Two Campuses in Murfreesboro
Christian Life Church meets in two locations in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, both gathering for worship on Sundays at 10am. The Cason Lane campus sits at 745 Cason Lane (37128), less than a mile from exit 78 off Interstate 24. The North campus meets in the Oakland High School auditorium at 2225 Patriot Drive (37130). Both are led by the same staff and share a single mission: Win the lost. Make disciples. Raise up the next generation of leaders. Anyone wanting a head start on their first visit can fill out a precheck form for either the Cason Lane or North campus.
A Modern, Spirit-Led Worship Service
Worship at Christian Life is modern and Spirit-led. The Sunday gathering typically includes standing, clapping, dancing, instruments, and group singing as the worship team leads the room. Pastor Shawn Starbuck leads the worship ministry, with Emily Moretti serving as Worship Director and a Service Production team running video, media, lighting, sound, photography, planning, stage design, and creative. Song covers and original music from the team are shared on SoundCloud and Spotify, including Shawn Starbuck's arrangement of "Joy to the World." The Cason Lane service is livestreamed each Sunday at 10am, and recordings from both campuses can be caught up online any day.
Sundays at 10am on Both Sides of Town
Worship begins at 10am at both the Cason Lane campus (745 Cason Lane, 37128) and the North campus (Oakland High School Auditorium, 2225 Patriot Drive, 37130). On the second and fourth Sunday of each month, middle schoolers break out for CL Middle, a dedicated class that runs in tandem with the main service. Wednesday nights are Youth Night at the Cason Lane campus, when students from both locations meet for small groups. A connection card and a decision card are available online for anyone wanting to take a next step.
CL Kids: Birth through Fifth Grade
Children are treated as part of the Kingdom from the day they arrive. CL Kids programming covers birth through fifth grade at both campuses. Check-in opens at 9:45am. After signing children in at the check-in station or welcome desk, parents walk their child to the classroom where a CL Kids Impact Team member helps orient them. Infants through kindergarten classrooms include a Bible story, worship, snack, and games. First through fifth graders join their team leaders for live worship, crafts, games, and Bible teaching designed to meet different learning styles. Leslie-Alexis Richardson oversees elementary on the Cason Lane side, Brittany Beoddy directs the Cason Lane nursery, and Tarah Fleming leads CL Kids at the North campus.
CL Youth: Middle and High School
Students in sixth through twelfth grade worship with their families at 10am on Sundays. CL Middle gives middle schoolers a class of their own on the second and fourth Sundays, with Cason Lane and North each hosting its own breakout. Wednesday nights are Youth Night at the Cason Lane campus, when students from both campuses meet for community and small groups. Christine Bailey serves as Youth Director. Throughout the year the youth calendar adds retreats and events.
Three Kinds of Small Groups
Christian Life believes that life change happens best in the context of relationships, so the church runs a small groups ministry built on three on-ramps. Connect Groups are short-term groups (usually twelve weeks) organized around a shared study, topic, or activity. Life Groups are ongoing, life-on-life communities that walk through seasons together and multiply when the time is right. Discipleship Groups follow a structured pathway with a year-long commitment and are led by a male coach for men or a female coach for women. People can browse open Life Groups or submit a Discipleship Group interest form to be matched.
CL Men, CL Women, and CL Young Adults
Three parallel ministries walk alongside the small groups ministry. CL Men's Ministry calls men to know Christ deeply, stand firm in their faith, and lead boldly in their homes, church, and community through authentic brotherhood and intentional discipleship. CL Women's Ministry gathers women around intentional relationships and leadership development, helping them grow in spiritual maturity at home, in the church, and in the community. CL Young Adults ministers to college-aged and working adults through C-Groups (separate groups for men, for women, and for engaged or married couples) and a monthly college gathering. Landon Fleming, the North Campus Pastor, coordinates the young adult work.
What the Church Believes
Christian Life's statement of faith begins with a high view of Scripture as God-inspired and authoritative. It confesses a Trinitarian God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and affirms the full deity of Jesus Christ. Salvation is described as a gift of grace received through faith in Christ who died for sinners. The church practices water baptism by immersion as an outward sign of inner regeneration and shares bread and juice in commemoration of Christ's body and blood.
Distinctively, the church teaches the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the promise of the Father given by Jesus after His ascension, with speaking in tongues as a means of edification in the believer's prayer life. The gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and the fruit of Galatians 5 are affirmed, balanced by a commitment to Christian living that avoids extremes. Divine healing through the prayer of faith is part of the doctrine. Heaven is the eternal home of believers; hell is the place of eternal separation for those who reject Christ. The Second Coming is confessed as the bodily, visible return of Jesus to establish His Kingdom. The church's policy defines marriage as the covenant relationship between one man and one woman.
Local and Global Missions
The missions ministry splits between local, national, and overseas work. Locally and nationally, the church supports A Soldier's Child, which serves the children of fallen active-duty military personnel through birthday celebrations, mentorship, and scholarships. Greenhouse Ministries provides relational ministries designed to inspire hope and change lives. Renewed Life Ministries Outreach is a one-year residential discipleship training center that helps men and women struggling with addiction or other life issues.
Overseas, the church has partnered with New Generation since 2019 on a three-to-five-year project to reach the Wolof people, a large Islamic ethnic group in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania. Through yearly giving of $20,000-$25,000, the initiative has seen fifteen churches planted and 125 disciples, with Disciple Making Movement gatherings in small Wolof villages. Other supported missionaries include Franz Lippi, working with leaders in the Balkan nations from Austria; Lisa Green, a counselor to missionary families in Turkey; and Refuge Foundation, which cares for nonprofit leaders. Christian Life also identifies itself as part of ARC, an association of relational churches that supports church planters and leaders.
Serving on an Impact Team
Day-to-day ministry at Christian Life is carried by volunteer Impact Teams. Care/Compassion volunteers make meals, send cards, and make hospital visits. CL Kids volunteers invest in children each week. The Host Team covers parking, greeting, guest services, and coffee - the people who shape a guest's first seven minutes on campus. The Safety Team watches over the gatherings. Service Production covers video, media, lighting, sound, photography, planning, stage design, and creative. Anyone interested can take a free spiritual gifts test using access code CE2ABB and complete a join-a-team form.
The People Behind the Pulpit
Ron Kairdolf serves as Lead Pastor, with Emily Hanks as Executive Pastor and James Brown as Administrative Pastor. Landon Fleming pastors the North campus alongside Tarah Fleming, who oversees CL Kids there. Shawn Starbuck leads worship and care, with Nina Fowler directing Create and Communications. Casey Carpenter serves as Administrative Director and Lead Pastor's Assistant. Membership is introduced through a Next Steps class that covers history, core values, beliefs, and the church's commitment to members.