My Church

Jessica Winblad
May 2, 2005

I am a member of The Rock Church in San Diego, CA, and I just really wanted to share with you why that's a big deal in my life and what I think is so cool about it.

The Rock is one of the biggest churches in San Diego, its quite impressive. The church is a young church, only in existence since 2000, and already has over 7000 people attending every weekend, and sets new attendance records almost every week. I started attending in November 2003, and just in the past year and half since then, I have witnessed so much growth and many positive changes in the church. Its quite impressive to see all 1300 seats in our sanctuary full and overflow of people sitting on the floor who didn't want to leave just because the chairs ran out.

The head pastor, Miles McPherson, a former Chargers football player, can be quite entertaining at times--and if you've ever attended a church where the pastor puts as many people to sleep as the one on the Simpsons does, the fresh invigorating feel of the Rock is quite welcome. They're up on technology and try to use it where its helpful--every sermon has a short RockTV segment and the church has a growing website and IT Ministry.

The Rock's roots lie in another local church, Horizon Christian Fellowship. I dearly love Horizon--pastor Mike McIntosh is fantastic and just fills his congregation up with the love of God. But the real reason I'm at the Rock is because that's where I felt God's calling that I should be. The Rock has its imperfections and weak spots, but that's also something I love about it--because frustration is usually just misdirected energy that could be harnessed to improve and change the church. You're never going to find the perfect church, but there's a lot you personally can do to make a difference to make the church you're at much closer to being the perfect church.

One thing I really love about my church is that it has one of the largest populations of college-age and 20-something people in the city. Once I graduated, I started finding it was a lot harder to meet people and make new friends--at least, up until I started coming to the Rock--then suddenly I was making new friends right and left and totally meeting lots of really awesome loving people who just have the kind of character that you *want* to spend time getting to know them. You're talking about people who know there's ways to have incredible amounts of fun, without having to resort to sitting around drinking alcoholic beverages. I think I have way more fun hanging out with my church-friends than I ever did at a drinking party.

We have a "College Ministry" too. I say that in quotes becasue there's probably just as many twenty-something young professionals who go to Remant as there are actual college students. The college ministry is a bit smaller, so it really gives you your little niche in the church that makes it feel like home where you feel like you know everybody, and just keeps me wanting to come back every single week even when I can't quite identfy why. The spirit of God is just so present, and I end up meeting so many people who have an amazing passion for God and just are on fire with faith, and being around those kind of people just builds you up and is totally encouraging.

The church has a really sound biblically based doctrine--they don't mince their message with a wishy-washy beliefs that contradict each other. They aren't afraid to talk about science either. In fact, its quite often we'll have messages about the scientific accuracy and basis of the bible. How do we know the bible was accurately transcribed and has not changed since it was written, for example. Or, how does one prove something happened? I'll give you a hint there--the scientific method can't prove something happened--it can only prove repeatable events--proving that you ate lunch yesterday is much the same as proving Jesus existed, you have to use legal/historical proof (ie. evidence that supports the claim beyond a reasonable doubt) to prove it happend rather than the scientific method. And did you know humans have their highest blood-clotting ability they'll ever have in their life on the eighth day after they're born, which happens to "coincidentally" be the day God said (in the old testament) that boys should be circumcized? There's a lot of really fascinating stuff they delve into, that really goes to show one can fully expect the bible to be based on and compatible with science and reason.

Course, I always tend to keep in mind, there was a time scientists thought the world flat and that people would fall off the face of the earth if they went too close to the ege, and there was a time when scientists did not believe in germs because they were too small to see with the naked eye--and it wasn't until the microscope was invented that science believed. Just because science "says so" doesn't always make things correct, and just because the technology doesn't exist yet to prove something, doesn't mean its false.

I think one of the things I love most about my church though, is the people there. There are so many people there who are trying to actively live the bible--not just read it, but actually live the kind of life that book says we should. They have a focus on loving God, and showing the world just how much Jesus loves them, through actions rather than simply words. There are so many people of action, ready to go out on a limb and do whatever God calls them to do, because they have faith, and truly believe. And you hang around those kind of people long enough, and you're certain to witness miracles over and over that are really difficult to explain without God. One of my friends spontanously healed of a brain tumor, for example, the same kind that a friend of a friend of mine died from.

When you watch the lives of those who live by faith, you'll notice one consistent thing, they seem happy and fearless. "Perfect love casteth out fear" the bible says, and its quite apparent in the lives of those who truly believe--if God is on your side, what could you possibly have to fear? I mean, you're talking about God, who loves you more than any human ever could--he's not out there to smite you and make your life miserable--and if there's anyone I'd want looking out after me, that'd certainly be the one I'd pick. No matter what I'm going through, God's always there for me--and my church just helps me to be reminded of that on a continual basis and challenges me to live out my faith and not settle for less than God has to offer me.

Why I would want to be anywhere else?

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