WHY THE NAME REDEMPTION HILL CHURCH?

Why the name ‘Redemption Hill Church’?

The name came in a moment as I was listening to a song on one of the Hillsong United album’s ‘All of the Above’. The song titled ‘Lead me to the cross’ started like this:

“Savior I come
Quiet my soul, remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost”

We believe that the church should be a loudhailer, a city on a hill, a people who cry out with the Apostle Paul ‘Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel’. The salvation of our God made possible through the horrific death of his Son is what should be first and foremost on our minds and hearts. This in turn should lead us into sweet relationship with Him, and stir us to spend our lives for the sake of seeing the lost reconciled to Him.

What we wanted in a name:

1) An allusion to Christ’s death on the cross of Calvary, the central act of all history. It had to refer to our salvation, as we see this as being central to the church, not simply one part of the whole.

2) Something that nailed our colors to the mast. It had to be a representation of our deepest conviction regarding what God is doing through the church. ‘We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.’ The name reminds us of this redemption that we have and are to represent to the world.

3) A sense of being outward looking instead of inward focused. Redemption Hill implies something to which people can look and see an act of salvation. I hope it reminds us that we are people on mission, living for something greater than ourselves.

4) Something strong.

5) Something that could be abbreviated well without sounding dumb. We think we will become known as ‘Redemption’.

6) The word ‘church’ so that people know what we are and don’t have to guess.

What we didn’t want in a name:

1) The usual stereotypes.

2) Location specific names to limit us to one geographical location.

3) Names that highlight one aspect of the church above another such as fellowship, family, etc. We feel that Redemption is more than just an aspect of the church.

4) Something so vague that it could be mistaken for a rotary club, hobby group, soccer team, common interest group, or cult.

And that is why we decided to name it Redemption Hill Church.