SUNDAYS
Of all the happenings in the life of the church the most popular and important is Sunday. Between 200-300 gather each week with about 50-70 kids involved in our kids program. The length of service is usually 90 minutes (10:30-noon) and consists of worship, prayers, a message and a time of communion. Dress is casual. Our community is very diverse, not just ethnically but also spiritually with varying levels of faith experience. We work hard to make everyone comfortable. The services have been described as vibrant, passionate and real. All are welcome. Go to our Sundays page for an in depth glimpse of what to expect.

HOUSE OF PRAYER
Besides the main Sunday worship gathering the next most important gatherings throughout the week are the prayer meetings. We consider these the spiritual fuel of the church. The Tuesday prayer meeting includes a 30 minute teaching on prayer. The prayer gatherings include very experienced prayer folks and those who are just starting out. If you are new there’s no pressure to pray out loud. Here is the schedule:

Tuesday 6:30-8 pm
Sunday 9:30-10:30 am

In addition to these prayer gatherings we have a Saturday prayer initiative to pray for our Sunday service. The idea here is that you commit to do some serious prayer each Saturday, whether 10 minutes or 2 hours. The beautiful thing about the prayer band is that you can do it from home or wherever you are. Sign up for the prayer initiative on the prayer initiative white board in the sanctuary or sign up online.

SMALL GROUPS 
Our small groups are a great way to grow in faith and community. These are groups of around 12 people who meet weekly or bi-weekly at various times and locations. During small group, you can expect to get to know others, study and discuss the Bible, pray together, and engage in service projects as a group. Small groups run on 3 month cycles throughout the year, and you can join a group at the start of a new cycle. More information here.

WOMEN 
The women gather in the sanctuary regularly for what we call Women’s Refresh. This is a special gathering just for women to get to know one another. It’s a time of hearing stories of what God is doing and a time of sharing and prayer. All women are welcome and encouraged to come. Keep an eye on the calendar for upcoming dates.

MEN 
We have occasional men’s gatherings for breakfast in the cafe at the church. The first part of the gathering a meal is shared, and then, afterward, one of the leaders shares an encouraging message relevant to men. Keep an eye on the calendar for upcoming dates.

YOUTH
At Renaissance, we call our youth ministry “Spark.” Our middle school and high school students meet on Wednesdays at 6:30pm in the lower level Valley space. Chris Waugh is our youth minister. He and his wife Nicole organize not just weekly discipleship but a whole variety of regular opportunities like sports events, retreats and special outreaches.

COLLEGE
From its early years Ren Church has been a hub for local college students from Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson and Wales and other schools. Presently, college students make up about 20% of the congregation. Students seem to like Ren Church partly because, well, other students attend. We also serve really good coffee on Sundays. The deeper reason that students attend Ren is because of its location which brings in a beautiful mosaic of all kinds of people.

The students who attend the church participate in a variety of student groups including The Branch, Cru, Inter Varsity, RUF and Christian Union. In fact, several of the campus missionaries attend the church. From time to time all the students gather together on Sundays for a meal to get to know one another. This is coordinated by Chris Waugh, our minister of youth and college students.

ANCHORED
We call our young adult group Anchored. It is a group of young adults under 40 doing life together. They meet together each Friday at 7:30pm and each week is a different theme (social event, discipleship, Bible study, prayer + worship, and "The Lights"). Click here for more info on the Anchored schedule.

Contact anchoredyoungadults@gmail.com for more details and click here to sign up for their weekly newsletter.

CITYLOVE
In 2018 an initiative was started to impact the city in greater ways. We commissioned eight full-time urban missionaries into the city to serve and to communicate the message of Jesus in creative ways. Most of the missionaries serving are recent college grads from local universities. CityLove has partnered with or volunteered at local organizations including Providence Rescue Mission, Southside Community Land Trust, Southside Cultural Center, Refugee Dream Center, Young Voices, Open Doors, Downcity Design, CityArts, Trinity Square Together and PVD Fest. Besides partnership work the team designs and builds things that display the love of Christ to the city. Presently, the CityLove missionaries are taking the lead on our massive art installation called Festival of Light.

For a full description of the CityLove initiative go to our website CityLovePVD.org.

TOGETHER
One of the most beautiful things about serving as a pastor in greater Rhode Island is the fellowship of pastors across denominations. This network of pastors is glued together by an initiative aptly named Together. The pastors and leaders get together several times a year for prayer gatherings, retreats, worship nights and small groups. One of the great highlights in recent years was a gathering at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium with Luis Palau that brought over 100 churches together! The pastors of Ren are actively involved in this important movement to fuse together the Church for the advance of the Gospel.