From Nightclub to Promised Land
The 15-Year Journey of Restoration Anglican Church, its Pastor, and its People
Starting Church in a Nightclub
On a Sunday in October 2009, at a borrowed nightclub in Addison, the scene of countless parties, club-dancing, and hookups, Restoration Anglican Church got its start. She was there too, in all her glory.
She? My son and founding church planter/pastor, will never forget the brightly painted mural on the nightclub. It displayed a voluptuously endowed woman lying prone in a state of undress. The R-rated graphic was suitable, decorative art for the club’s main evening clientele, but for this new church, it wouldn’t matter. The people hadn’t come to Sambuca’s for Margaritas and salsa dip. They were launching a new Anglican congregation, Restoration Anglican Church, church #1 in the Anglican1000 Church Planting Movement of the Anglican Church in North America.
Fast forward to Sunday, October 20, 2024. The 15-year old congregation celebrated their anniversary, thanking God for His faithfulness. Fran and I were there to celebrate the milestone. Restoration is our church home. And for me, the 15th birthday was extra-special because the church was planted by our son Jed Roseberry and his wife Stacy when their children were under the age of five.
In 2009, after Jed spent a few years on the staff of Christ Church, the congregation my wife and I planted in 1985, Jed told me he sensed a calling to start his own work, a new Anglican church in the North Dallas area. I wasn’t surprised. I fully understood his conviction. But, as he will remember, I strongly advised him to stay with the home church longer and get a little more experience.
However, I know my son well, and whatever reason or justification I could suggest for a delay would be treated as a speed bump on his way down the road. He and Stacy were determined. They both sensed the call. There was only one thing I could do: bless it!
It has been a 15-year journey, to be sure. Jed will not forget the musical-chair locations the congregation endured over the years. From the nightclub venue to a hotel conference room, to an incubator location in a warehouse district, and finally to a wedding venue in Richardson, Restoration Anglican Church has been on the move. Literally.
A Church and A Leader
Emerson once said that an institution is the lengthened shadow of a leader. He meant that over time, the values of the organization look like the values of its leader. A congregation's spirituality will look like its leader's personal faith. More plainly, a leader's heart will be seen in the hearts of the gathered people.
This has been true of Restoration, and their success and faith says a lot about their spiritual leaders, Jed and Stacy.
Jed possesses a remarkable talent for pastoral guidance rooted in his distinctive wisdom. Fran and I have consistently recognized Jed's exceptional ability to discern options and help people make choices. We've sought his advice, separately and together, on multiple occasions. Moreover, he excels at fostering and encouraging unique vocations in others. Within his congregation, he listens to the passions and aspirations of members, helping them develop their ministries. His confidence in his congregants' abilities has yielded beautiful results - genuine ministries thrive at Restoration under his pastoral leadership.
Stacy is a vital presence at Restoration in more ways than I can count. She is a full-time everything. She has a whirlwind job as a renovation contractor. She has been an incredible mother to our grandchildren and their activities, programs, schooling and social life. I love her dearly and respect the major-league gifts she has brought to their family, to Jed, and to the church and to our entire family. She is one of the most accomplished people I know and I admiringly call her a force of nature.
But as accomplished as she is, her love is not things, tasks, or finishing project. She loves people and always has time for them. And more than that, she loves God and always has time for worshipping him. No matter how hard her week has been--and she balances juggling balls on spinning plates all the time--there she is on Sunday, hands raised in prayer, sweetly singing praise with a little lilt in her step. She loves the Lord, her husband and children, and Restoration. I know she feel it has been the perfect place to be for these past fifteen years.
Jed is an incredibly gregarious man who can make and keep great, long-time friends. (In his earlier years, he was a groomsman in over 20 weddings!) He has a gift not mentioned in the New Testament, but it should have been friendship. The Apostle Paul had it himself. Paul is the friendliest man in the Bible, with a list of over 70 people mentioned by name in his letters. Jed has that, too.
