A Congregation in the Heart of East Austin
Redeemer Presbyterian Church sits on Alexander Avenue in the heart of east Austin, a neighborhood the church has called home since 2010 when it moved into the hall it built and dedicated on that street. Although the address is east side, the people who fill the building come from all corners of the city and beyond, drawn by a particular kind of worship: a structured, liturgy-shaped service with choir and organ, preaching that works through books of the Bible, and communion offered to all who trust in Christ. The congregation belongs to the Presbyterian Church in America and is part of the South Texas Presbytery, and members frequently describe themselves, simply, as a church centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.
The identity captured in the church's name is intentional. Redeemer points to Christ and the gospel at the center of everything the church does. Presbyterian points to a wider family of congregations that share a confession, a form of government, and accountability with one another. And Church points to the conviction that Christianity is meant to be lived out in a community of people from different backgrounds who walk with God together through the ups and downs of life. Together, the three words describe a congregation that aims to be a place where the beauty of historic Christian worship, the depth of Reformed teaching, and the warmth of intergenerational community all meet.
What a Sunday Morning Looks Like
Two identical worship services are held every Sunday, at 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., each lasting between sixty-five and seventy minutes. Between them, at 10:15 a.m., the School of Discipleship - the church's Sunday school - meets in the classrooms of Calvin Hall, offering classes for everyone in the family from nursery through adult electives. In the evenings during the school year, the building comes alive again: children's choirs and youth choirs rehearse, the youth group gathers for games, lesson, and prayer, and an adult evening class rounds out the day. Worship itself takes place in Covenant Hall on the east side of the campus, with the nursery just across the breezeway in Calvin Hall.
Visitors arriving for the first time can park in the main lot next to the church or on the street. Reserved parking spots on the north side of the campus are kept for seniors and expectant mothers who need a closer entrance. Inside, an usher at the door hands out a printed worship bulletin containing the order of service, the hymns, and the Scripture readings, and the morning unfolds from there. Members are of all ages and come from many different races, nationalities, and religious backgrounds. There are students, professionals, artists, dads and moms, single parents, and many children. The church's stated aim is to welcome and serve everyone God sends its way.
A Service Shaped by the Great Conversation
Members call their Sunday gathering the Divine Service, a name that captures the conviction that God is the primary speaker and actor in worship. He calls the congregation into his presence; he creates and strengthens faith by his Word and Supper; he sends the people out with his blessing. The congregation responds with prayer, praise, confession, and acts of gratitude and service. The order of service is structured - what the church calls a liturgy - because worship is understood as a genuine conversation between God and his people. God speaks through Scripture; the people respond with songs, prayers, and readings; and the whole service traces the good news that God has done everything necessary to save his people.
The service follows a familiar arc. A prelude from the organist and a brief choral introit settle the room. The pastor leads a Call to Worship drawn from Scripture, followed by a prayer of adoration, a corporate confession of sin, and a declaration of absolution. The congregation then sings a Gloria and a hymn of gratitude, hears the reading of several lessons from a lectionary (usually one each from the Old Testament, the Epistles, and the Gospels, with a Psalm either sung or read together), and joins in a congregational prayer followed by the sermon. After the sermon the church stands to confess its faith using either the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed, passes the peace, takes up tithes and offerings, and gathers at the table for communion.
Communion is celebrated every Sunday at Redeemer. All baptized Christians who trust in Christ alone for salvation, have made a public profession of their faith, and are part of a local church are welcomed to the table. Those who are not Christians are respectfully asked to use the time to consider their relationship with God. The service Redeemer uses for communion is an ancient prayer called the Great Thanksgiving, which joins the words "The Lord be with you," a prayer of praise ("It is very good and right..."), and the Sanctus sung by the congregation. In communion, the church teaches, the Holy Spirit unites believers with the whole church in heaven and on earth.
The Hymns of the Church Across Two Millennia
Redeemer is well known as a singing church, and the music program is one of the most distinctive features of life there. The hymns sung on Sunday mornings span the whole two-thousand-year history of the Christian church, and the congregation chooses them carefully for being true, good, and beautiful: true in their teaching, good in their fit within the service, and beautiful in the way their words and tunes together give the congregation full voice. From the back of the hall, the choir and organ lead congregational worship while the pastors lead from the front of the sanctuary, a layout designed to keep the focus on the Word and the singing rather than on performance.
