Find out how ROCK Church is partnering with amazing ministries to change the world.

FlipSide is heading back to the Baton Rouge Dreamcenter this year. We had an amazing time the past two years partnering with Healing Place Church and serving in one of the most crime ridden and poor areas of Baton Rouge. Through after school programs, street outreach, grocery give-aways, a free clothing boutique, homeless breakfast, etc., we were part of bringing light in the darkness and reaching those forgotten and abandoned by society. If you have a teen ages 13-18, don’t let them miss out on this incredible opportunity.

Early Bird Registration: $400 (by Feb. 28th)
Late Bird Registration: $450 (after Feb. 28th)

This Price is all inclusive (food, lodging, transportation, serving cost). A $50 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your spot. FlipSide will be participating in various fund raisers to help offset the cost. The schedule for balance of the registration to be paid is as follows…

$90 Due March 28th
$90 Due April 25th
$90 Due May 30th
$80 Due June 20th

Don’t wait… spaces are limited. If you have any questions, contact matthew@rockwilmington.com.

I’ve been watching the reports come in of the devastation from yesterday’s earthquake in Haiti. The loss of life is expected to be massive. The pain and suffering are real. Take a look at this video from Anderson Cooper over at CNN.

This Sunday, come to ROCK Church prepared to give generously to the relief efforts. We will receive a special offering to send to Samaratin’s Purse. They are already loading a plane with supplies. It’s time to pray for Haiti. It’s time to give to Haiti. Let’s be extravagantly generous. It’s time for the church to be the church.

The reports are exciting and they are steadily streaming in. Here are a few we have received so far…

Kevin & Christie

The West family took a deli tray of assorted sandwiches and a tray of cookies to the Hospice center for the staff and patients families. We walked the kids around and told them about how well their Grandmother was cared for there. We told the staff why we were there and invited them to visit sometime. We talked to Maggie and Connor and plan on doing this monthly. We left the invitation in the kitchen with the food and a note for the families.

Erin

I was driving home today..still hadn’t done our mission yet and had been thinking we should set out to do it this week. When low and behold there was an older couple broke down on the side of the road. I stopped just to see if they needed to use my phone and asked if I could help…they had run out of gas. So I called Tom and he got a gas can, filled it up and brought them some gas while I sat and talked with them. I left them with a card and a real shock when we refused the money they offered to pay us. We still have money left so we will be going out to do another mini mission. I do want to say that the gentleman was shocked that we would do this. He said in all the years that he had been driving never had anyone ever taken the time to help him when he was stuck on the side of the road.

Anonymous

I got $10 and added personal money and got 3 $10 McDonald’s gift cards and prayed for Holy Spirit to direct me to the right people to give them to. I gave the 1st one to a young mother with 2 small children in the waiting room of a medical office. She thanked me profusely and told me both of her little girls had severe food allergies since birth and she had just got reports that both were significantly improved. She said the gift card was God speaking to her through me that He was taking care of everything they needed. I gave the next 2 cards to mothers with children in the grocery store. Both were grateful and their kids were excited about going to McDonald’s. I was so blessed doing this, I remembered a $25 gift card I received from a restaurant near where we live. As I walked around the grocery store praying for direction, I saw a very elderly couple holding onto the grocery cart as they walked slowly down the isle. I asked if I could give them a gift and the man asked “What for?” I told him it was a gift card to Carolina Barbecue and I just wanted to give it to them and say, “ROCK Church wants you to know Jesus loves you”. His eyes brimmed with tears and he said, “That’s one of the restaurants we can afford to eat at. Thank you so much”. His wife said, “This is wonderful. You are so kind”. As I turned to walk away, I met a lady wiping tears from her eyes and she said, “That was so kind and generous”. I told her those folks blessed me more than I blessed them. I think I’ll do that again next week.

Lynne

I began the day praying that God would send me someone to bless. Most of the day had passed and I had not yet heard from God. When I got home that evening I decided to order pizza for dinner and as soon as I placed the order online God said give the money to the delivery driver, it will be a young lady that needs it. So I sat it on the table next to my money for the pizza and the entire time I waited I keep saying “Watch its gonna be a guy and I’m never going to be able to complete my mission.” Well low and behold it was a young lady. So I paid with a twenty and she proceeded to give me change and I said ” Don’t worry about the change keep it and add this to it and be blessed. ROCK Church wants you to know that Jesus loves you and he cares”. She said, “all this for me”. I said, “Yes, you deserve it. Jesus loves you”. She ran away smiling. It was awesome to tip 100 percent. My pizza was $15 and I gave her a total of $15.00. I’m gonna do this again, it was awesome to bless someone, It made my day!

