A Dallas Mega Church Built Around an Aquarium
On a wide stretch of Westmoreland Road in southern Dallas, the Inspiring Body of Christ Church draws visitors long before the service starts. The first thing guests see is not a pulpit but a 5,000-gallon saltwater aquarium built into the main lobby, with hundreds of brightly colored fish drifting past an overhead sign that reads, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." It is the largest privately owned aquarium in the United States, was featured on Animal Planet's show Tanked as the most challenging build the program ever produced, and serves as a teaching tool for the 15,000-member congregation that worships above it.
Three cylindrical aquariums mark the building's three entrances - Main Lobby, Cockrell Hill, and Westmoreland - and after Sunday worship, the lobby fills again for a live dive show, with stingrays feeding off the glass and nurse sharks taking food from a diver's hand. "Just as each fish has come from the deep (the world) and now lives harmoniously with one another, the IBOC aquarium team explains, "we hope to draw people to Christ by displaying the special care and love God has shown us, teaching us to get along in the same environment."
From Nine Friends to Fifteen Thousand Members
The church's roots go back to 1980, when a young evangelist named Rickie G. Rush founded the Dallas Inspirational Choir, a 150-voice community ensemble. That choir ended in 1988 as Rush and nine others began praying about a new work. In the summer of 1990, IBOC was officially founded with 63 charter members. The first service was held on October 7, 1990, and within six months the rolls had climbed to 450.
Membership roughly doubled in a year, and by Easter 1991 the congregation had bought its first building, the former Southern Bible Institute. A new take on Sunday School soon emerged - what the church still calls Monday School - held on a separate night to free up Sunday for worship. A radio ministry followed in 1995, and on October 3, 1999, the church moved into a $6 million, 176,000-square-foot campus that housed an ice cream parlor, a movie theater, a fitness center, racquetball courts, bowling lanes, and a bridal venue. Thanksgiving morning 2009 brought the next leap: a move into the current worship center, with a 5,000-seat sanctuary, a chapel, children's facilities, the Rushtaurant, a gift shop called The Deep, and the aquarium that has since become the church's signature.
IBOC still states its mission in the words of Matthew 4:19, displayed at every entrance: "We Are Fishers of Men who joyfully introduce Christ to the world one person at a time." A short Church Creed reads, "The greatest tragedy next to dying without God and without hope is to stand at the judgement day empty-handed having lived in a world full of sinners without winning one person to Christ."
Pastor Rickie G. Rush and His Calling
Senior Pastor Rickie G. Rush is the founder and pulpit voice of IBOC. Born to a single mother and adopted after her death, he has described being called to ministry at ten years old. He earned a secondary teaching degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and spent 17 years teaching theatre arts at Skyline High School in Dallas before receiving a Doctor of Divinity from Rialto Bible College. His years in the classroom fed the lively, illustrative preaching style the church is known for, and his love of music led him to organize several gospel choirs along the way.
Pastor Rush is the author of two books, May I Have Your Order, Please? and The Pendulum: Come Out Swinging Through the Difficult Times, as well as two plays he has also produced. He has been honored with an NAACP award, the Dallas ISD George Washington Carver Creative Learning Center Outstanding Achievement Award, the State of Texas House of Representatives Outstanding Texan Award, and the naming of a scientific research centre in Ghana, West Africa, in his honor. He and his wife Beverly live in Dallas. They are the parents of a daughter, Kristian, and grandparents to a grandson, Kaiden.
Sunday Worship and the Dive Show
Sunday worship at IBOC centers on a single morning service at 10:00 AM in the 5,000-seat sanctuary. The church describes the experience as a time of "song, prayer, praise, worship, laughter, and the power-packed, delivered Word of God," and Pastor Rush is known for teaching with live examples, props, videos, and humor. Visitors are invited to bring a notebook and pen, and greeters welcome guests with smiles and hugs as they make their way toward the sanctuary.
Immediately after the service, the lobby's main tank comes alive. The IBOC Dive Show runs every Sunday after worship, with two certified divers in the tank during each show. On fifth Sundays, the format shifts to "Dialogue with the Diver," a question-and-answer session in the main lobby. Each of the aquariums is monitored around the clock by licensed marine biologists, and the volunteer divers are all PADI Open Water certified members of the church.
