How Church of the Open Door Grew Through Healthy Leadership
When Pastor Robert Riedy stepped away from ministry five years ago to address his struggles with severe burnout and anxiety, he feared it might damage the church he’d led for so long. Now, he believes his hiatus helped transform it.
“The worst thing that ever happened to me ended up being the best thing,” Riedy explains. This year marks his 20th year leading Church of the Open Door (COD) in York, Pennsylvania, where he will transition into a pastor emeritus role in 2027.
In an era of church closures, waning congregations and declining church attendance, Church of the Open Door has managed to become one of the nation’s fastest-growing. Riedy insists the growth did not come from marketing techniques but from the church’s commitment to health over numbers.
“We’ve tried to work on pulling the weeds that needed to be pulled in our church, and just pursue healthy principles of ministry,” he says. “For us, during the last number of years, we clarified our mission, vision and values, so I think that contributed to church health.”
Riedy understands that a healthy church operates by the Word of God and doesn’t ignore its foundational traditions. That theological commitment has guided everything from COD’s worship style to its leadership culture. The church pairs Bible-based preaching with contemporary music while embracing a traditional atmosphere.
But Riedy found that the biggest shift came after his own collapse.
In 2021, after the church received national recognition for its growth, crippling anxiety and exhaustion prevented him from entering the building. He started counseling, began medication and wrote a letter explaining his struggles to the congregation.
“The congregation has been amazing,” Riedy explains. “People came out of the woodwork—suddenly it became OK around here to talk about mental health.”
For Lacey Pope, the church’s transparency became one of the reasons her family stayed after visiting COD three years ago.
After moving back to York County from the Pittsburgh area, Pope and her husband spent six years without a church home. With three young daughters, finding a congregation that felt welcoming proved difficult—until she visited COD.
“I remember the nursery coordinator coming up to me as I’m holding my youngest,” Pope recalls. “She said, ‘If you ever want to put her in the nursery, feel free. We can try it out. We won’t let her cry. We’ll reach out.’ It was just a comfort knowing that we had that support there.”
Her family’s initial visit turned into lasting involvement. Today, Pope volunteers with Awana, a program that helps children learn Scripture and nurture their faith. She also helps out at vacation Bible school and Sunday school, while her husband serves on the church’s sound team.
Pope credits Riedy’s honesty for helping families like hers feel like they belong. “I think it was his vulnerability, his humbleness. Everyone who goes to church is broken. We’re all just looking for Jesus. He’s up there sharing about his struggles and his life.”
Rather than hiding his anxiety, Riedy discusses counseling, medication and the importance of seeking help. That authenticity appears to resonate with younger adults, now one of the church’s fastest-growing demographics.
Riedy’s preaching has evolved from simply presenting biblical truths to explaining how those truths have shaped his life.
The church has even influenced Pope’s young children. Earlier this year, her two oldest daughters, now ages 8 and 6, were baptized.
“My oldest actually accepted Jesus in Sunday school at COD,” Pope testifies. “She stood up in front of like 300 people on a Sunday and shared about her faith journey.”
The church’s growth has become visible in other ways too.
“We’re starting to max out our space in the kids’ wing,” Pope says. “It’s just been great to see new faces every Sunday.”
Riedy believes the congregation also has ballooned due to the church’s outreach to people in need. York includes numerous addiction recovery programs and halfway houses, and COD has launched ministries that serve those communities.
One of its signature programs, “Big God, Little Addiction,” started after the church’s incoming senior pastor and his wife lost their son to a drug overdose a few years ago. Rather than retreat from that tragedy, COD established a ministry focused on recovery and healing.
The church’s inclusiveness has given Pope a place she spent years trying to find. “I just turned 40. And for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m home.”
Hundreds of worshipers who don’t attend in person feel the same way. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the church began to livestream its services, leading to the creation of a thriving online campus.
As Riedy prepares to hand leadership to a younger generation, he hopes his legacy will not be rapid growth but healthier leadership.
“One of the reasons I burned out is because pastors are good at knowing what to say and how to act,” he describes. “But sometimes, deep in our souls, we are wrestling with our own issues. I learned how important it is to put healthy rhythms in place where I’m really coming to God daily and, out of that, have a healthy ministry.”
CHURCH OF THE OPEN DOOR
York, Pennsylvania
Pastor: Robert Riedy
Website: CODYork.org
Denomination: Independent Christian Churches
Founded: 1951
Fastest-Growing: 88
