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is Connect Rome a cult?nope. just normal people trying to love God, love People, and prove It.what type of worship services do you have?Currently we have two identical worship services at 9:45 am and 11:15 am at Mount Berry Square Mall.The music is modern and incredible. The teaching is honest, challenging, and applicable. If you’ve never been to church before, you’ll still be able to understand what the teacher is saying. If you’ve been to church your whole life, you’ll still walk away challenged & inspired. The people are friendly. Really.do you have childcare?Absolutely. And it’s fabulous. Our childcare facility is located on the right side of the front entrance to Mount Berry Square Mall. We’ve currently just finished renovating brand new space for children. We guarantee that your child will love connect|kids.what should I wear?clothes. other than that, wear whatever you feel comfortable in. if you want to wear cut off jean shorts or a blazer or cut off jean shorts with a blazer, it’s alright with us.am i going to have to do anything weird at your church services?nope. just show up & have fun.what kind of church are you?we are a bunch of different people trying to figure out how to best honor Jesus with our lives & how to bring the kingdom of heaven to Rome, GA. we have former athiests, presbyterians, catholics, baptists, lutheran, episcopal, and methodists in the mix. we are affiliated with Missionary Church, USA (www.MCUSA.org) and the Association of Related Churches (www.RelatedChurches.com)how do i get more information?stop by any morning between 9 am - 12 pm at the Nest or come check out a sunday morning service. you can also contact us by clicking the CONTACT US link or by emailing MeetTheStaff@connectrome.com

Kim Payne is in charge of our Prayer Team. She believes in thesupernatural power of prayer and gathers people together with the solepurpose of praying for Connect Rome and the city of Rome. You might alsosee Kim running propresenter or leading worship on stage. She's a fan ofthe movie "A Walk to Remember", is a gifted hair stylist, and love TLCshows like "What Not to Wear" and "Clean Sweep".

Bruce is tougher than the rest of our staff combined. He has tattoos, a past, and the largest gauge ear holes of any staff member. Bruce has years of full time ministry under his belt. For connect rome, he is responsible for all of our facilities. Bruce also leads a recovery small group and is a part of the teaching team. If you are interested in holding any event at Connect Rome, Bruce is the person you should talk to. Bruce rides motorcycles fast and lives on Lake Weiss with his wife Donna.

ThePromiseIn the beginning of 2008, Josh and Julie Roberts felt God was calling them to start a church. They didn’t know where or any of the details. Through supernatural intervention their vision came from Luke chapter 3.'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6And all mankind will see God's salvation.'They knew they were called to create a church that made paths straight for people to find God: to make it simple for people to connect to God and each other. They decided to stay in Rome because it was an area of influence for them and because there are 80,000 people far from God in Floyd County. They were certain God has called us to go after them, to love them and to make it simple for them to connect to God and each other! They desired to do things in an unconventional way. They wanted to meet where no one else would meet. They wanted to serve in a way no one else is willing to serve. They wanted to be uncomfortable like no one else is willing to be uncomfortable. Craig Groeschel once stated, "To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things that no one else is doing." With this vision, the Lord masterly and expertly orchestrated the launching of Connect Rome City Church.TheProcessThe Launch Team meetings began in the Summer of 2008 at 3 Sunflower Place Road in the Roberts’ house as a group of less than 20 people met to pray about creating a different kind of environment for people to pursue the possibility of God. Six months later, in January of 2009, Connect Rome began to meet weekly in McCrobies’ bar on Broad Street. We met in downtown Rome in the middle of people hurting and in need of healing in Christ. We officially launched in March and pretty soon, college students, grandparents and homeless people were worshipping together in a bar where the night before had been filled with drunken men and women. However, the process wasn’t always easy. We found ourselves as a homeless church when we unexpectedly had to move due to the bar owner closing his business. The month of December we hopped around from 333 on Broad Street and The Rome City Auditorium. In a time of confusion and uncertainty God provided with a phone call from Mount Berry Square Mall offering us a home. The first two weeks of January were filled with set-back after set-back as we renovated an old Mexican restaurant in a mall to be our new home with no money and hardly any expertise. The process got messier as we learned during the summer of 2010, that one of our staff members had embezzled a substantial amount of money from us – enough to close both of our non-profits and throw us into a hole of debt. Through the times of doubt, insecurity, and hurt we knew God was at work. Even in our times of stupidity, weakness, and inadequacy we celebrated God and knew He was bigger than our struggles. We knew He would keep honoring our efforts, keep pruning us, and in return His name would become more famous in the city of Rome. ThePayoffWe believe God is going to transform this city. We are confident of this. Not because of our efforts but because He is using a bunch of misfits for His glory! We have already seen His miraculous intervention and celebrated His works. Since the start of this movement of God, we have seen 325+ people accept Christ as their Savior and almost 50 baptisms. In April of 2009, we took a risk and launched a non-profit coffee shop on Broad Street. Here we saw relationships built, homeless people being ministered to, and coffee consumerism going to a good cause. In November, we saw our attendees give up the shoes on their feet to donate to Soles for Souls and other churches in the community do the same. At Christmas we saw over 40 entire families in South Rome have a Christmas due to people stepping up and adopting a family during the holiday season. When the flooding hit Atlanta, we sent thousands of water bottles and hands to help people in our backyard. For two years now we have sent massive amounts of school supplies to South Rome to help kids be prepared for the start of a new school year. When the devastating earthquakes hit Haiti, we took another gamble and launched Connect Rome Outfitters, a non-profit outdoor retail store where all the benefits were sent to supply the Haitian people with water. We have seen our young staff grow and develop into women and men of God who are passionate about bringing His Kingdom to earth. Each day, the story gets more exciting, more miraculous, and more God-sized.Connect Rome began purely to make it simple for people to connect to God and to each other. We believe your story should be miraculous, life changing, supernatural, and full of life because your story is a part of God’s INCREDIBLE story. We’d love for you to come be a part of Connect Rome and jump in to God’s amazing, gracious, supernatural story. Afterall, greater things are still to be done in this city.

