Renaissance Church is not affiliated with any particular denomination. Most would define us as a nondenominational church. Our community is made up of people from a variety of church backgrounds including Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Assemblies of God, Vineyard, and many others. We hold firmly to the essentials of the Christian faith that Christians have, generally, agreed about for 2000 years. With secondary matters of doctrine and ethics we practice charity and understanding. 

There are, of course, certain matters that every local church cannot be entirely neutral about. For example, should women teach? What are the qualifications for elders? How do we understand the authority of the Bible? What do we believe about marriage and sexuality? What about infant baptism? Is drinking alcohol permissible by members? Do we believe in tithing? What is required of members? Are the gifts of the Spirit for today? Do church members vote Democrat or Republican? What do we believe about abortion? What about immigration? To name a few! 

We understand these may be valid and important questions you’ll need answers to before stepping into membership or even active participation. There is some variance of opinions amongst the members, but the leadership team (elders + staff) is in general unity on these matters. If any of these questions are important to you in considering Ren Church, a couple of the elders would be happy to have a short meeting with you after a Sunday service. You can arrange that by contacting us here.

No church is greater than its leadership. Leaders set the tone in churches. In almost every church, the congregation mirrors the heart of the leaders. Ren Church is governed by a small circle of elders (fathers) who oversee the church thoughtfully. They meet regularly to pray and discuss all aspects of church life. When church discipline is needed, the elders work together with great grace. All elders, with the exception of the lead pastor, serve three year terms. Elders often return to the role after taking the year off for rest and refreshing. 

While the elders have the most authority in the church for making decisions there is a high value on bringing a wide range of other leaders, both men and women, young and old, to the table to give input. The staff, especially, work together to craft programming and communications and decisions that affect day to day life in the church. We also have a separate circle called the Stewardship Team that reviews and sets salaries and establishes the budget. We almost never vote on anything. When there are differences the leaders tend to talk and pray together until reaching a common ground. When bigger decisions need to be made the entire Core membership is invited to give input.  

Renaissance Church is nondenominational. That means we have our own constitution and by laws and exist as an independent 501c3 nonprofit in Rhode Island. While most accountability structures are within the organization, the lead pastor has established much support and accountability from the outside. The pastor has several older ministry mentors who regularly speak into his life. The pastor also meets 4-6 times a year one on one with a couple local pastors. In addition, the pastor participates in Together Advance the Gospel, a local association of ministers, as well as other collectives of ministry leaders. Many of these things are required for the lead pastor according to the by laws. 

The above approach to governance has served us well through the years. No governance structure is perfect. The one we have chosen has been effective in guarding the essential mission and vision of the church while also preventing the senior pastor from having too much power. The book of Proverbs says that in an abundance of counselors there is safety. There is victory and wisdom in the collective expression of leaders. That’s our approach. While we know the Lord often gives the lead pastor initial vision, the details of how everything works out happens through the input of many. All that to say—we operate as a team.

This is a valid question since we’ve probably all experienced the discomfort of being over or under dressed for an occasion. Our church culture is very casual. In the summer, many people wear shorts. You’ll see t-shirts, dresses, and collared shirts. Occasionally, someone will wear a tie. A few of the guys wear baseball hats. The church is relaxed in the sense that people wear what they are comfortable wearing. Whether very casual or slightly dressy you’ll fit in. And, it’s okay to bring your coffee into the sanctuary. 

Throughout the years of the church since its founding in 2003, Pastor Scott has done the lion’s share of the preaching on Sundays. During the pandemic there was a shift to more of a team teaching approach. Scott still preaches 2-3 times a month on average but shares the responsibility with some of the elders and also our associate minister, Vicky. We also have regular guest missionaries. Together this brings a variety of perspectives that build the church. We take very seriously the preaching of the Word on Sundays. We believe the preaching can regenerate, revive, renew, and revolutionize people’s lives. You can sample past preaching here.  