The choir prepares a choral anthem each week based on a biblical passage as a sacrifice of praise and a ministry to the body. Anthems are placed at one of five points in the liturgy: as a song of confession before the corporate confession, as a continuation of the Gloria after the declaration of absolution, within the Psalter, as a response to the Scripture lessons, or as part of the prayer of supplication. The aim is to choose the most beautiful and profound music and to bring it to the highest possible aesthetic level, a tangible expression of the value the church places on beauty in worship.
The Redeemer Choir has also recorded a substantial portion of the church's hymn corpus and made it available on Spotify in five collections: Advent and Christmas, Epiphany through Lent and Passion, Easter and Fulfillment, and two General volumes. The recordings, accompanied by organ, allow members and friends to take the church's musical worship into their homes and devotional lives.
Children at the Heart of the Liturgy
Children are warmly welcomed at Redeemer, and the sounds of small worshipers are considered part of the joyful noise of gathered praise. Parents are encouraged to include their children in worship along with the rest of the church community, and the congregation is reminded that welcoming children is something Jesus modeled. A printed worship bulletin often gives little hands something to follow along with, and a small voice calling out an "amen" mid-service is treated as a sign that the next generation is being formed in the habits of worship.
For the youngest members, a fully staffed nursery is available for infants through age three, located just inside the doors of Calvin Hall off the breezeway. Older children attend the School of Discipleship at 10:15 a.m. using curriculum adopted from Great Commission Publications, which presents the unfolding story of salvation in Scripture with Jesus at the center and highlights the sovereignty of God and his grace in the covenant, all from a Reformed perspective. The children's choirs give kids a leadership role in worship: Little Choir for four-year-olds through kindergarten, Middle Choir for grades one through three, Top Choir for grades four through six, and Youth Choir for grades seven through twelve. Children's choirs rehearse on Sunday evenings during the school year, and the Youth Choir leads portions of services throughout the year.
Every volunteer and paid worker who serves with children is thoroughly vetted with complete background checks before being allowed to work with the nursery, children's classes, or youth group. The safety and wellbeing of children is treated as a matter of the utmost importance by the church's leaders and staff.
The School of Discipleship for Every Age
Redeemer's Sunday school, called the School of Discipleship, is a key component of the church's life. Following the schedule of the academic year, classes meet on Sundays at 10:15 a.m. in the classrooms of Calvin Hall. Classes change each semester and cover theology, books of the Bible, Presbyterian beliefs, leadership training, and more. Teaching is led by Redeemer's pastors, elders, and members who have been trained for the work.
Adult offerings in recent semesters have included a multi-semester survey of the book of Exodus taught by Pastor Jon Herr alongside a Redeemer member who is a doctoral student in Hebrew at the University of Texas, a study of the Westminster Confession of Faith led by the elders that picks up the chapters on the doctrine of salvation, and a Leadership Training class taught by Pastor Eric Landry and the elders for men and women interested in serving as officers, teachers, or ministry leaders. A New Members Class is offered twice a year for those exploring membership, walking through the reason for membership, the meaning of Presbyterianism, how the gospel leads to worship, what a disciple looks like, and the theological distinctives that mark the church.
The youth classes are divided into middle school and high school groups and are taught by Youth Director Nate Esbenshade and Redeemer members. Recent courses have included a Bible survey of Judges through 1 Kings for middle schoolers, a study of the book of Genesis for middle schoolers, a course on the Christian worldview for high schoolers, and a course called Growing in Christ's Church for high schoolers. The children's classes move from nursery care through God's Family and God's People for two- and three-year-olds, Jesus Is God's Son for fours and kindergarten, a Children's Catechism for first and second grade, and a Romans Bible Survey for grades three through five.
Beliefs Rooted in the Westminster Standards
Redeemer is part of the Presbyterian Church in America, and the Westminster Standards - the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism, and the Shorter Catechism - function as a secondary authority for the church. Each minister in the PCA affirms agreement with the system of doctrine taught in those standards, and the pastors and elders teach, preach, and lead according to that system. The church also joins with all Christian churches everywhere in affirming the three Ecumenical Creeds of the ancient church: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The PCA's Book of Church Order guides the government and discipline of the church.
At the center of the church's teaching is what the PCA's Preface to the Book of Church Order calls God's plan of salvation. The church confesses that God made the world and all that is in it, and made human beings to be like him and to enjoy unhindered fellowship with him. The first people, Adam and Eve, chose to rebel, and through their sin the whole human race fell under God's judgment and the creation itself was subjected to futility. God would have been just to leave matters there, but he set in motion his plan to save his people: he sent his Son as a true man to bear the penalty for sin and die in the place of sinners. Whoever repents and believes in this Jesus will be redeemed and restored to a right relationship with God. God not only rescues sinners but restores all creation, and the church looks forward to the day when the heavens and earth will pass away and be made new and God's people will live with him forever.
