Good News is Brewing
The last thing Drue Warner thought he’d ever do was launch a church — let alone a church based out of a brewery — but that’s exactly what he did. Good News Church opened in the spring of 2021 at Monkey Wrench Brewing in Suwanee. Warner is the lead pastor.
Warner grew up in South Florida. His father was a Presbyterian pastor and Warner attended private Christian school for years. Around the time Warner was preparing to leave for college, internal strife struck the family’s church, causing his father to resign and for many relationships to go up in smoke.
“When I left for college, I went with anger and hatred toward God and church. I was done with it, running as far as I could go,” said Warner, 53.
He moved to Atlanta after graduating college and entered the world of sales.
“I didn’t care about what I was doing,” said Warner. “I was out late partying in clubs and bars, up early working, burning the candle at both ends. That’s about the time I ended up running into God. He started to stir me with the awareness that I had no purpose. I asked myself, ‘Will I do this the rest of my life, then die and that be it?’ That created angst and fear. I had trouble sleeping and would take walks at 4 a.m., talking out loud to God.”
Warner began reading his Bible and the book of Romans caught his attention, specifically Romans 5:8.
“It says while we were sinners Christ died for us,” said Warner. “It hit me that God doesn’t love us because we’re good, he loves us unconditionally just as we are. That transformed my life.”
Ideas about ministry began to percolate in Warner’s head. Ministry isn’t what he really wanted to do, but he felt he was being led and was open to the unknown.
As fate would have it, doors began to open. He managed a mom-and-pop Christian bookstore in Roswell, went on to work for the Christian education branch of the Presbyterian Church in America, then joined the community outreach staff at Perimeter Church in Johns Creek.
Warner and Laura, his bride of 20 years, moved to a big neighborhood in Sugar Hill in 2003. They declared it ground zero for their personal ministry.
“We had this shared passion to invest in people and neighbors,” said Warner. “We got to know lots of people, developed friendships, and began praying for them. We didn’t invite anyone to church or even have spiritual conversations. We just built relationships. It wasn’t long before people started asking us about our faith and inviting themselves to church with us. We often heard friends say, ‘It’s not that I’m not interested in faith or God, I’m just done with church.’”
That’s when the seeds for Good News Church were planted.
“I had my own past and completely related to what they were saying,” said Warner.
In 2014, Warner was at a ministry workshop when he was asked: If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do? His answer: He’d open a brewery that also functioned as a church.
He created a business plan and was introduced to a brewer, Wayne Baxter, who was looking for space to open his brewery. The two became buddies and Warner celebrated Baxter when he opened Monkey Wrench Brewing in Suwanee in 2020.
Soon after the brewery opened, Perimeter Church asked Warner if he’d be interested in starting a new church in Sugar Hill. His answer was an immediate yes. He knew this was his calling. He drove straight to Monkey Wrench and asked Baxter if he could host church in the brewery. Baxter handed him a key.
“I knew I didn’t want to play church or conform to religious processes,” said Warner. “I want it to be from the heart. As for having it at a brewery, I think it’s so great. Alcohol, like food, brings people together and it can be a positive, redemptive thing when consumed in moderation.”
Sunday mornings around 10 a.m., about 75 casually dressed people, many with their dogs in tow, gather at Monkey Wrench to attend Good News Church. They bring savory foods and settle on couches, picnic tables, and bar stools. They raise their hands at the beginning of the service if they have good news to share. After the service, which includes music and a sermon from Warner, some folks stick around. The taproom opens at 12:30.
“No, we don’t drink beer during church,” said Warner with a laugh. “But lots of people enjoy craft beer and church, and this breaks down stigmas and the barrier that says you can’t like beer and church. Transformation happens when we can be completely ourselves.”
Good News Church does a lot of outreach projects with nearby elementary schools as well as the North Gwinnett Co-op and homeless shelters. They have a women’s group, and the church hosts events, like their upcoming Christmas Hymns & Hops night on Dec. 10.
“We aren’t for everybody, but we are for God,” said Warner. “We want to create a space for people who are interested in something beyond surface level. No better way to prove that God can meet us anywhere.”