Reaching Out to the Community

If you’re looking for a church with a strong, active community and plenty of opportunities for outreach, you should see what the Rock Church is up to.

If you’re looking for a church with a strong, active community and plenty of opportunities for outreach, you should see what the Rock Church is up to.

“Outreach is at the forefront of what we’re doing at the Rock Church. We want to open the doors of the church, serve God and love people,” says Rock Church Pastor Billy Joe Watts. “We want to use our outreach to bless people, and the holidays are our time to shine. We’re offering a little stimulus of our own, to provide some relief to some of the people in our community. We’re all in this together, and we believe in this city.”

In November, the Rock Church held its “Touched by a Turkey” event, when the church gave turkeys to needy families. The Rock Church also had its Starbucks giveaway day last month, when members passed out gift cards at area Starbucks locations. On December 13, the church will hold its annual Christmas Bike giveaway, providing at least fifty bikes to needy families. To sign up for this event, call the church office at (918) 694-7625.

For Pastor Watts, the many giveaways aren’t about gimmicks or boosting attendance. “We’ve always given,” he says. “Giving is first nature for us. The Bible is filled with giving – God so loved the world that he gave – and giving is at the heart of what we do. We give to make heaven a little bit more visible to those who don’t know Christ. We give with no strings attached. For example, with our Starbucks giveaway, we just hand out the gift cards – we don’t preach or proselytize. We’re not trying to do anything but get people to consider Jesus, whether they end up coming to our church or to another church.”

While the Rock Church has a special outreach focus during the holidays, they minister year-round. In February, the Rock Church will host its annual Love Battle. “This is one of our most popular events. Both our singles and our married couples will perform random acts of kindness, and we’ll see whose was the most dynamic,” says Watts. “They’ll win a crown, a trophy and dinner, on us.”

The Rock Church currently meets at the Union 6th and 7th Grade Center at 10100 E. 61st St. at 10 a.m. every Sunday. But not for much longer – Union High School’s Performing Arts Center (located at 6636 S. Mingo), which seats nearly 2,000 people, is undergoing a $3 million renovation, and the Rock Church will be moving in there early next year.

“We keep growing, and we still have a lot of momentum,” says Watts. “We have about 350 people worship with us each Sunday, and we get a lot of first-time visitors each week. Our outreaches are expanding also, and it’s been very cool to watch things keep growing. God just continues to build this church.” The Rock Church features contemporary worship and has a multicultural, multiracial body of members.

The Rock Church’s ministry programs are growing, too, including their youth ministry, singles group, and children’s ministry. The children’s ministry now covers kids from newborns through the fifth grade. “Our children’s ministries are focused on Jesus Christ. The kids learn the Bible, and we help ground them spiritually and get them acclimated to faith. It’s great,” says Watts. “We have giveaways for our kids, too. We try to minister to kids on their level, and kids like toys and games. We try not to spare any expense, because we value the next generation.”

If you’re looking for a new church, the Rock Church would love to see you. Visit them on the web at www.therockchurchtulsa.org.

For more information, contact

 The Rock Church

(918) 694-7625

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www.therockchurchtulsa.org