Why We Exist

We have held tightly to this simple mission statement since we began the church in 2003. The mission is not in any way unique from other local churches. It’s just a simple way of reminding ourselves why we exist. All sorts of people stream into a church: prodigals, nominals, the weary, the sick, the suicidal, skeptics, unbelievers, atheists, agnostics, those entangled in sin or even bound by evil spirits. We welcome them all. And whatever state people are in when they come in it is our desire to help them push forward to the full expression of who God created them to be. 

We have a deeply held conviction from God’s Word that God’s desire for each and every person is that they are freed from bondage to sin and come into a close, intimate relationship with the Lord. It’s not God’s will for anyone to be spiritually mediocre. God’s plan is that each of us move to higher ground. God’s passion for every person is nothing less than the fullness of love and joy in him. So, we align with God in his desire for every person to fully know and enjoy him and to bear much fruit. This fullness is what we were all made for! 

The mission of Ren has never changed from the start but has expanded in various ways. In the early days, our narrow mission was to be a church for artists, young adults, and skeptics. We wanted to be a place of belonging for people who didn’t seem to fit in very well at most churches. We wanted to create a space where people could experience a sense of belonging as they figured out their beliefs and behaviors. Our conviction was that coming to a full understanding of who God is and what it means to be a follower of Christ takes time. We were intent on being a community that welcomes people just as they are and gives them lots of space and grace to work out their faith. In other words, we wanted to be a sort of companion to people on their faith journey. 

As the Lord grew the church our mission was expanded in very specific ways. The first expansion was a serious call in 2009 to develop a more vibrant culture of prayer. It’s not that we were a prayerless church before that, but there was a shift in our culture to make the pursuit of God a much greater priority. The Lord called us to devote ourselves first to prayer and, out of the depths of communion with him, the ministry would flow naturally. This shift has given birth to countless initiatives and has enabled us to sustain for decades without burning out.  

The second expansion was a special assignment to relocate the church into one of the most ethnically diverse and poor parts of Providence in an effort to become a house of prayer for all nations. We spent fifteen years serving the homeless, refugees, immigrants, at risk teens, single moms, and all sorts of other beautiful humans. We also partnered with dozens of nonprofits and schools in the south end. 

After the pandemic of 2020 and what seemed like a season of decline and tiredness, the Lord led us outside the rough neighborhood we were in across from the largest homeless shelter in the city into a more remote location in Riverside. It seemed like the Lord was giving us a season of rest after spending ourselves for two full decades in a variety of very difficult locations. Since moving to Riverside the community has grown tighter and we’ve experienced the biggest baby boom we’ve ever seen since the start of the church. We are suddenly surrounded by great numbers of children and the Lord has been calling us to invest deeply in them. 

If there is one thing we’ve felt since the move in January of 2025 it is an emphasis on creating an environment where the younger generation will experience the love of God in a powerful way. We are praying incessantly and believing strongly that God will manifest his glory to the children and that they will become deeply rooted in Christ. Our prayer is not just that they will survive their youth but that they will thrive in their youth and be shot out into the world after high school as burning and shining lights. 

Another significant expansion of our vision has been a greater emphasis on hospitality and being more devoted to relationships within the church. There’s been a shift from being a fellowship of missionaries to being more like a family. 

There have been many other ways that the church has grown since its inception that could be mentioned. There’s been nothing stagnant about it. Ren Church has been fluid and evolving and always blooming in fresh ways. The dream is to become even more fruitful in the years ahead!