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Friends connecting at Rise
The Rise family celebrating twelve years
Conversation after a Rise gathering
Worship at a Rise Sunday gathering
The Rise community connecting on Sunday
Celebrating baptism at Rise
Young people worshiping together at Rise
A group praying together at Rise
About Rise · Gresham, Oregon

Rise Up &
Saturate Our City
with the Gospel.

We’re a people united by a mission bigger than ourselves: following Jesus and bringing His life-transforming grace and hope to our city.
Why we exist

A city saturated
with the life-changing
hope of Jesus.

Every block. Every neighborhood.
Everyday people living on mission.
Like ink spilled across a map, we long to see the Gospel reach every corner of our city. Followers of Jesus rising to their calling—declaring, displaying, and living out the good news in the places they already live.
We exist to call forth, raise up, and send out disciples. To ignite hearts for His purpose. To see the kingdom of Jesus break forth in our city.
01

Call forth.

Discover the purpose Jesus has placed on your life.
02

Raise up.

Grow as His disciple, grounded in the Word and empowered by the Spirit.
03

Send out.

Carry His grace and hope into your home, workplace, and city.
The Rise family gathering for the church’s twelfth anniversary
Our story · Gresham, Oregon

A story God
is still writing.

Rise began with a calling to plant a church in Gresham. Our journey is a story of God at work through ordinary people—and it’s still unfolding.

RISE CULTURE.

15 VALUES. ONE SHARED MISSION.
A group praying together at a Rise gathering

15

OUR PEOPLE.
OUR PURPOSE.
OUR CULTURE.
This is who we are

Always. Only.
Fully. Clearly.
All about Jesus.

Jesus is why we are here. Why we gather. Why we serve. Why we love our city. Our culture is the shared conviction that shapes everything we do together.
We don’t have to.
We get to.
We get to serve our city with radical hospitality. We get to bring hope into broken places. We get to partner in a mission bigger than any one of us.
Our culture

We Are Gospel People.

All we say, do, make, teach, build, and share is rooted in the good news of Jesus.
Our culture

We Are Radically Hospitable.

We welcome people with the grace and generosity Jesus has shown us.
Our culture

We Are a Team of Teams.

We honor each person’s gifts, speak life into one another, and multiply the mission.
Meet our team

A team
of teams.

We are better together. From kids to hospitality, leadership to outreach, Rise is built through teams of staff and team members. We honor each person’s gifts and help one another live out our calling. There is a place, a role, and a purpose for you here.
Jason
Jason — second photo
JasonLead Pastor
Kristen
Kristen — second photo
KristenExecutive Pastor
Andre
Andre — second photo
AndreRise Leadership
Dave
Dave — second photo
DaveRise Leadership
Stacey
Stacey — second photo
StaceyWorship Pastor
Chris
Chris — second photo
ChrisRise Youth
What we believe

Rooted in Scripture.
Centered on Christ.

Sound doctrine shapes our worship, our life together, and our mission.
We confess the triune God revealed in Scripture and proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ. Our theology is grounded in God’s Word: who He is, what He has done, and how He is redeeming and restoring His people.
01 / THE TRINITY

One God. Three persons.

God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—three distinct persons, each fully and equally God. He is holy, sovereign, unchanging, and perfect in justice, love, and grace.
02 / SCRIPTURE

Inspired. Inerrant. Sufficient.

The Bible is God’s inspired, inerrant, and sufficient revelation. It is our final authority for truth, life, and doctrine, standing above every other idea and truth claim.
03 / HUMANITY & SIN

Created in His image. Fallen in Adam.

God created humanity in His image, giving every person inherent dignity. Through the Fall, sin and death entered the world. We are sinners by nature and choice, unable to remedy our separation from God apart from Christ.
04 / JESUS & SALVATION

Christ alone saves.

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, born of a virgin and without sin. In His substitutionary death, He bore God’s wrath in our place; in His resurrection, He conquered death. Salvation is found only in Him, received by turning from sin and believing in Jesus.
05 / THE SPIRIT & THE CHURCH

Indwelt. Equipped. Sent.

