Vision 2040

Before Christ Redeemer Church began in the Fall of 2000, Pastor Don Willeman wrote a vision statement to describe what he and the leaders hoped the church would look like in ten years. They dubbed this statement “Vision 2010”.  In the Summer of 2010, the leaders worked together to revise and update this vision for the growing church, which became “Vision 2020”. By the blessing of God’s grace over the past twenty years, much of this vision has become reality. (You can find  Vision 2020 here.)  In the early 2020’s, once again, the leadership worked with input from ministry leaders to articulate “Vision 2040”. A “vision” is something only God can accomplish, and so, we pray that God will similarly continue to bless.

The year is 2040. Christ Redeemer Church (CRC) has now been in existence for 40 years and is continuing to grow as the reach of Christ’s Kingdom extends. CRC is a gospel-driven, community-engaged, and outreach-oriented church family in the heart of the Upper Valley. We are a diverse and vibrant congregation, with average weekly attendance over 400, official church membership at 200, and 300 involved in regular service to the church. Over twenty Community Groups (the church’s small group network) are presently meeting, providing pastoral care for the congregation and outreach to the community. We focus on the core ministries of worship, small group fellowship, and prayer, while also fostering several complementary ministries to support spiritual growth and outreach to various aspects of our community. CRC has a special focus on and connection to the anchor institutions of our community, Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

We not only care for our own, but we also strive to be a church for other churches. CRC’s location, size, and health allow it to be a hub for planting, revitalizing, and resourcing congregations throughout the broader region and beyond. Our internship and residency programs train and send ministers of the gospel, while also supporting the ministry at CRC.

CRC exists to foster a movement of Christ’s Kingdom through the proclamation and practice of the gospel that serves and transforms the people and communities of the Upper Valley, and beyond. We do this in two separate but overlapping spheres of ministry: HOME & HUB.

Most basically, CRC is a church HOME, a congregation living out the mission to proclaim and practice the gospel in the heart of the Upper Valley.  We welcome all to the essential activities of worship, prayer, fellowship, and outreach. These core activities comprise the main structure of our HOME, while our complementary ministries, such as youth, college, men’s and women’s ministry, etc., help us reach and encourage specific demographics and connect them to this main structure.

CRC is also a HUB for the broader impact of the gospel. We believe the Bible teaches that healthy churches are not insular but move outward. Thus, CRC seeks to be a HUB to plant and nurture other churches, as well as develop and send ministers into the world. We do this through our training programs and our church planting, revitalizing, and resourcing efforts. Our strong connection with Dartmouth and its students is critical to this work, as it provides a steady supply of new potential leaders.

The graphic below shows how the various elements of our ministry fit together and support one another.

• Our mission and core values are foundational to everything we do. 
• Likewise, our leadership and facilities support all aspects of our ministry.
• The priority of our work is to support our HOME church, but the fruit of this flows outward for the benefit of others through our HUB ministries.
• Likewise, our HUB ministries strengthen and energize the HOME ministries. It does so as our members are trained and developed through serving other churches, while those in our intern and residency program help support and catalyze ministries in Hanover.
• The connection between HOME & HUB is a win-win!

Our worship is marked by the diversity of God’s people and the dynamic of God’s presence. Each week the church anxiously anticipates this time of fellowship and worship, knowing that it is a foretaste and participation in our ultimate fellowship and worship in heaven (Revelation 7:9-12). God is praised through a joyous blend of doctrinally-solid, traditional and contemporary music, congregational sharing and prayer, the proclamation of the gospel, and our gathering around the Lord’s Table.

Since small group interaction is such a vital part of our body life, virtually everyone in the church is involved in one of over twenty Community Groups. These small groups meet regularly, providing a more intimate atmosphere of mutual encouragement, care, and accountability. They meet in varied locations throughout the Upper Valley and reflect the diversity of the communities, in which they live out the gospel.

Since each group is led by a trained leader, they also provide a tangible network to care for God’s people. Likewise, much of our hands-on leadership training is accomplished through these groups. Moreover, these small groups have become one of the chief means of outreach to our friends and neighbors. Participants are encouraged to work together to serve the practical and spiritual needs of their neighbors. Likewise, the care for one another modeled in these groups has attracted the interest of many, and the atmosphere in the groups, though rich for nourishing the spiritual needs of believers, is also a safe and welcoming place for those just investigating the faith.

CRC is a church that not only believes in the power of prayer, but also lives it. This has not come easily but has required patient and persistent nurturing and sacrificial modeling by the church leaders.

