What We Believe

Communion is a sign to the church, who are remembering the sacrificial death of Christ for sinners, His sustaining work in our lives, and the future participation in the Wedding Feast to come in the New Creation.

Those partaking in the table participate in this ordinance through the breaking and eating of bread and the drinking of the fruit of the vine. This bread and this cup point to our Lord’s body and blood. Followers of Christ are commanded to take communion, presuming they have received Christ’s offer of salvation by faith and examined themselves in repentance.

At The Rock, we generally celebrate communion on the first weekend of every month in our regular worship gatherings.

We believe that every believer possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation, and it is the duty of all those born of the Spirit to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit. We teach that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit does not draw attention to Himself or His gifts by ‘showy’ displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the faith.

For example: We teach that no one possesses the “gift of healing” today, but that God does supernaturally heal and answer the prayer of faith on the part of every believer and will answer in accordance with His own perfect will for the sick, suffering and afflicted.

We believe God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between one man and one woman who are married to one another. We believe God has commanded that no sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe all forms of sexual immorality (for example: lust, adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, and use of pornography) are sinful and offensive to God.

We believe God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. We renounce any hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual and consider them not in agreement with Scripture, nor the doctrines and spirit of The Rock Community Church.

We also teach that the faithful proclamation of the Scriptures, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech, or hateful and harassing behavior, but is instead a fundamental part of the church’s loving mission to the world.

The consummation of all things includes the physical, visible, and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the glorification of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth.

In the consummation of all things, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, are finally separated from the presence of God, enduring eternal punishment. The righteous, in glorious bodies, will live and reign with God forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the purpose and expectation of creation will be fulfilled and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new.

The position we have always taken as a church is that individuals are free to hold different beliefs about eschatological matters. Our congregation is made up of thoughtful individuals who may hold to historic premillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. The good news is all these views are orthodox! Simply put, our hope is found in Who is coming, rather than the exact details of how and when He is coming.

Because of our high view of Scripture as the inspired Word of God, we value Bible-saturated preaching. We typically preach verse-by-verse through books of the Bible.

Because we view the Bible as a unified story, of which Jesus is the Hero, we aim to constantly exalt Jesus in our preaching—regardless of our selected passage. We believe the best way to help people develop into mature disciples of Christ is by following this approach. It is our joy to explain what God has said in His Word, to declare what God has done in His Son, and to help people apply God’s Word to their hearts by the working of the Holy Spirit.

We teach that the one, supreme authority for the Church is Christ, and that the order, discipline and worship are appointed through His sovereignty. The biblically-designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders—also called bishops, pastors, shepherds, or overseers.

A church should be led by biblical leadership. In the New Testament, the words pastor, elder, and overseer are used interchangeably, and refer to the same office. The qualifications for these leaders are given in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. They

must be examples of faithful discipleship and they must hold firmly to sound doctrine. They lead under the authority of Christ, teach the Word of Christ, care for the body of Christ, and model the character of Christ. According to Scripture, pastors/elders/ overseers must be men. Scripture is clear that not everyone is gifted and called to teach and lead in the church, but all gifts are equally honorable and equally necessary to the church. The consistent pattern in the New Testament is for churches to have a plurality of pastors/elders/overseers and the congregation is to submit to their leadership.

All Christians, through their salvation in Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, are called to participate in the mission of God through evangelism and disciple-making.

In evangelism, we work to verbally proclaim the message of the gospel to non-believers, seeking to convert them by the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to invite them to respond in repentance and faith.

In disciple-making, we strive to see every member of the church equipped to grow as a disciple of Jesus and to commit their lives to making more disciples of Jesus. We believe that making disciples is done by intentionally working for the spiritual maturity of others through evangelism, instruction, correction, modeling, and encouragement. These disciple-making efforts can and should take a variety of forms—ranging from formal and structured methods (classes, community groups, etc.) to less formal and organic practices (sharing meals, casual spiritual conversations, etc.)—all directed at helping others follow Christ.

In evangelism and disciple-making, our message is the gospel of salvation through Jesus, our primary tool is the Bible, and our sole power is the Holy Spirit.

A church should be marked by biblical accountability and discipline. Members of the body of Christ should hold one another accountable for their obedience to the Word of God, and leaders of the church must watch over the flock that has been entrusted to them. When necessary, the church exercises church discipline according to the instructions given in Scripture, always with the desire of restoration for the erring brother or sister.

To see this level of biblical accountability at work in our church family, the foundation must be built on strong relationships, with instructional training alongside correctional church discipline. Loving one another in the church involves humbly sharing responsibility for one another’s holiness in our lives.

While corporate worship services are the main expression of the church “gathered,” small groups are the main expression of the church “scattered.” The metaphors used in Scripture to describe the church include a building, a body, and a family. In each case, there is a mention of the “whole” (one building, one body, one family) and the individual (stones, body parts, family members). The individuals cannot be separated from the whole and the whole cannot be separated from the individuals.

Smaller units are the natural pathway for making disciples and working out the commands of the Bible for growth, care, accountability, and equipping. Because small groups are crucial for the growth and well-being of individuals and the church, small groups are a high priority at The Rock and our desire is to see every attender of The Rock actively involved in a small group.