Christ The Rock Community Church sits along US Highway 10 and 114 on the south side of Menasha, Wisconsin, and the building wears its mission literally - the name on the marquee and the ministry on the inside both push the same calling. The church describes its work in plain terms: making disciples of Jesus Christ, with a vision to saturate the Fox Valley with disciple-makers. Two morning services, a children's wing that runs almost every day of the week, a student ministry that meets on Wednesdays, a food pantry that opens its doors every Tuesday, and short-term mission trips that fan out across the globe all grow out of that single aim.
Sundays on Highway 10 and 114
Worship at Christ The Rock runs twice on Sunday mornings at 8:45 and 10:45 AM. A full band leads contemporary songs and the teaching is built to speak into real-life issues with biblical wisdom. Services last about an hour and fifteen minutes. Visitors are welcome to stop by the Link Desk in the lobby with questions, or to look for a pastor or greeter; once a month a First Step gathering in The Link helps newcomers meet leaders, hear about the church's mission and find a way to connect through classes, Discipleship Groups or serving. The dress code is intentionally laid-back, the room is casual, and the goal is that anyone walking in feels at home.
Kids have their own Sunday morning programs at both services. Infants through Grade 6 hear age-appropriate Bible teaching, sing along, move to a large group lesson and break into small groups, with free play built into the hour. Check-in happens at the Children's Ministry Courtesy Desk in the lobby.
Every Sunday service is livestreamed online, and the messages archive lives on YouTube. A podcast carries the same teaching to phones, a RightNow Media library opens to anyone in the church family, and a dedicated app puts events, sermons, giving and connection tools in one place.
The Intentional Life and Discipleship Groups
Christ The Rock defines a disciple as someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and committed to the mission of Jesus, and that definition shapes every level of church life. Members are encouraged to live what the church calls The Intentional Life, with four layers:
- Daily time with God through prayer and Bible study.
- Weekly gathering for worship and community with the church family.
- Consistent investment in a small group, with shorter care or healing groups for particular seasons and a long-term Discipleship Group at the center.
- Continual mission - serving, giving and making disciples as people move through their week.
Discipleship Groups meet across the Fox Valley in homes and on the church campus. Men's groups gather on Tuesday evenings, Thursday mornings (in The Loft, with a Zoom option) and Thursday evenings in The Clubhouse. Women's groups meet Wednesday evenings in Menasha, Thursday mornings in the Whale Room (a first-floor Children's Ministry space where kids can play nearby), and Thursday evenings in Combined Locks. Mixed groups also meet every day of the week throughout the area. Couples discipleship is offered for married couples of any age, and the church helps visitors browse open groups or find the right fit.
Prayer also has its own rhythm at Christ The Rock: gatherings meet in the Worship Center on the second and fourth Monday of every month at 6:00 PM, opening space to pray for CTR's leaders, the global church and current events.
CTR Kids and Wednesday Night Breakout
The children's ministry at Christ The Rock is built around two weekly touch points. Sundays reach infants through Grade 6 during both services, and on Wednesday evenings during the school year the high-energy Breakout programs take over.
- Breakout Jr. on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:45 PM for kids in kindergarten through Grade 2.
- Breakout on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM for kids in Grades 3-5.
Both programs run from late September through late April and mix worship, games, small group time and Bible teaching. Volunteers serve as greeters, small group leaders and tech helpers; teens and adults are welcome, and younger kids can serve alongside a parent. Ignite, a worship team for kids by kids, lets fourth graders and up lead songs for their peers.
Student Ministry on Wednesdays
CTR's Student Ministries reach middle and high schoolers with a Wednesday night program that runs from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. The evening starts with everyone together for worship, then splits into age-specific teaching: middle school (Grades 6-8) and high school (Grades 9-12), with small group time at the end to dig into what was taught. Fun events such as IceBlast (a winter retreat) and SummerBlast (a middle school day camp) and service weekends at Silver Birch Ranch round out the year. First-time students use the East Entrance, the one furthest to the right as you face the building, and a staff member will check them in.
Crossing Young Adults on Thursdays
Crossing is Christ The Rock's ministry for young adults ages 18 to 35, meeting on Thursdays at 7:00 PM. The night mixes Bible teaching, worship, serving, community events and just living life together, and anyone is welcome to drop in. A Facebook group keeps the current teaching series and events in view.
Fireside Cafe in the Lobby
The lobby of Christ The Rock is also home to Fireside Cafe, a full-service espresso bar and kitchen that doubles as a neighborhood hangout. The cafe is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM and Sundays from 8:15 AM to 12:15 PM, with call-ahead ordering at 920.840.6800. The menu runs from breakfast and lunch through smoothies, bakery items and a kids' menu, plus gluten-free and non-dairy options, locally sourced items and seasonal specials like soups and locally-made pizza. There is seating indoors and on a seasonal patio, plus free Wi-Fi, a fireplace and free indoor and outdoor play areas for kids.
