Redemption Bible Church | Palatine, IL

• Ryan Huguley
• Aug 20, 2009
• Series: Church Profiles

Redemption Bible Church
Location: Palatine, Illinois
Launch Date: September 13, 2009

Mission, Vision, Values of Redemption Bible Church

Our mission at Redemption is to see rebels redeemed for the glory of God and the good of our city.

Our vision is to be a gospel-saturated church.  This means:

1.  We want to see lives transformed by the gospel

2.  We want to see the gospel lived out in community

3.  As a community we want to take the gospel to our city

Our values are:

Truth – founded on and informed by the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16; 1 Tim 4:6; 2 Tim 4:2; Titus 2:1)
Mission – motivated by reaching the lost and raising up maturing missionaries (Matt 28:18-21)
Leadership – equipping called and qualified men and women to lead the mission (Eph 4:11-12; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9)
Movement – working out what God has already worked in (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Thess 4:1-7; 2 Cor 3:18)
Community – living the ups and downs of life together (Acts 2:42-47; Phil 1:3-5; Pr 27:17)
Beauty – pursuing excellence in all we do

How Did You Build Your Core?

Networking, Acts 29 site, frequenting coffee houses and building relationships, lots of one on one casting vision for whoever would listen

What Have Been (Or Are) The Biggest Challenges?

1.  Trusting Jesus to build His church

It is overwhelming to try and plan going from nothing to something in church planting.  At times it is very easy for me to slip into feeling like it is my job to generate commitment and change in people's lives.

2.  Financial Stress

No one gets into this gig to get rich and the financial stress can be hard on us and the church.  All of our support has been from our core team and by God's grace and their generosity we are doing well.  We are full time and covering operating costs, but there have been times where it was tight. 

3.  Ministry Idolatry

It does not take long to become completely absorbed in your plant.  I thought personal devotions and prayer would be cake in this early phase, but it has been a challenge.  There are lots of details to cover and if I'm not careful, my personal time with Jesus can get lost.  I have also found that though I'm home a lot due to not having an office, I have to be careful to "be home".  I have to make a concious effort to unplug from church planting and plug into my time with my family.

What Was Your Introduction to Acts 29?

My intro to Acts 29 was listening to Driscoll and Chandler.  The biggest draw for me was the emphasis on priority within the network.  We are Christians, husbands, fathers, and church-planters (in that order).  I had been in ministries where there was pressure to "let God take care of my business while I took care of His".  I heard something totally different from A29.  It has been a major healing experience for my wife and she has been incredibly blessed by the process.

The major benefits have been:

1.  Assessment and Clarification of Calling
2.  Ongoing coaching
3.  Networking and Relationships
4.  Access to other A29 guys via The City
5.  Accountabilty and Encouragment
6.  Confirmation of your call through professional assessment

How Do You Do Community?

We talk about how community is living the ups and downs of life together.  It's more than seeing your "church friends" on Sunday and giving them the bullet points of your week.  It is knowing people and being known.  The good, the bad, the dark, the embarassing...

Practically:

1.  We are small enough right now that most of us have lunch after our worship gatherings together.

2.  We have community groups starting up that consist of a meal, sermon discussion, prayer and hanging out.

3.  We are starting Fight Clubs which are groups of 2-3 (men meeting with men and women meeting with women) to talk about the Scriptures, pray together, confess sin and discuss the ups and downs of life.

How Do You Do Evangelism?

We believe that every follower of Christ has been called to mission.  We talk about personal and corporate mission.  Personally we believe that each of us has been providentially placed in a specific place with a unique sphere of influence.  This means we are prayerfully looking for opportunities to share the gospel with family, friends, co-workers, classmates, neighbors, barristas, servers, and strangers.  People are encouraged to intentionally develop relationships with people who do not know Jesus.  During our worship services we also keep in mind that we have lost people in our midst.  This does not mean that we avoid or water down any part of the gospel, but we do our best to communicate in a way that everyone can track with us.

Corporately we are now exploring various options for missional living.  We will be supporting other A29 churches, seeking to plant more churches out of Redemption, and multiply Redemption if possible.  We are also looking different areas of Palatine where God has identified need that we could take on and serve. 