For years CRC has been hosting regular times of fasting and prayer. This has now expanded to an Upper Valley-wide movement, with other churches and ministries participating or running parallel events. Moreover, CRC has hosted several “prayer summits” that have resulted in increased prayer throughout the Upper Valley. There are now numerous “pockets of prayer” meeting regularly in workplaces, schools, residence halls, neighborhoods, etc.—all praying for the advance of the kingdom of God in their respective spheres and seeing solid evidence of the fruit of their labors.

The women’s ministry at CRC exists to foster a gospel-centered community in which women are introduced to the truths of the gospel through Scripture and fellowship, equipped to behold God in His Word and prayer, transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom 12:2), and empowered to live for the glory of Jesus in their everyday lives. To this end, CRC hosts weekly discussion groups, periodic outreach and social events—all of which aim to draw women more deeply into the core ministries of the church. Because of the outreach orientation of these events and the warm atmosphere fostered by our gospel-focus, we have many individuals and families coming into the church through our women’s ministry. In addition, it is a helpful and effective vehicle for training women in the faith. Many of the leaders in our women’s ministry have received one-on-one mentoring and hands-on leadership training. Moreover, the women who have been impacted by CRC are known for their leadership, confidence, humility, contentment, and strength of character.

The men’s ministry at CRC exists to foster a gospel-centered community among men that more deeply connects them to the core ministry of the church, as well as reaches those outside the church. Our men’s ministry has regular outreach-oriented events that are geared toward believers bringing their non-believing friends. As a result, some of the men presently in leadership have become followers of Christ through these events. In addition, men regularly meet together one-on-one and in small groups at their homes and workplaces for encouragement, learning and accountability—all with a vision for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Moreover, we host regular men’s retreats and seminars, as well as an annual men’s conference with over a hundred in attendance. Men who have been significantly influenced by CRC are deeply committed to the church, and are marked by solid, gentle, humble, and servant-hearted leadership in their homes, communities, and workplaces.

The young adult ministry exists to reach and connect this demographic into the life of the church. Because of CRC’s diverse and welcoming atmosphere, a sizeable and growing number of young adults are feeling a sense of belonging and integration. In addition to participation in the core aspects of our congregational life (weekly worship, community groups, etc.), our young adults have initiated outreach to their nonbelieving peers and use the young adult activities to welcome “outsiders” into the life of the church. Through relationships and events, they gather for the purpose of seeing the gospel spread and kingdom-centered disciples multiplied among this growing segment of the Upper Valley.

CRC is a welcoming place for families and has a reputation of promoting solid community and ministry-minded marriages and families. Those homes that have been significantly influenced by CRC are marked by solid, gentle, servant-hearted leadership. In addition, they are marked by a simple lifestyle, where caring for and relating to people is more important than caring for things. Our homes are known for their hospitality, welcoming and caring for people from all demographics.

Likewise, parents are skillful at ministering the gospel to their children by their example, as well as regular times of family Bible teaching. CRC is committed to training parents to shepherd their children in a gospel-oriented manner. Over the years we have had several conferences and seminars on marriage, parenting, and family life that have contributed to the congregation’s development in these areas. This has helped to promote a mentoring culture, in which older parents coach younger parents through the challenges of child rearing.

Our children’s programs are welcoming, safe, and distinctively gospel-centered. The Sunday School classes, children’s church, youth group and outreach programs are not merely concerned with producing “good kids” but rather spiritually-alive kids—kids that passionately love Jesus. Our youth are known throughout the Upper Valley for their commitment to Christ and serving their community.

Likewise, our Middle School and High School Ministries are some of the most vibrant and substantive in New England. We are serious about reaching non-Christian youth and training young believers in the faith. We host youth retreats and conferences that draw middle school and high school students from inside and outside the church. The purpose of these events is to help young people experience and develop a gospel-oriented worldview and lifestyle, while at the same time exposing the deficiencies of rival perspectives.

Christ Redeemer Church plays a vital role in Christian ministry at Dartmouth College by nurturing an environment where students, faculty, and campus ministry staff become grounded in the richness of classical Christianity under the care of a local church. This has led to over two thousand Dartmouth-connected people being impacted by the gospel and then “sent” to every corner of the world.

Moreover, CRC has developed a unique partnership with campus ministry staff, so that CRC has the benefit of campus ministers committed to the local church and campus ministers have the benefit of local accountability and support. It has worked so well that other churches and campus ministers are seeking to implement similar partnerships.

