Ada Bible Church sits at the corner of Cascade Road and Quiggle Avenue in Ada, Michigan, just outside Grand Rapids, and from that flagship Cascade Campus it now reaches across West Michigan through six locations. It began in early 1978 as eleven Christ followers crowded into a small house in southeast Grand Rapids with a shared vision to spread Christ's message. Nearly five decades later, the same church draws more than 7,800 people on a typical weekend, with campuses spread from Rockford and Belmont on the north, to Wyoming on the west, and down to Caledonia on the south.

What began as a living-room gathering became one church with multiple locations under a single leadership team and a single budget, sharing the same teaching, the same mission, and the same statement of beliefs. The current generation of pastors and ministry leaders describe Ada Bible's heartbeat in three phrases: help people follow Jesus, grow together, and pursue God's mission. That simple rhythm shapes every weekend service, every small group, every kid's classroom, and every mission trip the church supports.

From Eleven People to Six Locations

Ada Bible's first pastor was Joe Smith, who led the congregation as it built and moved into its earliest meeting place on Alta Dale Drive in 1980. Three years later, Jeff Manion arrived as interim Senior Pastor. Manion had a gift for making the Bible come alive for everyday people, and the little congregation soon grew past one hundred regular attenders and outgrew its first building. The elders sold the Alta Dale Drive property and purchased a three-acre parcel on Ada Drive, meeting at a local high school while the new building went up.

The church earned a reputation for dynamic children's ministry, foundational small groups, and transformational teaching. By 1998, attendance had reached roughly 900 men, women, and children, with Sunday mornings expanded to three services and one of them off-site. The elders again took a bold step, sold the Ada Drive building, and bought 61 acres at Cascade Road and Quiggle Avenue. The Cascade Campus opened in 2000 with more than 1,500 people attending three services, and it remains the church's flagship location today.

Growth continued, and the Cascade building was expanded to add children's classrooms, office space, and additional video venues. Eventually the Cascade campus itself was full. The elders responded by launching Ada Bible's first off-site campus in 2008 at Cornerstone University, which drew more than 1,000 people on its very first Sunday. Three years later that congregation moved into its newly constructed home and was renamed the Knapp Street Campus. In 2010 Ada Bible purchased a church building in Caledonia and launched the Kentwood Campus, and in 2015 it purchased 29 acres on East Paris Avenue. The East Paris Campus, the church's fourth site, moved into its building in January 2018.

After forty years of service as Senior Pastor, Jeff Manion transitioned in December 2023 into a new role focused on teaching and mentoring, and Aaron Buer was appointed Senior Pastor. Buer had spent fifteen of his twenty years in ministry at Ada Bible, serving as Student Ministries Pastor, Teaching Pastor, Weekend Services Director, and Executive Teaching Pastor before stepping into his current role. He and his wife, Katie, have five children.

Two new locations followed. In September 2024, Ada Bible launched the West Satellite inside Tri-Unity Christian School on the west side of Grand Rapids, serving Wyoming, Grandville, Jenison, and Hudsonville. In 2025 the Bella Vista Campus opened north of Grand Rapids, born from an extraordinary act of generosity when the congregation of Bella Vista Church donated their building to Ada Bible, entrusting it to continue as a place where the gospel is proclaimed. The Bella Vista Campus merged with what had been the North Satellite and now carries forward both legacies.

The Six Campuses

Ada Bible describes itself as one church in six locations. Every campus preaches the same teaching series, runs the same ministries, and shares the same vision, while each has its own campus pastor and leadership team that shapes the local flavor.

Cascade Campus. The Cascade Campus is Ada Bible's largest congregation, meeting at 8899 Cascade Rd SE in Ada. Services are held Saturdays at 5:30 PM and Sundays at 9 and 11 AM. Campus Pastor Luke Koskinen, who also serves as Director of Student Ministries, describes it as a church family full of life, with people of every generation worshiping together, building genuine friendships, serving one another, and taking courageous steps in their faith. The Cascade Auditorium features live music, and an American Sign Language interpreter is available at the Saturday 5:30 PM service.

East Paris Campus. Located at 1640 East Paris Ave SE in Grand Rapids, the East Paris Campus meets Sundays at 9 and 11 AM and serves central Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids, and the 28th Street corridor. Campus Pastor Jason Ross emphasizes that the church wants to serve its community well, not just on Sundays but all week long. The auditorium seats about 900 people, with live music and a video feed to the weekend teaching.

