Reunion Church gathers in the heart of downtown Dallas, where its Sunday congregation meets at The SILO Dallas on Manufacturing Street in the industrial-chic Design District. The non-denominational church is known for the refrain A Church. A Cross. A World. and for the mission it names Disciples Making Disciples: people are welcomed to hear about Jesus, form intentional relationships, grow as followers, and help others do the same. Reunion has called Dallas home since 1997, carrying that mission into the city and around the world through worship, discipleship, small groups, and partnerships that address homelessness, food insecurity, refugee needs, and the lives of inner-city youth.
From an Uptown Office to The SILO
Reunion Church began on October 5, 1997, when Pastor Richard Ellis and a group of 15 believers devoted to the Lord met in a small office in Uptown Dallas. Their shared mission was to reach all of Dallas with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the beginning, the church sought to embrace the city's multicultural and multi-ethnic diversity. Its aim was to make a place where anyone could come to hear about Jesus, plant roots in his truth, and learn to live a life that brings glory to God.
As Reunion's family grew, its Sunday worship moved from that office to an elementary school and then to a high school auditorium. In September 2001, the congregation moved into the Dallas Convention Center Theater, also known as the Black Academy of Arts and Letters. Its present Sunday home is The SILO Dallas on Manufacturing Street. These successive settings connect the church's beginnings in an Uptown office with its place today in the downtown Design District.
Reunion describes the continuing purpose of that story in personal terms. It wants people to establish a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and grow as true followers, or disciples. Those people, in turn, are expected to introduce another person to Jesus and help that person grow to maturity in faith. Discipleship is thus not simply the next stage after joining a church; it is the means by which Reunion expects faith to spread.
The Cross at the Center of Reunion's Story
Reunion's core beliefs begin with the triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three yet somehow one. God created everything. The account of Adam and Eve describes their perfect relationship with God and each other, the Devil's temptation, their choice to sin, and the resulting death as physical and spiritual separation from God. Against that brokenness, Reunion teaches that God had a plan from the beginning.
The plan centers on Jesus Christ, both God and man. Reunion believes Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and shed his blood to provide forgiveness for sin, and was buried and raised from the dead on the third day. The church presents eternal and abundant life with God as a gift. To accept it, a person is to talk to God, admit being a sinner and unable to save oneself, believe and trust that Jesus alone paid for sin, and receive his total payment and forgiveness.
Those who receive mercy and grace become part of God's family, the church, and the Holy Spirit lives in them. Reunion's response is to go public and be baptized, then yield control of life to the Lord Jesus Christ until he returns. The Holy Spirit helps the person grow through Bible study, prayer, worship, loving and serving God and others, and participation in the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice.
The goal is to learn to follow Christ so that others can be led to him and taught to follow as well. Reunion places that goal within the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20: followers of Jesus are to make disciples, and baptized followers are sent to teach what Jesus commanded. The Bible is affirmed as absolute truth and the Word of God. Reunion says the result is a whole life that brings glory to God.
Sunday at 10:10 in the Design District
Sunday worship begins at 10:10 a.m. at The SILO Dallas, 1340 Manufacturing St., Dallas, Texas 75207. The congregation describes this as the heart of downtown Dallas in the industrial-chic Design District. Reunion signs show Sunday drivers where to park. The gathering can also be followed online: the livestream begins at 10:50 a.m. Central Time through the church's Facebook and YouTube channels.
Sermon messages are available in Reunion's sermon collection under the theme Engaging the Word of God. The church office is at 1350 Manufacturing St., #104, Dallas, Texas 75207, with weekday hours from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. General contact is 214.954.0000 or reunion@reunionchurch.org.
Mentors Equipping Mentors
Reunion defines discipleship as a process by which a believer interacts with other believers and grows in relationship with God while fulfilling the call of Jesus's Great Commission. Although almost every ministry includes a discipleship element, the church has developed a specific initiative to produce disciples who can equip other disciples to reproduce themselves.
In this initiative, a mentor takes on one or two individuals and meets with them weekly. Reunion uses Dr. John Tolson's book, The Four Priorities, which addresses almost every area of life and encourages participants to recognize and fulfill their purposes as followers of Jesus Christ in every season and circumstance. The weekly relationship is intended to move beyond personal growth toward reproduction, so that those who are mentored can eventually train others.
The same idea shapes Reunion's language of connection. The church describes itself as the body of Christ and a family, saying, We don't go to church, we are the church. People are encouraged to connect both with Christ and with the church family. Connection is not limited to attending one weekly gathering; it also includes training classes, Radius groups, men's and women's ministries, and other opportunities to participate in worship, be equipped by God's word, and encourage one another.
Radius Groups and the Church Family
Radius is Reunion's small-group expression of community. Its purpose is to help members experience church as a community, and the groups provide updated information for people selecting a location. Named Radius group locations include Richardson, Old Lake Highlands, Sunnyvale, Royse City, Grapevine, Arlington, and Downtown Dallas.
Reunion's understanding of membership is relational rather than based on a formal roster alone. Members of the body of Christ flock together to encourage one another through fellowship, to be equipped by the word of God, and to worship him together. People who attend weekly gatherings and are plugged in are considered members. Those who cannot attend every week can remain connected through basics training classes, Radius groups, men's and women's ministries, and other ministries.
Volunteering offers another way into the church's life. Reunion's opportunities include Churchwide, Children, Leading Ladies, Women, Men, Missions, Discipleship, Worship, Youth, Young Adults, Marriage, and Small Groups. People can express interest in one or several ministries and indicate whether they want to participate or volunteer.