The Holy Spirit gives new life, indwells believers, and empowers them for ministry. The Church is Christ’s body and bride—a people united in Him, committed to a local church, and sent to proclaim His Gospel.
06 / RESURRECTION & RENEWAL

Christ will come again.

Jesus will return. All people will be bodily raised to eternal salvation or condemnation. He will make all things new, abolishing death and suffering for His people, who will dwell with Him forever.
Read our full statement of faith and its Scripture references.
Honest questions. Real conversation.

You can ask that.

New to church or ready to dig deeper? Start here.

I’m new to church

Am I going to feel out of place?
No way. We are a church for people who’ve never been to church. We know you’re visiting and we like you. Feel comfortable to be yourself.
What should I wear?
The leaders typically wear jeans and T-shirts. Everyone will be dressed in what’s comfortable. Some people rock button-ups. Others drop Ts. If you look extra snazzy, more power to you. Feel comfortable to be yourself.
I don’t know what happens at church. What am I’m walking into?

Each weekend we gather to hear fresh, relevant, teaching from the bible that will impact your real life. We speak to non-christians and christians alike because we’re a church that exists for our city. A band leads us in a time of musical worship to Jesus. We have response times where people can go be prayed for, take communion (eat bread and drink juice remembering what Jesus did for us), or give to the mission.

You might hear stories, or updates about exciting things happening in the church. We use a lot of video for teaching and communication.

If you’re new, we don’t pressure you to give money, take communion, we actually don’t want you to. We give as a church to create space for you. We genuinely care about you and you’re our valued guest.

I have tattoos, piercings, and pink hair, will people judge me?
Not if you won’t judge us. It would actually be hard for you to have more tattoos than the people at Rise. We have a lot of tattoos. Pink hair is totally cool. We love that you're different and welcome you to join us!

I’m a Christian

Are you guys serious about scripture?
Honestly, as serious as it gets. We’re excited you asked. We believe the Bible is the authority of God, inerrant, living, active, and powerful to transform not only our lives but our whole city. We love the Bible. We’re getting goose-bumps just thinking about it.
Are you guys seeker-sensitive?

Actually, we think we can simultaneously speak to both Christians and non-Christians. We are persuaded that when you teach robust biblical doctrine, you will connect with the culture and serve those who’ve never stepped foot in a Church. We think doing that in a way that intentionally addresses the questions the culture around is asking is the pattern of the early church in Acts and should be the pattern today. Paul who became “all things to all people” that God might save some is a clear example.

Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it well: “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others…” So we're going to teach the foundational doctrines of scripture, yet, speak them in a way so someone new to Christianity can understand.

Are you guys a prosperity-gospel Church?
We might as well be the opposite. We are a Gospel-preaching, Gospel-driven, Gospel-drenched, Gospel-centered church. We are all about Jesus. We believe in serious, sound, scriptural teaching, which excludes the prosperity and the poverty Gospel alike. At the same time we don’t shy away from God’s command to be generous, nor any other command, for that matter. Our motivation, message, and method is Jesus in everything! Because Jesus + nothing = everything.
Are you guys part of a denomination?

We are what some would call a non-denominational church, in that we are not tied to any denomination and are led by qualified local leaders.

That being said, we think there’s tremendous value and importance to being anchored in the Historic Christian Confessions, imbued by the wisdom of Christian history, and affiliated with the doctrinally sound Christian “tribes” of our day.

In many ways our church is a rare blend of the two tribes: the theologically meaty teaching of teachers like: Charles Spurgeon, Chuck Smith, John Piper, Tim Keller, C.S. Lewis, Jon Tyson, RC Sproul, and JC Ryle--AND--the passionate, creative, worship culture of Passion City Church, Phil Wickham, SEU Worship, or Maverick City. We know that’s unique combo. But it’s a space we feel Jesus has called us to.

Wondering about parking, kids, or your first Sunday?
A friendly conversation after a Rise gathering
Let’s get to know each other

There’s room
for you.

You don’t have to have it all figured out. Bring your questions, meet our people, and discover your next step.