Information for the membership of the RRPC from the Capital Campaign Committee Updated 06/15/2010
Whether you are simply looking for information or you are trying to figure out whether this church would be a good fit for you, we’re glad you’re on this page.
photo by Larry Bennett
I'm Jon Fancher, and I serve Rocky River Presbyterian Church as its Pastor.
Let me give you a quick idea of who we are:
Praising God. Teaching Faith. Serving Others.
That’s our church’s concise mission statement. In a nutshell, that’s what we aspire to here at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. Since 1956 Rocky River Presbyterian Church has been the "coming-together place" for Presbyterian Christians who want to:
· Worship and honor the Creator of All ("Praising God");
· Share with others the good news (gospel) about Jesus Christ ("Teaching Faith”); and
· Demonstrate a Christ-like manner of living in their daily lives ("Serving Others").
You may be wondering, "Are we like you? Are you like us?"
You may be asking, “What are Presbyterians? Are they the same as ‘Christians’?”
First, like you and every person on Earth, we are children of God.
Like other Christian churches, we, too, are part of the worldwide Christian Church. Within the worldwide group of Christian churches, we descend from those churches that were part of Europe's Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Within the family of Protestant Christian churches, we are Presbyterian Christians. "Presbyterian" refers to our historical practice of governing our community life through the wisdom of "elders" (“Presbyterian” comes from the Greek word for “elders”). Elders are men and women of any age who have been chosen by fellow members of the congregation to govern the church.
So you see, we're not merely Presbyterians... we are Presbyterian Christians, trying our best to do all we can to serve Jesus Christ, the son of the Living God.
“The Prayer of Rocky River Presbyterian Church:”
God, as your children,
May we establish roots in you,
Grow in your grace,
And reflect your love
In the manner of Jesus. Amen.
Glad you visited our website. If you ever visit the west side of Cleveland, Ohio, I hope you'll visit us in person for a service of worship, an educational event, a fun social activity, or to join us in a community service project. I look forward to meeting you.
Biographical: The Rev. Dr. Jon M. Fancher has served as pastor of Rocky River Presbyterian Church since 1991. He was born in Virginia, raised in Illinois, and lived in Jakarta, Indonesia as the son of missionary parents. He received a B.A. in Speech from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and a M.Div. and D.Min. from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. He is married to Mary, a public school music teacher and a church musician. They have three sons.