Knapp Street Campus. The Knapp Street Campus sits on the northeast side of Grand Rapids at 3869 Knapp Street NE, close to I-96, the East Beltline, and Knapp's Corner. Services are Sundays at 9 and 11 AM. Campus Pastor Kevin Baker describes the congregation as people who seek to encourage one another in what it means to love and follow Jesus, and the church welcomes those who are curious about faith, returning after a long absence, or simply looking for a place to belong.

Kentwood Campus. The Kentwood Campus meets at 2045 68th Street SE in Caledonia, just off M-6 and Kalamazoo Avenue, and serves Caledonia, Alto, Kentwood, and Byron Center. Worship is Sundays at 9 and 11 AM. Campus Pastor Nate Harney frames the Kentwood community as a place to meet Jesus, grow in relationship with him and with others, and experience transformation into Christlikeness.

Bella Vista Campus. Located at 5100 Belding Rd NE in Rockford, the Bella Vista Campus serves the communities of Rockford, Belmont, Belding, and the surrounding area. Services are Sundays at 9 and 11 AM. Campus Pastor Brad Holmes, who has spent more than 16 years watching God show up in ordinary moments in people's lives, describes the congregation as people from all kinds of backgrounds gathered for the same reason: to know Jesus, do life with others who are chasing after him, and be people who are actually different because of it.

West Satellite. The newest location meets inside Tri-Unity Christian School at 5353 Wilson Ave SW in Wyoming, offering worship, preaching, and children's ministry on Sundays at 10 AM. The West Satellite is geared toward people on the west side of Grand Rapids, including Wyoming, Grandville, Jenison, and Hudsonville.

What a Weekend Service Looks Like

Every weekend, people across West Michigan gather at Ada Bible's campuses to worship, hear from God's Word, and do life together. The Saturday 5:30 PM service at Cascade and the Sunday services at 9 and 11 AM at Bella Vista, Cascade, East Paris, Kentwood, and Knapp Street share the same teaching series, currently moving through a series on the places in Scripture where God meets his people. The West Satellite meets Sundays at 10 AM.

Worship at Ada Bible blends modern worship songs, timeless hymns, and original music written by the church's own team. The Weekend Songbook playlist on Spotify collects the songs sung across the church each weekend, and the Ada Worship artist page features the team's original recordings. The teaching is conversational and Bible-centered, and pastors regularly walk through books of the Bible and topical series, with sermon guides and devotionals released each week to help the conversation continue at home during the week.

Visitors are invited to come as they are. There is no dress code. A typical service runs about an hour and includes a few songs, prayer, the sermon, and an opportunity to respond. Giving is not expected from first-time visitors; giving boxes are available at every campus for those who call Ada Bible home, and online giving is available at any time.

Children's ministry is offered at every weekend service. Parents are encouraged to arrive about fifteen minutes early so they can pre-register their children, walk them to class, and settle into the service. The Cascade Saturday service is the only service with a dedicated American Sign Language interpreter.

Ada Bible Kids: Infants Through Fifth Grade

The Kids Ministry mission is to care for and disciple children to become lifelong followers of Christ, walking alongside families as together they nurture each child's growing relationship with Jesus. The ministry is rooted in Deuteronomy 6:4 to 9, the call to impress God's commands on children when sitting at home, walking along the road, lying down, and getting up.

Programming is organized by age. Nursery serves children from birth to 24 months, with caregivers introducing simple truths like "God made you" and "Jesus loves you" through songs and soothing routines. Preschool classes for ages 2 to 5 use stories, songs, crafts, and play to help kids discover who God is and how much he loves them. Elementary classes for kindergarten through fifth grade include both large-group and small-group time so that children know their leaders, ask real questions, and grow in their relationship with Jesus. Children move up to the next grade in late summer each year.

Safety is taken seriously. The team publishes a written set of policies and procedures, walks through a curriculum and core-values document, and outlines its child-safety practices on a dedicated page so parents can review them. A weekly online Kids Ministry lesson is also available for families who miss a Sunday.

Student Ministry: Lifeline

Ada Bible's Student Ministry, called Lifeline, walks alongside middle school and high school students through their campus programs. The Student Ministry team, led from the Cascade Campus by Campus Pastor Luke Koskinen, includes dedicated middle school and high school directors at each location: for example, Hannah LaJoye leads Lifeline High School at East Paris, Callaway Grainer leads middle school at Knapp Street, Trenton Gilman leads high school at Knapp Street, and Chris Austin oversees middle school at East Paris. The Cascade Campus is staffed by Abel Boetsma as Student Ministries Campus Director and Christian Stevens as Middle School Campus Director, with a worship leader and other support roles.