Redeemer summarizes Jesus Christ as the one in whom the eternal Son of God became fully man in order to save sinners. He lived the perfect life that Adam and Israel and all of us should have lived, taught the truth about himself and the Father, gave his life as a ransom on the cross, rose again on the third day, ascended to heaven, and will return in the same way he was seen to go. The response God requires is repentance and faith: turning to him, turning away from sin, and trusting Christ as a living Savior. Such faith is itself a gift, and the evidence of salvation is a life being shaped, however slowly and imperfectly, into the likeness of Christ.
A History Built Through Prayer and Patience
Redeemer began with a prayer group in September of 1992. The first worship service was held in October 1994 in the ballroom of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, and for many years the congregation rented space for worship and church activities as it grew. The first pastor, Rev. Paul Hahn, ministered at Redeemer from the church's particularization until 2003. After an interval, Rev. D. P. Cassidy was called as senior pastor in June 2005. In June of 2008 the congregation broke ground for construction of its own facility on Alexander Avenue, and the new home, which includes a hall for worship, classrooms, and offices, was dedicated on March 28, 2010. Plans have been moving forward for future construction of a new sanctuary on the site.
Rev. Cassidy and his family departed in May of 2014 to take a call in Tennessee, and after another interval the Lord provided Rev. Eric Landry in June of 2016 to serve as the church's current senior pastor. The congregation's history is one of the values it most often names: a strong sense that the past informs the present and shapes the future, that wisdom and work of past generations of Christians helps address the unique challenges of any given day. The church sings songs, confesses creeds, and follows practices that have stood the test of time, giving voice to the faith passed down through generations of Christians.
The Pastoral Team and Officer Leadership
The pastoral team is led by Rev. Eric Landry, the senior pastor, and Rev. Jon Herr, the associate pastor. The music program is in the hands of Destin Wernicke, the interim director of music, supported by the choir and a roster of guest organists. Nate Esbenshade serves as the youth director, working with his wife Kaitlyn who supports him in connecting with the teen girls on Sunday evenings. Brooke Rimann is the director of children's choirs, Susanna McBee is the director of small groups, Lisal McDonald coordinates the nursery, and Caroline Stanley is the children's ministry coordinator.
The church is governed by a Session of ruling elders, supported by a board of deacons and a team of deacons' assistants. The current Session includes Rev. Eric Landry and Rev. Jon Herr, along with Rick Bocock, Scott A. Brister, Ken Kieley, Landy Ligon, Barry McBee, Rick Mealer, Joel Pafford, Randy Scott, Joshua Torrey, and Andrew Waller. The diaconate includes Kelly Baker, Ben Haguewood, David Hendrix, Micah Koch, Mike Matlock, Chris Price, and Aaron Rhinehart, assisted by Jon Ahrens, Ty McBride, Robyn Rhinehart, and Nate Serven. Every two years, the Session invites the congregation to prayerfully consider nominating qualified men to the offices of ruling elder and deacon.
From Small Groups to Feast Days
The rhythm of the church's community life extends well beyond Sunday morning. Small groups meet in intergenerational clusters across Austin, gathering weekly or biweekly to study God's Word, pray, and visit one another. The aim is that knowing and loving God becomes wonderfully entwined with knowing and loving one another. Twice a year the church gathers for Feast Days that mark the seasons of the Christian year: Epiphany gatherings in small groups for food and fellowship, a Maundy Thursday feast in Covenant Hall, a Pentecost Day Sunday evening meal with an international theme, and an All Saints' Day Sunday evening "fall fest" under the lights in the courtyard in early November, complete with chili, side dishes, and a pie-baking contest.
On Sunday evenings during the school year, Redeemer runs a full evening schedule alongside the youth group and children's choirs. The evening adult class meets in Room 206 starting at 6:00 p.m. with light refreshments and wraps up by 6:50 p.m., with discussion led by a pastor or teacher on a book of the Bible or another topic. The format is intentionally relaxed and blends the warmth of a small group with the substance of a classroom.
Youth, Women, and Men
The youth ministry serves students in grades six through twelve. The youth group meets on Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in Calvin Hall for games, lesson, prayer, snacks, and fellowship, and during the school year the students also participate in Sunday morning School of Discipleship classes. Additional activities throughout the year include coffeehouse game nights, movie nights, lake days, an annual retreat, and mission trips. Middle schoolers and high schoolers are taught separately.
