THE LARK STORY

After years of leading churches, Russ and Tony found themselves exhausted in a system that was about people becoming someone for God instead of trusting in who Jesus already is for us. They knew they couldn’t live—or help others live—in the freedom Jesus gave and keep their jobs. So they resigned and started Lark. 

From the start, the vision was simple. What if instead of creating another form of church Jesus didn’t do, we do what He did: Be friends people can learn from, laugh with, and lean on. Lark was born from this leap. Not to build another exclusive club, but to be a voice and space for those longing for the freedom faith was always meant to bring.

“Vision” is a tricky word for a species obsessed with grabbing control—control we weren’t given and weren’t built for. So instead of chasing a vision, we’re leaning into the freedom of being friends who help others live free—no membership models, no metrics, no strings attached.

What we’ve learned is that it’s the time we spend with people that truly scales. Jesus showed us this when He set aside sermons to be someone who was available—telling stories, asking questions, and giving people an unhurried space to practice faith.

Our hope is to empower a global movement of friends who help others live free, right where they are. We believe this is the essence of the Church Jesus started: no brands to build, no platforms to manage—just people passing on relief in the everyday moments of life.

Because the tattered stories of our lives—and the shipwreck of human history—are the very places Jesus said He could be found. To speak of Him, as Scripture shows us, is never to speak of Him in isolation. It’s to speak of the Father and Spirit who are one with Him—and of all humanity. For in Him is “life” itself, our very existence, “the one in whom we live and move and have our being” (John 10; 14; Acts 17).

This is why any version of “following Jesus” or “having real faith” that centers on perfecting your story or fixing society misses the point. It doesn’t just fail us; it fails Him. It fails Jesusbecause it undermines the reconciliation He already accomplished for everyone (Col 1:15-20). And it fails the world because it offers a false hope—a hope dependent on what we’re doing and who we’re becoming, instead of the freedom found in who Jesus already is for us.

When we look to Jesus, we don’t see a teacher handing out bullet points or leading a study group. We see someone who asks questions, shares meals, and tells stories—open-ended conversations that invite people to wrestle, wonder, and discover.

Sermons and studies can declare what the Scriptures say, but they can’t teach you to live free. Why? Because faith isn’t something you master—it’s something you practice. And that happens in conversations where you can be honest about who you are and where you’re at in life. It’s unhurried and unplanned, not pushed or programmed.

It’s for this reason that we’re committed to the one thing we can do: bring the open-ended conversation of grace into real life, rather than straining to bring the change we believe is needed in others and within our control.

The “church” is best defined in Scripture as flawed, everyday people who are learning to trust Jesus. It’s who we are, not somewhere we go.

The Church gathered is best described in Scripture as “unnamed friendships” where the conversation of grace is always unconditional, the life of grace is unhurried, and the spread of grace is unlimited. 

Recognizing this, we’re committed to the one thingwe can do: bring the conversation of grace into real life, rather than straining to bring the change we believe is needed in others and within our control.

We hold to the doctrines expressed in the Apostle's 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 broken 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, and happens on his time. Not ours.

Yes, Lark is a licensed non-profit organization governed by a dedicated Board of Directors. Together, we are committed to helping people live in the freedom faith was always meant to bring. As a recognized non-profit, all donations to Lark are fully tax-deductible.