Our Story
| In the 1920s, Auburn Christian Church was born. | |
| The little congregation flourished in town, but in 1964 the congregation decided to build a new building in the outlying the suburbs. The church struggled in their new location for many years until, in 1998, the church called Bill & Kris Tenny-Brittian as their pastors. The two pastors labored for several months but finally concluded that the congregation really didn't want to grow. So, those who remained faithful decided to do something radical. In 1999 The Auburn First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) launched with a whole new image: by acclamation and a unanimous vote, Auburn First became The Rock Christian Church. It was an exciting beginning, but it was only the first step in the journey. Over the next several months, the Pink Dome in Auburn experienced some serious interior remodeling, including building the first permanent labyrinth in the Seattle Metroplex. | |
 The Rock Dome in Auburn |
We did some cutting-edge
marketing to get things going, from paying unchurched people to come
to church, holding a drawing for $1,000, to standing out on the roads
waving with signs! Whatever it took to get people to "come
to church." Innovative Marketing |
| However,
The Rock in Auburn struggled to keep
its antiquated building in repair.
In 2002 it became clear to all that most
of our funds were being spent on buildings
and salaries and that out ministry was
suffering because we didn't have enough
funds to do effective ministry. So
Pastor Bill, who was studying for an advanced
degree in Church Multiplication Movements,
suggested we turn to the scriptural model
of church - the House Church - as an alternative.
That was a big step. When the church finally made the decision to become a House Church Network we lost a few families who didn't believe that House Church was really church. But we went ahead anyway. |
|
It's been an interesting journey. In the end, we sold the building and developed a plan to establish the House Church Network up and down the Puget Sound Corridor, a plan we're just beginning to see progress on. It's an exciting time for us at The Rock. We're looking forward to reaching many, many people in the name of the Lord. So, if you're looking for a place that takes all this House Church stuff seriously, come try us out. We'd love to meet you. |
 Summer House Church in Fairwood |
