Our Beginnings

Renton Christian Center was planted in 1982 in the Fairwood area by Alex and Pam Ohlsen and has grown from a team of 9 people to our current size of around 150 attending on Sunday mornings. We met at Fairwood Elementary school until 1988, when we built and moved into our current facility on Old Petrovitsky Road. At the time, this part of Fairwood was mostly rural and undeveloped, but we knew that God was calling us to minister to this community. Little did we know that over the next several years a school and large housing developments would be built across the street!

From Rural to Urban

In the early 2000’s King County decided to clarify which areas would become highly developed urban areas and which ones would remain protected under the title of “rural lands.” At that time RCC was adjacent to, but outside of the Urban Boundary Line. Sensing that we would eventually need to build again, we petitioned the county to include our property within the urban boundary. Miraculously, God granted us favor, the line was moved, and we were given the coveted urban status.

Growing Where We are Planted

Over the last 35 years, RCC’s attendance has risen and fallen, programs and plans have been implemented and later set aside, facility improvements have been made and building projects have been put on the back burner. However, what has never faded into the background is our commitment to loving the people in our neighborhood, helping each person pursue wholeness and transformation, and our passion for playing the “long game” - where what we do and how we love draws generations into real relationships with Jesus.

Our Passion

We have come to the conclusion that sitting around and waiting for people to show up for Sunday morning services is not the best way to demonstrate God’s purposeful love. So we’re very proactive in building relationships with the students and families in the schools right across the street from us, and with the people who live in the neighborhoods around us. We’ve found that there are all kinds of practical ways that we can bring the “seasoning salt and warming light” of Jesus to our neighbors and infuse people with a curiosity to know Him more!