About
Who We Are
Who we are is always a difficult thing to define. We could use all sorts of words and phrases which could mean different things to different people So perhaps the best way to explain who we are is to explore the three words which make up our name, “rock” “community” & “church” (but let's change the order a bit.)
Church
We’re a church. In its simplest sense, a church is a group of people who want follow Jesus. People sometimes ask what kind of church and we might use words like "non-denominational" (We’re independent of any denomination but well connected with other local and national churches) or "evangelical" (we use the Bible as our primary source of truth) or "charismatic" (we believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit) or "fun" (we think church can be fun!) Our vision, values and beliefs are in the vision and values section below.
Rock
Dumbarton Rock is one of the key images of our town. It even features in our logo. Those from Dumbarton are often known as “Sons and Daughters of the Rock”. We want to be a local church rooted in the life of this town and serving the local area. We're really committed to our area. We're involved in school chaplaincy, invested in partnering with other local churches and organisations, and inspired to love our town (especially the west end of Dumbarton via our community hub, The Phoenix.)
Community
Community is at the very heart of Rock Community Church. We're committed to loving the community above us (God), the community amongst us (one another in the church) and the community around us (our friends, families and neighbourhoods.) (we're explain those three idea a bit more below.) We're not a church focussed on structures and traditions (both of these can be great btw!) but more on relationships and community.
Vision & Values
Vision
Our vision as a church is to people who live like Jesus. We describe this as a desire "to be a community of people who give their all as followers of Jesus and welcome others into that adventure." We do this by taking three deliberate postures that we see Jesus taking.
Posture One: Up
We see Jesus loving the other members of the trinity, God the father and God the Holy Spirit…so we aim to be “A people who love the triune community.” We call this our upward posture and by taking this posture we deliberately engage in worshipping God, exploring the story of the Bible, rhythms of prayer, etc.
Posture Two: In
We see Jesus loving those close to him…so we aim to be “A people who love the community among us.” We call this our inward posture and by taking this posture we deliberately engage in caring for one another, fostering authentic friendships, supporting one another in prayer, etc.
Posture Three: Out
We see Jesus loving those he comes into contact with…so we aim to be “A people who love the community around us.” We call this our outward posture and by taking this posture we deliberately engage in running The Phoenix (our community hub), standing for justice, sharing the good news of Jesus with our neighbours, supporting local schools through chaplaincy support, etc.
Beliefs
While our expression of how we live out church may be less traditional than others, our core beliefs are in line with most churches across traditions and denominations. Rather than try and list everything we believe it is better to point towards one of the earliest creeds of the Christian faith, upheld by most mainstream churches even today. This creed, originating from the 5th century, describes our core beliefs more elegantly and succinctly than we could ourselves. The version below uses the language of “we” rather “I” unlike the original. This is in reflection of this being the core beliefs of us a community together.
The Apostles' Creed
We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Values
Our values shape the way we shape the way we work as a church and the way we try and live as a group of people. Our seven values are God, Discipleship, Love, Interdependence, Adventure, Creativity, and Authenticity.
We Value God
At the heart of Rock Community Church is God. We recognise God as triune, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. First and foremost, we exist as a reflection of His great and overwhelming love as displayed through Jesus. We want to be a community of people who value God above everything else. We want to live lives which worship Him with everything we are and everything we do. We would describe ourselves as “charismatic”; we believe that, through the Holy Spirit, God continues to speak to and transform us today through dreams, visions, healings and words of prophecy. These are, however, always weighed against the truth of scripture. We consider ourselves “evangelical”, by that we mean we hold the Bible as the main place we find truth. We believe God has revealed Himself through the stories, poetry, letters, prophecies and wisdom of the Bible.
We Value Discipleship
We believe our primary call as a church is to be “disciple” makers. By this we mean that we want to be a community where people can passionately and faithfully follow Jesus; to turn away from that which is wrong and to be all about the things He is all about. We believe that this is the job that God has given the church across the globe. We believe the big story of God is that, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has a plan to fix everything that has gone wrong with the world. We see our role as disciples as being active agents in pointing towards His Kingdom and bringing glimpses of Heaven to earth.
We Value Love
We believe God is love and we value this aspect of His character. We believe in a God who who isn’t distant and disinterested but who cares about humanity and intimately knows and loves us. We want to be a community that holds this aspect of God at the heart of who we are. We value the love of Jesus, who would die for the forgiveness of our wrongdoing. We want to be a community who lives out this love within us by living lives which are gracious and selfless. We want to be open and welcoming and a place where genuine relationships are built. We also hold to the idea that humanity is made in the image of God and as such everyone has value. We therefore want to be a community where everyone, of any background, can enter into the story of a God who loves them.
We Value Interdependence
We believe that we do not walk the journey of faith alone but that we are interdependent one with another. We value the diverse expressions of God’s church and our role in loving and being loved by other churches, locally, nationally and internationally. We believe that we are all part of the life of Rock Community Church as God has given us all gifts which are to be used to work together and build one another up. We also believe that while we are called to have leaders who guide us as a community, we are all called to be “priests” and lead one another deeper into the journey of growing as disciples of Jesus.
We Value Adventure
We believe that God is loving and a firm foundation for us. We believe he cares about us. However, as we read the stories of scripture we also see a God who calls us to step out and to risk everything in following Him. We believe that following Jesus is a call to live a life full of adventure. We believe that in joining in His mission of the restoration of all things we do so in ways which have a cost to them. We believe this adventure, though full of cost and risk, is also full of excitement, unrivalled joy, and personal transformation. We value the opportunities to welcome others into the intimate love of God. We deliberately want to provide spaces, events and conversations which allow people to hear and experience the story of a God of love and to join us in this adventure.
We Value Creativity
We would consider our core beliefs to be “orthodox,” by this we mean the truths we hold are the same truths which have been held since Jesus started His church with His first disciples. We believe these ancient truths are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago. We believe one of our challenges is how we make these truths accessible in twenty-first century Scotland. We therefore are less interested in the traditional structures of church and more interested in the truth behind these traditions. We believe that humanity being made in the image of God the creator means we are creative beings. We therefore look to be creative in how we join in the mission of God.
We Value Authenticity
We desire to grow more and more in being Christ-like but we are also realistic and know that at times we’ll get it wrong as well as right. We want to be a community of honesty, where when we get in wrong we can graciously build each other up again. We want to be a place where the broken and hurting can find good news but at the same don’t have to wear a fake smile and pretend everything is ok. We want to be a place where we can ask honest questions and wrestle with things we don’t understand or struggle with. We also value humility, we’re far from being the perfect church. We have flaws and imperfections. We don’t want to be proud in ourselves but continue to push forward and humbly strive to be more and more like Jesus.
Who's Who
Staff
Leadership Team
Our Leadership team function as our SCIO trustees. We have two subgroups, Eldership & Governance Group. Our Eldership help shape the vision and direction of what we do as a church alongside oversight of how we care for the church congregation. Our Governance Group have oversight of the practicalities of that vision including building maintenance, compliance with charity law, H.R. etc.
Our current office bearers are: David Robertson (Chair), Oli Higham (Vice Chair), Andy Myall (Treasurer), Moira Higham (Secretary)
Safeguarding Team
Our safeguarding team have oversight of making sure that our staff and volunteers keep Rock Community Church and the work we do a safe place for children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Our Designated Safeguarding Officer can be contact on safeguarding@rockcommunitychurch.org.uk or 01389 600245
