For Rock Creek Church, community outreach goes far beyond an occasional volunteer event. The church regularly partners with multiple organizations, providing hands-on service and financial support.
For example, every month, congregation members gather to pack food boxes for Children’s Hunger Fund, which get distributed globally. The church also provides both volunteers and financial resources to Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors, as well as financial backing for Cornerstone of North Central Texas.
Additionally, the church regularly sends medical teams to the Dominican Republic and is actively working on deploying medical teams to Guatemala City, delivering clinical, dental and vision care.
“We encourage our people to move beyond the four walls of our facility, and engage in not just going to church, but being the church,” senior pastor Brad Wilkerson said. “It's always been our vision at Rock Creek to get outside of our four walls, and take the church into arenas in the world to serve those in need, whether it's locally or globally, with either gospel conversations or humanitarian projects.”
What community initiatives is Rock Creek Church doing this fall?
One initiative the church is taking part in this fall is a clothing drive for Ireland for Jesus, a ministry in Belfast, Ireland, focused on planting churches throughout the country. Led by Gary Bolton, the ministry operates a clothing resale shop with a coffee shop on the second floor.
“We're doing a clothing drive for Ireland for Jesus, where we're filling up a 40-foot container full of gently used adult clothing and accessories,” Wilkerson said. “[Bolton] tells us that a 40-foot container … will net his ministry about $100,000, which allows him to utilize that for church planting opportunities in his area.”
The 40-foot container holds roughly 300 boxes, and the initiative has gathered over 255 boxes in just its first two weeks.
The church is also participating in the “Freedom” series, a 10-week churchwide curriculum initially developed in Alabama. It examines forgiveness, addiction and breaking free from harmful beliefs. The church will be preaching this curriculum in main services, as well as in small groups.
What’s next for Rock Creek Church?
Rock Creek Church just celebrated its 18th anniversary and is excited for the next 20 years.
“Everything we've experienced in 18 years has been really good, but we really have just started to scratch the surface on the things that God has called us to do,” Wilkerson said. “I think the next 20 years will actually be the catalytic years for Rock Creek as we continue to be established in the community and get outside our four walls.”
There are several ways the church plans to do this.
“We want to continue to increase our global reach into the four corners of the earth. I would love to see Rock Creek give $2 million a year to humanitarian global efforts and gospel efforts, and then not only money, but having people with boots on the ground,” Wilkerson said. “We want to be a ministry where the sun never sets on the ministry of Rock Creek.”
Additionally, the church wants to continue expanding its facility. It recently added a 1,200-seat auditorium and renovated its existing facility to serve elementary, middle and high school students throughout the week, and the early childhood ministry has already filled the new space.
Ultimately, Wilkerson hopes that when people encounter Rock Creek Church, they feel at home.
“I hope people feel like they don't have to wear a mask or be someone they're not. I pray and hope that they feel like this is a place of authenticity,” Wilkerson said. “We often say that God can't love the you you pretend to be, because that person doesn't exist. We want you to be real. We want you to know others and be dared to be known by others. We hope that people experience true biblical teaching with what I would call relevant, modern-day worship, [as well as] an incredible ministry to the next generation of kids and students. But more than anything, when people say to me, ‘From the moment I walked in, I felt like I was home,’ that's what we're after.”
Those interested in learning more about Rock Creek Church can find resources here:
Website: https://www.rockcreektx.church/
Phone number: 469-815-5253
Address: 2860 W. First St., Prosper
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., 10 to 11 a.m. (service with ASL interpretation) and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Frequently asked questions
What is Rock Creek Church?
Rock Creek Church is a Prosper-based church that recently celebrated its 18th anniversary. Led by senior pastor Brad Wilkerson, the church holds services Saturday evenings and three Sunday morning times, and operates community outreach locally and internationally through partnerships, medical missions and churchwide programs. The church is located at 2860 W. First St. in Prosper.
What outreach and mission work does Rock Creek Church do?
The church partners with several organizations on an ongoing basis: congregation members pack monthly food boxes for Children's Hunger Fund for global distribution, and the church provides volunteers and financial support to Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors and financial backing for Cornerstone of North Central Texas. Internationally, the church regularly sends medical teams to the Dominican Republic offering clinical, dental and vision care, and is working to deploy medical teams to Guatemala City.
What is the Ireland for Jesus clothing drive?
This fall, Rock Creek Church is collecting gently used adult clothing and accessories to fill a 40-foot container, roughly 300 boxes, for Ireland for Jesus: a church-planting ministry in Belfast, Ireland, led by Gary Bolton. The ministry runs a clothing resale shop with a coffee shop on the second floor, located within seven miles of 40,000 college students. A full container is expected to net approximately $100,000 for Bolton's church-planting efforts. The drive collected more than 255 boxes in its first two weeks.
When does Rock Creek Church hold services?
Services are held Saturday from 5 to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., 10 to 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The 10 to 11 a.m. service has ASL interpretation. The church is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and can be reached at 469-815-5253.
The above story was produced by Senior Multi-Platform Journalist Sydney Heller of Community Impact's Storytelling team, with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.