Daniel (age 5)

In the morning on Saturday we made cinnamon buns and brought them to the fire station. We thanked them for taking care of us and told them we prayed for them and asked the angels to watch over them and keep them safe. They gave us fire hats and thanked us for our prayers. In the afternoon we made cookies and took them to the new police station in our neighborhood. A police lady was pulling up, it turned out she was a mom of a little girl. She took the cookies and invited us inside. Then we met her boss. They were very happy to get the cookies and we thanked them for taking care of us. I loved doing this because I love Jesus!

Johnnie

A co-worker is battling cancer. I bought her a encouraging card and told her Rock Church wanted her to know that God loves her. I had doubled the money and enclosed it in her card hoping that would encourage her day.

Dave

At the Carnival I gave it to a grandmother for the family she had brought. Felt led to give it all to her.

Jean

I didn’t get much money, so added money to it myself and took it to the carnival on Saturday. Bought five meal tickets and saved some cash to hand out. Three meal tickets were given to a single mom with two children and one meal ticket was given to a girl who came with her grandmother. Also, walked around and handed out cash to kids of several families for snacks, etc. Each time I told them that God and Rock Church love them. It wasn’t much, but they were thrilled.

Carolyn

I included in a gift bag, a herbal tea sampler and a women’s devotional bible with the $5 and the card inside. Then I felt I should send it to one of Johnnie’s co-workers. He told me that she was reaaly blessed and her response was “God knows what you need when you need it. “Also, she turns out to be a “tea” person . God knows everything!

Jason, Shawn & their Families

We put our money together and matched it to equal $25.00. We – four adults and four children- decided to go to Target and randomly chose one of the checkout clerks. We picked up a gift card and all eight of us went through checkout. The cashier asked, “How much would you like to put on your card?” We each took our turn and paid our portions. The cashier handed us the card back and said, “Have a great night.” We then returned the card back to her and said, “This is a gift from us to you. We want you to know that God loves you!” Her expression was PRICELESS! And, as we walked away we heard her say, “THAT’S CRAZY!” Guess that’s love! It was an awesome time!

Tony & Lisa

Tony and I learned of our neighbors granddaughter having a new baby boy. They are a very young couple and tony and I know how it can be. We talked to her grandfather and decided the best thing to do would be to buy a jumbo pack of diapers. We had $20.00 from the envelopes and added some. We purchased the diapers and sent them to her with a card. The card read; We want you to know Jesus loves you. Love Rock Church. We placed an extra 10.00 in the envelope and put a PS. Pass it on. I can not wait to hear what happens next.

Bill & Tammy

We prayed about what to do and felt that God would have us reach out to our neighbors because in the 4 years we have lived here we have never really tried to connect to them. We had 15.00 of crazy love money so we added 25.00 to that to buy 8 five dollar gift cards at Walmart. We went to each house and told them who we were and that we just wanted to bless them and invite them to the Rock and that Jesus loves them. We also told them that if they ever needed anything to let us know. When we got home from work today, we found a gift hanging on the door from one of our neighbors and a card that said they were planning on coming to the Rock this Sunday or next. Isn’t God great?!

Barbara

I received $5.oo in my envelope. I really had to think hard before deciding to accept this mission. Not because I did not want to be a part of this project… It is just that I am one of those people who say ” I don’t have the time. It just so happened that Thursday was the time that I usually go out to eat with my Paster friends, so I could not use ‘lack of time’ as an excuse. I shared with them what I was to do. One wanted to give me the money for the tip,(this was before she realized that The Rock had already given me the money). The other wants to adopt a similar project for her church. I decided to add $5.00, so the tip was for $10.00. The you lady was somewhat surprised when I handed her the money and card. There was a light that just flashed in her eyes and her smile instantly grew. I hoped the smile and light was because I told her “this is from Jesus” but even if it was because of the money, she knew it was coming from Him, not me or The Rock. I did invite her to visit. For me, it was really neat seeing the look in her eyes, and her smile. My pastor friends were smiling just as widely as the young lady. This was not the first time I’d walked up to a stranger and gave them money with the, this is from Jesus message, however it was the first time I’d made plans in advance to so. I love being a vehicle for Jesus. I was Blessed. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this mission.

Keith, Deb & Kathie

We pooled our mission offering and matched it and bought Health and Beauty and Kitchen Supplies for the shelter. We all need to feel pretty at a time when we don’t feel good about ourselves. We dropped off the donations at Vintage Value Shoppe on Castle in Wilmington. God also opened a door for Kathie to volunteer at the shop to be God’s vessel to share the love and compassion of Christ to the people of Wilmington through her God given gifts and talents.

Russ & Valerie

My wife and I bought some playing cards and a bunch of jigsaw puzzles and went to Day Springs Assisted Living in Burgaw, NC where we delivered them, and Valerie introduced Russ to some of the residents, one of which is 108 years young lady. It was a true blessing to meet her. The whole experience itself was a blessing for both of us. Russ plans to continue to visit with them at least twice a month, if not more.