Sheila makes Sundays mornings better with her greeting and smiling behind the coffee bar by serving specialty drinks. She is responsible for people getting their caffeine, chais, and frappes before our services. Sheila is married to Jerry and has four children who usually help her run the Nest on Sunday mornings. Sheila is a fan of Tyler Perry.

Paul co-leads with Newman, not to be confused with “Paul Newman." Paul is better known as our “Asian Sensation”. His job on the Connect Rome team is to lead people in worship to encounter God. He is married to Lindsey, our Small Group Coordinator, and the two of them have a baby on the way! Lindsey is hoping their baby get's Paul's lips.

Nicky is currently a student at Berry College and juggles classes and holding the fort down on Sunday mornings. He is responsible for our set-up of our Sunday morning services – from signs being in place, to microphones being ready, to the pastor’s notes being on stage. He loves all music but specifically has a liking for the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis, and would be a ninja if the opportunity arose.

Lindsey is married to Paul, whose bio you can read below because he is also on staff at Connect Rome. Lindsey’s official title is our small group coordinator, but she is also known as the “Hairstylist”. She keeps everyone on our staff clean-cut, and the majority of our members. Her favorite movie is “Steel Magnolia” and when she was little she dreamed of being a head cook at Krystal.

Paul is better known as our “Asian Sensation”. His job on the Connect Rome team is to lead people in worship to encounter God. Paul plays every instrument you can name. He also wears muscle shirts. with jean shorts.He is married to Lindsey, our Small Group Coordinator, and the two of them have a baby boy named Liam.

Nicky is currently a student at Berry College and juggles classes and holding the fort down on Sunday mornings. He is responsible for our set-up of our Sunday morning services – from signs being in place, to microphones being ready, to the pastor’s notes being on stage. He loves all music but specifically has a liking for the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis, and would be a ninja if the opportunity arose.

Bryan Hollingsworth is our Connect Kids Director and joined the Connect Rome team July 2011. Some of his hobbies include playing with kids, being a clown at parties, leading students in Bible studies, and hanging out with his wife, Callette. Him and his wife have two kids and love doing ministry together. Bryan is also a clown. Seriously. A real clown.

Crissy Ward is our Next Generation Leader and is a graduate from Hardin-Simmons University. She joined the Connect Rome team July 2011 and you can always find her talking and connecting with people and laughing. Odds are you will see paint on her clothes, as she runs an art business called Created By You. Some of her favorite things include running, golf, and the movie The Man from Snowy River.

Josh is married to Julie and they have an incredibly good-looking two-year old son named Briggs. Josh’s job entails talking to lots and lots of people. He digs leading, learning, and leaping. He has been a banker, student pastor, college/small group pastor before planting Connect Rome. He loves basketball and his toes are as long as his fingers.

Jeannene, who is a recent graduate from Berry College, has been on the Connect Rome team since September 2009 as Josh Roberts’ assistant. However, she might be better known as the “Boss Lady”. She is involved with any and all administrative work at Connect Rome. She spends her spare time riding her horse “Dude”, strongly dislikes anything mint flavor, and loves listening to Akon.

