Creekside Church is a healthy mid-sized church (500 avg Sunday attendees, 250 official members) in Rocklin, California. As a church planted more than 30 years ago, we enjoy the stability of an established congregation. But we also continually strive to pursue the mission God has given us.
We prioritize a culture of invitation over marketing, and sharing a table over programs. For that reason, three years ago we shifted from a traditional small group model to a “Gospel Community” approach to church life. For us, Gospel Community means small gatherings of church members throughout our community where meals are shared, the community is blessed and invited in, and our lives are open to the transforming work of Jesus and the upbuilding power of a spiritual family. We now have 18 Gospel Communities comprised 250 people who dig into Scripture together in smaller “sacred space” gatherings, invest in each other relationally and spiritually over meals in “social space” gatherings, and send one another to be a blessing to friends, neighbors, and coworkers in the various “public spaces” they inhabit.
We also meet on Sundays in larger gatherings for simple but compelling worship, clear teaching from Scripture, and personal connection with God and with each other.
We think of ourselves as a family on a mission. Our primary mode of operating is to build community around Jesus, recognizing that this means caring for the believers within our church, but also reaching out in love and service to those who don’t share our faith commitments. In both cases, building community around Jesus is the means for growth. While we consider Gospel Communities to be our primary expression of what God intends his church to look like, we also invest heavily in our Sunday morning gatherings, in various men’s, women’s, youth, and kids’ ministries, and in local and global missions through key partners.
