We are here because of the good news of Jesus Christ.
We are a church family of believers in Jesus who are committed to following Him growing together in His grace.
We gather each week to worship the one true God revealed in the Bible. We're grateful for the privilege He has given us to worship, live, and serve in our community.
Who We Are
We are a church that aims to exalt God, equip the saints, edify one another, and evangelize the lost.
Exalt
We strive to worship God, who is worthy of our praise and adoration. It’s our aim to behold the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as revealed in Scripture and respond in wonder and praise.
Edify
We strive to build up one other. The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. We come alongside each other to encourage and challenge each other to walk with God.
Equip
We strive for each believer to be equipped to know and serve Jesus and to equip others to do the same.
Evangelize
We strive for people to know Jesus. It’s our goal that those around us would come to know Jesus through saving faith in the gospel––the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to free people from sin.
What to Expect
Our Services
Because God calls us to meet Him in corporate worship, we seek to pattern our services according to His Word, the Bible. Our goal when we come together is to meet with God as we read the Word, hear the Word preached, and sing the truths of the Word.
Children
We are thankful to have a congregation with many children, and we love seeing and hearing them as they participate in corporate worship. We encourage all parents to train their children to worship as part of the church. We provide a nursery for children up to age 2 for the entire worship service, and we do have the option for a children's church during the sermon for ages 3-K.
Sermon
Preaching is generally expositional, meaning that it seeks to systematically work through passages of Scripture, declaring the point of a particular Biblical passage, with practical application rooted in the redemptive story of Scripture. Sermons usually last around 45 minutes and are packed with material for reflection. Our sermon series regularly alternate between the Old and New Testaments. All preaching is driven by the Gospel, the Bible’s main message of God saving sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sunday School & Adult Bible Fellowship
On Sunday morning at 9:00a, we come together for classes for all ages, where we learn topically about God’s Word and its application to all areas of life. Following Sunday School, we have about a 30-minute break with light refreshments before our morning worship service begins at 10:30a.
Music
As with everything in our worship services, our worship in music flows from Scripture. We love singing rich hymns from the past as well as many modern hymns.
Meet Our Leadership
Ben Gunderson
Lead Pastor
Pastor Ben began serving at Chisago Lakes in May of 2015 as Assistant Pastor. He was called to serve as the Senior Pastor in November of 2020. He was born and raised in Rochester, MN.
Ben earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Northland Baptist Bible College in 2009 and an M.Div from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in 2019.
Pastor Ben and his wife, Autumn, have been blessed with five children: Ellie, Adalyn, Lucy, Hudson, and Cooper.
Andrew Solarek
Associate Pastor
Pastor Andrew Solarek joined the Chisago Lakes Baptist Church staff in the summer of 2023. Pastor Andrew oversees our family and discipleship ministries. He has been involved in ministry in some capacity for over 18 years.
Andrew earned a B.A. in Bible Studies from Maranatha Baptist University and a M.A. in Biblical Studies from Maranatha Baptist Seminary. He is currently pursuing ACBC certification.
Pastor Andrew and his wife Jessica have three kids: Klayton, Eden, and Preston.
Michael Elliott
CCS Administrator
Michael Elliott began serving at Chisago Christian School in July of 2014. Prior to moving to the Minnesota area, he was a teacher and the administrator of a Christian school located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Michael received a B.A. in Music from Cornerstone University and went on to earn a Post-Bachelor Teaching Certificate - Elementary Education from Northern Michigan University. He has over 15 years of experience in teaching/administration in Christian Education. Michael is currently working toward a Master’s of Education degree.
Michael and his wife, Laura, have six children: Seth, Jonah, Benjamin, Joshua, Lily, and Russell.
Staff
What We Believe
We seek to be Word-driven.
The Word of God governs our life, and we believe the Bible points to Jesus Christ. The Bible is God's written Word—His communication to us of who He is, what He does, and what He expects of us. The Bible alone holds the authoritative answers to the questions of life and eternity. Because we believe the gospel is central and that our church life should be governed by the Word of God, we practice expository preaching. We believe that the Bible is relevant and contains everything we need to live life as God designed it.
We seek to be Christ-centered.
The message of the Bible is the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We seek to share this message compassionately with the hurting to make a difference in our community, while also engaging in committed missions efforts throughout the world. We are ordinary people who submit to the work of God in our hearts to change us to become more like His Son, Jesus.