Passion Church is a non-denominational family of churches with a Montgomery campus at 6825 Wares Ferry Road and sister campuses in Alexander City and Horn Lake, Mississippi. It is known for informal worship, relationship-focused small groups, age-specific ministry for children and youth, and a mission commitment that extends from families in Montgomery to partners in Uganda, Venezuela, Pakistan, southern India and Mexico.
From Christian Life Church to a Three-Campus Family
Passion Church began in August 1980 as Christian Life Church, founded by Steve and Denice Vickers. Steve Vickers remains founding pastor, while each campus has lead pastors who prepare weekly messages for the community they serve. Ron and Kelly Whisnand lead Alex City, Guy and Angie Sheffield lead DeSoto, and Bruce and Sandy Whitehill lead Montgomery. The church's stated mission is to help connect people with the life-giving message of Jesus and to make disciples of all nations.
Although it began as Christian Life Church, Passion Church now gathers in three locations in Alabama and Mississippi. The family vision is not merely to attend church, but to be the church, following Jesus' command to go and make disciples of all nations. Each gathering is prepared for its own community while the campuses share beliefs, mission partners, groups, teams and media resources.
- Alex City Campus: 3340 Hwy 63 N, Alexander City, AL 35010. Sunday worship begins at 10:00 a.m. Ron and Kelly Whisnand are the lead pastors.
- DeSoto Campus: 983 Goodman Rd W #105, Horn Lake, MS 38637. Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m. Guy and Angie Sheffield are the lead pastors.
- Montgomery Campus: 6825 Wares Ferry Road, Montgomery, AL 36117. Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m. Bruce and Sandy Whitehill are the lead pastors.
Montgomery at 10:30 on Sunday
Passion Church's Montgomery campus is at 6825 Wares Ferry Road in Montgomery, Alabama 36117. Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m., and the campus also lists a Wednesday gathering at 7:00 p.m. The Montgomery phone number is (334) 271 3800, its email is montgomery@mypassion.church, and its mailing address is P.O. Box 241161, Montgomery, AL 36124-1161. A visitor overview brings together the three locations and explains how new people can begin joining Passion Church.
Visitors are treated as part of the church from the outset. Passion Church is informal and friendly, and people are encouraged to come as they are. There is no need to dress up unless doing so makes someone more comfortable; a suit or shorts are both fine. The focus is on people's hearts rather than their clothing. Guests will not be asked to raise a hand or do anything that would embarrass or single them out.
Coffee is provided, a band plays a few songs, and the weekly message lasts about 30 minutes. Passion Church also tells visitors that they will be helped with their next best step no matter where they are in their faith.
Children and the Next Generation
Children and youth are intentionally included in Passion Church's life. The stated goal is to inspire, encourage and equip parents to serve as spiritual leaders in their children's lives, strengthening the bond between parent and child. Passion Church describes its children's environment as safe, with qualified, consistent and background-checked small-group leaders and volunteers.
The children's and youth ministry is organized around age-specific groups:
- Bible Adventure: birth through 4 years
- Crosstown: 5 years through kindergarten
- Konnect HQ: first through third grade
- Kingdom Kids: first through fifth grade
- The Loop Show: fourth through sixth grade
These ministries give parents and children age-appropriate ways to engage with Scripture and one another while strengthening each child's place in the church family.
Passion Groups and Teams
Passion Groups are small groups of people who meet in homes, coffee shops, dorm rooms and other places to build relationships and grow in Christ together. Groups connect, pray, study Scripture and look for opportunities to meet the needs of both their members and the surrounding community. Passion Church's goal is for everyone who calls the church home to join a group, helping every person become known.
Passion Teams provide another way to participate. These volunteer teams help make the weekly services happen while giving people a place to build friendships and serve in the church. Group and team opportunities are organized by campus, allowing each local community to shape how it connects and serves.
Montgomery's Midweek Gathering and the Connected Church
The Montgomery schedule includes a Wednesday gathering at 7:00 p.m. and an invitation to participate through Church Online. Each campus streams the sermon portion of its normal weekend service, making the message accessible to people who cannot attend in person.
Passion Church also produces campus-specific podcasts for Alex City, DeSoto and Montgomery. Available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify, the recordings are intended to help people hear particular messages again and continue developing their faith and relationship with God.
For day-to-day connection, the Church Center app lets families check in, give, join and connect with small groups, manage their Passion Church profile, and register for events.
