upcoming events
We have a lot of thoughts about God, life, ministry, our city, and other people. But if you were to boil down the essence of Rock Hill to a few simple thoughts, these would be it: What are we about?
Loving God, Loving People, Serving the World, Changing the City
Loving God...
At Rock Hill we believe that God is at the center of things, not us. Until we understand this foundational truth, we will constantly be frustrated with life's meaning and purpose. We reject the belief that this life is all about maximizing our pleasure, wealth, power, or sexuality. Our lives are all about God and brining Him glory. God's glory and my happiness are not at odds though. In fact they are intricately connected. My happiness or joy is maximized when it is centered on the glory of God. In the same way, God is most glorified in my life when I am most satisfied or happy in Him--when I delight in Him.One of our core goals at Rock Hill is to help everyone understand this. That they were created for the incredible purpose of delighting in the glory of God.
We do this by bringing every area of life under his control, and by delighting in the giver of good gifts rather than the gifts themselves. Our lives of worship climax--but are not limited to--in our weekly gatherings of praise and worship. This is the time where we lift high the name of Jesus Christ in songs, in rituals (like communion and baptism), and in responding to his Word in obedience.
Loving People...
When we love God, the natural progression is that we begin to love people as well. We were created by God to live in community, not isolation. The Bible commands us to love one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, and about twenty other "one another" commands. At Rock Hill we seek to live these out in our various small groups around town.
"Crowded loneliness" is a phrase that fits our society well. It is hard to find a time in history where people have been in closer proximity to each other with seemingly limitless access to one another (cell phones, email, blackberries, text messages, skype video phones). And yet even with all of these tools, people are starving for deep, rich relationships. The kind of relationships where people know you--warts and all--and still love and pursue relationship with you--much like the relationship we have with God. We seek to move beyond the surface "knowing" about people and seek to connect on a deeper level.
Serving the World...
Erwin McManus, a pastor in Los Angeles, describes a healthy spiritual life as being both inhale and exhale activities. We need to be filled and encouraged (inhale), but we also need to give of ourselves and serve (exhale). We believe that at the core of every person is the desire for our lives to count for something so much bigger than ourselves. A desire to live our lives for a cause much larger than our own pleasure. Jesus told us that the way to significance is by being a servant. "Whoever wants to become great among you must become a servant," are the words Jesus actually used in Mark 10:43.
In a similar way, our desire is that everyone who becomes part of Rock Hill would both inhale and exhale. Our desire is to connect with God, and then serve out of hearts that overflow. As we look around our city and the world it is plain to see that there are no shortage of needs to be met. One of the goals we have is to keep our lives and calendars simple so that we can serve people and meet needs as they arise. This will happen at Rock Hill formally as a group and informally as our people are moved by the Holy Spirit to engage needs.
Changing the City...
The people of Rock Hill love the city of Duluth. It is a great place to live. Unfortunately, our city has been known for a long time as a city of spiritual darkness. According to a study done in 2004, only 15% of people in our city attend a church on an average weekend. We long for this to change because we take Jesus' words very seriously and we love our city.
Some might think we are crazy but one of the goals of our church is that we would actually have a measurable impact on our city. That people in our city would think fondly of the ministry of Rock Hill--whether or not they agree with our theology. We would like to do ministry in such a way that if we closed our doors the community around us would mourn and begin asking questions like: what are we going to do to help single mothers? Where are we going to find mentors for all those young people? Who is going to help feed the poor? Who is going to help those battling drug and alcohol addiction?
We are not okay staying within the confines of "the churched community." Nor are we okay simply gathering week in and week out without having some form of measurable impact upon our community. We love Duluth and long to serve her with the message and love of Jesus Christ.
Loving God, Loving People, Serving the World, Changing the City
Loving God...
At Rock Hill we believe that God is at the center of things, not us. Until we understand this foundational truth, we will constantly be frustrated with life's meaning and purpose. We reject the belief that this life is all about maximizing our pleasure, wealth, power, or sexuality. Our lives are all about God and brining Him glory. God's glory and my happiness are not at odds though. In fact they are intricately connected. My happiness or joy is maximized when it is centered on the glory of God. In the same way, God is most glorified in my life when I am most satisfied or happy in Him--when I delight in Him.One of our core goals at Rock Hill is to help everyone understand this. That they were created for the incredible purpose of delighting in the glory of God.
We do this by bringing every area of life under his control, and by delighting in the giver of good gifts rather than the gifts themselves. Our lives of worship climax--but are not limited to--in our weekly gatherings of praise and worship. This is the time where we lift high the name of Jesus Christ in songs, in rituals (like communion and baptism), and in responding to his Word in obedience.
Loving People...
When we love God, the natural progression is that we begin to love people as well. We were created by God to live in community, not isolation. The Bible commands us to love one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, and about twenty other "one another" commands. At Rock Hill we seek to live these out in our various small groups around town.
"Crowded loneliness" is a phrase that fits our society well. It is hard to find a time in history where people have been in closer proximity to each other with seemingly limitless access to one another (cell phones, email, blackberries, text messages, skype video phones). And yet even with all of these tools, people are starving for deep, rich relationships. The kind of relationships where people know you--warts and all--and still love and pursue relationship with you--much like the relationship we have with God. We seek to move beyond the surface "knowing" about people and seek to connect on a deeper level.
Serving the World...
Erwin McManus, a pastor in Los Angeles, describes a healthy spiritual life as being both inhale and exhale activities. We need to be filled and encouraged (inhale), but we also need to give of ourselves and serve (exhale). We believe that at the core of every person is the desire for our lives to count for something so much bigger than ourselves. A desire to live our lives for a cause much larger than our own pleasure. Jesus told us that the way to significance is by being a servant. "Whoever wants to become great among you must become a servant," are the words Jesus actually used in Mark 10:43.
In a similar way, our desire is that everyone who becomes part of Rock Hill would both inhale and exhale. Our desire is to connect with God, and then serve out of hearts that overflow. As we look around our city and the world it is plain to see that there are no shortage of needs to be met. One of the goals we have is to keep our lives and calendars simple so that we can serve people and meet needs as they arise. This will happen at Rock Hill formally as a group and informally as our people are moved by the Holy Spirit to engage needs.
Changing the City...
The people of Rock Hill love the city of Duluth. It is a great place to live. Unfortunately, our city has been known for a long time as a city of spiritual darkness. According to a study done in 2004, only 15% of people in our city attend a church on an average weekend. We long for this to change because we take Jesus' words very seriously and we love our city.
Some might think we are crazy but one of the goals of our church is that we would actually have a measurable impact on our city. That people in our city would think fondly of the ministry of Rock Hill--whether or not they agree with our theology. We would like to do ministry in such a way that if we closed our doors the community around us would mourn and begin asking questions like: what are we going to do to help single mothers? Where are we going to find mentors for all those young people? Who is going to help feed the poor? Who is going to help those battling drug and alcohol addiction?
We are not okay staying within the confines of "the churched community." Nor are we okay simply gathering week in and week out without having some form of measurable impact upon our community. We love Duluth and long to serve her with the message and love of Jesus Christ.
