Hi, Russ and Tony here.
We spent years leading what we call church—hitting the numbers. And the better it worked, the harder freedom was to find.
We were managing faith like a project for self-improvement. Meanwhile, Jesus kept pulling up chairs with people who didn’t have it together, inviting them to tell the truth about their lives—and showing them the grace holding them there.
Why? Because people don’t learn to live free by hearing more about grace. Freedom grows where struggles are honest and grace is trusted.
That’s when it hit us: Grace is a lark—a joke on the rules we invented, told by the One who never played along.
So we started Lark to see what happens when that life spreads again.
Today, Lark is a growing network of friends helping people live free through honest conversations of grace.
-
Most of us are exhausted from trying to have it together. Because as humans, we don’t have control. And pretending is the thing wearing us out.
That’s why tables matter.
Around a table, people stop auditioning.
Struggles come into the open.
Grace becomes something we learn to trust.
And faith moves from ideas into lived freedom.That’s what Jesus did. And after Him, the first Christians did the same. The Bible called them the Church—not a place you go, but people learning to live free.
That’s the vision behind Lark: putting faith back around ordinary tables—where honesty and grace meet.
So be part of what’s happening. Through your support and participation, we create resources, travel to tables, and help people make these conversations normal around their own.
👉 Get Connected -
Lark is not another version of “church” Jesus didn’t create or call for.
No services to keep running.
No crowds to count.
No charts to validate what we’re doing.This work lives where Jesus put it—
inside ordinary lives,
around cluttered tables,
held together by time, honesty, and grace.
Why?Because people don’t learn to live free by hearing more about grace.
Freedom grows where struggles are honest and grace is trusted.To learn more about where the Bible teaches this, check out:
-
We hold to the doctrines expressed in the Nicene Creed in general, and specifically to the following:
About Christ: Aware of humanity's perpetual love affair with performance, Jesus tells the most shocking stories of grace to level all our empires of progress. For both religious Pharisees with resumes and despondent tax-collecting outcasts, Jesus did the impossible. He reconciled all to God through His death and resurrection. This “Good News” is the invitation out of the exhausting madness of trying to hide the junk of our lives. We are free to be nothing in Christ.
About Church: The mystery of the kingdom of God is like a dragnet being hauled to shore, catching everything in its path. It rejects nothing, Jesus said. One day this net will arrive on the beach, and the angels, not us, will determine what is and what is not. In the meantime, we are free to be what we are: a random sampling of the frail world that God has united himself to in Christ. To be the Church and pretend we are anything more would be false advertisement.
About Change: We are conditional creatures. But only because we love the allure of control that lies with if/then transactions. We want a life of sight—not faith; a life that’s about here—not hope in a place to come; a life that offers lists to assure we’re okay—not a way of love that doesn’t compute. One is tidy, the other is messy. But only one is the life God has actually given us. Like branches on a Vine, we exist solely in the hands of a Vinedresser. Transformation is His work. Not ours.
-
Lark runs on generosity—no ads, no paywalls, no brand to sell.
Just people and businesses who want to put faith back around ordinary tables—where honesty and grace meet.
That generosity creates the time and space for resources, travel, and conversations that fuel this vision.
We’re a registered nonprofit (with a Board who keeps us honest), which means every gift is tax-deductible.
If you’d like to help carry the work, you can do that here.
-
![A man with a beard and tattoos wearing a denim jacket and white t-shirt, sitting and gesturing with his hands as if talking or explaining something.]()
Russ Johnson
Russ lives in Southwest Florida with his high school sweetheart, their 9 year-old, and a revolving door of grown kids and two new grandsons. He’s an author and podcaster who traded pastoring for finding missing Legos, training boiler operators, and conversations on the road.
-
![Man with tattoos and sunglasses sitting at a wooden picnic table outdoors, holding a glass of beer toward the camera. Other people are sitting at a table in the background, surrounded by trees.]()
Tony Sorci
Tony hails from Northwest Indiana, where he and his wife, Pam, are raising four kids. He’s the founder and creative director of Katiko Creative and proud to be a Lark. In a former life, people called him “pastor,” but now he’s known for his enthusiasm for tacos al pastor.
-
![A woman with wavy, shoulder-length hair smiling outdoors with a tree in the background. She has a nose piercing and tattoos on her arm, wears gold necklaces and a white top.]()
Sarah Mezzera
Sarah brings a unique perspective to the Larkcast, fueled by her passion for capturing and sharing people’s stories. She’s married to Chad, a mom of two, and the proud owner of Butterbee, a unique tattoo shop just outside of St. Louis.
-
![A man in a green t-shirt sitting at a table, smiling and laughing in a restaurant or cafe setting.]()
Josh Chevalier
Josh is a husband to Cari, a father of four, and sports writer who offers people a safe place to land, and there…find freedom in who Jesus is. He emdowers movement from the music city of Austin, TX.
-
![A young woman with long blonde hair and a white shirt, smiling at the camera in a cozy, warmly lit room with patterned seating.]()
Christa Johnson
Christa is a rare sixth-generation Floridian, married to her high school sweetheart (Russ 😉). She’s a devoted mom of three, a new grandma, a sassy homemaker, and the owner of Down Home Vintage, an online shop for unique treasures.
-
![Black and white photo of smiling man with short tousled hair and beard, outdoors near water.]()
Mike Jarrell
Mike is a husband to Jackie, a father of three, a lover of Philly Cheesesteaks, the Eagles, and slowing down with people. In his past life he was a “missional church” pastor. Today he helps people reimagine the Church where they are.
-
![A man in a dark shirt, glasses, and a baseball cap sitting and smiling indoors near a window, holding a phone.]()
Jameson Allen
Jameson brings language and insights to the resources of Lark. Hailing from Iowa, he is married to his hishschool sweetheart, a father of 4, and a theology junkie who loves the long versions of people’s stories.
-
![A black and white photo of a couple taking a selfie behind a motorcycle on a street, with buildings and cars in the background.]()
The Mayfield's
Ryan is an entrepreneur and Cadrian is an executive assistant. Outside of work, their hope is to cultivate conversations in Tulsa —and beyond—that help ordinary people find the freedom to reimagine life in who Jesus already is for them.
