Updates from the Board

News: Welcome Associate Pastor Drew Bayless

We are very happy to announce that Pastor Drew Bayless has accepted Redeemer's Associate Pastor Call and will be joining our Redeemer Ministry Team in September. Pastor Drew will be moving to Spokane Valley from St. Louis with his wife, Ashley and two sons, Judah and Kaden.

You can read the full announcement in THIS LETTER from our Redeemer Board of Directors President, Gary Hutchens.

Thank you for  your prayers during this faith-filled process. We look forward to welcoming the Bayless family to Redeemer in the fall.

Redeemer  Annual Congregational Meeting -- June 20, 2021

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Annual Congregational Meeting. We voted on several important items including, our Associate Pastor Call, the election of new Redeemer Board of Directors members and officers, and the election of new Redeemer Endowment Board members.  

The congregation voted unanimously to extend a call to Pastor Drew Bayless for Redeemer's Associate Pastor position.

The congregation elected Kim Nelson, Barb Sanders, Gary Hutchens, and Bob Sanders to Redeemer's Board of Directors. Further, Gary Hutchens will be coming onto the Board as President, while Bob Sanders will serve as President-Elect.

The congregation named Bob Sanders and Phil Frederiksen to the Redeemer Endowment Board.

Herb Sanders provided a comprehensive update on Redeemer's Visioning Initiative activities.

You can view the full meeting below.

We are at an exciting juncture in Redeemer's history as we transition into a post-pandemic church. As Pastor Dave shared with us, we -- you -- are in this place for such a time as this. God is leading us every step of the way. 

Redeemer Visioning Initiative

We believe God has called Redeemer to be a healing presence in our community and it is our vision to be a place where people can experience wholeness. This vision represents the WHY for our Visioning Initiative.

Following you will find a complete history of Redeemer’s visioning work including a timeline and behind the scenes conversations with our visioning initiative leaders.

We invite you to be a part of the discussion. Your questions and ideas are welcome and can be submitted at this LINK.

Redeemer Visioning Initiative History

January 2017 -- Redeemer Board of Directors initiated the process to develop Redeemer’s Strategic Plan. Then Board of Directors president, Gary Hutchens, presented the final Strategic Plan to the congregation for approval and adoption in October 2017. 

August 2019 -- Visioning Committee chartered by the Redeemer Board of Directors to develop a master site plan in alignment with Redeemer’s strategic plan, mission and vision.The Visioning Committee is tasked with evaluating the existing church/school facility and assessing potential opportunities for the undeveloped property owned by Redeemer (30+ acres). 

September 2019 -- Prayer Task Force formed to lift up the visioning process and ensure Redeemer remains guided by our Lord and Savior.

October 2019 -- Visioning Survey issued to the congregation to solicit feedback on ‘how’ we use the undeveloped property and for ‘what.’ More than 200 members of all ages completed the survey. Your survey feedback has played an instrumental role in our ability to lean into the pandemic and maintain momentum through 2020. Outreach was the common thread across all survey responses. Aligned with this theme of outreach, the following priorities were identified for our visioning activities:

  • Maintain Existing Facility
  • Green Space or Park
  • Community Center
  • Housing for Seniors and Underserved
  • Community Gardens
  • Memorial Gardens and Columbarium
  • Future Redeemer Uses (yet to be revealed)

November 2019 -- Existing Facilities Task Force launched to identify facility maintenance needs and assess modernizations required to support Redeemer’s warm and welcoming worship and community outreach. 

2020 -- Discussions with the City of Spokane Valley held to ascertain opportunities to collaborate. Also, engineering and feasibility studies commenced to ascertain the true possibilities for developing our 30+ acres of land.

2021 -- The Visioning Committee launched a number of task forces to move our vision closer to reality including, a Conceptual Planning team, a Due Diligence Task Force, a Memorial Gardens and Columbarium Task Force, a Community Center and Green Space Task Force, and a Communications Task Force. Our goal is to present a master site plan by the end of 2021.

Visioning Initiative Video Series 

Our visioning initiative video series takes you behind the scenes to hear from the people in action -- the visioning task force members and leaders walking with God to fulfill Redeemer’s mission.

A conversation with Herb Sanders and Rod Wolff, Visioning Initiative Leaders

A conversation with Indy Dehal, Conceptual Plan Architect

A conversation with Chuck Stocker, Existing Facilities Task Force & Clyde Haase, Due Diligence Task Force

A conversation with Bill DeReu, Memorial Garden & Columbarium Task Force and Laura Neidhold, Community Center and Green Space Task Force

Visioning Task Force Open House Highlights

Supporting Visioning Documents 

*Click on the hyperlinks to access the documents.