ABOUT US
MEET THE PASTORS
SHAWN AND SONNY HENNESSY
“WE’RE NOT HERE TO BUILD A CHURCH, WE’RE HERE TO BUILD THE KINGDOM”
Shawn and Sonny Hennessy moved to the Green Bay in 2013 after living in cities from coast to coast including: Tacoma, WA, Memphis and Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, Tampa, FL and San Diego, CA. Making Green Bay home was the Hennessy’s returning to their northern roots. Shawn is from Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, MI-- separated only by the Detroit River. Sonny grew up on a ranch on the border of Montana and Wyoming near the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Within the first seven years, Life Church grew from 145 people to 4,000 in physical weekly attendance. They grew so quickly, they were in three different buildings in four years. In order to reach more people than could fit in an auditorium, they launched an online campus that grew to reach tens of thousands weekly. Life Church was named the 2nd fastest growing church in 2017. Shawn has been with the Packers as their Chaplain for 5 seasons.
Then the pandemic hit. Their online presence was already established so their pivot was to quickly make their content be as binge-worthy as Netflix. Their mission to reach people with the Life-Giving message of Jesus drove them to lean into the extra time awarded to them to provide the best quality, most contextual Biblical teachings, worship videos and kids shows.
Because the Hennessy's have never been satisfied with Sunday-only-church which can lead to Sunday only Christians, they intentionally invested in buildings and opened multiple businesses in 2018, the first being The Exchange downtown De Pere to reach the (920) marketplace for Jesus. *See more on The Exchange below.
Realizing that years ago they were already reaching beyond the (920) area code, they began working with investors for start-ups all over the country with the same mission of bringing Jesus to people in the marketplace and then plugging them into a local church because we aren’t here to build a church but to help build the Kingdom of heaven.
Life Church is governed by a board of directors comprised of 3 local members, 3 out of state Pastors, and 1 Seminary President.
we are a
JOURNEY TO WHOLENEsS
CHURCH
Born out of Life Church, Journey to Wholeness has been on a mission to course correct lives in the (920) and beyond since 2014. We all need to understand how our brain functions and how unacknowledged trauma influences our thoughts, feelings and behaviors so we can understand what is affecting us today. When you do, you can effectively move in the direction that will give you the results you want. When you don’t, you won’t.
CULTURE IS A BIG DEAL HERE
We focus on culture because curated culture has intentional effects. Simply, we get our culture from the character Jesus modeled. We are life-giving, we are kind, we are peaceful, we are inspired and we are generous. Here’s how we put that into action:
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pastoral restoration
Life and ministry is difficult, and the pressure is immense. The Exchange Collaborative offers tailored pastoral restoration programs for pastors and resources for high-performing leaders.
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podcasts
We provide fresh, high quality podcasts on many different topics. Journey to Wholeness for emotional help, Father Seekers for fatherlessness, A Sonny Look at the Bible or LC Sunday Messages for Theology and Leadership Development, Chew on That for fun recaps of the Sunday’s message, and even more!
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Exchange
Located in the heart of downtown De Pere, the Exchange Coffee, Mercantile & Eatery is a ministry to the marketplace at its finest and models all of our life-giving culture as we walk alongside the public.
The Exchange Story
In 2018, we realized that we wanted a way to be present in the community more than just at Sunday morning services. We intentionally decided to invest and become a part of the business sector in the Green Bay area.
Thus, the Exchange Coffee, Mercantile & Eatery was born. Open Tuesday to Saturday, the Exchange is a life-giving, culture creating brand meant to reach the people of the (920). The unique products and peaceful environment inspires through its simple elegance. Whether you’re in need of an incredible cup of coffee, a bubble waffle, gourmet crepe or salad, a thoughtful gift, or a haircut from the parlor, the Exchange is for our city.
The Exchange Coffee, Mercantile and Eatery believes in being life-giving, inspired, peaceful, and kind because you deserve a better (920) and we can build it together.
The Exchange Coffee, Mercantile and Eatery is a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of Life Church Green Bay, Inc. and all profits go toward its local and international ministries which bring the life-giving message of Jesus to the 920 and beyond.
Any future plans to expand in business concepts or other cities are funded by private investors or partners from that local city and separate from Life Church Green Bay.
Our vision is that this model would inspire other cities to locally invest in their dirt, to bring life-giving experiences to more communities, If you are interested in bringing this concept to your area, please contact us HERE.
To learn more about our culture and what we do, download our special edition Life & Culture Magazine.