TwoWest Pasco County (FL) congregations have flocked together to form a new church. Redeemer Community Church was formed 25 after the former River Ridge Presbyterian (PCA) Church and Trinity Community Church merged.

The new congregation will gather at 9230 Ridge Road, formerly the River Ridge Presbyterian sanctuary, east of Little Road. “We wanted the name to be purposeful, to reflect who we are as a church,” the Rev. Chris Curtis said about the name. “We believe Christ is our redeemer. It’s not just about having a church or a social gathering or property, it’s about Jesus Christ.”

Curtis has led Trinity Community Church for five years. The Rev. Bill Gunter has served for seven years as pastor of River Ridge Presbyterian, which had been in existence for more than 20 years.

Curtis and Gunter will tend to the combined flock at Redeemer, which has about 175 members. Redeemer Community Church is a Presbyterian Church in America congregation, as was River Ridge Presbyterian.

According to the Presbyterian Church in America Web site, the denomination encourages its members to take part in political and civic organizations but does not lobby government officials and “neither the PCA nor its churches attempts to represent its members in public matters.”

Discussions about a possible merger began about a year and a half ago, Curtis said. He and Gunter had become good friends in the meantime and came to realize the missions of their congregations were similar.

“We could do a far better job together than separate, apart,” Curtis commented about the decision to combine the congregations. Members voted unanimously for the merger.

“There’s so much division in our world … even sadly in a lot of churches,” Curtis said. Redeemer leaders and members want to unify people, he said.

“Our ministry passions range from delivering food boxes to the homebound in Pasco each month to supporting the needy in West Africa,” the pastors explained in a written statement.

Redeemer offers a “safe, secure nursery for little ones, classes for grade school children and an active youth group for teens.” “We teach the grace-filled gospel of Jesus Christ which informs how we live our lives and how to serve others,” the pastors wrote.

[Editor’s note: Some of the original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]