OUR STORY

In January 2007, we sensed God’s call to start a new church in Redding, CA. Our hearts burned to gather, champion, and form the next generation. Sent out from Risen King Church where we served for five years leading worship and overseeing young adults, we took the risk to plant the Stirring. Our vision was best captured in these five simple words: We love. We make disciples. We love people where they are. We disciple people into who they are. Just a handful of friends, we dreamed of a family of Jesus followers who would engage our city and the world with the message and life of Jesus Christ, in the most creative ways possible. We’ve heard it said, “if you want to build something significant for the kingdom, build a family.”

Eighteen years later, our Stirring family has grown into a healthy, creative, and vibrant expression of the kingdom in our city and beyond. We are a Local Church, embracing people from all walks of life, regardless of who they are or where they’ve been. We are a Venue, serving our city by hosting teams, ventures, and events throughout the week and across our campus. We are Emerge, a discipleship intensive designed to help students explore, discover, and activate the disciple within them. We are a Global Family, partnering with friends and teams to live out Jesus’ mission in Cambodia, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Madagascar, and more.

As we reflect on the Stirring journey, we are beyond grateful for those friends, families, spiritual fathers and mothers, other churches, and more, who’ve partnered with us through the years. We’ve seen God move in brilliant ways, answer bold prayers, and redeem countless lives. We’ve found ourselves in a story much greater than we imagined our first Sunday in the basement of the Nazarene Gym. Every day, we’re reminded that this is His church, His kingdom, His dream. The Stirring is still unfolding in beautiful and redemptive ways. Each person we meet, no matter who they are or where they’ve been, becomes a part of this story and shapes it through who they are and who they become.

Kingdom come!

Nathan and Erica Edwardson

Lead Pastors