Drew Burnett is our Leadership Development guy. You can find him running Pal's Coffee and Company at Mount Berry Square Mall and most likely talking with someone. He joined the Connect Rome team July 2011 and graduated from Shorter University earning a degree in Recreation. Some of his favorite things include running, espresso, hanging out with his wife and son Malachi, and the band Iron and Wine.

Gus is a Berry College student and is responsible for Merge happening. Merge is our gatherings specifically designated for college students. Gus adds diversity to our team by being Puerto Rican. You might also know him as one of our drummers on Sunday mornings. He loves fanny packs and the band NeedtoBreathe.

Emily is a recent graduate of Berry College and her job simply consists of being the face of Connect Rome. You might know her as our announcer girl, but she runs the show every Sunday by creating an atmosphere that is welcoming to all people, no matter where they are in life. Her favorite movie is the “Princess Bride”, she has a 3rd degree black belt, and she dreamed of being a professional pianist when she was young.

connectromenewsStay Informed.As you know, craziness is always happening at Connect Rome.We'd hate for you to miss out.Fill this form out to get your CR news via email!

CONTACT USConnect Rome City Church2770 Martha Berry Hwy #500Rome, GA 30165706-378-2223MeetTheStaff@connectrome.comDIRECTIONSConnect Rome is located directly inside the main entrance of Mount Berry Square Mall.Mount Berry Square Mall is less than one mile north of Berry College on Martha Berry Highway.MAP

worshipexperiencesIt's an encounter.It's an event.It's jaw dropping.It's a big deal to us.We get 52 chances a year.You'll be challenged, inspired, encouraged and cared for.Even though we meet in a facility that looks a lot like a nightclub, there is no cover charge.You can expect GREAT MUSIC, FRIENDLY PEOPLE, HOT, FREE, COFFEE AND CHALLENGING, YET FUNNY, TEACHING THAT YOU CAN APPLY DIRECTLY TO YOUR LIFE.

connectstudentsConnect Students is a weekly gathering of middle school and high school student small groups in Rome, GA at Mount Berry Square Mall.Connect Students meets at different times through out the week at Connect Rome City Church. For more information please contact crissy@connectrome.com

connectkidsConnect Kids is an environment designed just for preschoolers and children. It is open during each service. connect|kids has phenomenal children's workers who are passionate about working with your child. Your children will have a blast while learning about Jesus, and you will be able to attend the service. Parents are welcome to check in as a guest and observe their child’s class. For more information, please contact julie@connectrome.com

mergecollegeMerge currently meets the first Sunday of every month at Connect Rome City Church at 7pm.Merge is a worship gathering for 17-23 year olds focused on helping college students merge being a 20-something and trying to follow Christ. Merge offers two very distinct components: monthly worship and weekly small group gatherings.Merge also happens to be a great place to find a date. If you're single, don't forget to wear white to Merge. It makes the matchmaking process much easier :)For more information, contact our college guy, Gus Pacheco, at gus@connectrome.com

CONTACT USConnect Rome City Church2770 Martha Berry Hwy #500Rome, GA 30165706-378-2223MeetTheStaff@connectrome.comDIRECTIONSConnect Rome is located directly inside the main entrance of Mount Berry Square Mall.Mount Berry Square Mall is less than one mile north of Berry College on Martha Berry Highway.MAP

Broken and repaired. Damaged and restored. Sometimes, it's not about what you can do. It's about what's already been done. You're invited to a series about being made whole again.CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS SERIES

connectgroupsReady to get plugged in to a group? If so, fill out the form to the left, and a staff member or volunteer will contact you ASAP! Feel free to also check out our Calendar on the Events page of the website and see all groups listed by day of the week. It is impossible to expect an hour a week Worship Experience to be the place where people are led from where they are to where God wants them to be. Life change happens little by little, day by day. We believe Connect Groups are the best way for people to remain in community on a daily basis.How?Every connect group is different. Some groups meet in restaurants. Other groups may meet in homes or workplaces. But each group will have the same objectives.Accountability. A major reason for groups at Connect Rome is to help hold people accountable to pursuing God on a daily basis.Belonging. It is very hard to feel connected to a large group environment. Connect Groups are where people can belong so that the can become more like Christ.Care. Connect Groups will be the major source of care for people at Connect Rome!Where? Anywhere.When? Anytime.

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Please join us every Sunday morning. We have two identical worship services at 9:45 and 11:15. Mount Berry Square | MAP