The heart of the church is ministry, and ministry is simply the act of serving – serving people and serving one another. This is the vision and goal of Impact Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. Pastor Travis Hearn wanted to keep things simple and focused. The name embodies the goal of making an impact, and the star in their logo represents the purpose of being a light to the world.
Head pastor Travis Hearn has a background in sports ministry, working as a pro sports chaplain for more than 20 years, while also working as a pastor. His connection to the sports world presented him with the opportunity to combine his love of sports with his love of Jesus. He made many meaningful connections with prominent players, led and attended bible studies held for pro-athletes in Arizona, and eventually established Impact Church, a place that many pro-athletes call home.
Former NFL player, Andre Wadsworth, who was leading bible studies for pro-athletes, became the Executive Pastor alongside Travis Hearn when they began leading the small church of 200 people together. The church was rebranded as Impact Church and has seen enormous growth. Within the first year after Travis took over the small church, it had already doubled in size to 400, doubling again over the next year to 800 people. Now, Impact Church sees approximately 5,000 attendees every Sunday, with 15,000-20,000 unique visitors monthly.
Travis does not take this position lightly. He is aware of his responsibility and ability to impact the world around him through the affluence of his church. Ministry and missions are a very integral part of the church culture they have cultivated and the members and teams within the organization partner monthly with missions, local and around the world. Local outreach programs focus on feeding the homeless, providing access to recovery assistance for addicts through Celebrate Recovery, and through counseling programs to address the issues everyone faces in life, including marriage and divorce, mental health issues, and abuse. “It’s for anybody with hurts, habits, or hang-ups and that’s basically all of us,” says Travis about the programs offered at Impact Church.
Travis Hearn believes the role of the church in society is vital, regardless of congregation size. “The small church is just as powerful as the big church. Numbers have nothing to do with God touching someone’s life.” Everyone has the opportunity to be a difference-maker. “Like Paul said, pour out your life like a drink offering. Everything God has given, we’re just trying to give it away, so that hopefully it helps people.” His life’s mission is to influence the influencers, be a light, make a difference, at home, and around the world.