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 became 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.
The Ironwood Name
Ironwood Church is named for the Ironwood Tree, which is a “habitat modifying keystone species” native to the Sonoran Desert. In other words, other plants thrive because of the Ironwood’s strength. It’s a slow growing tree with extremely strong wood, able to fruitfully endure the extreme weather of the desert.
The big tree by our lobby entrance is an 80+ year-old Ironwood and a fitting picture of who we are as a church. Like the Ironwood Tree, the thriving of the church contributes to the thriving of our community. And, like the tree, we are most interested in growing strong and healthy.