Pastor Shane had grown up on the east side of Madison in a lower to middle income, blue collar, east side family.  His teen life consisted of drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and radical rebellion to all authority.  This life was remarkably interrupted by God and He gave his life to Christ about age 21.

He attended the "Young Adults" ministry at the old Madison Gospel Tabernacle (present day Lake City Church) - and joined that church, and was discipled in a group of young adults led by Pastor Tom Flaherty, Mad City's current Senior Pastor.

God's love overcame the brokenness, it changed his life and also made him into who He was.  After 2 years of Bible school Shane became an assistant pastor of a church led by Pastor Tom in Northern Minnesota!  It was during his time there that God began to speak very clearly about starting Mad City Church.  In 1996, Pastor Shane felt God's clear call to begin Mad City Church.

In October 1996, Mad City church began worshiping at a local Elementary school.  Growth was slow, but little by little the small church that we were began to grow; and then after 2000, we experienced a very dramatic growth.  By 2003, Mad City was a church of 1200+ worshipers.

As the church grew, so did the enormity of running a large church.  After ten years of growth, Pastor Shane stepped away (in the Spring of 2007) to pursue another vocation.  We called Pastor Tom Flaherty and his family back to Madison, and he took over the role of Senior Pastor in August of 2007.

After a few months, Pastor Shane decided to return to full time ministry.  Through a long process of prayer, conversation, discernment -- all based on mutual friendship - a decision was made to start a new church utilizing some people, staff, and resources of Mad City Church.

Damascus Road began as a new church in April of 2008 out of a group of people from Mad City Church.  Both Damascus Road and Mad City Church continue to experience God's blessings in growth and outreach to the Madison, Dane County area.

Our story is not perfect - we learned a long time ago that God loves us in our weakness and delights over us in being "Wounded Healers".  We are a church that allows for the brokenness of lives to come out into the open rather than be covered up with a religious veneer.

Over the years hundreds of people have given their lives to Christ from every walk of life imaginable: drug addicts, alcoholics, people living in radical promiscuity, business owners and CEO's, housewives, and children!  God has allowed us to see many marriages restored, and families put back together.  We have seen hearts and bodies healed, as well as many delivered from major destructive life behaviors.

It's been wonderful to watch what happens when Jesus Christ is present in the midst of broken people!