President’s Report

May 2026

Greetings,

As we look around Redeemer on any Sunday morning, we see a strong and faithful core group who may have been attending for 20, 30,40 or more years. We also see new faces who began attending in the last year or two. It’s natural to wonder how we can attract more of those new faces to Redeemer. But maybe that’s not the right question to be asking.

In the in the recent months, we’ve watched two videos from the series “Adventures in Renewal”. The first one suggested that we can no longer yearn for the good old days of two worship services each Sunday, a strong Sunday School program and so many other memories associated with the church of 20 or more years ago. The fact that these things no longer exist is not a reason to look for someone to blame but rather a recognition that societal and cultural changes have caused many to abandon organized religious institutions. We were advised that there is no “quick fix” for what ails us until we start to think differently.

The second video suggested that the key to our church renewal process is getting outside the four walls of Redeemer and connecting with our neighbors and our community to learn more about what they’re doing and learning how we might join with them or help and support them. One memorable phrase from the video: “We don’t think our way into new behavior: we behave our way into new thinking”. In other words, this is about action! Getting up out of our favorite pew and getting out into the world to better understand what the Holy Spirit is calling us to do.

Pastor Steve and the Council will be taking the lead on this new adventure. I hope you’ll be willing to try something new and join us!

Forward in Faith,

Tom Hostad
Council President