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Through 25 years of ministering in our Ivy League community, Dori and I have seen one truth proven repeatedly: Whatever the enemy throws our way, God will use for our good.
We came to Hanover convinced of three things:
- Gospel Need - Hanover was one of the most unchurched places in the country.
- Strategic Opportunity - As an Ivy League community, there was great opportunity to not only bless Hanover, but to see the gospel spread around the world.
- Gospel Power - God’s Word works! Jesus reigns, and He would build His church even in Hanover.
This is exactly what God has done. God has grown Christ Redeemer Church into a vibrant congregation of over 300 that has impacted and sent over a thousand people to every corner of the globe.
This impact has not come without hardship and challenge. For 25 years, CRC has functioned as a church out of a box, week after week unpacking and repacking a trailer. For decades, our multiple attempts to secure a permanent place for worship have been thwarted, blocked at every turn by restrictive zoning regulations and boards.
Seven years ago, we purchased a nine-acre parcel strategically located between Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. We had no reason to believe we would be denied zoning this time. But we were. After pressing the issue through prayer, zoning board meetings, and cases that led all the way to the N.H. Supreme Court, we recently received approval. We are the first church in more than 60 years to be approved for a new building in Hanover. Our precedent has opened doors for churches throughout the state to build free of arbitrary harassment.
But challenges continue. Through delays and legal bills, our cost of construction has doubled. But God’s Word is bound neither by courts nor cost. With or without a building, we are confident the gospel impact will continue.
And indeed, it has! This past year has been one of the most fruitful in the history of CRC, with over a dozen baptisms — from atheists to Ivy League professors to people from three different continents. Our youth retreat this summer had a record 100 participants, many from unchurched families. Teens are attracted by truth and genuine loving relationships—both in short supply in our cultural moment.
And our outreach into the community continues to multiply. This holds true at Dartmouth. The college, launched to train gospel ministers, has long lost its vision. But we have made significant inroads among faculty and students. Hundreds have attended CRC's theological training classes, and I have led dozens on Christian history tours of Europe and New England. Dartmouth students mentored at CRC hold positions in virtually every industry and sphere of influence, throughout the U.S. and globally.
And being a church in a box has not stopped our people from giving themselves for other churches. We have two thriving church plants and, through our internship and residency programs, are revitalizing and resourcing others. On any given Sunday, CRC-trained preachers serve in a half dozen churches. The plan for our new building includes housing so we can train even more pastoral interns and expand our impact.
Our dream is to be both a home for the gospel in our community and a hub for the gospel beyond. Our property will give us a permanent presence, allowing us to better serve friends and neighbors by expanding local ministries. Likewise, this new building will function as a hub for training. Our proximity to the college provides a strategic, steady supply of talented candidates. Our vision is to recapture the original mission of Dartmouth College, to be a gospel training center sending people to the ends of the earth.
Thanks for your support for NETS and the NETS Network churches, and for your prayers for CRC over these years of struggle. Praise God for answering your prayers and pray that He continues to multiply the gospel through this ministry.
Don Willeman
Christ Redeemer Church
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