Solid Rock Lutheran Church has become the first Lutheran church in St. Clair County by making the move from Trussville to its new Argo location along U.S. 11. The move is to allow for expansion of the church and its congregation.Dr. Ed Rosser, the pastor of Solid Rock, said it was important to find a larger facility for the church to allow the nursery and youth areas of the church to grow and flourish because the children are so excited about coming to church.
“The kids just glow when they come here,” Rosser said. “We look to share the love of Christ with our youngsters to help them build a solid foundation and grow into healthy citizens and children of God. We would like to have an event or project each month that helps us reach out to not only the youth of Argo, but the youth of Springville, Odenville and Margaret as well.”
Rosser also uses a “gospel bag” to involve the youths of the church in his weekly sermons.
During one service, Rosser allows the children to draw sticks from a pile, and whoever has the stick with the cross on it is responsible for putting something in the gospel bag for the next week’s sermon.
Rosser said the item cannot be living or dead, but can be anything from a plastic dinosaur to a book, and he will tie it to the service when he pulls it out of the bag.
Rosser said the cross at the front of the sanctuary, which is trademarked by the Missouri Synod Lutherans, is made of three pieces of wood joined as one to represent the holy trinity of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Rosser makes a point to keep the cross the focus of each service.
“Each Sunday we come to cling to the cross as an anchor for our lives,” he said. “It helps us deal with the realities and issues we are faced with from day to day and helps our ‘spiritual hospital’ serve the community.”
The church plans to involve itself in several things that will allow it to help the members of its congregation and its community in their spiritual growth.
Solid Rock plans to have fundraisers to help send its youths to a week-long summer camp in the Mobile area.
It will also become a distribution point for Angel Food Ministries within the next two months. This will allow families to purchase approximately $65 worth of food for only $30 a month.
The liturgical church also hopes to have a free band concert the first Saturday in June to introduce itself to the area and invite the community to see what the Lutheran church is all about.
“Our outreach ministry is working to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said. “That’s why we exist. My wife and I receive great joy from watching others grow in their walk with God. This mindset of so many in our congregation to reach out to serve others and their willingness to look outside our four walls is satisfying.”
The church has grown over the past four years, moving to Trussville two years ago and growing to 100 members before the congregation made the decision to move to Argo.
The capacity of the new sanctuary will allow the 60 or so people usually attending each service to grow comfortably to 125.
“The growth has been so humbling for the past two years,” Rosser said. “Except for one family that lives in Alabaster, the entire congregation is following us to our new location. We have been here about four weeks, and we have had visitors every week.”
Rosser helps to make the church unique with his approach to the service and his background.
Besides the gospel bag, Rosser enjoys writing a poem that sums up his 12 to 15-minute sermon each week to allow people to grasp what he has said and simplify the lesson.
“I joke that I do this so you can sleep through my sermons but still understand the lesson because the poem is a summary,” Rosser said.
Rosser brings with him a unique background because not only is he a retired psychologist, he holds his doctorate in psychology, he is also a practicing, licensed attorney.
He said he passed the Alabama Bar exam at age 60 when he attended law school because he was bored after retiring from psychology.
“At about the same time, God in his infinite wisdom tapped me on the shoulder and called me to serve a flock,” Rosser said. “At first I thought he had the wrong Ed Rosser. But I love making my living as an attorney and giving back to God to thank him for the blessings he has bestowed upon my wife and me.”
The church holds Sunday school and Bible class each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and has worship services at 10:30 a.m.
To learn more about Argo’s Solid Rock Lutheran Church, go to the Web site at www.solidrocklutheranchurch.org or call 205-655-7276.
