Views from The Ridge 1.21.26
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
Worship
Sunday
9 AM, Chapel, Acapella
11 AM, Sanctuary, Instrumental
This Sunday’s Scripture: Acts 16:11–15
Discipleship
Sundays, 10:15 AM, Bible Class & Discipleship for All Ages
Fellowship Hall
Between the Words: A gathering between our community’s two worship times where we unfold the facets of weekly Scripture together. Join us from 10:15 - 10:45 each Sunday in the Fellowship Hall. Each week stands on its own; come as you’re able. Adults and teens welcome.
Chapel Classroom
Preparing for Rest: A free, optional pre-retreat class exploring different kinds of rest, connected to our upcoming women’s retreat. No registration required. Sundays, January 18 - February 15. You’re welcome to attend the class, the retreat, or both.
Room 220
BOYS 5th - 7th Grade, Formation Study w/ Bryan Wolfe
GIRLS 5th - 7th Grade, Formation Study w/ Den Slater
Roots: Children’s Discipleship through Godly Play
Bible Story Focus this Week: The Prophetess
Key Verse: 15:20–21
Room 102, PreK - Kindergarten
Room 122, 1st - 2nd Grade
Room 209, 3rd - 4th Grade
Wednesdays, 5:15 - 5:45 PM, High School Girls’ Sermon Study Group, Room 220, Contact Den to join this group, open to 9th-12th Grade
Wednesdays, 6 PM - 7:30 PM, High School Formation, Room 220, Contact Den to join this group, open to 9th-12th Grade
Community Connections
Formation Wednesdays Resume Tonight
Our spring session of Discipleship Groups begins tonight, creating space to gather, learn, and practice faith together in community. Formation Wednesdays run from 6:00–8:00 PM, with a communal dinner served beforehand in the Fellowship Hall.
If you’ve already signed up, we look forward to seeing you. If not, there’s still time to participate—please contact Den to get connected.
All are welcome as we step back into this shared rhythm of formation together.
Upcoming Community Events
Every Saturday, 9 AM - 1 PM, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
**Farmers Market Cancelled this Saturday, January 24th due to extreme cold weather forecast**
Sundays, January 18th - February 15th, 10:15 AM, Preparing for Rest Class, Chapel Classroom
Wednesday, January 21st, 6 - 8:00 PM, Spring formation groups begin for the New Year, Communal Dinner served in the Fellowship Hall.
Saturday, January 31, 9AM - 1 PM, Thrift Pop-Up @ One Another Coffee
Saturday, January 31, 9 AM - 1 PM, Secondhand Saturday @ Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Friday, February 27 - Sunday, March 1, Sunset Ridge Women’s Retreat, Mo Ranch
Beyond Sunday
Come and See What God Has Done
Jess Lowry, Executive Director & Pastoral Leader, Sunset Ridge Church & Sunset Ridge Collective
We need to celebrate more.
Our preacher, Scott Heare, said this on Sunday, and he’s right. I can be so focused on the next task, the next goal, or the feedback loop that lives inside my brain that I miss the pause to say: Look—God was here. God moved mountains. Our God is real, alive, and working all around us!
So today, I want to celebrate with a story.
In 2017, I sat in a room with our elders, my fellow ministers, and a consultant who had been brought in to analyze the decline our leadership was noticing in the church. The consultant showed us an organizational bell curve and explained that we were too far down the slope of decline to turn things around.
The air left the room.
We were told that the most faithful thing we might consider was to legacy the church—to sell the property and assets and give them to other good works in our city.
That reality brought us to our knees in prayer. We were at rock bottom. Looking back, I often say that was the moment we were desperate enough to be interesting.
After fervent prayer, the decision was made to bring in another consultant—to get a second opinion. Dr. Carson Reed shared that, in his view, we had about a 10% chance of survival, and that survival would require a complete DNA change. Not small, incremental adjustments, but massive, transformational change.
By the time we reached 2020 and 2021—after hundreds of hours of work and countless hours in prayer—we had a vision. Thirty-three members came together in unity around a shared dream for a church that would tear down the walls dividing us from our neighbors, a church that would show up in the world and say: No matter who you are or what you believe, you are worthy of love.
Dreaming up the possibilities for Sunset Ridge
If you’ve ever been part of a church committee, you know it is often hard to find unity over things like the color of the carpet. And yet, somehow, thirty-three people decided in unity on the direction of their beloved church. Only the Holy Spirit does that.
Based on our resources, it was estimated we had about three years to make these changes. And so our small church got to work, grounded in the belief that if the work impacted the life of even one person, it would be worth it.
We dreamed of a park.
A coffee shop that could foster connection and community.
A daycare to meet the needs of our neighbors.
A church that would be a place of flourishing for all people.
And so much more.
Every step of the way, God provided exactly what we needed—in ways far too numerous to capture in a brief article like this.
Last week, as I heard the results of the Flourishing Church survey that so many of you participated in, one question settled deeply into my soul:
“Ten years from now, I think this congregation will be flourishing.”
The vast majority of you answered strongly agree.
Today, I celebrate what God has done at Sunset Ridge. I thank God for each of you, and for the unique and beautiful gifts you bring to our church and to God’s Kingdom. And I praise God for all that is ahead.
Love
–Jess