Our philosophy of involvement on the campus is one of participation and transformation from the inside out. We believe the gospel informs, enlivens, and redeems every area of study. Therefore, we respect the accomplishments and unique role of academia, while at the same time not flinching at allowing the gospel to be an offense to human intellectual pride (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). We seek to make a positive contribution to the intellectual community by challenging the basic assumptions of human autonomy and relativism, while at the same time showing how the Christian worldview renews all fields of human knowledge. This then opens the door for us to positively proclaim the person and work of Christ as the solution to humanity’s alienation and guilt. With excellence of scholarship, integrity of life, and genuineness of heart, we seek to present the gospel as the truth, and ourselves as servants of our unbelieving neighbors (2 Corinthians 4:5-6).

We use four primary platforms to do this. The first is a network of faculty and staff that encourage one another in Christian faithfulness. The second is helping to sponsor periodic conferences that bring the sharpest gospel-minded thinkers to campus to contribute to the dialogue, challenge assumptions, and call to faith in Christ. Third, we seek to minister to the students by supporting the existing Christian ministries and welcoming students into the life of the church. Fourth, CRC has helped to initiate a Christian study institute at Dartmouth, which maintains a close relationship with CRC, and which has overlap and synergy with our CRC training programs (see HUB ministries below). Not surprising, many of our interns and residents are former Dartmouth students. Over the past 40 years through the ministry of CRC, hundreds upon hundreds of students and faculty have been deeply impacted by the gospel and sent all around the world.

Knowing the strategic global influence of DHMC, CRC has been intentional to foster a movement of the gospel amongst its many employees. We do this by valuing and supporting the people and work of this institution, and by regularly holding events, both on and off-site. Likewise, we help support a fellowship of Christian medical professionals who have a vision for saturating DHMC with the gospel and sponsoring missional opportunities for its employees to use their gifts in needy places, both locally and globally. These strategic initiatives are wholistic, involving church development, community development, and medical care.

Through CRC’s gospel-vision, our people who work in the medical field are making their own contribution to renewing and transforming medicine. Since the gospel provides a solid philosophical framework for caring for the body, as well as the soul, the people of CRC have earned a reputation of excellence not only in their care of patients, but also in their medical research and development of the institution.

We provide regular teaching on the wholistic nature of the gospel and how that gives new vision for our vocations and engagement with the arts. This has transformed and enlivened our people’s motivation for their jobs, saturating the congregation with a whole new perspective on work. CRCers are known throughout our community for their outstanding work ethic, positive attitude, and doing their work wholeheartedly (Colossians 3:22-24).

One example of CRC’s contribution is seen in the revival of a gospel-oriented view of the musical and visual arts. Some time ago, Christians within the church recovered a vision for how the Christian gospel is the only solid explanation for human creativity and sense of beauty. Thus, having gained a vision for the gospel’s aesthetic nature, they began to share this insight with their fellow musicians and artists. As a result, there are numerous Christ-entranced musicians and artists actively contributing to the promotion of the arts and music in the Upper Valley.

The church has well-developed mercy ministries to meet the material, social, and psychological needs of those within the church and outside of it. CRC now has trained teams addressing these needs in a compassionate, gospel-driven manner. These teams regularly coordinate with other churches, charitable organizations, and government agencies, to provide the most effective assistance possible. Many have been helped and had their lives turned around by the gospel through the caring hands of folks from CRC. The Upper Valley community knows that if there is a need, the people of CRC are ready, willing, and able to help.

Since the beginning, CRC has had a strong heart for spreading the gospel all around the world. We began by committing 10% of our operating budget to missional giving and have now worked our way up to over 20%! Through this and our local benevolence fund, CRC has now given over six million dollars in its relatively short 40-year history.

Since CRC believes the joy of Jesus is for all people everywhere, CRC contributes to missional works all over the globe and has developed strategic missional partnerships with many of them. These partnerships not only assist the gospel in other places, but also provide ways to connect our people to cross-cultural service and training opportunities. Through these, we regularly sponsor regional and international trips—coordinating with various ministries within CRC (youth, medical, men’s/women’s ministry, etc.), as well as groups outside CRC (other churches, Dartmouth College, DHMC, etc.). Likewise, by welcoming our nonbelieving Upper Valley community into these connections, we showcase the beauty of the gospel to our friends and neighbors (Matthew 5:16), while allowing our own people to be trained in gospel mission.

These missional efforts and partnerships are regularly celebrated in our worship gatherings, through visiting speakers, announcements, prayers, and personal testimonies. As a result, several of our own have been motivated to go and help longer term with one of our missional partnerships.

