Basic Church Information
Church Website: https://www.redemptionhillutah.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RHUtahChurch
Online Services: https://www.redemptionhillutah.com/audio
Address: 484 Pony Express Parkway, Saratoga Springs, Utah 84045 (Vista Heights Middle School)
Phone: 801-917-0715
Email: Connect@RHutah.church
Denomination: Southern Baptist
Tithing: No
Memberships: No
Financial Transparency: Yes
Other Affiliations: Calvary Global Network, North American Mission Board/Send Network, and the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention)
Preaching Style: Topical
Answered Questionnaire: Yes
The Questionnaire
1. What is your church's official position on tithing?
“Tithing is a part of a person’s personal worship to God. We believe each one must give as he decides in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion (2 Cor 9:7).”
2. Does your church have a particular set of rules or requirements that members must follow or abide by in order to retain their membership status with the church?
“We do not have official membership primarily because of the cultural connotation of church membership in our community. However, if you were looking for an equivalency, if a person invested their "time, talent and treasure" at Redemption Hill, then we would consider that this would be their expression of saying we were their "home church."
3. Are you transparent with your church's financial information? How much does your church bring in through donations and tithing, and how is that money distributed?
“We have an annual business meeting at the beginning of every year where the congregation is invited to attend. We cover the past year's budget as well as the upcoming year's budget. The summary of that budget is available upon request for any one attending Redemption Hill Church.”
(Psst: I requested a copy of this budget summary for the purposes of this review, and pastor Steve forwarded me to his Admin without hesitation.)
4. Which denomination does your church align with the most, if any?
“We are officially connected with the SBC as well as Calvary Global Network.”
5. Is your church's pastor available for other questions or comments regarding the church, its doctrines, etc.?
“Yes.”
6. How is your church's doctrinal flexibility and tolerance? If a member has a disagreement with the pastor or leadership on a certain doctrine, how is it handled? Does the church change its position on doctrines fairly often, if at all?
“I’m not sure what is meant by "doctrinal flexibility." We hold to what is commonly understood as the "essentials of the historic Christian faith." On these, we don't bend or compromise (The nature of God, justification by grace alone, The bodily resurrection of Christ, etc) When it comes to matters that are non-essential such as eschatology and things of like manner, we don't believe these are worth dividing over and therefore give place for diversity. If there is doctrinal disagreement on essential matters, we are an elder led church and the elders would receive accusations of false teaching and consider such in light of scripture.”
7. Does your church require that its members be baptized? What is your church's official position on baptism?
“We believe Baptism is an act of obedience and a part of a believers worship to God. We do not believe baptism is a requirement for salvation. We don't require it for attendance or service.”
8. Please describe what a typical service and/or meeting looks like in your church.
“We have an interactive adult class that meets before our main service and goes through different books of the bible. Prior to our main service we have refreshments. Our service begins with 30 minutes of music, a five minute meet and greet, and a 40 minute message. Youth meet before the main service.”
9. How many people do you have on staff at your church, both paid and volunteer?
“We have two people on staff that are bi-vocational and receive a stipend. We have 7 others that are volunteers.”
10. What is the pastor's educational history?
“I am currently working towards my MDiv at Gateway seminary.”
11. How does the church discipline its members with their sin?
“According to Matthew 18. If the person has been confronted personally about a perceived offense and they don't stop or don't agree, then the elders would invite them and their accuser to sit and talk to see if the perceived sin is in fact sin (Matthew 18:16, Deut. 19:15-17). If it has been determined to be sin from scripture, then we would encourage repentance and wait for such fruit-all with the heart of restoration. If the person refuses to listen to the elders, then we would "tell it to the church." Depending on the sin and circumstances, that would likely look like a select few in the church who know the person well, approaching them and trying to reason with them. If they didn't listen to "the church" and continued to live in the sin, the elders would remove affirmation that they were a part of the community of believers (though we really don’t know their heart only their actions), and we would change the way we minister to them- going back to ministering the gospel and repentance towards God (Matthew 18:17). The goal is restoration not exclusion, therefore, this process can be a lengthy one where patience is at the center as we wait for God to convict the heart.”
12. How is the pastor compensated (income, benefits, bonuses, etc.)?
“I'm part time bi-vocational and receives a monthly stipend.”
(Psst: I was able to read a summary of personnel expenditures in the information the church admin sent me, but for legal purposes and at the request of pastor Steve, we cannot publish that budget summary here. If you attend RHC, they will give you this budget summary upon request.)
13. What is the size of your church and any other space the church owns for meetings and church services?
“We currently have between 110-130 adults and between 35-50 kids.”