Humility
We make room for others. We are hosts, not gatekeepers.
THE HEART OF OUR PLACE
Welcome first.
Faith centered.
We believe people belong before they believe. Our Place is a community where people can come as they are, be heard, and take their next step when they’re ready.
OUR VISION
A community
of welcome
and belonging.
At Our Place, we invite people from all walks of life to come as they are, encountering the heart of God’s sacrificial love and finding refuge and belonging in a dark and hurting world.
Our mission is simple: love authentically, connect intentionally, serve purposefully. We focus on people before programs, making room for trust, presence, and relationship.
HOW WE SHOW UP
Four values. Everyday practice.
Truth
We listen honestly and speak with integrity. Real questions are welcome.
Grace
We practice patience, kindness, and mercy, especially in uncertainty.
Authenticity
We show up as ourselves. There is no need to pretend or perform.
AN OPEN DOORWAY
A wide welcome.
A clear center.
Our welcome is rooted in Christ’s love. You do not need to share our beliefs to be treated with dignity, to belong, or to ask hard questions.
The arch in our logo represents refuge and home. Its open doorway reminds us that Our Place is a threshold: somewhere to rest, be known, and begin exploring. The mark’s Christian meaning is an invitation to discover, never a condition of welcome.
Our Place supports the wider community. We connect people with local churches, ministries, and community organizations when they’re ready, strengthening those relationships without replacing them.
Explore questions about Our Place ↗
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
Our Place is a place to exhale.
My name is Jude Bender. The road that led me to Our Place has carried grief, questions, hard choices, recovery, and a deeper dependence on Jesus.
When my father was paralyzed when I was 7, our family’s life changed. I learned early that pain can shape a home, and that people often carry more than anyone else can see. During my teenage years, I tried to outrun that tension through unhealthy friendships and choices. A serious ankle injury, surgery, and months of recovery forced me to slow down and face what I had been avoiding.
In that slower season, Christ met me with mercy. He showed me that I could not rescue people through control or pressure. I could love them, listen, tell the truth with gentleness, and trust God with their response. That lesson became part of the seed of Our Place.
I started imagining a community where no one has to pretend before they belong, a threshold where someone can rest, ask honest questions, encounter the love of God, and choose a next step freely. Our Place is my response to that hope, built with friends and offered to our community together.
Jude