CRC has set the pace in New England for re-establishing the primacy of an apprenticeship period in training ministers of the gospel. Developing leaders is central to our vision of being a multiplying church. Like a medical residency, our ministry residency and internship programs immerse aspiring ministers and leaders in on-the-job training in one of our missional church contexts. Under the leadership of experienced mentors, they are trained and developed, and then sent to our various resourcing, church planting and revitalizing opportunities. In addition, through our International Fellows Program, we welcome leaders from overseas into a similar full immersion training experience, so they can learn and take it back to their home context. We are presently working with four interns/residents and have already seen two dozen others come and go.

A part of this training overlaps with our lay training and Dartmouth study center initiatives. CRC routinely runs classes, seminars, and training initiatives to disciple people in the basic tenets and practices of classical Christianity, and to develop new lay leaders. Because of this, CRC never lacks new leaders in “the pipeline.”

The church has assisted in the start or revitalization of eight churches—all being led by former CRC interns or residents—and is beginning to work on the next. All these churches are marked by their gospel-drivenness as well as people-oriented approach to ministry. These churches have become a network of support to one another. In addition, CRC now employs a Church Planting/Revitalizing/Residency Mentor to support the leadership of these congregations, as well as expand the network through the nurture of more churches.

Although we highly value working in college towns, our hope is to help saturate all viable communities in northern New England with gospel-driven churches. A key method for doing this is resourcing, replanting, and revitalizing historic churches that are struggling or dead. Our commitment to this work has led to CRC being known as a “go-to-place” for struggling churches. Moreover, because of the success and insight CRC has gained from doing ministry in college-towns, it has been able to coach and encourage numerous other churches in similar settings. This has been helpful, not only for other churches, but also for the deeper partnerships and insights that CRC has gained.

In this work, we have actively sought the support of outside individuals and foundations that wish to contribute to the advancement of gospel-centered church planting and revitalization. 

The full-time ministry staff, as well as administrative and support team, continues to grow and develop to meet the evolving needs of the home congregation and hub ministries. Leading the staff team, we have a senior pastor and two assistant pastors, all of whom are members of the elder board. In addition to ample administrative and support staff, we have four ministry interns/residents, not only assisting the work of the gospel, but also learning as they do so. There is good connection, communication, and camaraderie between the congregation, lay leadership, and staff—all of which is fostered by regular congregational and leaders’ meetings, as well as routine opportunities for refreshment and sabbatical rest for lay leaders and staff.

Among the 16-member elder board there is a remarkable unity, which can be attributed to the Holy Spirit preserving each member in whole-hearted commitment to the centrality of Christ and His gospel. These elders play a vital role in the pastoral care of Christ’s people, which is primarily accomplished through our network of community groups. Twenty deacons and a variety of other ministry leaders care for the more practical and organizational needs of the church body. All leaders feel cared for and empowered to care for others, functioning in a system that facilitates mentoring, training, and mutual support. The key quality prized in the selection of all leaders and staff is Christlike humility and servant-heartedness.

After years of searching and working with the town, the Lord has blessed us with a beautiful and functional facility that is effectively providing a home for the gospel in heart of the Upper Valley, as well as a hub for the advance of the gospel throughout New England and beyond.  Our building provides a welcoming space for us to worship and gather; it has powerfully increased both our opportunities and our ability to demonstrate what it means to be a good neighbor through hospitality and community outreach. This facility houses our study and training ministries, and so is used to develop CRC leaders, interns, and residents.  Strategically positioned in proximity to Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the location has enhanced our connection and outreach to these world class institutions. In addition, the church owns six housing units that are used for staff, interns, residents, and their families.

Although there may be some who misunderstand or even oppose us, most in the community are thankful for our presence. We have gained a reputation for being serious about the Bible, serious about the mind, committed to caring for one another, serving the community, and adamant about the gospel. Religious folk who are not serious about Christ and His church tend to avoid us. Non-believers who are asking genuine questions tend to be attracted to us precisely because we are genuine—down-to-earth and serious-minded—while at the same time avoiding the snare of petty issues.

Our general posture toward the culture is one of thoughtful engagement and participation, as opposed to isolation and defensiveness. As individual members of CRC, we seek to be servants to our neighbors by speaking the gospel and contributing to the common good of the community. Our people are known for the way they serve their friends, coworkers, neighborhoods, schools, and the needy of the Upper Valley. Likewise, CRCers are strongly encouraged to develop a gospel-vision for their work, with each seeing their respective vocations as a calling from God. Therefore, our men and women are marked by their diligence, integrity, and excellence in the marketplace. This provides many opportunities for us to give “a reason for the hope that is in us” (1 Peter 3:15).

Likewise, the testimony of our love for one another has won more than one convert. Anyone who has come close enough cannot help but say, “My, how they love one another!”