More Resources
Bible and Prayer
If you find yourself wanting to dive deeper into the Bible around what the church is and how it works, we would recommend reading through the book of Acts.
This reading plan takes you on a 54-day journey through the book of Acts, helping you explore the powerful story of the early church. As you read, you’ll see how the gospel spread, how the Church was built and led, and how ordinary people were empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out God’s mission. Whether you're reading on your own or with a group, this plan is designed to inspire you, challenge you, and deepen your understanding of what it means to live with bold faith today.
As part of our series, we are going to be running a 24 hour prayer event over 14 days.
We will be uniting together to pray non stop as a whole church to ask God to do the unimaginable.
To help with this, we have created a 'How to Pray for One Hour' guide - you can download this below.
You can also sign up for as many slots as you'd like - you will also find a link to that below!
We will be uniting together to pray non stop as a whole church to ask God to do the unimaginable.
To help with this, we have created a 'How to Pray for One Hour' guide - you can download this below.
You can also sign up for as many slots as you'd like - you will also find a link to that below!
Bible Plans
Read through each week's devotion guides on the Bible App - be sure to add The Rocks as your church in the Bible app to get notified each week. There are permalinks to each one below.
Ekklesia | 7 Day Plan
Week 1 - What's In A Name
Ekklesia is the Greek word used by Jesus when he said he would build his church. What comes to mind when you hear the word church? People? A building? What did Jesus mean when he talked about the church? Join us as we take a look at what it means to be the ekklesia.
Ekklesia is the Greek word used by Jesus when he said he would build his church. What comes to mind when you hear the word church? People? A building? What did Jesus mean when he talked about the church? Join us as we take a look at what it means to be the ekklesia.
Pentecost: Connecting to the Holy Spirit | 7 Day Plan
Week 3 - The Wonder of It All
In this 7-day study, we will discover ways to connect to the Holy Spirit. How can you experience God's Spirit and can you communicate with Him? Practical and Biblical tips will be given to you. Start today, and at the end of the week, you might have experienced something you will never forget.
In this 7-day study, we will discover ways to connect to the Holy Spirit. How can you experience God's Spirit and can you communicate with Him? Practical and Biblical tips will be given to you. Start today, and at the end of the week, you might have experienced something you will never forget.
Fear Of God // Stand In Awe | 14 Days
Week 4 + 5 - Big & Bold + The Enemy Within
The aim of this reading plan is to empower a generation of youth and young adults to understand what it means to fear God and to stand in awe of who He is and what He's done. Over 14 days, the Hillsong Youth and Young Adults team in the UK walk through Scripture to explain what the fear of God is, what it looks like in our day-to-day lives and what the fruit of the fear of God looks like.
The aim of this reading plan is to empower a generation of youth and young adults to understand what it means to fear God and to stand in awe of who He is and what He's done. Over 14 days, the Hillsong Youth and Young Adults team in the UK walk through Scripture to explain what the fear of God is, what it looks like in our day-to-day lives and what the fruit of the fear of God looks like.
Read More
The below books would be what we recommend to do a full deep dive into everything we are tracking with on Sundays. They are below in order of complexity.
Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend
Andy Stanley
We love Andy's take on church and how church can be setup. This is a great introduction to our philosophy and thinking around church.
When the Church Was a Family
Joseph H. Hellerman
A little more comprehensive and a slightly different take on the way church has unfolded over the millennia.
Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City
Timothy Keller
Definitely more theological in its underpinnings and more global in its scope. This is a dense read which will challenge your understanding of how church works.
Listen More
The below podcasts would be what we recommend to do a bit more listening around these ideas.
Introduction
The Bible Project does an absolutely stellar two part series on why church matters.
Longer Conversation
We did a great episode on the point of the local church on InProgress Season 1.
Deeper Dive
This is an introductory talk given by John Mark Comer that relates to the Practicing the Way series on community.
Study More
Some of us may be at a point where want more structured theological discourse around these topics. Below you will find resources from a free online seminary that will be helpful. A seminary is simply a Christian university that focusses on theology and ministry.
Healthy Churches
40-minute Single Lecture
The issue we often don’t address when talking about churches is “health.” We talk about size, programs, budgets and staffs, but church health is often not on our radar. Bert Downs and Mark Hoeffner will help put it there in this lively dialogue about how they have been working on this issue.
The issue we often don’t address when talking about churches is “health.” We talk about size, programs, budgets and staffs, but church health is often not on our radar. Bert Downs and Mark Hoeffner will help put it there in this lively dialogue about how they have been working on this issue.
What Is The Church
Four Lecture Class
Dr. Gerry Breshears is a professor of theology and program director of the Master of Applied Biblical Leadership degree at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He accepted Christ as his personal saviour when he was eight years old and after spending four years (during his high school and college years) intellectually skeptical of Christianity, he recommitted to being a disciple of Christ.
This is a four part course that will take you through key understandings of church:
Dr. Gerry Breshears is a professor of theology and program director of the Master of Applied Biblical Leadership degree at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He accepted Christ as his personal saviour when he was eight years old and after spending four years (during his high school and college years) intellectually skeptical of Christianity, he recommitted to being a disciple of Christ.
This is a four part course that will take you through key understandings of church:
- Its definition
- How it is organised
- What roles exist in church leadership
- The Importance of church leadership