Our History
Rock of FaithPastor Rayford A. Brown, Sr. is the pastor of Rock of Faith Community Christian Church in Summerville SC. The Church slogan is: "where Jesus is Lord, The Word is preached and everybody is somebody!" Just being back in Summerville is a testimony for Rev. Brown after being gone from the area for over forty years. He spent almost twenty-four years serving his country in the US Army. One year prior to retiring from the military he organized and started Rock of Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana where he was the pastor for seventeen and a half years. But the Lord had other plans for this Man of God and called him back to his home town of Summerville to put something back in the community that raised him.
He and his family came back in 2010 and started Rock of Faith Community Christian Church on the second Sunday in September 2010. It was difficult leaving a church that you started and built from the ground up and going through the devastation of a tornado destroying it after only three years and going through the rebuilding process. But God allowed us to rebuild bigger and better than the first time, said Rev Brown. "But when God lays something on your heart you have no choice but to do it. My wife and I talked it over and she said that if that's what God has place on your heart to do you have no choice but to do it, she pledged her support and we stepped out on faith. The church in Indianapolis was approximately a two million dollar building and when we left there was a remaining balance of about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars owed. There was ten acres of land, a day care in the basement, and the church had recently purchased a forty-one thousand dollar church bus. The Lord said to leave this ministry and return to your hometown. So we left Indianapolis, Indiana and started our new ministry in Summerville.
Rev Brown went on to say, "God has blessed us with the building we are currently worshipping in. It was just an open area with trash and debris. We met the property owner, Mr. Mark Antman and he said that whatever he could do to help he would and he did. We sat down with Mr. Antman's architect and designed the offices, bathroom and so forth, and he didn't charge us any extra to do the work; just the payment for the building. We truly believe that God prepared Mr. Antman's heart for our arrival. It has really been a blessing. "Rock of Faith has the usual ministries that most churches have, and we have two outreach ministries that visit nursing homes such as HallMark Health Care Facility, and Aging Gracefully Senior Care Services, LLC, both in Summerville. Rock of Faith also conducts a free cookout and clothes give-away the first Saturday of each month, April through October every year. These are awesome outreach opportunities in our community. Each church should ask themselves, if our church disappears from the community would we be missed.
"I've been in the ministry since I was seventeen and now sixty three; just to tell you how long I've been in the ministry. I pastured a church in Missouri, Saint Roberts/Waynesville area while I was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, because the pastor was reassigned and the church needed someone to fill in. I moved to Indianapolis where I became an Associate Minister of Galilee Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Fitzhugh L. Lyons, Sr. Then the lord laid it on my heart to start a ministry, so I explained to Pastor Lyons what the Lord laid on my heart and being a firm believer in doing what the Lord tells you to do and he said if that's what God told you to do you better get out there and do it. Dr Lyons said if you don't find anything but a hole in the ground we'll come out and stand around that hole with you. So Pastor Lyons and Galilee Baptist Church pledged their support and have been supportive every since.
The First Lady of this fine church is Aleatha Rene Brown, has been in ministry with her husband for more than eight years and has been a part of this ministry from the beginning. When they first started, it was just the two of them and his sister who is also in the ministry, Minister Clayretha Abernathy. Sister Brown started as an usher, greeter, and did whatever was necessary at the start of the ministry until additional members joined the ministry. She has encouraged him when times gets rough especially since statistically seventeen hundred churches close monthly in the US. But God has blessed him with a strong Godly woman and He's adding to the church.
"God has given me a larger vision; this building is not where we will be forever. We are actively looking for a piece of land to build a church. Some pastors would be satisfied and love to stay in a nice building like this, but as for me we, are looking for bigger and better and moving forward".
"Here at Rock of Faith, I have with me Minister Clayretha Abernathy my sister and she is a blessing. When I have to preach out of town she steps in and run things. There are four deacons who are Godly men that are willing to work, I can call them at two in the morning and by two o five they're there. The women are doing an excellent job as well; I am truly blessed with whom the Lord has sent here."
"My favorite bible verse is Matthew 6:33 "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all other things will be added unto you". I truly believe that if you take care of God's business He will take care of your business. And Hebrews 11:1 "now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen." Faith is perceiving as real fact that which has not been revealed to the senses. And I tell my members all the time that our eyes have not seen our new church building yet but our souls have already taking possession of it, by faith we are already there."
"I would like to thank my wife, my sister and the whole church family of Rock of Faith Community Christian Church of Summerville, South Carolina for all that they have done these last five years. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. We just have to be faithful, we have to persevere, and we must make up our mind to stick to it because things are not always what they look like. It is only when it is dark that you can see the stars, even though the stars are out during the day. There are somethings in our life that we cannot see until God allows a little darkness to come and then we can see what God wants us to see. To God be the Glory. We've come this far by faith and faith will lead us on to greatness in Jesus Christ.
God Bless
