Becoming Ironwood Church
On January 7, Redemption Gateway is becoming Ironwood Church.
We will continue to have the same local leadership, staff, doctrine, mission, and vision — but will be operating with a new name and identity.
Additionally, beginning in 2024, our website will be ironwoodchurch.org.
(for a lot of detail on this shift, read more here)
The Ironwood Logo
The Ironwood Church logo involves a Word Mark and a Stamp. In a sense, the Word Mark is like our signature and the Stamp is like our initials.
The Stamp is significant for a few reasons:
It is a tree from above — as though from God’s perspective. Ultimately, what God thinks of our church is what matters most.
It pictures the structure of both the branches and roots — we care about both, because ultimately the health of the roots leads to the health of the branches and fruit.
It’s a simple tree — just like the ironwood tree is not easily distinguishable but has a hidden strength, the people of God often are quite ordinary but are filled with extraordinary power by the Spirit.
The Ironwood Name
The ironwood tree is a “habitat modifying keystone species” in the Sonoran desert — in other words, other plants thrive because of it. It’s a slow growing tree with extremely strong wood (some sculptors lose their blades because it’s so hard).
The big tree by our lobby entrance is an 80+ year-old ironwood, which we intentionally transplanted as a picture of how we are part of a longer, older faith tradition that has stood the test of time.
Ironwood is a picture of who we have become as a church and who we will, with God’s help, continue to be.
The Ironwood Church Story
In the summer of 2008, a group of about 50 people from East Valley Bible Church in Gilbert, AZ began to dream about starting a new gospel-centered church in the expanding southeast valley. After months of prayer and preparation, Second Mile Church officially opened in January 2009.
The church grew steadily and in 2011 Second Mile Church joined with Praxis Church and East Valley Bible Church and became Redemption Gateway — part of the new multi-congregational Redemption Church. Over the following years, Redemption grew to ten congregations, including Redemption North Mountain, which was sent out by Gateway in 2020.
In 2023, the elders of all Redemption congregations decided to shift from being one church with ten locations to become ten distinct churches. In January 2024 — on the 15th anniversary of the church’s opening — Redemption Gateway will become Ironwood Church.
The Ironwood Culture
The Scriptures describe Jesus as “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Another way to say it is that he had a soft heart and a steel spine.
We too are pursuing soft hearts — filled with love, curious about people, eager to forgive, and not taking ourselves too seriously. And we seek steel spines — courage, unwavering conviction, toughness in a hostile world, and always taking God seriously.
Both are crucial. Without soft hearts, we grow cynical and calloused in a world that needs to experience the grace of Christ. Without steel spines, we slowly compromise and cave under the pressure of a world that needs to experience Jesus’ truth. We pursue both: soft hearts and steel spines.
The Ironwood Strategy
Jesus gave his church a mission: to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Here’s how we do that at Ironwood Church.
We enjoy Jesus together.
Jesus isn’t just somebody we believe in, but somebody we delight in. Through worship services, small groups, care ministries, and counseling, we encourage each other to enjoy Jesus.
We fight for kids and families.
Families are one of God’s first and best gifts. In a world that minimizes families and kids, we fight for them through programs for kids and students, as well as resources for marriage and parenting.
We bring light to darkness.
All of life is all for Jesus — and he is forming us into his faithful disciples in every area of life. Through classes, digital resources, and other formational experiences, we learn to walk in his light.
We give it away.
God’s love led him to give his very best: his only Son. We imitate his generosity through investing in young leaders, planting churches, and partnering in Jesus’ local and global mission.
We serve like crazy.
In a world that’s obsessed with self, we follow Jesus in the way of service. We mobilize volunteers to use their gifts and grit to serve the church and community.