Passion Works Beyond the Campus
Passion Church understands church as much more than what happens inside a building. It calls the church to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in everyday life and supports ministries both locally and internationally. The local and global partnerships connect worship and discipleship with feeding, education, orphan care, leadership development, church planting and practical assistance.
Serving Families in Montgomery
ECHO, Empowering Communities Helping Ourselves, is a nonprofit agency improving the lives of low-income Montgomery residents. Its work includes after-school and community-service programs, outreach, youth activities, mentoring and feeding programs. The Montgomery Area Food Bank serves more than 300,000 residents in 35 Alabama counties, supplying over 20 million pounds of food and providing more than 50,000 meals each day for people in need. Passion Church supports both organizations as part of its local mission.
A Global Partnership Network
- Harvest Ministries International focuses on ministering to people in Venezuela and Columbia, training nationals in Bible schools, forming adult and children's churches and cell groups in mountainous regions, and operating radio and outreach programs that feed the hungry and provide medicine and clothing.
- Living Word Ministries cares for orphans, builds churches and trains nationals through its Bible Training Center. The Mai Tai Coffee Co. also employs nationals and helps them support their families while contributing to ministry.
- Martha's Kids provides basic needs and education for orphaned and vulnerable street children in Uganda whose lives have been affected by war, poverty, home abuse and disease.
- My Father's House is a home for orphaned children in Mexico, providing a safe haven where they are loved, educated through homeschooling, and cared for in a nurturing and healing environment.
- Mike and Vail Croslow work with pastors and national leaders representing thousands of churches in five African nations, creating opportunities for people living in poverty and building strategic partnerships with like-minded organizations.
- Passion Churches International is an extension of Passion Church with a goal of establishing church plants in every regional center of Uganda. Its work includes ongoing training for ministers and group leaders associated with 8,000 groups and the development of new ministry leaders.
- Roman Okware oversees 20 churches in Uganda that have come under Passion Churches International, emphasizing discipleship, leadership training, church planting and service among under-resourced communities.
- Sajjad Anwar conducts crusades and outreach in Pakistan's Punjab region, providing food and clothing for children who live on the streets and planting churches in places where they are needed.
- Samuel Andrews works with ministers in southern India's tribal villages through evangelism and special crusades, distributes Bibles and Christian literature, and helps meet the physical needs of low-income families, including widows and children.
- Tito and Nelrose Sasam promote fellowship, training and outreach among churches in the Davao area, helping pastors pursue their calling through marriage, youth and leadership conferences and assistance during natural disasters.
Together, these partnerships reflect Passion Church's conviction that discipleship includes caring for people, strengthening local ministries and sharing resources with church leaders and communities around the world.
The Bible as the Center of Belief
The Bible is affirmed as the Word of God and the final authority on doctrine and life. Passion Church believes in one eternal God, the Creator of all things, existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It teaches that sin has separated people from God and that Jesus Christ, both God and man, reconciles them to God. Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died for sin, was raised from the dead and is seated at the Father's right hand, interceding for believers.
Salvation is by God's grace through faith in Christ, and all who believe in him have eternal life. Those who trust in Christ are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ and should be baptized in water as an outward sign of the inward work. The church also believes in the infilling of the Holy Spirit to empower Christian living and service. God is described as individually equipping people to worship, fulfill their role in the church and serve their communities. Passion Church also teaches the resurrection of the dead, a literal heaven and hell, and the return of Christ. Its doctrinal commitments include unity in essential matters, liberty in nonessential matters and love in all things.
Five Values Shaping the Culture
Passion Church identifies five guiding principles as its shared culture and non-negotiables:
- Courageous Hope: confidence in God's promised plans for good and a future filled with hope.
- Audacious Faith: simple, childlike faith in God and his promises that refuses to quit.
- Relentless Love: love for God, one another and the city that reflects the endless love of God.
- Extravagant Giving: giving patterned after God's gift of Jesus and directed toward the life of the ministry.
- Unbridled Serving: serving fellow people with the love of God as the highest calling.
Generosity That Reaches Beyond the Campus
Passion Church says God provides for the ministry through tithes and offerings. Financial gifts support its many ministries locally and in other regions of the world, helping the church reach hurting and less fortunate people in tangible and spiritual ways. Secure online giving is available through each campus.
That sense of shared purpose connects the church's worship, relationships, children's ministries and mission work. At Montgomery, Alexander City and DeSoto, Passion Church continues as a family of diverse churches pursuing biblical belief, genuine community, intergenerational care and active service for the good and renewal of its communities.