It felt like a foretaste of heaven – hundreds of voices singing as one to the one true God. Yesterday, we were all mostly strangers, but today, we gathered as part of one big family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. With hands raised, I stood right in the middle of it, tears of joy and thankfulness streaming down my face. “I know you can hear us, God – all together, unified, praising your name. I know this brings you so much joy! You delight in us when we delight in you.”
If you would’ve told me a year ago that I would be experiencing the scene above in a megachurch in Columbus, Ohio, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But as God had planned, this was the way He made for us – to attend our first live worship service at the newly opened Rock City Church Polaris campus, and on Good Friday, no less.
To think – this whole journey started last August when my husband Eric and I simultaneously felt God pulling at our hearts to lead our family in a new direction to a new church home.
I’ll be honest – I wasn’t thrilled at first. In fact, my initial reaction was one of denial.
“This surely isn’t what you want, God, is it? We’re finally settled. I’m comfortable here. I’m serving you here. Why this change? Why now?”
But God wasn’t going to let me off the hook so easily. A week later, he confirmed what he wanted us to do; He wanted us to check out Rock City Church’s new church plant in Grand Lake, held at St. Marys Memorial High School.
Stepping out in obedience was not easy to do, but once we took that first step, the Holy Spirit assured Eric and I that this was where he wanted us. He wanted us to grow here. He wanted to use us here. There was no doubt in our minds.
Similarly, in early 2024 God called a small group of believers in Celina to begin watching Rock City Church’s live streamed services together – first in someone’s home, then in a small event venue. It all began organically without Rock City’s knowledge, but eventually, Rock City’s church leadership caught wind of the flame the Holy Spirit had set ablaze in Celina.
“It is truly an ‘only God’ story and one that never gets old to tell,” said Chad Fisher, lead pastor of Rock City Church. “A little over a year ago, we became aware of a group of people from the Celina/St. Marys area who had been watching our services online together. As we began to research the area and got to know the community, it became clear that there was a tremendous opportunity to expand to the Grand Lake area.”
Then, God began to part the waters, providing a launch team, an auditorium to hold worship experiences and a group of people in the Grand Lake area eager to reach their community with the hope of Jesus. This culminated with Rock City Grand Lake’s official launch in October 2024 as Rock City’s newest satellite location.
Fast forward back to the present – I’m walking into the new Rock City Polaris campus on Good Friday. I found myself simply overwhelmed by God’s goodness.
My eyes scanned a breathtaking sight – the atrium walls covered in the Word, specifically the entire gospel book of John, and within the walls, hundreds of people eager to usher in the Holy Spirit’s presence and study the Word together.
My heart filled with joy and excitement as I greeted fellow attendees of Rock City Grand Lake who had traveled to Columbus just like we had.
And I felt a soul-deep sense of gratitude as I met lots of new faces, several of whom helped make the Grand Lake launch possible by sacrificing their time, talents and treasures to answer God’s call to pursue Rock City’s mission: making heaven full.
Among these obedient souls are Rick Gersper, campus pastor of Rock City Grand Lake, and his wife, Tara. Together, they are faithful stewards to the work God is doing in Grand Lake, from behind-the-scenes tasks to discipling the growing congregation to coming alongside brand new believers.
Just five short years ago, Rick and Tara watched their first Rock City worship service on TV during the COVID pandemic by happenstance. At the time, they were on the brink of divorce, and neither one of them had ever set foot in a church.
But God … He not only changed their hearts and lives for the better, but he made a way for them to become Kingdom Builders. Their first mission? To oversee a new church plant located an hour and a half away from their home in Columbus.
“It’s amazing how faithful God is to not only use our YES, but to also bless it. We are incredibly grateful for Rock City Church, and our lead pastors, Chad and Katie Fisher. We consider it a high honor that God has trusted us to care for this church and this area. Jesus used Rock City to save our lives and restore all that had been broken. We deeply desire to see everyone experience the same love, hope and freedom that we’ve experienced by entering into a relationship with Jesus.”
– Rick Gersper, Campus Pastor of Rock City Grand Lake
When I look back on the past several months, I get emotional thinking about how if Eric and I had NOT chosen to step out in faith, we would’ve missed all this:
- Immense spiritual growth, for myself and my family
- My oldest child choosing to be water baptized
- Finding my voice again by serving on worship team
- Watching my husband find his niche serving on the administrative volunteer team.
- Befriending so many fellow believers that we would have never otherwise crossed paths with.
And the best part is … God is just getting started.
Indeed, it is amazing what God can do when you just say YES to His calling. That’s all He really wants you to do – trust and obey. He’ll lead you through the mystery into something better than you could have imagined.
If you’d like to learn more about Rock City Church and its locations, you can visit their website here or follow them on:
testimonyistrue.org 
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