Church Planter Profile

Ryan & Tami Huguley

Their Story (Calling)

Three years ago I was content. Life was good and there was nothing I would have changed.  I had an amazing new wife, I had the great privilege of serving in my first full-time ministry position, a boss that was challenging me and helping me grow, and I was getting to do all God put on my heart to do. And then came that night.

On this particular night I was sitting  in a business meeting concerning a possible building campaign when it happened.  I heard God speak to me more clearly than ever before. So clearly in fact, that it scared me, because what He said would change so much of what I had grown so comfortable with.  I remember this moment as if it just happened last night.  God said, “I have not called you to follow man, your journey will never be easy, and I want you to plant a church.

The rest of that meeting is a blur, because I was so overwhelmed by what God had said.  As soon as we were done, I got in the car and came undone.  I have been known to cry from time to time, but this was different. I was crying like a girl who got dumped at prom.  I could not seem to help myself as wave after wave of emotion swept over me - confusion, fear, frustration, uncertainty. I gained my composure as best I could and called my mom on my drive home, telling her exactly what God had said, but her response seemed too simple to me.  She simply said, “I can see that.”

A bit frustrated, I finally arrived home and immediately sat down with Tami to tell her what God had said. To my amazement she said, “I can see that.” I sat there and stared at her finally replying, “How come I am the only one who seems shocked by this?”

Just to be safe I met with 4 or 5 other close friends in order to share my story with them, to which all of them replied, “I can see that”. I may not always be the smartest guy in the room, but after six people said the same thing and agreed with God I nervously accepted what He had said. 

From there God began to birth a vision in me to plant a gospel centered, Bible preaching, mission focused church that would intentionally reach out to a new generation of people who had rebelled against God the same way we all do. God has richly blessed Tami and I with an amazing circle of friends that God has called to be a part of this adventure and together we are re-sponding to His grace in our lives as we seek to build a church that sees rebels redeemed for the glory of God and the good of the city. Finally, after a few years of praying and wrestling with God over all of this, I can finally say, “I can see that!”

How Do You Lead and Disciple Your Family?

Tami and I try to have a weekly date night.  This is a time where we can enjoy each other and have intentional conversation about how we are doing as a couple and also have we are each doing spiritually. 

I have set up my schedule in a way that Tami is able to go out on Thursday mornings for a few hours of extended prayer and study.  She reads books, her Bible, and journals in this time. 

I pray with and for them as well as trying to get good resources in Tami's hands as she enjoys reading.

Ava is currently 16 months old and I pray with her and for her on a daily basis.  We have been reading to her from a children's picture Bible since she was even younger and we take weekly Daddy dates while Tami is out on her own.  

What Advice Can You Give Potential Church Planters?

1.  Make sure planting is the only thing you can imagine doing. If you can see yourself doing something else, go do that!
2.  Make sure your wife is on board and also confirms this call.
3.  Make sure HONEST people in your life confirm your call.  Ask lots of people, but make sure it's not just your friends who will say whatever you want them to.
4.  Confirm your call through professional assessment.

What Have Been Some Recent Examples of Grace In Your Life and Church?

1.  Acts 29 has been a huge evidence of grace in our lives and in our church.  It has served as a source of encourgement and confirmation

2.  We have seen our core team double in last 5 months.

3.  God has blessed us with an amazing team of people.  I continue to be blown away at the quality of people God has already brought to Redemption. We have muscians, teachers, business people, artists and designers.

4.  The ability to be full time has been a tremendous evidence of grace.  With no outside support our core team has done a great job of modeling generosity.

5.  Tami and I continue to grow in love for each other and our young church.  Church planting can and does take a lot out of us, but overall has drawn us closer to God and to each other.

6.  We are reaching our target.  We are drawing lots of young men and handful of lost people even at this early phase.

How Can We Pray For You?

Pray we would grow in health as a church.  That we would have wisdom in leadership.  That we would be faithful with God gives us.  That we would see the gospel be the center of our church family.