Nanci

A gentleman whom I’ve visited along with his wife from time to time is incarcerated at McCain’s Correctional Hospital in Raefoed, NC. He was my choice of mission. I went to the post office and got a $10.00 money order, then wrote him a note leting him know how much the poeple at the Rock Church loves him, then I had that “Most of all, Jesus loves you as if you were the only person in the whole wide world.” I wanted to surprise him, and I believe he will be both surprised, and blessed above measure.

Marci & Leslie

We were in the McDonalds drive through and we paid for the person behind us and I gave the card to the woman and told her that The Rock church wants her to know that Jesus loves her and gave her the card and the change left over. She said “Imagine that” and then reached in her wallet and pulled out a $20 bill and told me to use it for something I needed….I wasn’t expecting that.

Melody

I teamed up with my husband, and we gave this woman 20.00. I met her not too long ago, I am trying to win her to Christ. I have asked her a number of times to come to church. She says she will, but then it does not come to pass. My heart was led to just flat out give her this cash, tell her again, God is the answer to all you have need of, your pain, He has your Joy. She was so grateful. I also gave her a box full of clothes for her daughter. I believe this was an opportunity that she could see.. no strings attached, just “Here you go” I hope she will be drawn by this, and my other efforts, to give her life to Christ. Thank you Rock church. One more avenue to lead someone to Christ.

Lynn

I drove around the Wal -Mart parking lot in Wilmington praying that God would bring a person to my attention, I was lead to an individual that looked like he could really use a bright spot in his day. I pulled over and parked the car, walked up to him while he was loading groceries in his car, handed him the money and card and explained to him The Rock of Wilmington and the Lord Jesus Christ loves him and wanted him to be blessed with this seed money. He thanked me and tears came to his eyes, no dought he was blessed.

Matthew

I went to Arby’s today full of intrigue over their new Arby’s RoastBurger. When I was heading back to the car, I encountered a guy in a wheel chair asking if I had any food he could have. I couldn’t imagine parting with my RoastBurger but I remembered I had my micro-mission money and decided to go in and buy him a meal. I gave him the meal, told him Christ loved him, and watched his face light up. After lunch I went to Starbucks to get my wife some coffee. When I got to the register I remembered I still had some micro-mission money leftover, so when the lady next to me ordered her vanilla latte I beat her to the punch and paid for it. Both she and the barista were pretty surprised. I gave her the card for Rock Church and told her to be blessed. We had a great conversation while we waited on our coffee and I’m pretty sure it made her day. If not, it certainly made mine.

Francena

When I went to get my lunch today, I kept feeling the overwhelming desire to purchase lunch for the lady behind me from the moment she walked in. After a bit I informed her that I wanted to purchase her lunch today. She told me that was okay that I did not have to do that. She was there to purchase lunch for her grandmother who was at Brithaven. I told her that was fine I would pay for it anyway. Then I let her know that my church was doing this to show other that we love them and God cares. I proceeded to pay for her lunch and then give her the card for the church and the money that I received on Sunday. The ability to bless someone else ends up having a HUGE effect on how you feel and see things around you. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of this.

Jackie

I know many who are suffering financially right now. I prayed about this and asked God to direct me to who He would help. He brought someone to mind out of nowhere. A co-worker’s son has been out of work due to a work-related injury. His employer is making it impossible to collect his benefits. (he has worked over 20 years for this company). He was approved to go back to work light duty and his boss can’t seem to fit him in. I gave the money along with the card to my co-worker and asked her to give it to her son. Needless to say she was shocked and moved beyond words and asked what did he have to do to receive it. I told her nothing and again, she was pleasantly surprised. This morning I got a call from her daughter-in-law thanking me and I told her it was from the church. She said she would “pay it forward” when she could.

Valerie

We just now gave the $5 bill to our Domino’s pizza delivery guy…IN ADDITION TO…his usual tip. I also made a point to verbally thank him for coming out on such a chilly night.

Steve and Shanda

Steve and I put our seed money together and treated a single mom to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays! She is a single mom, with two great kids. She sacrifices a lot (doesn’t’ go out to eat, eats crackers or leftovers for lunch), trying to put her children through christian school. With the state of the economy, she has had to sell her house, and move into a garage apartment. She enjoyed herself and was very thankful to hear that “ROCK Church wants you to know that Jesus loves you.” We were so blessed to be a blessing!

Ronnie & Latonya

We decided to give support to one of SanToya’s friends who is a single mother and attending High School at Laney. She was very appreciative and wrote us a letter back thanking us and Jesus for the love gift and encouragement to her to continue loving her child and finishing high school. Please continue the prayers for the children to know Christ.

It is amazing to see what God will do when we step out to show His love to the people who surround us each day. If you have a story to tell, be sure to head on over here and email us so we can report the great things that God is doing in our city!