“My wife and I came here because we’d been on a difficult journey through a handful of modern Evangelical churches that all claimed to be “Biblical,” but they really weren’t. We were tired of false promises, bad theology, emotional manipulation, and hype. We had actually done our homework about the beliefs of this church body, so we had an idea of what to expect, but now that we’ve been here a while it’s even better than we hoped for. Not because of entertaining sermons or fancy programs, but because we are finally hearing the true Gospel, week after week. It’s funny because even though we were tired of churches over-emphasizing emotions all the time, we really do feel better when we come home from church now!”

“As a young couple searching for a solid, Bible-believing church, we were often turned off by the obvious pandering being done by churches that seemed to be desperate to attract new members. At Risen Savior, we were carefully taught about the true Gospel message without any of the pandering and compromising we had experienced elsewhere. We thank God for this great little church home!”

“I had grown up in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and I left the synod when I was just out of High School. I wanted to find a place that fit the way I wanted the service to go, like have cool music, and be less formal. I wanted a place where I felt I could fit in more, and was more “with the times.” Sure I found churches that had the modern music, and were less formal, but they all seem to be missing something. After church I was still all tied up inside, I was feeling very lost and the pressure was not going away. Wasn’t going to church suppose to help me feel rested, feel loved, and help me not to feel alone in this world? I was not finding any of that in the churches that I was attending, even though they had all the stuff I wanted.

I found my way back to the WELS church one Sunday. I heard what had been missing from all the other churches. I heard how nothing I would do was going to get me to heaven. That I didn’t need to worry because I was given the gift free, from God. Just to hear the Gospel regularly again started to relieve the pressure, and I was not “tied-up” inside like before. I heard that we all are sinners and that one person’s sin isn’t any worse than anyone else’s in God’s eye; that God loves us in spite of our sinfulness; that his love for us is so great that he sent his only son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that we would be reconciled with God. I was not feeling alone anymore, and every other person at church was in the same boat as I was, a sinner filled with remorse, but being told that our sins have been forgiven. It ended up that I didn’t need to have a church that had cool music, or a less formal service. I just needed to sit down and listen to the truth from the Bible and hear about how I am loved, and that I am forgiven not because of what I have done but because of what Jesus has done for me. ”

“We had a long, difficult experience with a large Charismatic church in Madison. We were always being told about something bigger and better that was (supposedly) right around the corner. But after decades of broken promises and confusing teachings we found ourselves here, by the grace of God. The emphasis on ‘Sola Scriptura’ (Scripture Alone) is taken seriously here. In other words, we aren’t being taught the confusing and contradictory teachings of men. For the first time in our lives, this verse is a reality: ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’”