Monday School, a Bible Study with Its Own Night
IBOC's signature midweek Bible study happens on Monday nights at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary. The church calls the gathering Monday School and traces it back to the early years of the ministry, when there simply was not enough room or time to fit Sunday School and worship on the same day. The session opens with extended praise singing and closes with teaching from Pastor Rush, working through the Bible scripture by scripture. "It is a relaxed, large setting where you are free to ask questions," the church explains, designed for everyone from a new believer to a long-time Bible student.
Kingdom Kidz and the Children's Wing
Children's ministry at IBOC centers on Kingdom Kidz, the program for ages 3 to 12. The name doubles as an acronym, H.O.U.S.E., that frames the ministry's goals of helping young people accept Jesus Christ, build godly character, and become courageous in their conduct for the cause of Christ. Kingdom Kidz gathers in the Children's Ministry Area of the church - including the main lobby check-in, the chapel, and a space called Freddie's Place - every fifth Sunday during the 10:00 AM service. All volunteers who serve with Kingdom Kidz are fully vetted and background checked, and lesson content is built around the Bible as the church's compass. Parents who want their child to participate are connected to the registration and communication system through the church.
The Rushtaurant and the Rest of the Building
Tucked inside the worship center is the Rushtaurant, an elegant, spacious dining room with a chef, wait staff, and a tried-and-true menu. The idea is simple: guests can watch the service broadcast on screens while enjoying a home-cooked Sunday brunch. The Rushtaurant is also available for weddings, banquets, conferences, meetings, birthday parties, and anniversaries, and the rest of the campus includes wedding and event spaces, a fitness center, racquetball courts, bowling lanes, a gift shop with an underwater experience, and the chapel used for baby christenings and smaller services.
Spanish, Special Needs, and First-Time Visitors
IBOC offers Spanish translation of the entire 10:00 AM service for guests who need it. Visitors can simply ask an usher or a Visitors Station attendant, and translators will be set up so worshipers can follow along in their own language.
The church also goes out of its way to make room for those with particular needs. Pregnant mothers have designated parking spaces near the entrances. Nursing mothers have a private area where they can still view the service. Wheelchairs are available, and nursing attendants are on call in case of an emergency. Baby christenings - a short prayer of dedication and blessing - are offered for infants under one year of age, and the church keeps a chapel ready for those smaller, quieter services.
Three entrances and three parking lots make arrival straightforward. Each lot has large, visible signs with row and space numbers (A5, for example) to help guests remember where they parked, and shuttles run from the lots up to the entrances. Those who want a guided look around the campus before they come can also request an in-person tour through the church's online form.
Bless Back, University of Dreams, and the Leadership Team
Outreach is built into the life of the church. The Bless Back Project is a community program that invites members to step into a neighbor's life by paying for their groceries in a local store, "blessing" them the way the church has been blessed. The University of Dreams is a sister ministry connected to the church for next-generation leadership and dreams, and the church also keeps an active missions presence that has carried Pastor Rush across continents.
Behind the scenes, more than 500 volunteers serve on the IBOC Leadership Team, training on the first Wednesday of each month to prepare for Sunday services. The church calls the team "the heartbeat of our ministry," and it is one of the most visible ways newcomers can plug in, get to know other members, and serve.
App, Online Giving, and Joining the Family
Members and visitors can stay connected through the IBOC mobile app, available for iOS and Android, and sermons are livestreamed and archived online. Giving is set up through the church's online giving page, with a one-time donation option and a Givelify link. For those ready to take the next step, the church offers an online E-Members form that begins the process of joining the IBOC family, with ushers ready to greet new members at the lobby Visitors Station on Sunday mornings.
Office hours run Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time, and the phone line (972-572-4262) and email inbox (info@ibocchurch.org) are open during those hours for anyone who wants to plan a visit, ask about a baby christening, or find out more about what happens inside the building with the aquarium in the lobby and the 5,000-seat sanctuary above it.