A House on Memorial Road with a Vision for All of Oklahoma
Church on the Rock sits on the south side of Memorial Road a quarter mile east of Penn in Oklahoma City, a single building with a vision that reaches across the state. The congregation's mission statement reads: to see "all of Oklahoma, the Heartland, the 'Home of the Red Man' and Israel saved and transformed to the glory of God." That prayer, drawn from Second Peter 3:9, has shaped the church since it began on May 5, 1991, when Dr. John Benefiel and his wife Judith launched what has grown into a thriving non-denominational work in the heart of the metro.
What began as a small gathering is now a multi-generational congregation with weekly services, age-graded ministries from nursery through twelfth grade, a network of home fellowships, and an apostolic prayer network that links leaders in every one of the fifty states and more than one hundred nations. The senior pastors still lead the church from Oklahoma City. Their desire, in their words, is to see "every Oklahoman saved, healed, delivered, protected and prospering in the Lord."
Sunday Mornings at 10:00
The Sunday worship service begins at 10:00 a.m. and is held in person at 1780 W. Memorial Road and broadcast live on Facebook. Guests are welcomed with a guest parking lot directly in front of the main entrance, and the service begins in the main sanctuary with a time of praise and worship before the message is preached.
Fellowship runs from 9:15 to 10:00 a.m. Panera bagels and coffee are set out each Sunday morning, giving newcomers a relaxed place to meet a few friendly faces before the service begins. Visitors are encouraged to stay after the service for a brief greeting with the pastors, who keep a small gift bag ready that includes information about the church and, in the church's own words, "chocolate… you can't beat that."
The leadership describes a casual atmosphere, and the church's small-group guide makes the same point about dress: come as you are. Newcomers who want to know more about the church are invited to "Get Connected," a three-part class generally offered every other month on Sunday mornings after praise and worship, which introduces the church's vision, history, leaders, ministry opportunities, and small groups.
Kids on the Rock, Throne Zone, and Emerge
Church on the Rock places a strong emphasis on the next generation. Children's ministry covers newborns through sixth grade on Sunday mornings and Wednesdays for nursery through kindergarten. Every worker has met membership, background check, and training requirements.
Children newborn through kindergarten may go directly to their rooms at the start of the service, while first through sixth graders are dismissed to their classrooms after praise and worship in the main sanctuary. Families who prefer to keep their children with them in the adult service are welcome to do so. The children's ministry, called Kidz on the Rock, is built around the conviction that "children are a gift from the Lord" (Psalm 127:3) and seeks to teach the Word of God, show His love, and encourage each child to live God's destiny for their lives.
First through fourth graders meet in Throne Zone, and fifth and sixth graders meet in Emerge. The Emerge classroom begins with donuts and juice, moves into interactive Bible teaching that uses science experiments, drawing, sculpting, music, and small-group time, and finishes with about fifteen minutes of basketball, ping pong, floor soccer, video games, or simply hanging out. Each summer the Throne Zone and Emerge children head to Camp Victory, a camp at Lake Keystone in Mannford, Oklahoma, with horseback riding, go-carts, a five-hundred-fifty-foot zip line, swimming, and practical Bible teaching.
24/7 Youth Ministry
Middle school and high school students gather under the banner of 24/7 Student Ministries, with two weekly touchpoints. On Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m., 24/7 meets for the 24/7 Youth Service, a service aimed at seventh through twelfth graders. The high school component, Surge, includes tenth through twelfth grade, while Ignite covers seventh through ninth grade. The youth also meet briefly after the Sunday morning service for a regular rhythm of fellowship and teaching.
The youth summer includes Camp Victory in late July and early August, where the schedule lists horseback riding, go-cart racing, the zip line, services with practical teaching, drama, and object lessons, and an overall environment designed for what the church describes as "instant adventures and lasting encounters." Youth ministry is led by Pastor Kendra McBride.
Rock Groups: Real Relationships Around the Word
Church on the Rock calls its small home fellowship groups Rock Groups, and the leadership describes them as "the most important part of any local church, and life in general for that matter." Each Rock Group has five to fifteen members and is led by volunteer Rock Pastors who have met the scriptural qualifications for pastoral ministry and have been publicly commissioned.
The purpose of a Rock Group is twofold: to fulfill the Great Commandment of Jesus to love God and love neighbor, and to fulfill the Great Commission to go and make disciples. Within about an hour and a half, a typical Rock Group shares a meal or refreshments, worships together, discusses the Word, prays for one another's needs, and looks for ways to invite friends, neighbors, and co-workers into the group. Members are encouraged to dress casual and to bring themselves and a Bible if they wish. Friends are welcome any time, including the first visit.
The church lists several active Rock Groups:
- The Couch Rock Group, led by David and Maria Couch, meets Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m., usually the first three Sundays of the month, at their home with a shared dinner and a lesson from the Word.
- The Davis, Russell & Christie Rock Group, led by Russell and Christie Davis, meets the second and fourth Sundays at 6:30 p.m. at 3009 Chadwicke Drive in Edmond.
- The Hill Rock Group, led by Davon and Jackie Hill, meets the second and fourth Sundays at 6:00 p.m. at their home.
- The Brooks/Whitaker Rock Group, led by Julie Whitaker and Stacy Brooks, meets on varied dates with dinners, worship, prayer, and outings that include the Arcadia Round Barn, the Crystal Bridge in Bricktown, and service projects such as handing out Valentine cards at the Walmart at Penn and Memorial.
- The Ladies' Rock Group, led by Pauletta Banowetz and Dana Galiga, meets Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. in the COTR Youth Breakout Room, with no meeting on the first Wednesday of the month.
