Community Corner

Q&A: Rise City Church Brings Jesus and Ice Cream to the Masses

Rise City Church will hold their opening service Sunday, October 6.

Rise City Church will hold their opening service Sunday, October 6. Pastor Brandon Grant answered some questions about beginning a congregation in Santee.

Q. Could you give us a short bio of yourself and what brought you to begin a church in Santee?

A. My name is Brandon Grant, and my family and I moved to Santee last year from Illinois to start Rise City Church. I grew up going to church periodically, but I eventually stopped going my jr. and sr. high school years because I thought church was boring and irrelevant. It wasn't until my freshmen year of college that I returned to church - and that was because I was arrested for drinking and driving. 

At that time, a friend invited me to a church wasn't like any of the other churches I had ever attended. The people were welcoming, the atmosphere was compelling, and the teaching was inspiring and practical. I gave my life to following Jesus a few months later, and I eventually went on to become a college pastor for 12 years in IL.

My wife and I chose Santee because we see it as a place with huge potential. It has a growing number of young families. It's a soon-to-be college town, and it has a vision of progress. Additionally, the completion of the 125 and 52 freeways make it accessible to all of East County SD. And when it comes to the amount of churches in the city, there's only 1 church for every 1,700 people in Santee. We believe this declares there's a need for more churches!

Q. Where did the idea for the church ice cream truck come from?

A.
A great friend of mine that pastors a church in Chula Vista said he'd heard of a church in South Carolina doing something similar, and as soon as I heard the idea - I was confident it would work in Santee! Santee is super hot in the summer which screams out the need for ice cream. It has a ton of great community events so we made sure to get a truck that was visually appealing and could provide an experience for those getting the ice cream at the community events. And, Santee champions helping those in need so it was a no-brainer to donate 100% of our proceeds to supporting the Santee Food Bank.

Q. What size congregation is expected for the first service? Plans to grow?

A. We are expecting 200+ for our first service. We've hosted four preview services throughout September, and we've averaged a little over 100 people. 

As far as plans to grow - we hope so! 

We'll always be a church that reaches out to more people because we want to see people connected to Christ. We want to do the best we can to welcome more people, but have those that call Rise City Church their home church feel like they have a place to belong. They're not just another number. We will always value people over our programs.

Q. How would you describe Rise City's brand/style of christianity?

A. Rise City Church is a contemporary, non-denominational Christian church that is Gospel-Centered, Journey-Minded, Community-Focused, and Action-Oriented. We want to be a loving and life-giving church that brings hope and healing in Jesus name. We do this by calling people to Wake Up, Rise & Shine - Wake Up to Jesus, Rise to Life, and Shine to Others. Everyone is welcome - Whoever You Are, However You Feel, and Whatever You've Done.

Q. How has Santee reacted to the church so far?

A. For the most part, Santee has reacted great to Rise City Church. The city officials have be extremely helpful and encouraging, and the people of Santee we've interacted with have been welcoming and optimistic. There are some that doubt another church is needed in Santee, but all in all - people seem really receptive. For those that say such things that already attend a local church, we hope in time they'll come to see we're on the same team and not a competitor. And for those that are skeptical and currently don't go to church - well, that's exactly why we're here.

Read more at the Rise City blog


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here