River Oaks Community Church Embraces Carmel, Technology

Pastor Dominic Francese, Bible in tow.

Over the past twenty years, River Oaks Community Church (ROCC) has provided an intimate setting for people from Carmel and beyond to gather as a community and worship. I recently had the opportunity to talk to Dominic Francese, Pastor of ROCC, about the mission and future of this particular body of believers.

Pastor Francese tells me that ROCC’s mission in relation to Carmel is to “provide followers of Jesus Christ an intimate setting for worshiping and serving God, in a way which a small church is especially well suited.” Part of this mission includes building a, “strong sense of small group community and strong friendships.” Neil Cox, a member of ROCC says, “ROCC is kind of the perfect size, so as we gather to worship and learn together, people can still feel comfortably ‘at home’, children and all.” Cox adds, “It’s a very caring place.”

Pastor Francese shoots a video spot for ROCCTV.com.

Unique to ROCC is the calling to “bring the life of the church both on-site and online.” This calling involves bringing stories and sermons to the virtual world via video. Pastor Francese calls this new medium of reaching out the “Click and Mortar” church. These creative videos allow for a wide range of topics to be viewed and discussed. As well, ROCC has provided a series devoted to children, “Kid’s Corner.” Francese estimates that the addition of online small groups and interactive Bible studies will probably take at lease two years to come to fruition.

Beyond the small group community atmosphere and the uniqueness of becoming a “Click and Mortar” church, ROCC is a host site for Angel Food, a nationally known grocery assistance ministry. Angel Food provides food relief at a deeply discounted price for those in need. ROCC adds, “Anyone can receive the benefits of this ministry; there are no applications or qualifications.”

In addition to the Angel Food ministry, ROCC has partnered with Trinity Baptist Church located in Indianapolis to create outreach events. ROCC describes the intent of this partnership to “is for periodic ROCC-Trinity fun outings and meal fellowships to culminate in joint outreach work projects.”

Moving beyond Carmel and Indianapolis, ROCC sends a team to work in Nicaragua every year for 10-14 days. The purposes of these trips are to “help build schools, renovate orphanages, etc.”

These ministries listed are not just programs. They are the heartbeat and the passion of the people of ROCC. Cox says, “It’s pretty amazing how a church our size can be so impacting … whether through our neighborhood food program, our multicultural involvement with an inner-city church, and mission trips to Nicaragua, not to mention the church’s aggregate impact through so many online involvements.”

ROCC encourages you to hang out with them in person every Sunday at 10 AM. You can visit ROCC at 13200 Old Meridian Street Carmel, Indiana 46032 or visit them online at www.myrocc.com and www.rocctv.com.