiplication reaches from the Twin Cities to the world and is part of the church's reason for existing. The goal is that generous giving supports local outreach, global missions, and the planting of future churches, with healthy churches making disciples and transforming communities.
What Anchor Believes
Anchor centers its core beliefs on God, people, and the Church, and also states its convictions about the Bible and Christ's return. Its teaching is summarized in three groups:
- God: There is one living, sovereign God who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is fully God and fully human without sin; he gave his life and rose from the grave after three days, paying the penalty for sin. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and empowers believers as helper, teacher, and guide.
- People: God created people in his image, so every person matters. All people are sinners and need God's forgiveness. Those who turn from sin and trust Jesus Christ are saved by grace, become children of God, and receive the promise of eternal life.
- Church, Scripture, and return: Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, and all believers are part of his body. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the ultimate authority for belief and life. Jesus Christ will return, followed by a final judgment.
The People Behind Anchor
Ryan Widdel leads the church as lead pastor. He has been in full-time ministry since 2012 and has served as a camp director, youth pastor, worship pastor, operations pastor, and campus pastor before becoming a church planter and lead pastor. His work includes helping launch churches and lead growing ministries in rural Iowa and the Twin Cities. Since 2019, he has also served as a volunteer police and fire chaplain, and he describes that experience of walking with people through joy, loss, crisis, and rebuilding as shaping his compassionate approach to biblical teaching.
The pastoral team also includes Becky Watczak as youth pastor, Jason Moe as worship pastor, Curtis Roth as pastor of ministries, Terry Foss as teaching and leadership pastor, and Drew Richey as executive pastor.
Pastor Ryan Widdel says, 'Walking into a new church takes courage.' His hope is that people will find a community where they are known and faith is not just a Sunday thing. He teaches most weekends and is also around during the week for coffee, conversation, and presence when life gets hard.
A Church for Real Life
Anchor Community Church's pattern is straightforward: come without pretending to have it all together, worship and hear practical biblical teaching, grow through relationships, care for people, and put faith into action. That same pattern shapes its life in Lakeville, its service to the Twin Cities, and its commitment to plant churches here, near, and far.