Lifeline exists to help students take their next step with Jesus in the company of peers and adult leaders who care about them. Each campus runs its own rhythm of weekly gatherings, small groups, retreats, and service opportunities.

Young Adults

The Young Adults Ministry welcomes anyone from college through their thirties, single, dating, engaged, or married. The ministry runs on two rhythms. The first is monthly Worship Gatherings on the second Thursday of each month, from 7:30 to 10 PM at the East Paris Campus. Half the night is spent in prayer and worship; the other half is social time. The second is weekly small groups that run for seven months starting in September.

Two group tracks are available. College-aged groups are for students aged 18 to 21, meet in a mentor's home, and run with six to twelve people. The 20s-30s groups are led by peers in the same season of life, meet in homes, and run with eight to twelve people. Both kinds of groups are mixed, with men and women together. The Young Adults Ministry is directed by Sam Schubkegel, who also directs Men's Ministry.

Women's, Men's, and Marriage Ministry

Ada Bible Women exists to give women from every walk of life a place to study God's Word, embrace community, and discover God's love for them. Groups are the backbone of the ministry, with on-campus and community options that women can join throughout the year. The Women's Ministry also organizes Singles Connection events at each campus, giving single adults a relaxed way to build friendships, find community, and take meaningful next steps in their faith.

Ada Bible Men connects men with God and with each other through small groups, monthly gatherings, and special events. Men's groups are typically three to twelve men meeting at the church, in homes, at coffee shops, or other spots in the community. The goal is to help men follow Jesus every day, be transformed by him, and live out their identity as husbands, fathers, workers, and leaders.

Ada Bible Marriages helps couples place Jesus at the center of their marriage. The flagship is Re|engage, a Christ-centered marriage journey that meets couples wherever they are through weekly teaching and honest small-group conversations led by couples who have been there. Pre-marriage counseling and weddings are also offered; couples who want to host a wedding at Ada Bible begin with a wedding application, and Ada Bible officiants can be requested through the same process.

Groups, Explore Groups, and Care Classes

Ada Bible's small-group system is the main pathway for community and spiritual growth outside weekend services. Groups are offered for men, women, young adults, couples, and single adults, and new groups launch in the fall and winter each year. Each group is led by a trained leader and meets weekly in homes or on campus.

For people brand new to following Jesus or simply curious, Explore Groups offer a four-week introduction to faith. The class explores life's biggest questions together and covers God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and what it means to take a next step with Christ. Explore Groups are offered at each campus during the year.

For people walking through specific struggles, Ada Bible runs two specialized short-term groups. DivorceCare is a thirteen-week, biblically based program that gives people practical tools for coping, healing, and moving forward after divorce. GriefShare is a thirteen-week small group where people can share their story, find support, and discover practical ways to cope with loss. Both programs can be joined at any point during the thirteen-week cycle.

Care, Counseling, and Prayer

The Care Ministry exists to walk with people through difficult seasons. The Care Support Team offers spiritual care, including prayer and biblical guidance, and is not meant to replace professional counseling. The team also helps connect people to Christian counselors trained in depression, marriage struggles, parenting difficulties, and other hard situations.

Other Care services include Meals Ministry, which provides meals for families after a birth, illness, or loss; Hospital Visitation, where the team visits new parents, those hospitalized, or those having surgery; Funerals and Memorial Services, where the team walks alongside grieving families; and Financial Help, including free financial coaching and access to benevolent funds for those facing financial hardship.

Ada Bible also runs a Prayer Ministry called PrayerLink, where people can submit prayer requests and sign up to receive prayer emails to pray for others in the church.

Worship Ministry

The Worship Ministry exists to create spaces where people can encounter God in a meaningful way. Leading worship is treated as a service, not a performance. The team prepares each week with prayer and intentionality, choosing songs that reflect biblical truth and invite heartfelt response. A blend of modern worship songs, timeless hymns, and original music is used to help people engage with God authentically. The original music is released on the Ada Worship Spotify artist page, while the Weekend Songbook playlist features the songs sung across the church on weekends. Anyone who sings, plays an instrument, or simply feels a nudge to explore can start a conversation about serving on the team.