- The Lawson/Parker Rock Group, led by Terry and Juanita Lawson and Anita Parker, gathers the first and third Sundays after the Sunday morning service in the Youth Breakout Room for a family-style lunch (no child care available).
- The Ward Rock Group, led by Bernard and Judy Ward, meets monthly on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Some Rock Groups incorporate children into their gatherings; others do not. Visitors are welcome to contact a group's leaders to ask about children. Above all, Rock Groups are designed to be the place where members receive personal ministry, grow in the Word, discover their spiritual gifts, evangelize their friends and neighbors, and mentor future leaders.
The Pastoral Team
Dr. John Benefiel serves as Apostle and Founder. Before entering full-time ministry he spent twenty-six years as a Certified Financial Planner and Registered Investment Advisor, leaving that career in 1996 to devote his life to the church and the Kingdom of God. He received his Doctorate of Theology from Jacksonville Theology Seminary in Florida in 1995 and serves as First Vice President of Church on the Rock International, an apostolic network of more than six thousand churches worldwide. He is a board member and observer with the University of Oklahoma Center for Peace Studies, with work that has included conferences in Amman, Jerusalem, and Norman.
Judith Benefiel is Pastor and Founder. Together with her husband she has been in ministry for decades and co-founded the church in 1991.
Pastor Rhett Benefiel has served as Executive Pastor since June 1997. A Certified Public Accountant with a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of Oklahoma, he oversees the staff and ministries of the church.
Andy Leong is Associate Pastor and Director of Worship Ministries. He leads a worship team that includes singers, instrumentalists, and a Dance Expressive Worship (DEW) team, and the church is regularly auditioning new singers and band members to serve in Sunday morning and youth services.
Pastor Kendra McBride directs Youth Ministries and oversees 24/7 Student Ministries.
Pastor Sherri Johnson directs Children's Ministries and oversees Kidz on the Rock, Throne Zone, Emerge, summer camps, Vacation Bible School, and related family ministries.
What the Church Believes
Church on the Rock holds to an extensive statement of beliefs rooted in evangelical and charismatic Christianity. The Bible is received as the inspired, inerrant Word of God in the original manuscripts, and the supreme revelation of God. God is one, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ is confessed as pre-existent, incarnate through the virgin birth, sinless in life, the Creator of all things, the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of His person. His atoning and vicarious death, bodily resurrection, and bodily ascension are central, and He is coming again.
The church teaches that salvation is through repentance and faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone, and that the new birth places every believer in the universal Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is confessed as living in every believer, sealing them until the day of redemption, and empowering them for service. The gifts of the Spirit are expected to be operative in the church, including speaking in tongues, which the statement of beliefs identifies as the normative evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Other distinctives include:
- Three baptisms taught in the New Testament: Spirit baptism into the body of Christ at conversion, water baptism by immersion for believers as a public ordinance, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which may occur at or subsequent to conversion.
- Divine healing for the whole person through the atoning death of Jesus, practiced through prayer, the laying on of hands, and anointing with oil.
- The ordinances of water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper (communion) for believers only.
- The five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers as given to the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ after His ascension.
- Laying on of hands for confirming ministry, imparting spiritual gifts, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, healing, and blessing children.
- Angels and the fallen: God created an innumerable company of angels; Lucifer sinned through pride and became Satan, drawing a company of angels with him; Satan will be cast into the abyss for a thousand years at Christ's return and then into the lake of fire.
- The eternal state: at death the spirits of believers pass immediately into the presence of Christ; the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious condemnation until the final judgment, when they will be cast into the lake of fire for everlasting destruction from the Lord.
Worship, the church teaches, is the whole purpose of humanity: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
HAPN and the Broader Mission
Church on the Rock is also the apostolic center for the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN), an organization founded by Apostle John Benefiel that has grown to include leaders and networks in all fifty states and over one hundred nations. COTR and HAPN work together to see what HAPN calls the "seven mountains" of society - religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, law enforcement, and economy - influenced by the Kingdom of God through prayer and personal involvement. The church is also a part of Church on the Rock International, the larger apostolic network.
Becoming a Member
Membership at Church on the Rock rests on two commitments: that a person has received eternal life by trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and that they believe God is calling them to be an active part of the church's life. Members commit to faithful attendance, prayer, serving others, tithing, and giving. The church, in turn, commits to love and pray for each member, asking for divine health, protection, and the fullness of God's plan for their lives.
Each member is also offered the opportunity to be paired with a personal intercessor from the Member Intercessors Team, a volunteer who prays regularly for assigned COTR families and reaches out once a month for prayer requests. The church also keeps members connected through an e-letter, typically one or two messages per week with church updates, meeting invitations, special reminders, and urgent notifications such as weather cancellations.
Preaching and Teaching Calendar
The church keeps an extensive archive of sermon handouts stretching back years, with teaching from the pastoral staff and guest speakers. Preaching rotates among Apostle John Benefiel, Pastor Rhett Benefiel, Pastor Kendra McBride, Pastor Andy Leong, and visiting teachers. Recent series have included "By Your Faith Be It Unto You," "The Greatest of These is Love," "Children Are God's Love-Gift," and a study called "Meeting Jesus in the Hebrew Calendar." Guest speakers who have taught at COTR include David Cannistraci, James Marocco, Harold and Linda Eberle, Jon Hamill, Dr. Venessa Battle, Barbara Wentroble, Rabbi Curt Landry, Robert Henderson, Chris Mitchell Jr., Garland Thomas, Dana and Hal Zimmerman, Tim Barton, Bob Bertelsen, Dr. Faisal Malick, Adam Henderson, and David and Kim Stanley. Sermon notes and handouts are available through the media archive on the church's site, and giving can be made online through the church's secure giving portal.