Rocky Rocholl was affirmed last month for three more years as the president of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches. This will be his final term in the role after taking the position in 2010. While preparing a smooth transition for the next president, Rocky looks to the future with hope and excitement as he casts the vision God laid on his heart to carry out.
The first step is to focus on being “incarnational,” Rocky says. “How do we actually live out our mission in a local context?” This looks like practicing what is preached and being the hands and feet of Jesus within local communities.
Next, Rocky wants to see grace-filled bridge building in areas like racial reconciliation, interpersonal relationships between churches, and greater unity within the body. “We have just as much of a bridge to build between FEC churches as we do with the other churches and individuals in our community.” Rocky sees how God can use this to take the gospel into new places and to strengthen partnerships with other ministries.
Finally, Rocky wants to identify and develop the next generation of leaders. He sees a beautiful opportunity for our current leadership to come alongside the next generation. This means developing strong, mature, and trained leaders from those of us in our 20s and even younger. Some ways FEC currently does this is through residencies, internships, and emphasizing training from within “so they already have our DNA,” Rocky says.
In his 13 years serving as president, Rocky witnessed many ways God has grown the FEC, from developing a heart for church multiplication to congregations adopting a more cross-cultural look. Soul Care for pastors and leaders has been a particular highlight for Rocky. “There’s really no manual for how to be president,” he says. ”But being able to pursue our shared mission together is invaluable.” It’s Rocky’s final term, but in many ways, he knows the FEC is just getting started.
