Rockford First Church

Rockford First Church
General Information
Location:	Rockford, IL
Country:	United States
Attendance:	5000
Senior Pastors
Jeremy DeWeerdt	Jen DeWeerdt

Rockford First is a megachurch located in Rockford, Illinois. Pastor Jeremy DeWeerdt has been the lead pastor since May, 2007.^[1] Rockford First has many diverse ministries including Christian Life Schools (K-12),^[2] Christian Life Retirement Centers,^[3] Focus One (a post-high school Gap year program),^[4] Original (Women's Ministry),^[5] Stronger (Men's Ministry),^[6] a large network of life groups, internships^[7] and dozens of other ministries for people of all ages.

History

Rockford First was originally a small Swedish assembly that began meeting in a storefront hall on 5th Avenue in Rockford in 1929.

In 1934, the name "First Assembly" is adopted during the pastoral ministry of Pastor Carl O'Guin.

On September 12, 1971 a new location opened for First Assembly with a seating capacity of 1,200.^[8] First Assembly of God, under Pastor Eugene Whitcomb, opened Christian Life Elementary School in 1973.

In the fall of 1974, Pastor Whitcomb and 5 members of the church were flying home from South Dakota when the twin engine plane Pastor Whitcomb was piloting crashed over Albert Lea, Minnesota. Pastor Ernest Moen, then pastor of a First Assembly of God Church in Phoenix, Arizona was called to officiate the service for Pastor Whitcomb. He later became the next pastor with 99% of the votes for him.

In 1975, Christian Life High School opened its doors.

In 1979, the first Radio Station WQFL (100.9 FM) was purchased from Open Bible Church.^[9]

In 1981, Christian Life Retirement Center was opened on North Mulford Dr. in Rockford. Due to continued church growth, in 1986, new ground was broken for an additional sanctuary with seating of 3,650.

In 1993, Pastor Jeanne Mayo and Jeremy DeWeerdt, launched The Rockford Master’s Commission for post-high school students, which is now known as Focus One.^[10]

In April 2007, after serving 13 years with the Rockford Master’s Commission and Cross Current (junior high and high school ministry) Pastor Jeremy and Jen DeWeerdt were named the lead pastors of Rockford First.^[11] Upon taking the position Pastor Jeremy and Jen focused Rockford First to be a church that “loves God, loves people, and loves life.”^[12]

In December 2010, Rockford First was listed number 51 in the 100 largest Assemblies of God churches in the United States.^[13]

In September 2012, Outreach Magazine named Rockford First the 7th fastest growing church in the nation, with a 60% increase in weekly attendance between February 2011 – 2012.^[14]

In September 2014 a major renovation of the main auditorium was completed with new audio system, video system, lighting, carpet, chairs and stadium seating.

Ministries

Rockford First runs many different ministries in addition to the weekend services and events. Rockford First runs off of a small group structure throughout the church called “life groups.” These groups consist of approximately 10–20 people who meet once a week throughout the city of Rockford and the surrounding areas.

Some signature ministries of Rockford First are: AkolooLand/K2/KidsLife (birth- 5th grade),^[15] FUSE (6th-8th grades),^[16] Venue (9th-12th grade),^[17] Focus One (gap year college-aged ministry),^[18] and Original Women (women's ministry).^[19]

Community involvement

Earthbeat is a non-profit organization that is focused on getting the youth back involved with their community. Started in 1993, Rockford First partners with the Rockford Park District on many projects including cleaning parks, rivers, and highways.^[20]

Love Works is involved in many different venues in Rockford; for example, The Rockford Rescue Mission,^[21] Blackhawk Boys and Girls Club,^[22] and many other venues throughout the city. In August 2010 Care Strategy partnered with Kaboom! and Barbour Language community for a playground build.^[23] In April 2015, Love Works partnered with Operation Blessing and the Ogle County Emergency Response team to rally, lead and deploy 2,200 volunteers to help with the devastation of an EF4 tornado that ripped through the area.

Conferences

Original Conference was founded by Jen DeWeerdt in April 2006. Original Conference is a 3-day conference. This conference offers contemporary worship and a series of teachings for women of all ages.^[19]

Rockford First launched a Men’s Conference, in February 2010. Men’s Conference offers contemporary worship and a series of teachings for men of all ages.^[24]

Rockford First is launching a Youth and Young Adult Conference, Thrive, in November 2015, specifically aimed to rally and inspire the youth and youth adults in the state-line area.^[25]

Denomination

Rockford First is part of the Assemblies of God. The Assemblies of God claimed mission is four-fold; evangelize the lost, worship God, disciple believers, and show compassion.^[20]

References

External links

• Rockford First