Who We Are

We believe the church is not a building, although we have a building. It's not the pastors, although we have those too. The church is the body of believers in Jesus worldwide.

Each local congregation has its own unique gifts and characteristics. Our local body, Hillside, is a friendly, outward-oriented church who believes the grace of Jesus is the most powerful force in the universe. That's why when you visit, you'll be accepted, no matter your past, present or future. We love to laugh and live out the joy we have because we have been set free by the love and grace of Jesus.

We believe the end result of spiritual growth is looking beyond ourselves. If our goal is to become like Jesus, then it doesn't take long to realize that Jesus was all about others. He was the most selfless person ever to have lived. Jesus said, "[I] did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many." If that was Jesus' purpose, it's ours too.

Randy Richter
Kory Kleinsasser
Bill Reirden

Randy Richter

Pastor Randy has served as Hillside's pastor since 1998. He and his wife, Annette have been married for twenty years and have two children: Jaki, who is a senior at Prairie High School, and Joy, a fifth-grader. He has a deep belief that God changes people, and he says his favorite part of his job is getting to watch people truly change when they get serious about following Christ. Outside of his job, he loves doing anything active, volleyball, basketball, and fly fishing are among his favorite ways to spend time. Randy says Hillside is exactly the kind of church he would go to even if he wasn't employed there!

Pastor Kory has been at Hillside since 1997. He was youth pastor for seven years, before changing his responsibilities to adult ministries. Kory is married to Ann and has three children, Emma, Ellie and Duncan. He fancies himself as a teacher at heart. He says he always thought he would be teaching in a college or seminary by now, but has found teaching in the church to be a very rewarding experience because of the ability to make deep spiritual truths understandable to people who have to work for a living. Not a fan of "religion," Kory believes the key to the spiritual life is to put Jesus right at the center and everything else will fall into place. Outside of work, Kory loves reading, drinking coffee, playing basketball and nursing his injuries.

Our student ministries pastor is Bill Reirden. Bill came to Hillside in October of 2008. He grew up as the second youngest in a family of seven. He married his high school sweetheart, Kathy in 1990 and has one son named Patrick. They moved to Cedar Rapids from the small town in Delaware where they grew up. Bill enjoys camping, canoeing and fishing. He says if he can somehow manage to do all three at the same time, he considers it a very good day.

Bill gave his heart to Jesus in June 2002 and entered a ministerial training program almost immediately. Jesus has made a huge difference his life and has brought him a peace he couldn’t find anywhere he searched. He loves his job and feels God has called him to be at Hillside.