Women's ministry offers several ongoing groups. Journey of Motherhood meets in the library on alternate Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon, providing study and fellowship for moms of all ages and stages with childcare provided and nursing babies welcome. An online Bible study meets on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Online prayer groups meet on Tuesday mornings at 7:00 a.m. for Pray Through the Psalms and on Thursday mornings at 7:00 a.m. for brief Be Thou My Vision liturgies. Two monthly prayer breakfasts, one in Sunset Valley and one in Round Rock, meet on the last Saturday of the month at 8:00 a.m. for prayer and coffee. Quarterly Ladies Nights are held in homes for a casual time of fellowship and fun.
Men's ministry includes the Redeemer Men's Workout on the first Saturday of each month at the church, a monthly Backyard Brotherhood grill out at a host's home, an annual Sporting Clay Classic at Cap City Clay followed by a group lunch, and a quarterly Men's Breakfast in Round Rock for breakfast, prayer, and fellowship. The men's ministry is overseen by Pastor Jon Herr.
A young adults ministry brings together post-college adults for Sunday lunches, social gatherings, and opportunities for service and mission trips, led by Pastor Eric Landry.
Redeemer Theological Academy
For members and friends who want deeper theological study, Redeemer Theological Academy brings college-level theological education onto the church's campus. Courses are offered in biblical studies, theology, church history, apologetics, and ministry skills, and the work of every class is guided by the Bible and informed by the Westminster Confession of Faith, which the academy treats as an accurate summary of all that Scripture teaches. Classes are open to men and women of all ages and are free of charge, with students responsible for their own books and supplies. Classes meet on Thursdays beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Calvin Hall.
Students may audit classes with no exams or papers, or they may apply to earn a Certificate of Theological Studies. The certificate program requires the completion of six semester classes with exams and research papers, plus passing a comprehensive exam at the end of the program. The certificate is authorized by the Session of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and the Director of the Academy. Recent course offerings have included an introduction to Koine Greek, a New Testament theology course tracing the story of redemption across the New Testament, and a survey of every book in the New Testament.
Partners in Austin and Around the World
Redeemer is honored to partner with local community groups and friends around the world in the work of loving God and loving neighbors. Local partners include the Central Texas Food Bank, the Religious Coalition to Assist the Homeless, Hill House Austin, Side by Side Kids, City School, the Austin Center for Faith and Work, Arts on Alexander, God of Hope Prison Ministries, Safe Families for Children, and the South Texas Presbytery. The church also supports Reformed University Fellowship ministries at the University of Texas at Austin and at Texas A&M University, as well as the University of Texas at Austin RUF International ministry.
Among parachurch and mission partners the congregation walks with are Mission to the World, the PCA's sending agency, and Student Mobilization, which works with college students. Internationally, the church supports Wes Baker and his work with Peru Mission. In all of these partnerships, the congregation seeks to live out what it calls a public faith: a genuine Christian faith that is not simply a private commitment, but has a public dimension designed to impact the world around for good.
Seasons of the Christian Year
Although Presbyterian and Reformed churches are not known for keeping the church calendar, Redeemer makes limited and appropriate use of the liturgical seasons to commemorate the high points of the gospel along with brothers and sisters in other branches of Christendom. The church calendar functions as a series of signposts through the year that draw attention back to the significant events in the life of Christ. Advent, culminating in Christmas, looks forward to the coming of the Savior. Epiphany marks the appearance of Christ, particularly to the Gentiles. Lent covers the forty days of Jesus's wilderness temptation and culminates in Good Friday. Easter is the great feast of the resurrection. Ascension celebrates Christ's return to the Father, and Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. Following the calendar also helps the church emphasize the Christian nature of holidays that have nearly become wholly secular in wider culture.
Visiting Redeemer
Those planning a visit will find a congregation that has thought carefully about how to welcome newcomers. The community is intergenerational and diverse, and the building is laid out with Sunday school classrooms, nurseries, and worship spaces that make it easy to find a place to belong. The worship bulletin handed out at the door explains every part of the service so that even a first-time visitor can follow along, and the church encourages everyone to participate as much as they are able.
Communion is celebrated at every service and is open to all baptized Christians who trust in Christ for salvation. Visitors who are not yet Christians are welcome to remain seated during communion as a time to reflect on their relationship with God. After the service, members of the pastoral team and other leaders are glad to introduce themselves, answer questions, and help with next steps. There is a printed order of service in every pew, a clear sense of what to expect, and a community ready to walk alongside anyone who wants to know Christ more deeply.