This likability is reflected in the congregation, too. They like each other. If the people aren't seated in their chairs ready for worship when the clock strikes ten, it's because they are greeting each other, back-slapping, hugging, and catching up with the rest of the community. And anyone would notice that the same group is the same way when the service ends. No one ever seems to be in a hurry to get out and go home. Restoration is a great community of good friends who worship together.
I have been attending there for the past six years and have seen the joy the church brings. The fellowship is genuine, and the heart for worshipping God is truly authentic.
On Sunday, as the church celebrated its fifteen years, I thought about my son and daughter-in-law and the tremendous life they have built for themselves, their children, and their congregation. Jed and Stacy are pushing into their upper forties, but you would never know it. They seem to never age. They are still young and have more to do for the Lord. They have an entire second chapter just around the corner.
It pays to marry early and have your children early. Jed and Stacy are nearly empty nesters! Haley attends classes as a Sophomore at OSU in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Evan is a Junior at J. J. Pearce in Richardson.
When Haley is home from college, she is sure to attend Restoration. She says she misses her home church. Some of the churches near the school are way too informal for her. And some are too stuffy and structured. But for Haley, Restoration is as Goldilocks said. It is just right.
And the church is "just right" for a growing number. The congregation increases yearly, and, as I have noticed, it grows broader too. Children are always in attendance. But the church is expanding its Boomer base (my age), and attracting a new generation of young careerists. It's become a church of all ages for people of all ages.
A man named Chip, in his mid-sixties, took the microphone at the anniversary reception and blew the listeners away.
An Unbelievable Testimony
Chip's story began in the pre-Restoration days when Jed would travel to their neighborhood 30 miles away to offer pastoral ministry to a small group of people thinking about starting a church. That group would never become members of a new church in Richardson—they lived too far away—but Jed ministered to them anyway. He was their chaplain for a time.
Then, as Chip explained, he and his wife attended one of Restoration's early services. On the drive back to their hour-away home, they came to a monumental decision. Why would they plant a church when a new church plant was already in the works, even if it was 30 miles away? They decided to sell their home and move to Richardson to become early members of the yet unproven mission under Jed's leadership: Restoration Anglican Church.
Read that last paragraph again. Chip and Sheri decided to sell their home and relocate to Richardson, Texas, to be near Jed and Stacy and become a support for the church. Jed did not persuade them. There was no pressure at all. But this empty-nest couple felt a strong call to be the Aquila and Priscilla for Jed and Stacy, Paul's legendary support partners in the expansion of the early church. They were "all in" for the dream.
Unbelievable.
Reflection
Looking back on fifteen years of Restoration Anglican Church, I see how God weaves the threads of family, faith, and community. Jed and Stacy have their family. It is solid. They do so much together. They have their faith, too. Each of the Roseberrys is a strong follower of Christ. And they have their church, too. They all love Restoration, not just because their dad is the lead pastor, but because it has been the seedbed of their faith and fellowship through the years. Between family, faith, and their Restoration community, they are all thriving.
God, in His faithfulness, has answered our grandparents prayers in ways far beyond our imagining. Not only are our grandchildren walking with the Lord, but through Jed and Stacy's ministry, countless other families are being shaped by the same faithful God.
As someone who has spent his life around clergy and church leaders, I can say with fatherly pride and pastoral discernment that Jed brings something unique to his calling as Restoration's pastor. His leadership flows not from charisma alone but from a deep well of wisdom and genuine care for others.
As Restoration celebrates fifteen years, they stand as a testament to God's provision and the power of faithful leadership. The congregation that began in a nightclub has become a spiritual home for hundreds, where people of all ages find community and purpose. They look to Jed to set the direction and pace for their walk of faith, and more importantly, they look to God to supply all their needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.
May God continue to bless this fifteen-year-old church, granting them grace, wisdom, and a bold vision for the years ahead. The story of Restoration is far from over—they are still on a journey and it's a legacy still being written, one life at a time.
The Rev. David Roseberry, an ordained Anglican priest with over 40 years of pastoral experience, offers leadership services to pastors, churches, and Christian writers. He is an accomplished author whose books are available on Amazon. Rev. Roseberry is the Executive Director of LeaderWorks, where his work and resources can be found.