The Rock Church

Love and Unity by The Rock Church

“Love and unity” (together) are among the eight core values we hold dear at The Rock. We describe this particular value in these words (on our website): “We desire our ministry to be marked by a Christ-like, selfless love, loyalty, and unity with fellow believers.” Over time, the undeniable evidence of this core value within our body of Believers has struck me. Selfless love and loyalty are indeed the norm. It’s as if it’s actually in the air. Like a beautiful fragrance from a spring flower after a long winter. And ultimately, it’s so compelling it draws you in. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: core values, flowers, fragrance, harmony, Heaven, jesus, Jesus' prayer, John, lilacs, love, loyalty, Mac, Peace, Prayer, sight, spring, Steve, Steve McInroy, the Body of Christ, the rock church, United, unity

Musings on Miracles by The Rock Church

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” — John 20:30-31

What is a miracle? One dictionary defines a miracle as an event that is an addition to the established laws of nature and attributed to God.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: believe, evidence, Gospel John, jesus, John, Josh, Josh Whitney, Miracles, natural, nature, power, proof, prove, Resurrection, supernatural, the rock church, truth

Whose Fish Are These? by The Rock Church

“He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” — Matthew 9:35-38

Our church has undeniably been blessed with LOTS of new people. Attendance is at an all-time high. New people are just about everywhere! In fact, over the past six years, we are averaging 856 new people/year, 71 new people/month, and 16 new people/weekend. Assuming half of the new attendees don’t even turn in programs, you can perhaps double that number.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: all hands on deck, attendance, Bill, Bill Young, boat, calling, community, core, disciples, discipleship, evangelism, faithful, fish, fishermen, friends, Gather, gathering, Harvest, help, involved, kingdom, mentorship, minister, Ministry, plentiful, ripe, souls, the rock church, work, workers

Reflections From Europe by Caleb Yetton

Recently, my family and I returned from a 10-day trip to Croatia. While we called it a mission trip, in most ways, it was more of a serving trip. My family (and our team of 18) provided childcare for European missionaries so they could fully engage in a conference taught by Pastor Bill. They also got some much-needed relaxation. We watched over a lot of kiddos, swam, and played night games. Not to mention, we also got to eat good food and gelato. Consequently, I’d like to share a few reflections from the trip. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton
Tags: caleb yetton, Croatia, europe, faith, Mission, missions, pastor Mac, proverbs, risk, serve, serving overseas, short term mission trip, Steve McInroy, the rock, the rock church, the rock missions, The Rock Music, travel, trip

Look Ahead! by Tony D'Amico

I’ve always had a passion for all things boards. From the freedom of skateboarding through city parks to carving fresh powder on snow-capped mountains. Not to mention the rhythm of surfing ocean waves. Without a doubt, it’s a thrill like no other. I love feeling the wind rushing against my face. Strangely, times like this are also when I find myself in deep prayer. Yes, you read that right; I absolutely connect with God profoundly while gliding on a board!

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: adrenaline, christ, creation, endurance, failure, fall, fluid, focused, Future, game, goal, Heaven, Hope, humility, imperfect, inheritance, looking forward, nature, Paul, perfect, perfection, Philippians, prize, Race, riding, Running, skate boarding, skiing, snow, snowboarding, sports, struggle, surf, surfing, the rock church, Thrill, Tony, tony damico, waiting, watching, wipeout, Wisdom

Seek Wisdom by Tony D'Amico

As we continue in our spiritual walks, Proverbs (Chapter 2) provides lessons for us on the value of wisdom. At the same time, it reveals that wisdom protects us and guides us away from wrong decisions and people who want to lead us astray. Wisdom isn’t merely intellectual. We can certainly read, know, and even teach about it. However, it has to be applied to our actions as well to affect our lives.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: actions, answers, armor, bad company, bad friends, community, decision making, decisions, dependence, direction, doubts, evil, good company, guard your heart, guidance, hearing from God, intellectual, Key, knowledge, navigate, paths, Prayer, protection, proverbs, Questions, safety, seeking, shield, the rock church, thoughts, Tony, tony damico, unwise, Wisdom, words

Witnesses of God’s Work: Reflections from Croatia by The Rock Church

“God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out on you what you both see and hear.” — Acts 2:33

By God’s grace, we finished our mission successfully. The missionaries were blessed and our team has made lasting friendships and memories. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: childcare, Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, God, mission work, missionary, missions, same god, Witness, witnesses, work

A Marathon Day of Fun in Vrsar by The Rock Church

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” — Acts 20:35

Today was our marathon day, of sorts, with thirty-six children, nine adults, and eleven hours of childcare. This allowed the parents an entire free day to rest and /or adventure around Istria. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: childcare, Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, GCE, jesus, marathon day, missionary, missions, refresh, serve others, service, serving

The Beauty of Fellowship: A Glimpse of Heaven with God’s People by The Rock Church

“For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable, eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” — 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Our team joined all the missionaries and their children on a boating excursion in the Adriatic Sea today. We stopped for lunch in Rovinj, then headed up the Lim Fjord, stopping at a historic pirate cave. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, fellowship, Heaven, Mission, missionary, rovinj, the rock missions

Third Culture Reality: A Metaphor for the Christian Life by The Rock Church

 “Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!” — Psalm 90:1

Our team had a full day with the European missionary kids. The older kids (12-19) had a hike, devotional, polar plunge in the Adriatic, rock climbing, board games, and a night game of kick the can. For kids 11 and under, they went swimming, played tag, looked at tide pools, skipped rocks, did an obstacle course, watched a movie, and played video games. It was a full day that hopefully gave their parents essential rest.

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: childcare, christian, Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, Heaven, identity, jesus, mission trip, missions, reality, third culture