what are people saying

"We moved to Holmen two years ago and were "church shopping." It was difficult for us to leave our other congregation and we were hoping we could find something similar...and we did (plus more) with Bridge of Life. Bridge of Life "fits" well with our family. It's smaller and certainly has a "family feel" to it (our kids sometimes even sit with others in the congregation)! The people in the congregation are all very welcoming and loving. Kids' presence is encouraged and enjoyed.

One of the things that drew us to this church was Pastor Steve and the non-traditional approach to the worship. It's very casual and fun. A few members from the congregation play the keyboard and sing...and Pastor Steve plays the guitar. There's even an outdoor service with a campfire (remember church camp when you were a kid? It will remind you of that) Pastor Steve uses awesome power points with pictures/graphics in his sermons which keeps everyone's attention (even the kids)! Pastor's sermons are also very practical, thought-provoking, and engaging.

Programming for children has been fun and the kids love all the activities. We also get the kids involved in projects with the adults in the congregation, which is fantastic to watch the benefit to all the generations.

We hope you'll come worship with us and experience all that Bridge of Life has to offer."
Nate and Nicole Johnson Brennan, Emma, and Grace

During my pregnancy in the summer of 2005, Pastor Steve knocked on our door. He welcomed us to the area and gave me some information about the campfire worship services at Bridge of Life. I was intrigued by the idea, and mentioned it to my husband that night. We weren’t sure if we were ready to explore a new church at that time. We both knew we felt a connection to God, but we never felt connected to a church. In fact, most of our experiences with church had turned us off to it, and had even caused us to question our faith. Although we weren’t ready, we didn’t dismiss the possibility of trying Bridge of Life, and tucked it into the back of our minds.

Time passed…and before we knew it our little addition had arrived, grown, and was already 6 months old! We had always known we would want to have her baptized, but we wanted to do it for the right reasons and not just because we were going through the motions. I contacted Pastor Steve, and he was glad to come and meet with me to discuss some of the questions we had about faith, baptism and Bridge of Life.

It took us some time, thought, and discussion, but we finally decided to attend our first campfire worship service. It was a decision we’ll never regret. The music is uplifting and unique, the services are relevant to our lives, and they help us to answer questions we ask ourselves every day. We felt welcomed and comfortable at Bridge of Life from the beginning, which has given us the ability to truly explore our faith. We feel so blessed that our family has a place in Bridge of Life. It is a place that provides us guidance and support without judgment, yet allows us to define the ways in which we continue to grow spiritually. Our journey at Bridge of Life has just begun, and we look forward to all that we will learn and share together!

In the summer of 2006 I read an interesting article about Bridge of Life in the Saturday edition of the La Crosse Tribune (article from the La Crosse Tribune). The part of the article that intrigued me the most was the Pastor’s mention of the “unchurched”. That the mission of Bridge of Life was to reach out to people, like me, in the community who don’t go to church. I had been looking for a while for a place for my teenage daughter to attend. Her only exposure was infrequently on holidays. I was looking to find a place where she could connect and give her a sense of community, yet make up her own mind if church was for her. I want her to have something to fall back on and help her when she needs it, as she grows older.

I went out to the Bridge of Life website and read more. The more I read the more intrigued I became because I was looking for a church to take my daughter that has kids programs and where we would feel welcome. I met Pastor Steve for coffee at Perkins. It amazed me how open he was to the questions I asked about religion and life in general. I didn’t feel like he thought he had all the answers or judged me for questioning various practices and beliefs. When I was growing up, I felt like questions about religion were not allowed. We were taught and forced to accept on face value without question.

We decided to give Bridge of Life a try and I continue to be amazed by the people, the programs, and the positive affect the experience is having on my daughter. Mackenzie, who will ask “are we going to church?” When I tell her we are going, she smiles and excitedly says “Yeah”! We both like the singing and I especially like the interaction Pastor Steve has with the congregation during the services. He allows all of us to be connected at a peer level. I know I can confide in him. And on occasions, he has based sermons on some of the discussions we’ve had over breakfast.

