Influence: Volunteerism is a passion of yours — tell us about that.

Jeremy Deweerdt: I believe the Church is living in its original design when we gather together, worship God, get empowered by the Word and then are sent out into communities to show the love of Jesus.

The Message version of Proverbs 11:11 says, “When right-living people bless the city, it flourishes.” That’s why we do what we do — to see our city flourish. 

At Rockford First, we want to bless the city with the love of Jesus, plain and simple. We believe we should “love where we live” in not just word but deed as well. We’re really just following the example that Jesus modeled for us.

We are constantly asking God to help us engage the community through creative methods.

Rockford First is unique in having multiple affiliate ministries. How you have been blessed by serving these communities?
We are constantly asking God to help us engage the community through creative methods. We’ve discovered our church can have many efforts working simultaneously, which coincide with our focus on the weekend services. In fact, our data shows these strategic efforts eventually led people to the weekend. Metaphorically speaking, we’ve seen that many tributaries eventually form a mighty river.

We see this through our affiliate ministries like Christian Life Schools, Christian Life Retirement Centers, Love Works, Focus One and the like. Throughout the years, we’ve seen hundreds of people discover faith in Jesus Christ and become a part of Rockford First through these programs.

What other communities does your church serve?
Through our Love Works program we serve those who find themselves in poor circumstances, those who have been “marginalized” by society. We also love partnering with our public schools to serve kids in need by giving them clothes and resources. 

Champion’s Club is another program that is making a major impact in our city. An entire community of people exists who have children with special needs, but most haven’t been able to come to church. It wasn’t feasible to bring children with special needs into a typical children’s church environment. Through Champion’s Club these parents are given an opportunity to attend church knowing their child is being cared for. These incredible kids are being empowered in an environment where they can thrive physically and spiritually. 

To what would you credit the success of your ministries?
Specifically in our efforts to reach our community our success is due to the simple truth that when you proactively reach out to others with love and action, God shows up. You want to see Jesus grow your church? Then love God and love your neighbor. It sounds too simple, but we have seen loving where we live become a powerful catalyst in our congregation, as well as our community. At the end of the day, we’ve allowed these three statements to guide our efforts: love God, love people and love life. 

Jeremy Deweerdt is lead pastor of Rockford First in Rockford, Illinois. This article originally appeared in the June/July issue of Influence. To subscribe, click here.