Mark and Sandra Neale began this work in 1984 and gave it a name in 1991: Chrisma Ministries, after the Greek word John uses when he writes “you have an anointing from the Holy One”. They travelled internationally, with the same line on all their materials: “bringing the reality of Jesus Christ by the Word of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.”
In 1999, the first Redemption congregation was planted, and in 2001 the Redemption Academy was born: a school for boys and girls from preschool to age eighteen. Mark and Sandra no longer pastor or lead schools, but the ministry continues.
The original mandate still stands. We changed the name to Redemption to mark the beginning of something new. Jesus is the Redeemer, and those who believe are God’s redeemed people. We were slaves to sin and death, but through Jesus, God has given us the greater Exodus into the life of his Spirit and the new creation. Our passion is for children to be discipled in this reality and for adults to embrace its wonder and glory.