On the east side of Monroe, Michigan, just off the road that runs toward the lake, Redeemer Fellowship Church has gathered for nearly five decades around a single conviction: that the presence of God is more important than plans or preferences. The church meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 5305 Evergreen Drive and describes itself as a presence-driven and Spirit-led family, animated by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and shaped by revival preaching, the gifts of the Spirit, and a steady rhythm of weekly prayer.
Five Decades on Evergreen Drive
Redeemer began on November 29, 1977, when a small group met for the first service in the auditorium of Cantrick Junior High under the leadership of Pastor F. Joseph Atkinson. The church was birthed out of a desire to incorporate the Baptism of the Holy Spirit into the life of a local congregation, and that defining DNA still shapes everything from the worship room to the prayer room. About ten years after the first service, the body moved into its permanent home on Evergreen Drive. In May 2015, the congregation broke ground on a new educational wing, the building where most of its midweek ministry now takes place.
On September 8, 1996, Pastor Joe stepped into semi-retirement and John Piippo was installed as Senior Pastor. On January 10, 2016, Timothy Curry joined the staff as Pastor Assistant; today he serves alongside John Piippo as Co-Pastor. The transition has been marked by the same conviction that started the church: a pursuit of revival in the Word and the Spirit.
Sundays at 10:30: One Worship Service, the Whole Family
Redeemer keeps a single Sunday gathering. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary and is described as led first and foremost by the Holy Spirit. Services may include Words of Knowledge, flags, dance, prophecy, and a variety of other expressions drawn from the New Testament gifts. Holly Collins directs worship with a team of vocalists and instrumentalists, supported by an Audio/Visual ministry and a Livestream ministry that broadcasts the service on YouTube for shut-ins and online visitors.
Children stay with their families at the start of worship and are prayed over and dismissed to Redeemer Kids. Parents sign children in at a table in the lobby before service begins and are welcome to wait in the sanctuary; if any concern comes up during class, the children's team will text a parent right away.
For those who want to pray before the service begins, the Praying Men meet at 9:15 a.m. in the Prayer Room, and the Praying Women meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Living Room. Both groups are open to newcomers and spend their time in small-group intercession.
Redeemer Kids and DIG IN
Redeemer Kids serves children from birth through fifth grade on Sunday mornings with age-appropriate classrooms, teaching led by a team of volunteers, and a safety-and-security orientation meant to put parents at ease. The curriculum is called Dig In, designed to engage children in worship, identity in Christ, and fellowship.
DIG IN also has a midweek expression specifically for fourth and fifth graders. Those students meet Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m., entering through the main double doors on the east side of the building to gather in the Education Wing. Jana Ansel serves as Children's Ministry Director and oversees this work with a team of small-group leaders, co-leaders, nursery helpers, greeters, youth helpers, and large-group leaders.
Redeemer Youth
Redeemer Youth serves students in grades 6 through 12 and meets Thursday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The ministry describes its aim as calling students into their identity as loved by God, chosen by Him, created with purpose, and destined for greatness, and as discipling them in leadership and community. Heidi Skeens serves as Youth Pastor, and beyond Thursday nights students take part in additional events hosted by Redeemer and other local churches throughout the year.
Prayer in Every Form
If Sunday morning is the public face of Redeemer, the prayer room is its steady heart. Wednesdays are anchored by Two or More Intercession, which meets from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the church to pray for families, communities, the church, and the world, and ends with the congregation sharing communion together. A separate Fasting and Prayer Group also meets on Wednesdays, taking on a rotating prayer focus and a different form of fasting each week, whether a total food fast, a Daniel fast, a partial fast, a news fast, or a media fast.
Those rhythms carry into Sunday mornings through the Praying Men and Praying Women gatherings, and they spill over into home groups, where members of the body meet during the week to intercede for one another.
Home Groups, Young Adults, and Ministry Groups
Home Groups are the small, intentional gatherings of generally five to ten people that meet in homes for community building, discipleship, Bible study, and worship. The ministry frames its purpose around four verbs: Gather in the temple courts and around shared tables, Connect in prayer for unity, Grow into the love of Christ, and Go to make disciples of all nations.
