Rock City Church | Short North — Local services in Columbus

I wish I could give this church a good review but I can't. Not after having served there for years, being a part of the worship band, doing everything I could to feel a part of this community, I ultimately felt so excluded and unloved there. It really feels like it's "rock city first, then god, then people" which is a shame. I had such high hopes for this place because, at first, it felt like there was some chance that I had found my church home/ family, but it wasn't until years of involvement that the best answer I got was "you're not doing enough around here, perhaps you should just give us more of your time". And as much as I gave, I only wound up feeling used and empty. Proceed with caution with this place.

11/7/21 Update: I haven’t gone there in a while but I still often receive their mass texts. I always reply that I haven’t gone there in quite some time and that I left because I felt hurt by that church. This is the second time that they’ve told me that they’ll take my name off the texting chain, but I don’t believe that’ll happen. And in classic rock city fashion, they just say “sorry you were hurt, didn’t mean to, hope you found somewhere else to go” and not inquire about what went wrong. Because I believe deep down they don’t really care about how people feel, just about how many people show up.

4/3/22 Update: Got another one of their mass texts after being told months ago I was taken off the chain. Same song and dance: “Sorry you were hurt, hope you found somewhere else to go, you’ve been removed from the thread”. Seeing as how their administration abilities are as bad as they are at fostering meaningful relationships with people that help them grow in community, I have a feeling I’ll be hearing...

Sweet and accommodating people, but this isn't the best place for a person with sensory issues. These guys really put the "rock" in "on this rock I will build my church"-- the music is really good, but if you can't handle loud sounds and bright flashing lights, I would not recommend. The music was live, but the sermon was not. Greeters were very friendly and kind. When I needed to leave due to sensory overload, the pastors were at the exit and offered to seat me in the balcony where it was quieter. At that point, though, I may as well have stayed home and listened to the sermon online. I appreciated the offer, though.

This church is huge on evangelism, and has a fast-growing congregation accordingly. We watched a video at the beginning of the service where dozens of people were baptized, all wearing Rock City t-shirts. Very intentional about getting their name out there. It's very well-connected to OSU, so this church seems best-suited for college students.

I couldn't get a good read on how this church feels about the LGBT community. That may have been intentional-- these guys seemed pretty apolitical. Still, with most of the churches in the area like Kings Avenue and the Short North church waving rainbows everywhere, I'd assume most LGBT people would choose to attend those churches.

Parking is insane. Good luck. (There was a ridiculous amount of construction going on, so maybe I just picked a...

I'm gonna come clean and not sugarcoat none of my feelings. When I first attended a Rock City service I remember walking by the church 2 years ago when volunteers for the 5:00 service were welcoming everyone in and 2 of them recognized me from Dream Center and they begged me to come in. The minute the band came out I was immediately moved and amazed by the energy. Coming to this church I thought I finally found a church that I can call home but when I was kicked off the church team that all started to change. I lost a lot of my self-esteem in this church. I was told to hold off on serving last year when signed up for the Christmas shoe drive because I was having meetings with my campus pastor and 2 colleagues and I learned some things about myself in our first meeting. Flash forward this month of June in 2025 I had enough and I couldn't suppress my feelings anymore what I said got to the Short North campus pastor and then 3 days later he called me and told me I was no longer welcome. After we hung up I was a little upset but then I started to decompress and that was my turning moment. The truth is; Short North's campus pastor and Chad Fisher the head pastor they can't teach me and I can't teach them. My Pastor and I gave up on each other. I can grow and be better but it's not at Rock City my faith doesn't belong there. All I can say is.... Thank you. God...