Missions and Outreach

Missions at Ada Bible is built around the conviction that the church is God's primary plan for bringing the hope of Jesus to people everywhere. Instead of running its own projects, Ada Bible invests in strengthening healthy, gospel-centered churches both locally and globally. The idea is that healthy churches create lasting impact in a way that one-off projects cannot.

Locally, Ada Bible supports the Hand2Hand program, which supplies weekend food to children across its campuses; Kids Hope USA, a mentoring program that pairs church members with at-risk students for one hour a week; and a number of other service partners. The missions blog features stories from these partnerships, including a recent visit to Mully Children's Family in Kenya. Globally, the church partners with organizations that plant churches, translate Scripture, train pastors, and serve vulnerable children and families.

Anyone can serve. Ada Bible maintains a list of local serving opportunities and supports short-term mission trips, and the missions team is available to help people find the right fit.

We Believe

Ada Bible's statement of faith is built around nine doctrines, each explored in a dedicated section on the church's beliefs page: God, the Bible, Jesus, Humanity, the Holy Spirit, Salvation, the Church, Eternity, and the Security of the believer.

The Bible is treated as the way God has chosen to reveal himself, and therefore as the personal authority for every believer. Jesus is presented as the one whose identity and work make it possible to know God. The Holy Spirit is described as the one who lives in the believer, counseling and transforming people into the image of Jesus. Salvation is understood in three parts: being saved (justification), being saved (sanctification), and being saved (glorification). The Church is described as something God is doing that is not contained in a building or program. Eternity and Security are presented as truths that give joy, rest, and confidence to those who pursue the spiritual journey.

Baptism is described as an outward expression of an inward change. Lowering into the water symbolizes dying to one's old life without God, and being raised symbolizes new life in Christ. Baptisms are celebrated publicly at each campus, and anyone who has placed their faith and trust in Christ is invited to be baptized, whether or not they are a member.

Leadership and Governance

Ada Bible is led by Senior Pastor Aaron Buer and Teaching Pastor Jeff Manion. The Executive Leadership Team includes Joe Hays (Executive Pastor), Nate Conroy (Executive Director of Creative Arts), Dan Erickson (Executive Director of Operations), Stephen Lewis (Executive Director of Ministries and Missions), Amelia Rhodes (Executive Director of Discipleship Resources), and Edward Shepard (Executive Director of Strategic Projects).

Each of the six campuses is shepherded by a campus pastor: Brad Holmes at Bella Vista, Luke Koskinen at Cascade, Jason Ross at East Paris, Nate Harney at Kentwood, and Kevin Baker at West Satellite and Knapp Street. Campus directors, administrative assistants, kids' ministry supervisors, student ministry directors, worship leaders, hospitality coordinators, events services coordinators, facilities supervisors, and production leads round out each campus team.

Beyond the campuses, Ada Bible has a staff leadership team that includes Jeff Abbott (Director of Missions), Vicki Abbott (Director of Ada Bible Kids), Rachel Norton (Director of Adult Ministries), Mike Wilkerson (Director of Marriage and Family Ministries), Sam Schubkegel (Director of Young Adults and Men's Ministry Director), Jake Oswald (Men's Ministry Strategist), Tyler Piercefield (Director of Worship), Doug Redford (Care Ministry Pastor), Sheryl Thompson (Director of Guest Experiences), Mike Muller (Director of Communications), Austin Moore (Director of Production), Jennifer Biel (Event Services Director), Peter Osborn (Director of Human Resources), Jason VanHoute (Director of Facilities and Mechanicals), and Barb Bestrom (Director of Support Services).

The church is governed by a Governing Elder Board, a wider team of Elders, a body of Deacons, and a Staff Elders group. The Ada Bible Constitution is publicly available.

Getting Connected and Giving

Visitors and newcomers are encouraged to begin with a Plan A Visit, where staff will help with directions, getting kids checked in, and saving a seat. From there, the natural next steps are joining a group, being baptized, becoming a member, or stepping into a serving role. The Discipleship Journey page lays out the pathway from Following Jesus to Growing Together to Pursuing God's Mission.

Giving is offered online at my.adabible.org, by texting any amount to 616.344.4483, by mail to 1640 East Paris Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546, or in person through giving boxes at every campus. Resources for daily growth include the Beyond the Weekend Devotionals, the Sermon Discussion Guides, a podcast on Spotify and Apple, a YouTube channel, and a Vimeo archive of weekend services.