Servant Leadership for Worship and Formation
Richard Ellis is Reunion's pastor and elder. He launched the church in 1997. Before planting Reunion, he served three years as Minister to Single Adults at First Baptist Church of Dallas. He also spent ten years as the featured speaker for Lunch Talk, a weekly business luncheon at First Baptist. Ellis has been heard on radio and through richardellistalks.com. He earned a BA in Oral Communications from Baylor University in 1982 and an MDIV from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1985, with some master's work at Dallas Theological Seminary. After seminary, he spent ten years in business. Ellis is a sixth-generation pastor. He lived in England as a child while his father studied at Oxford University, and his family later moved to Brazil, where his parents served as missionaries.
Patrick Thomas is associate pastor and elder, serving in music, worship, and marriage ministries. He has been with Reunion since September 2001 and has more than 30 years of involvement in church music as a musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He began public preaching in December 1997. While earning a BBA in accounting and finance from Houston Baptist University in 1994, he served as a national leader in the National Baptist Student Union; he later spent three years in accounting while serving churches as a musician and band director. Thomas moved to Dallas to attend Dallas Theological Seminary, where he served as chapel musician, choir director, Black Student Fellowship president, and director of men's housing. He earned a Master of Theology in Pastoral Ministries and Bible Exposition in 2004 and returned to the seminary in 2015 as director of chapel music and worship. At Reunion, he has led small groups, discipleship ministry, and men's ministry, and mentored people now serving in churches and ministries.
The leadership team also includes elders Joseph Riegel, Gregg Sayler, and Dustin Burson, plus Tonya Aragon, who leads children's ministry. Reunion presents its leaders as men and women called to serve the church through servant leadership, with the elders tasked with shepherding God's people.
Serving Homeless Neighbors, Refugees, Students, and Inner-City Youth
Reunion's missions team says it shares Christ's love through action in Dallas and around the world. Locally, it supports homeless people, refugees, and at-risk youth, providing tangible help and spiritual encouragement. Its local partners meet physical needs while sharing the hope found in Jesus, and each carries a distinct part of that work.
- International Students helps international students by delivering food and furniture and providing transportation services.
- Bring the Light Ministries is a movement of hope and transformation that addresses poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity.
- Our Calling helps unsheltered homeless neighbors walk with Jesus and leave the streets. Each day, its workers ask whether people will trust the Lord and whether they can help them off the streets. The ministry also operates as a hub for specialized services, including medical and mental health.
- Mercy Street cultivates mutually transforming relationships with inner-city youth through Christian mentorship.
- Love Is Ministries focuses on making disciples through relationships, meeting physical needs, and helping people integrate into American society.
Missionaries in Kenya, India, Poland, and Hungary
Internationally, Reunion stands with missionaries in several countries, providing resources and support as they spread the gospel. The church's international commitments include Kenya, India, Poland, Hungary, Liberia, and other mission fields.
Richard and Muthoni Munala partner with local church leaders and volunteers to establish ministries that enrich families with biblical principles for marriage and parenting. They conduct marriage enrichment seminars and conferences designed to strengthen families for the sake of the gospel, and they serve Kenyans. Sunil and Anu Masih work with oral communities, people who prefer to learn through oral rather than literary methods, using biblical stories, songs, and dramas. In India, hundreds of language groups still need to hear God's story. Kokeh and Nancy Kotee train and develop pastors. Through their SEEDFARMS initiative, indigenous leaders and pastors learn to raise crops and animals so they can sustain their families.
Elliott and Gabi Phillips serve in Poland, described as one of the least-reached countries on the least-reached continent in Europe. Elliott serves as a spiritual formation director, equipping worship leaders and musicians with Bible training, ministry training, spiritual disciplines, and small discipleship groups.
Three mission families concentrate on Hungary. Roland and Kriszta Osvath built an internet ministry that thousands of Hungarians visit each month; hundreds have professed new faith in Christ, and many ask for discipleship. Lilla Pecsenka evangelizes on college campuses, disciples students interested in knowing Christ, trains interns and staff members, and leads Bible studies for campus groups. Gabor and Petra Tonk help students find Christ and grow in faith so they can reach others with the gospel. They also mobilize and encourage believers to participate in the Great Commission by going, giving, and praying.
Reunion's named international efforts also include Equip Family Ministry in Kenya, associated with equipping church leaders through marriage and enrichment seminars, and Lead Liberia, which provides ministry and life-skills training and resources to church leaders in Liberia. Across these assignments, the recurring pattern is formation: leaders are trained, families are strengthened, students are discipled, and churches are equipped to carry out the work themselves.
Giving That Supports the Mission
Reunion accepts checks, most check cards, and credit cards, and it offers giving through an online PayPal payment. The church asks people not to create debt in order to give, and it issues donation statements annually. A check should be payable to Reunion Church, with the type of donation written in the memo area. Donors who want to support missions may designate Missions in the giving notes.
A portion of all donations supports missionary efforts both locally and abroad. Checks can be mailed to Reunion Church, P.O. Box 560002, Dallas, TX 75356. The church also lists ways to support International Students, Bring the Light Ministries, Our Calling, Mercy Street, and Love Is.
Reunion's story now stretches from an Uptown office to Sunday worship at The SILO and into Radius groups and volunteer ministries in the locations named by the church. Its work reaches people who are homeless, refugees, international students, inner-city youth, and families and leaders in Kenya, India, Poland, Hungary, Liberia, and other places where missionaries serve. At the center remains the Great Commission. Reunion was founded to make disciples who reproduce themselves, and its worship, relationships, formation, service, and giving are organized around that purpose. That is Reunion Church in Dallas: a church, a cross, and a world, joined by the promise of disciples making disciples.