Rock City calls that going and doing “Beyond Our Walls.” Aligning with the simple church model, it is one of just three areas of focus, along with the worship experience and LifeGroups. Everything the church does falls into one of these areas. “That’s really helped us keep our message simple,” says Fisher.
From year one to year two, participation in Beyond Our Walls increased 204 percent, as noted in Rock City’s annual report. “We try to infuse Beyond Our Walls into everything we do,” says Katie Fisher, who leads the 10-person Beyond Our Walls team. She says the focus, both domestically and internationally, is to “come alongside really great organizations that are doing really great work and lift up their arms.”
Beyond writing checks and sending volunteers, Rock City is also relentless in reporting to the congregation, celebrating what God is doing through the church. Katie Fisher notes the momentum this creates: “It puts it in the front of people’s minds that this is who we are because we talk about it so much.
Until two years ago, Beyond Our Walls team member Noel Klay had never attended church. His wife found Rock City after her sister received a flyer in the mail. Two months later Klay finally came. Calling himself a tough-skinned guy who grew up in government-subsidized housing and who doesn’t cry for anything, he describes the power of the Spirit’s presence at Rock City, noting, “Every Sunday by the second song I have tears rolling down my face.”
ROCK CITY CHURCH Columbus, Ohio
Lead Pastor: Chad Fisher
Twitter: @CFisherOnline
Website: RockCityChurch.tv
Founded: 2011
Affiliation: Nondenominational
Locations: 1
Attendance: 1,005
Growth in 2012: +569 (130%)
Fastest-Growing: 17
