IT COULD be the biggest church in town you’ve never hear of.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not active in communities here and overseas.
The Rock Christian Community celebrates its 25th year here and a congregation that’s grown over the years to about 180 to 200 people.
“We exist to serve people and to love Terrace,” said Mike Rosenau, adding that involves connecting with the people and needs in the community.
He’s part of a pastoral team with Tim Wiebe and Mark Magee.
And he says everything done by the church is done as a team, so there is no hierarchy.
The Rock’s current building used as a church is Copper Mountain Elementary, which has been closed as a school for several years, after moving from one place to another.
The Rock began in the now-Cedar River Physiotherapy building on Munroe St., then rented Zion Baptist for a couple of years, was in the Centennial Christian gym for a while and has been at Copper Mountain Elementary for 10 years.
The congregation wants to be a positive influence on a greater level, said Rosenau.
Many marginalized people, who were involved with alcohol and /or drugs, have found a home in the church and cleaned up their lives.
“That I’m proud of,” said Rosenau.
“As far as churches go, we’re very casual [meaning] not the traditional idea of what a church is,” said Rosenau.
A sign over the door says Come as You Are, which is really how they see how God reaches people, he added.
“You don’t have to change your life to be part of the church,” he said.
“God touches people and changes their life.”
“If we can point people back to God, we’re not the answer but we know who is the answer,” said Wiebe.
The most important thing would have to be that the church is Christ-centred, he said.
“Our people are known in the community because of the way they live,” he said.
The Rock is part of an international team, New Covenant
Ministries International, which is not a denomination but a relational team working in 80 nations of the world.
“That’s who we make ourselves accountable to and members of the team come into our church on a regular basis,” he said.
The church works with missionary Allan Bay in Thailand and helps support three orphanages there.
Bay started by travelling as far as he could go in a 4x4, then he went by boat and then by elephant to where a former cannibalistic tribe was living on the border between Thailand and Burma.
Now he runs a church in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Bay will be here in July to speak at the church.
The congregation also supports workers in Mexico, Tunisia, Xichung, China and Ngoya, Japan.
Currently, the church is working on sending a team to Belize to build a home for a family during Easter next year.