VISION

The mission of Ren has never changed from the start but has developed layers over time (two decades). When we began, our mantra was “connecting postmodern culture to ancient faith.” Another was “moving people toward the full expression of who they were created to be.” Our mission was to reach young adults, artists, and question askers (skeptics). We wanted to be a place of belonging for people least likely to step foot in a church. 

As the Lord matured the church, our mission was expanded in two specific ways. This happened in 2009. The first was a serious call to develop a more vibrant culture of prayer. And the second was to relocate the church into a part of the city where marginalized and under resourced people reside. Our prayer was to become a house of prayer for all nations. We simplified our mission statement to—we exist to bring great glory to Christ. The essential mission has remained despite varying language and a broadening of demographic. Our heart has always been to reach people who are not typically reached by existing churches. It’s a mission to go into hard places to display Christ.

There are 3 essential components of Ren life: gatherings, small communities, and mission initiatives. There is overlap, of course, but each of these represents a primary purpose of the church.

All-church gatherings include Sunday mornings and times of corporate prayer. These are opportunities to pursue and experience God together. Without this component we won’t have any depth of substance or spiritual power. Everything we do—regardless of how creative or excellent—will fall flat unless we are devoted to loving God and having a close relationship with Him.

Small communities are primarily for the purpose of practicing love and care for one another. These small church expressions are scattered throughout Rhode Island and meet throughout the week. We believe that discipleship happens best in the context of authentic relationships in a small community. The large gatherings play an important role in uniting the church around worship and the Word. But small communities are where we live out the 50+ “one another” commands of the New Testament.

Mission initiatives are all about serving and displaying the gospel to unchurched people. Mission teams work together to design and implement initiatives to engage people with God’s love. This happens through the slow and steady work of building relationships and serving.

This tiny grid is what we are striving after as a church community: love God, love one another, and love your neighbor.