I admire the perseverance of members who go through extremely difficult times and because of their faith and support of the congregation find the strength to continue on and not give up. I came to Bridge of Life with no expectations for myself, just hope for my daughter, however I found much more than I expected. I found a community of people who don’t just talk the talk. They walk the walk. Church is not just a ritual at Bridge of Life. We’re here for each other. I don’t really understand how it works. There is something here that really matters and that is behind it all.

I moved back to the area in the very early spring of 2003. I frequently drove by the Seven Bridges Bank building where Bridge of Life meets as I live less than a mile away. Each time I thought, “I should check that church out…” but I never took the time to do so. For over a year I drove past, but I was still angry with God, so I never stopped. In 1997, my beautiful 21 year-old daughter died, and I couldn’t understand why and I blamed God. Yet, I knew that a spiritual connection was what was missing from my life. I didn’t feel like I fit in at the large churches. I did not want a church that was too small where I would stand out. I still wanted to remain in the background with my grief. Also, I was afraid that the church would always be asking for me to do this, be on that committee, and join that circle and always asking for more money. So, I stayed away. That all changed when I went to Bridge of Life. I now do all these things freely, with a passion and sense of community and stewardship that I have never had.

In 2005 I went to ‘Yes, Holmen’ for the first time. I saw a colleague from my job who was at the Bridge of Life booth. I stopped to talk to her and signed up for their drawing of a carved wooden plate. I never win anything, so I didn’t think anymore about it. A few days later, I received a phone call that changed my life. I had won the drawing for the plate! Pastor Steve from Bridge of Life, offered to deliver it personally to my house. During our long visit, I discovered that he and his wife, Diane were in a Christian singing group with one of my closest cousins in the 1970’s. They had spent many hours on my aunt and uncle’s farm north of Holmen, which I too had spent much time at. It was fate! I knew I had to check out this church!

In March 2005, the first day I went to Bridge of Life, I went in telling myself, “keep and open mind but remember, it’s a small congregation and they will probably make too many demands on me and I won’t like that, so I probably won’t come back again.” How wrong I was! After my first service, I was hooked. I find myself getting back early from vacations just so I can go to worship, making sure I don’t have any other commitments on Wednesday nights so I can attend the campfire services. I have never been pressured to do anything and I am more involved than I ever thought I would be, but it is because I want to be. Bridge of Life Church has become a new and wonderful family for me! The unity candle at Bridge of Life is in celebration of the memory and life of my daughter Brandi. I’m finally able to sing a full song without crying. I feel blessed to finally have the spiritual connection that I was missing and to be able to share that connection with the wonderful people at Bridge of Life. TJ Barth

We moved to the La Crosse area four years ago and were searching…for a church that would welcome us and our two small children, for a pastor that would really get to know us, for an engaging worship style that would involve our kids, and for a family that we could turn to in good times and bad. We wanted to join a church that wasn’t too large, where people didn’t mind if our children were “children” and made noise occasionally, and we did not want one where we were just going through the motions. I was told that there was this new church in the Holmen area that had campfire worship and it caught my interest immediately. We attended one campfire worship service and were hooked. We were impressed by how quickly we were welcomed by everyone at Bridge of Life. They really wanted to get to know us and invited us back for more!

We are very outdoors oriented and this worship style met our needs in so many ways. We appreciate the family-friendly indoor worship services too. The music is heartfelt and Pastor Steve delivers sermons that are tied to everyday life in a style that is easy to follow. We really appreciate the ability to follow a service without having to juggle our children, a hymnal, and a bulletin. Our children enjoy attending Kids Connection and roasting marshmallows over the campfire. Bridge of Life is growing and we feel blessed to be able to contribute to that growth and the plans for the future. After one year, we feel like we have an extended family in Holmen that cares for us as we care for them. Ryan and Michelle Olson, Samantha and Ben