In November of 2004, the Lord laid on Pastor Raymond Randle’s heart to plant a ministry. After talking it over with his wife and his pastor, Bishop Bobby Henderson, and receiving both of their blessings, he began seriously considering the possibility and probability. Pastor and First Lady Randle began with a bible study on June 1, 2005, at the AmeriSuites Hotel in East Point, GA where they met faithfully every Wednesday amid the myriad of issues that accompany renting space at hotels. There were times when there were as many as 27 in attendance, to as few as 3. After some time, it finally appeared that Pastor and First Lady Randle had a core group faithfully attending bible study and the group decided they were ready for Sunday services. The question was where to hold Sunday services?
In January 2006, Pastor Randle saw a building on Washington Road in East Point and sent a letter of interest to the owners of the building. After speaking with their realtor, the owners flatly refused the offer. The search for a place to hold Sunday service continued and on June 18, 2006, Father’s Day, Redeeming Word Church had their first Sunday morning service at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School in College Park, GA. There was a full praise team, a special tribute to fathers, and with 31 people in attendance 5 joined the ministry that morning. Sunday services were held at the school for 6 months. After 6 months, the lease was up and again the ministry had no place to go for worship on Sunday mornings. For the first 2 weeks in January 2007, worship was held in the home of our founding members Brett and Siri Smith. The idea of having “house church” was not appealing to Pastor Randle so, the third week in January, Redeeming Word Church moved to the Microtel Inn & Suites in College Park. We worshipped there from January to April, and on April 8, 2007, Easter Sunday, we moved to the South Fulton Events Center in Union City, GA. Around this same time Prophet Charles Buchanan of Mobile, AL prophesied not to look for a “store front building” because God had a “stand alone four sided brick building” for the ministry. Redeeming Word Church worshipped at the event center from April to September. The owner raised the cost of the rent for the Events Center and the members voted to leave that facility and worship in homes where the cost to the church would be free.
In September 2007, Redeeming Word Church officially became a “house church.” We worshipped in the homes of members from Austell, to Hampton, to unincorporated South Fulton, to Lithonia. Though this wasn’t the favorite choice of Pastor Randle, “house church” had proven to be quite effective for the development of fellowship among the church family and the nurturing of individuals to become disciples of Christ. To keep Pastor Randle encouraged during this time, God reminded him of the story of Obed-edom. Neither time nor space will allow the telling of all the beautiful testimonies that occurred in the homes of the individuals where worship took place. And though there was no building to call home for Redeeming Word Church, we were still able to do ministry and touch the lives of many individuals. In January 2008, Bishop Bobby Henderson prophetically declared that all of his spiritual sons and daughters who were in the pastorate would get buildings by the end of the year. Though most times it appeared as if it would not come to pass we held on to the prophetic words of Prophet Charles Buchanan and Bishop Bobby Henderson.
Though other meeting places were considered, the Washington Road building never left the heart of Pastor Randle, or the hearts of several of the members. Pastor Randle began preaching and declaring, “When it comes to the blessings for the believer, NO is not an option!” Our realtor caught hold to the message and in August 2008 contacted the realtor for the Washington Road building again. This time, unlike in times past, the realtor asked what was the ministry able to do? This was the open door the ministry needed. The amount the owners of the building were requesting for an initial down payment was considerably more than what was in the ministry’s account; however, believing God and his prophet, we began praying and raising funds for the down payment. In November 2008, Redeeming Word Church closed the deal and moved into the building with literally 9 adult members (5 of them were not working) and 4 children (3 of them being the children of Pastor and First Lady.)
The move into this building was not without controversy or obstacles. God made an appointment with the ministry every Friday night to meet Him in prayer. During those prayer meetings (and our Sunday morning services) notable miracles were happening, individuals were getting saved and receiving the Baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of tongues!
In February 2015, the Lord would have Redeeming Word Church to relocate to our interim location in Lithonia, GA. Additionally, being lead of the Spirit of God, Pastor and First Lady Randle implemented new branding for the ministry: "refresh...reconnect...redeem". This new brand model is a reminder that God is gracious to "reset" our lives and give us a new and fresh start! Redeeming Word Church is a growing, thriving ministry experiencing God’s grace and favor beyond measure.