By Jennifer Holder
Racine is a small town of about 100 people in rural Missouri. Yet despite the town’s tiny size, the Racine Christian Church has grown to become a significant force drawing people to the Lord in their community and beyond. Reaching out and having a heart for unchurched people, after all, is in this church’s DNA. The congregation traces its history to the year 1921, when a small group held a six-week-long series of revival meetings. When the preacher extended the invitation to follow Christ, many attendees came forward and the Racine Christian Church was born.
GOD-SIZED VISION
Fast-forward in history to the year 1999 when members had what John St. Clair, the current preaching minister at Racine, describes as a “God-sized vision” for their church. These saints met together on Sunday nights to pray for their community, asking God for revivals and breakthroughs in the hearts of their friends and neighbors. They prayed for people to “show up.” In faith, they believed God would answer their prayers. That faith is what led them to buy 40 acres and begin a building program even before the church was half the size needed to fill their projected space. Led by this great vision of their elders, the members at Racine broke ground on a 1,000-person auditorium.
The completion of this ambitious project began a season of slow and steady growth. The prayer group members continued to ask Jesus to send people. The older members encouraged and emphasized the spiritual growth of the younger people who began to come to the church. They placed a special emphasis on young families. The small church grew into a large church.
The year of pandemic closures and lockdowns proved to be one of significant growth for Racine—a jump that pushed attendance to their current number. It seems those difficult days of fear, uncertainty, and loneliness created a hunger for church and for the Lord. St. Clair says, “God used us to draw people.” In the aftermath of the pandemic, Racine’s attendance increased by 200 souls, many of whom had been out of church for a season of time or had never been part of a church at all. Today the church has a membership of 1,800 and an average weekend attendance of 1,030.
LEADERSHIP CONSISTENCY
Perhaps one ingredient to Racine’s success has been the blessing of consistent leadership through the years. John St. Clair has been serving as the preacher for more than 20 years. Before him, Gerald Griffin served for 20 years. As Griffin handed over the reins, he informed St. Clair that Racine is “a grace place.” This is a strength because such a place welcomes all kinds of people from all backgrounds and struggles. That attracts people who want to come and find grace.
On the other hand, being a “grace place” is also a weakness. St. Clair recalls Griffin’s advice that it’s better to lean in on God’s grace than on legalism and to give people the grace that Jesus has shown us. We don’t deserve it, but it’s the mindset of the church from long before now.
In addition to consistency in preaching ministers, the church has had consistent and faithful elders. What a blessing it is for these long-term servants to witness God’s answer to their prayers and celebrate his goodness over the years.
JOY IN GENERATIONS
Racine is a joyful church where the “vibe” is family. Roger Lieb, a former missionary to Africa and current chairman of the elders at Racine, says he was drawn to the church by the feel of home and family there. “My whole family,” Lieb explains, “felt that the people here were taking care of us; that we were at home in this place.”
St. Clair points to a mingling of the generations within the church which he believes keeps the congregation healthy. “We are an intergenerational church,” he says, and “emphasis on family is big.” The older saints pray, help, and encourage the younger families. They rejoice in their successes. Both young and old find purpose for their lives and the support that comes from living in a loving community with fellow believers.
The church has encouraged adult Bible classes and life groups, as well as weekend attendance, to help people find relationships. Currently Racine has 500 to 600 people gathering on Wednesday nights in the building and in surrounding homes. These midweek Bible studies are key to connecting people as members who are “doing life together.”
Their contemporary worship services are joy-filled hours where people celebrate their love for the Lord and encourage one another. The leadership has pushed strong preaching of the whole council of God. A lot of joy in the church makes people want to gather and there is a hunger among the members for more people to come.
BLESSING THE COMMUNITY
When new members are asked about how they got started with the congregation, the most common answer is that they saw Journey to Bethlehem. This yearly Christmas experience is a free event for the whole family. The community is invited to come to the church campus and walk through an interactive outdoor theater with real animals and a living nativity, as well as a live stage show. In addition to its teaching and outreach impact, Lieb reports this effort is a huge internal team builder for church members. More than 600 volunteers work and serve together as actors, guides, and backstage tech support. Racine saw their second highest attendance at this year’s event: more than 7,000 people experienced the Christmas story as they walked through the church’s campus over the course of three nights.
Another successful, though perhaps unexpected, outreach is the church’s affiliation with a local dance studio. On recital night, the church plays host to the young dancers and their families.
As a result, families whose children take dance classes feel welcome at Racine and often decide to join the church. This service to the children of the community is the second most common answer given to the question, “How did you come to be at our church?” The third most commonly given answer to the question is, “I was brought by a friend.”
Racine also hosts Celebrate Recovery, a national program for people with “hurts, habits, and hang-ups.” Here the church offers practical support through a biblical-based approach for addicts struggling with a variety of destructive habits. One couple in the church has taken the reins on this important service and it has started to grow. Many who start in the program get help for their lives and get scooped into the loving arms of this church as well.
The church has a mission statement: Love God and Love People, and they have a reputation in their community for doing just that. They host a grief share, a car care ministry for widows and single moms, and other practical ministries. Even these smaller efforts help spread the word in the community that the church loves people and wants to help.
THE NEXT AUDACIOUS GOAL
As the leadership of the church considers the future, they are working with a mindset that looks forward to big things while remaining sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. “We don’t want to figure out God’s complete plans to the point that we seem to take too much into our own hands and out of his,” Lieb explains. With this delicate balance in mind, the question being asked at the next elders’ meeting is, “What is the next audacious goal? What is the next prayer that we are going to pray and watch what God will do?”
There are several ideas on the table, one of which is to use their large church resources to build up other congregations in their area. To explore this question, they recently gathered for dinner with leaders from six different congregations in the area to figure out how they could be of help. The Racine elders wonder, “How can we support our fellow Christians and what could happen if small church families had access to some of our large church resources?”
When asked to share all that is going on with this exciting congregation, John St. Clair was glad to “brag on Jesus.” He remains adamant that all the glory for their success belongs to God. He says, “Sometimes I feel like we are just along for the ride! We’ve simply believed the words of Jesus in Matthew 7 when he said, ‘If you ask me, I will do it.’”
In today’s prayer group meetings, just like those faithful supplicants from 40 years ago, the people continue to ask for revival and for breakthroughs. St. Clair says, “God is doing it! Our growth is simply God’s hand of blessing, and we are just trying to be faithful to the mission. Everything that is happening at Racine is the direct result of God answering the prayers of his people.”
Jennifer Holder is a freelance writer in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Praise the LORD!