I had an opportunity to visit the Richmond Outreach Center (better known as “The ROC”) this past weekend. One of my friends had been invited to come check it out, so I went along. Up until last fall, I had visited several different churches since leaving my original church. This wasn’t one of those kinds of “scouting out” visits. I’ve found my church home at Redemption Hill. This was more of a place I had always heard about and just wanted to visit.
I went to the Saturday night service. They call it “Six O’Clock ROC.” I’d say that summarizes it pretty well. When I got to The ROC, congregation members were lining the sidewalk on both sides, shaking everyone’s hands as they entered the building. When I walked in to the huge, packed-out auditorium, I was almost overwhelmed. I don’t think I’ve ever been to as big a church as this one.
As the music started, I could tell there was something different about this place. Now I used to go to a very contemporary church, but this place definitely takes it a step beyond that. The first song was “Dig In” by Lenny Kravitz. It had modified spiritual lyrics. The band rocked it out. It was awesome. As the service went on, there was more rock, rap, and some southern gospel sprinkled in. I could tell these people were fired up!
But what I really started to notice as the sermon began was just how loving this church community is. Here I sat in a big auditorium filled with people from every different race, nationality, and walk of life, and yet none of it amounted to a grain of salt. This was a church community that was blind to all those labels we tend to put on people, whether conscious or subconcious.
Now granted this was my first time visiting, it would only be fair to say I should come a few more times before I draw any conclusions. But in that same respect, I feel like this isn’t a place where that kind of investigation would be required because it really is that transparent. This congregation treats everyone as their brothers and sisters in Christ, and that, my friends, is quite simply love in its purest form. I gotta admit it, the whole thing made me a little teary-eyed during the service. It was just overwhelming.
The impact this church is making blew my mind. The founder of the church, Pastor G., said there were over 950 people saved over the past two weeks before my visit. That’s incredible. I think the reason for those large numbers is because of just how much the church community steps out and goes where most people wouldn’t think of going. They work with local and state police to get kids off the streets and go into the projects and work with families to make a difference. They’re just sharing love of Christ. That’s the only way to put it.
I have a wonderful family of friends at Redemption Hill and feel that God has called me to that church. I’ll write more soon about just how much that place has touched my life. It’s definitely where I’m staying. But I’m definitely going to visit The ROC now and then to experience the wonderful work God is doing in Richmond through this group of people! They have church on Saturday nights anyway.
I was incredibly inspired by the sermon this morning at Redemption Hill Church. There were so many things packed into one half-hour message it was amazing. The first question posed was a very thought-provoking one: Is following Jesus a duty that you perform or a delight that you have? It’s a very, very good question, and one that I never really gave much thought to.
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