In this season, we have about a half dozen worship leaders who have a wide range of styles. Each week the worship time is a little different. Most weeks our worship feels simple and stripped down. It’s been described as intimate and authentic. It’s on the quieter side. If you prefer loud drums and blaring guitars and a big full band, that’s not us. At least, not usually. We work hard to take away the gap between the worship band and the congregation. Our aim is to be gently led to worship all together. So, you won’t see expensive lighting or smoke machines or any of that. But our musicians are very talented and strive for excellence. Our aim for the worship time is not to impress but to provide an opportunity for people to engage the Creator together. 

Yes and no. During the singing a good segment of the church sings along. It’s okay, however, to not sing. Some don’t like to sing or just don’t feel like they can honestly sing songs about God yet. Not too many people raise their hands, but some do. So it’s fine to raise your hands or not. You can clap if you want. We, usually, ask people to stand during the singing unless you have limited mobility. That way everyone can see the words that we project onto the screens. Oh yeah, we don’t expect anyone to know the songs by heart. We always project the lyrics onto our two large screens. 

During the preaching the congregation tends to go into quiet, contemplative listening mode. Occasionally, someone will blurt out an audible “amen.” 

During the fellowship time, someone may introduce themselves to you so you may have to participate a little by talking to someone who sits near you, but if this is very uncomfortable for you, you can always use this time to go to the bathrooms located at the back of the building.

On the first Sunday of the month we celebrate communion. You do not need to be a member of the church to participate. We invite all to the table who are placing their trust in the broken body and shed blood of Jesus for salvation. If you aren’t at that place yet, it’s perfectly suitable to stay back in your seat while people go up.

Most weeks the person giving announcements will communicate how to give, but we don’t pass a bucket and don’t pressure anyone to give. 99% of those who give regularly to the church do not give on Sunday morning but give online. 

They are invited to RenKids! You can check your kids in at the RenKids welcome desk. We provide kids programming on Sundays for children through the 5th grade. Age-appropriate lessons and activities help your kids learn about Jesus while also making friends. More info here.

Family Sunday is the 4th week of the month, when kids ages 4+ join us for service. We believe kids are a vital part of the church, and love having kids experience God alongside their parents.

Kids are always welcome to stay with their parents, so don’t worry if your little one is having a hard time and needs to stay with you. We love the sound of kids in our service!

Also, there is a room for nursing moms in the back of the sanctuary, and all our bathrooms are equipped with changing tables.

In the early days of Ren we were a very small church of thirty. For a few years we swelled to about 300 each Sunday. But most of our years our community has been between 100-150 adults. The size seems to be a sweet spot in that there are enough volunteers to fill roles, there’s energy, our financial needs are met, and yet it’s small enough for everyone to know each other. We’ve talked a lot about what we’d do if the church did experience dramatic growth. The consensus seems to be that we’d plant another location so we can keep each community small enough to function as a family. 

Though part of us likes being a bit small, we are also passionate about welcoming new people into our community. We believe that God himself is the one who often sends people our way. So we do our best to receive people with love and grace. 

In every season, our community changes a little because people move away and new people join us. Presently, the largest segment of the church is made up of families with small children, but there are people at all life stages in our mix. People live all over, from Fall River to Coventry to North Smithfield. A good portion of the church live in Providence and, especially, Riverside-Barrington. There is a good measure of ethnic and economic diversity. And people come from a wide variety of church backgrounds. Our diversity is a fulfillment of our dream (and God’s) to become a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56).

The church exists not just for those who are already strong in faith but for anyone who is curious. We exist for those who are having a faith crisis or who are trying to return to their childhood faith. We exist for those who are rethinking (deconstructing) what they believe. We exist for those who are struggling with various sins. 

The church has been likened to a hospital. At a hospital, sick people are welcome, right? At a church, the spiritually sick, lost, and undeveloped are welcome! A common motto of many churches is this: Come as you are. If you aren’t a Christian yet, it’s totally okay. We believe that it takes time to process the teachings of Jesus. We give people lots of space to work out their beliefs. We believe that churches should be safe spaces for people to work through their doubts and work out their beliefs. So there’s no need to pretend to be a Christian if you aren’t a Christian. You are welcomed to come as you are.