Young Adults, a group for those who have recently finished high school through age 28, currently studies the Gospel of John and meets the first and third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Prayer Room. The ministry describes itself as a steadfast, intentional group of Spirit-led disciples committed to encouraging, supporting, and keeping one another accountable.
A wider set of Ministry Groups keeps the church running. Audio/Visual, Building and Grounds, Children's Ministry, Funeral Luncheon Team, Helps Team, Interior Design, Livestream, Missions Team, Social Activities (Chili Cook Off and Church Picnic), Special Music, Worship Arts (dance, flags and banners, painting, clay, stone, metals, and other creative mediums), Worship, and Ushers all serve in their own ways on Sunday mornings and beyond. Volunteers are welcomed into every team.
MC6: A Christ-Centered Community on Campus
Redeemer's reach extends beyond its own walls to Monroe County Community College, where a student-led group called MC6 (Monroe Christ-Centered Community) meets Monday afternoons from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the La-Z-Boy Atrium of Building Z. The group's stated purposes are to create a loving, Christ-centered community active on the college campus, share the message of Jesus with gentleness and respect, study the biblical scriptures, and serve others on campus, in greater Monroe, and beyond. Founding members Matayah Hammill and Ashleigh Bentley, along with faculty advisor Timothy Curry, lead the effort.
Rooted in Monroe, Reaching Beyond
Missions are an extension of Redeemer's presence-driven identity, both locally and globally. Locally, the church supports God Works, a community-wide outreach to the homeless that serves dinner every night in Monroe County; Redeemer volunteers prepare and serve a meal on the fourth Saturday of every month at the Salvation Army Campus of Hope, 815 E. First St. The church also partners with Pro Life Man, an organization that supports men in speaking for the unborn and provides resources for men grieving an abortion.
Nationally, Redeemer supports Compassion to Action, which preaches and demonstrates the good news through evangelism, and Holy Spirit Renewal Ministries, which exists to help people grow in their faith and walk in the power and presence of the Spirit.
Internationally, the church partners with several long-term workers: Chris and Lori Bajkiewicz, missionaries to Mexico since 1991; NightLight, which rescues victims of sex trafficking in Bangkok, Thailand; and Lisa, Moses, and their two children, who serve with YWAM in Togo, West Africa, with a focus on preaching the gospel and making disciples.
Beliefs and Practices
Redeemer's core beliefs are classically Christian with a charismatic accent. The church affirms one eternal God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and confesses that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, and final authority for faith and practice. Salvation is described as a free gift, received by repentance, faith, and personal acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior. The two ordinances of baptism and communion are observed as outward signs of inward realities: baptism as identification with Jesus in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and communion as a commemoration of His death until He comes again.
The church teaches that the baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruit and gifts of the Spirit. The gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 4, and Romans 12 are understood as available to the church today, and the lists are treated as illustrative rather than exhaustive. Healing - body, soul, and spirit - is held to be part of the work of the atonement, to be appropriated by faith.
Redeemer also holds to a statement on marriage, sexuality, and gender rooted in the creation account and the teachings of Jesus: marriage is defined as a lifelong covenant union between one man and one woman, biological sex is treated as an essential part of human identity, and all forms of abuse, slander, dehumanization, or oppression are named as affronts to the sacred image of God in every person. The church affirms that all human life, from conception through natural death, is sacred and created in God's image.
Full Life in Christ
For discipleship beyond Sunday gatherings, the church runs Full Life in Christ, a teaching program developed by Pastor Joe Atkinson and organized around five movements: Establish, Empower, Equip, Extend, and Enable. The series walks through the foundations of Christian identity, the work of the Holy Spirit, the practices of Christian life, ministry to others, and ongoing growth in Christ.
Visiting Redeemer
A first-time visitor can expect a single Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. at 5305 Evergreen Drive in Monroe, with parking on site, classrooms available for children from birth through fifth grade, and a worship gathering shaped by the conviction that the Holy Spirit leads the room. The service is broadcast live on YouTube for those joining from home, and sermons remain available afterward. Wear whatever feels right; come a little early if you would like to join the Praying Men at 9:15 a.m. or the Praying Women at 9:30 a.m. before service. To get connected during the week, the church points newcomers to home groups, the prayer groups, Redeemer Youth, Young Adults, and a wide range of ministry groups that welcome volunteers.