The Rock Church (San Diego)

History

Rock Church held its first service at San Diego State University in 2000. Two years later, Rock Academy opened its doors to students. In 2005 the Rock began construction on their new building at Liberty Station and two years later, the new campus was open.

The Rock was quickly named the second fastest growing church in America and continued to grow over the years offering over 100 outreach ministries to establish Pervasive Hope throughout San Diego. In 2010 Rock Church North County opened, followed by the East County campus in 2013, San Ysidro campus in 2014, and City Heights in 2015. Rock Church also has two thrift stores, located in Point Loma and El Cajon).

Point Loma Campus

The Point Loma Campus is 244,000 sq ft (22,700 m²) building located in the historic Liberty Station. The building has been compared in size to Noah's Ark (443 feet long and 45 feet (14 m) high) and includes state-of-the art Christian education facilities, office space, and a 3,500 seat worship center. Because of the large size of the sanctuary, it is often used for high-profile funerals, such as those for police officers killed in the line of duty. The Point Loma campus also served as a shelter and resource center during the wildfires that spread across San Diego in 2007.

Adjacent to the church is the Rock Academy, a private Christian school serving preschool through 12th grade with more than 400 students.

Community service

McPherson encourages churchgoers to demonstrate the love of God through service in their communities. McPherson, who has published several books, released Do Something: Make Your Life Count in 2009, which focuses on helping individuals do something in their communities.

The Rock offers more than 150 external ministries for members to serve in. These include ministries that work in prisons, homeless shelters, strip clubs, hospital oncology wings, with military families, and more. In 2015, the church donated more than 220,000 hours of service on projects for the City of San Diego as designated by Mayor Kevin Faulconer and other community leaders, at an estimated value of $4 million.

The church mobilizes volunteers throughout the year to tackle beautification projects chosen by community leaders. In March 2012 and September 2011, volunteers cleaned up the Jackie Robinson YMCA and the Barrio Logan neighborhood. The church also hosts large charity events such as the annual December Toys for Joy event, which gives toys, groceries, clothing, and personal services to families in need.

Conflicts

In its previous location in Serra Mesa, neighbors complained about traffic and parking issues. The city fined the church in 2006 for violating the terms of its use permit, and the head of the local community planning board said "We're happy to see them go."

The church's current location in the middle of Point Loma has also led to conflicts with the neighborhood over traffic and parking issues, leading to numerous complaints and a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit against Liberty Station’s developer, Corky McMillin Companies. In May 2012 the San Diego County Grand Jury issued a report concluding that the church's location in an area designated for education use is inappropriate, and recommending that the city "Suspend the current Conditional Use Permit for the Rock Academy and Church pending a review for compliance and compatibility with the NTC Precise Plan and Local Coastal Program report (September 2001) and determine the church’s appropriateness for that area." However, in August the mayor said he would not suspend the church's permit, describing the proposed suspension as "unreasonable".