It has been quite the wild ride to keep up with what God is doing in and through our church. From opening our doors on Easter 2012 to where we are today, God has been doing an incredible work here in our valley!
Something you'll hear a lot around here is that we are "Real Stinkin' People" meaning that we highly value authenticity and being real with one another. So if you are looking for a place to be yourself and explore an authentic relationship with God and others, then Rockharbor is the place for you!
In early 2012, our lead pastor Keith Harrington, his family and 6 other families began meeting and planning the launch of Rockharbor Church. They dreamed of a welcoming place of Christ-centered authenticity, shared leadership and loving acceptance. A place for real stinkin’ people. A place that would be a harbor for people who needed safety and to be rebuilt. They soon secured a place to meet at Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian and Rockharbor Church gathered for the first time on Easter Sunday in 2012.
Those first few years were ones of exciting growth amidst challenges. We quickly went from 1 service to 2, and then to 3 within two and a half years. Those years were marked by the launch of children’s, middle school and student ministries, community groups, and outreach projects. Our city is filled with young families who need a multi-generational place to worship.
We also wanted to be known for how we prayed and what we gave away. 13% of our entire budget continues to be allocated for local and global outreach and church planting, partnering with organizations like Manna Worldwide, Feed My Starving Children, and Stanton Healthcare. Baptisms happened wherever we could find an open body of water, in hot tubs, horse troughs and annually in the Boise River.
By 2015, it became clear that big decisions needed to be made to manage our growth. Should we purchase land to build, plant a church, or launch multi-site campuses? After prayer and consideration, God led us to do all three! In 2016, our executive pastor, Doug Connelly and over 300 of our core attenders were sent out to start Stonehill Church. As hard as it was to send off the Connelly’s and so many families, God was faithful to provide and build our expectations of Him. Within a few weeks, all of the seats that were emptied were filled with new people!
In 2017 we added a 4th service, but we still needed more room. This led to the launch of the the Hub Venue, a video multi-site campus. Faithful families left the comfort of the main campus to make more room for people to come to church.
Very quickly, we realized that we were outgrowing the high school and that it was time to make a permanent move. In 2016, a piece of property was purchased at Chinden and Tree Farm Way that would become our next home. The next season was for building. Not only a permanent facility, but also building key areas of ministry including marriages with re|Engage, young adults and families. We grew our volunteer teams. And we expanded our reach to help and support other churches.
We broke ground for our new home on June 2, 2019 with a worship service and prayer walk. Our prayer is that this new building will be a place where people can come and find support, love, and authentic faith. We wanted to build more than a building – we wanted to build lives. Excitement was growing for a pivotal 2020, but we had no idea the challenges that were coming in the year ahead.
As the world ground to a halt in March of 2020, we shut down our live services and moved online for several months. God used that time to reshape our vision of community and worship. As difficult as it’s been, God has always been faithful to work for the good of all who love Him. And we have seen lives changed, and faith built and restored throughout the challenges of 2020. The online campus that was started in March, continues to be an integral part of our weekly gatherings. We are committed to being a community that welcomes change and approaches challenges with creativity and laughter.
In December of 2020, we had our first services in our new building. God has brought Rockharbor Church through an incredible journey so far, but the best is yet to come!
