Real Life campus coming to Dr. Phillips

Real Life Christian Church will open its newest campus this fall at Dr. Phillips High School.

By Jennifer Nesslar
| 9:13 p.m. June 29, 2016

Southwest Orange
News

DR. PHILLIPS Dr. Phillips will be home to Real Life Christian Church’s next campus, which launches at Dr. Phillips High School this fall.

The church is scheduled to start Sept. 18 at the school’s Performing Arts Center.

Real Life has an outreach called Vision Orlando, through which it plants high-capacity churches throughout the Orlando area.

“When we were evaluating our next campus, we were just kind of looking at the map and said, ‘OK, we’ve done a good job of surrounding Orlando, but we don’t have anything right in the middle of it,’” Chase Tennyson, Dr. Phillips campus pastor, said.

MEET CHASE TENNYSON

Tennyson grew up in Orlando and attended Dr. Phillips High School, so the area feels like home to him. For now, Tennyson lives in Clermont but plans to move back to Dr. Phillips in order to be part of the community there.

When Tennyson began attending Real Life eight years ago, he was encouraged to start serving. After a while, he was serving so much that the church hired him part time. Eventually, he quit his job and came on staff as a full-time pastor.

As pastor, Tennyson will oversee the church community in Dr. Phillips. He will work to make sure the church is operating smoothly, from operations during the service to connecting with the people who attend.

“I can’t wait to see what God’s going to do in the community,” he said. “And honestly, I can’t wait to meet my new best friends.”

They decided Dr. Phillips was the perfect place to start the next campus.

“God started opening some doors there, so we started walking through them,” Tennyson said.

At each of Real Life’s campuses, there is a live worship band and KidLife program. Most Sundays, the message will be from Real Life’s lead pastor, Justin Miller, via simulcast. When Miller isn’t preaching, Tennyson will.

REAL LIFE VALUES

When you walk in to any of Real Life’s campuses, Tennyson said you will notice a lot of mingling and connections happening before the service. The church aims to have powerful, contemporary worship with a relevant message that teaches straight from the Bible with simple terms.

“We want to get the message out that God’s crazy about you; no matter who you are, what you are, what you’ve done, God’s crazy about you,” Tennyson said. “Our vision is changed lives. Really, that’s what it’s about. We believe that changed lives change lives.”

Real Life wants to create a place where people can experience God without needing to wear a tie, Tennyson said.

The Dr. Phillips campus will offer a KidLife program for children, which takes place on Sunday mornings, allowing children to connect with each other. For adults, the church provides Life Groups, which will meet in local homes, restaurants and coffee shops. The groups allow those who attend the church to grow with a smaller group of people.

For more, visit real.life/drphillips.

Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].