Fireside hosts several ongoing features. On the first Wednesday of every month from 9:30 to 11:00 AM, Christian entrepreneurs and business leaders meet for a free, drop-in networking hour. One Thursday evening a month (with a posted schedule) the cafe stays open late. Sunday morning volunteers are recruited as baristas, with training provided.
Christ The Rock Food Pantry: Tuesday Mornings and Evenings
The Christ The Rock Food Pantry serves 700 to 1,000 or more people in the Fox Valley each year, providing grocery staples, eggs, butter, milk, cheese, seasonal produce and frozen meats to anyone in need, whether or not they attend Christ The Rock. Pickups happen at the West Entrance of the building on Tuesdays in two windows: 8:30 to 9:30 AM and 5:30 to 6:30 PM. The pantry is closed when a fifth Tuesday falls in the month.
Families requesting food fill out a short form on the Sunday before their Tuesday pickup so volunteers can plan, then park by the West Entrance and come inside for assistance. Non-perishable donations can be dropped on shelves inside the Main Entrance Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM and Fridays from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. For perishable donations, advance coordination helps the team get items frozen or refrigerated quickly. Each year the pantry serves more than 1,200 adults and children in the community.
Going Local in the Fox Valley
Local outreach at Christ The Rock comes alongside neighbors with practical help and steady presence. Beyond the food pantry, the church runs This One's for the Girls, reaching women in the Fox Valley's sex industry with Christ's love, support for trafficked women, and resources for those seeking a new path. Christ The Rock also partners with Fox Valley Jail Ministry, Vida Medical Clinic & Support Services, Life Promotions, Crossfire Ranch, World Relief and Shepherd's Care.
Going Global: Romania, Colombia, North Africa and Beyond
Short-term mission trips are a staple of the CTR calendar, and the church lists standing partnerships in Romania, Alaska, Peru, Cambodia, North Africa, South East Asia, Colombia and the Middle East. A long-running Compassion Church Plant partnership has helped establish a new church, Jesucristo es el Senor, in Tasajeras, Colombia, with CTR supporters raising more than $255,000 toward that work. A child sponsorship program through Compassion ties CTR families to the same region.
Trips planned out of CTR include North Africa (English school support and service projects), Spain (a student English Camp reaching Spanish kids and their families), Cambodia (relationship-building with long-term missionaries and dorm ministry), Colombia (a relational trip with the Tasajeras plant, including the chance to meet sponsored children), and Alaska (staffing Primary Camp at Tanalian Bible Camp in Port Alsworth). Giving toward individual trip participants is set up through the church's missions giving page.
Lay Counseling and Support Ministries
Christ The Rock offers Christian lay counseling at no cost for adults, both individually and for couples, through an intake and waiting-list process. Counsel and care are designed to help with crisis, healing and past wounds; lay counseling is not offered to anyone under 18. The CTR Support Ministries also coordinates CTR in Your Neighborhood, a home-visit ministry that brings trained volunteers to people who cannot attend church because of aging or health conditions, and connects the church family to local abuse shelters and resources for women struggling with pornography or sex addiction.
Life Events at CTR
The church walks alongside members through the milestones that mark a life of faith.
- Baptism. A baptism class prepares candidates for a public declaration of faith in Jesus, with baptisms held several times a year.
- Parent and Child Dedication. Several times a year parents stand before the church to commit to raising their child to know and follow Jesus, with an orientation required beforehand. At CTR, dedication is not the same as baptism, which is reserved for individuals old enough to make their own decision to follow Christ.
- Weddings. CTR pastors perform both on-site and off-site weddings for couples who complete the church's premarital class and mentoring, typically six to nine months before the wedding day. Christ The Rock is not equipped to host receptions, showers or rehearsal dinners.
- Funerals. Pastors are available to share the love of Christ, practical help and encouragement with families as they face the loss of loved ones.
Forty Years from Riverside Chapel to the Fox Valley
Christ The Rock traces its roots back more than forty years to a small group of young adults who began reaching out on the streets and in bars in the Fox Valley to tell people about the God who loves them. That outreach led to a crisis hotline, and as new followers of Jesus began pursuing healing and growth, many struggled to find a church community where they felt accepted. They started gathering weekly at Riverside Chapel and eventually grew into Christ The Rock Community Church. The heartbeat of the church is still the same: sharing God's story of love and redemption and making disciples who make more disciples of Jesus Christ.
Today that heartbeat shows up in two Sunday services that stream around the world, kids who learn about Jesus three days a week, students who lead on Wednesday nights, a young-adult community that gathers on Thursdays, a cafe in the lobby that serves espresso and friendship, a Tuesday food pantry that hands out groceries with dignity, lay counseling for adults, and mission teams that travel from the Fox Valley to places like Tasajeras, Tanalian and Phnom Penh. Everything at CTR keeps pointing back to the same verse that frames it all - Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of people - and to the same mission that has drawn this church together since its first days.