OUR STORY
Rosemont Christian Church has been a gospel light to South Norfolk, Portlock, and the surrounding communities since 1902. Its story began with neighbors gathering for prayer and Sunday School, giving their time, resources, and land so their community could have a place to worship. Generations of faithful members carried that work forward. Among them was Oscar Smith, a lifelong member whose generosity helped support the church’s ministry. Rosemont’s history is deeply woven into the history of the community it calls home.
That commitment to the community continues today. South Norfolk and Portlock are home to people of different generations, ethnicities, backgrounds, and life experiences. There was a growing burden for a church family where those neighbors could find belonging in Jesus Christ—a place where children, teenagers, parents, and grandparents could grow in their faith together, and where people from different backgrounds could worship, serve, and build meaningful relationships. This vision for a gospel-centered, multigenerational, multiethnic church helped bring two congregations together.
After years of ministry training in church planting in New Jersey, Dylan and Tayler Lebakken moved to Norfolk with a calling to make disciples who become a family together for people that don't have a stable family in Jesus. In partnership with a couple local churches, they began gathering a core team in their living room in the Five Points section of Norview. "Five Points Church" grew through discipleship, evangelism, and neighborhood outreach as people discovered a Christ-centered family to belong to.
At the same time, Rosemont’s members were praying for renewed ministry and a pastor who would help the church reach deeper into its surrounding neighborhoods and beyond. The two congregations connected through outreach, Rosemont welcomed the Five Points team, offered its building for ministry, provided financial support, and sent volunteers to serve alongside them. Through prayer, conversations, and shared ministry, both congregations recognized God bringing them together around the same mission.
On November 3, 2024, the congregations completed their merger and relaunched together as Rosemont Christian Church. The Holy Spirit brought together the missionary energy of a young church plant and the wisdom, generosity, and faithfulness of a church with more than a century of history. Older and younger believers began serving side by side, learning from one another, and building a shared future for the good of their community.
Today, Rosemont is an established, growing church family, and God has given us tremendous victories. People have come to faith in Jesus, believers have celebrated baptism, broken relationships have experienced restoration, and families have found a place to belong. Through Growth Groups, youth ministry, community outreach, and tons of prayer, people are growing in Jesus, building relationships, and caring for their neighbors. God continues to raise up leaders, provide people to serve, and strengthen the church’s ability to care for its congregation and community.
Our mission is making disciples of Jesus who become a family together for the good of our community and beyond. Our vision is to be a gospel-centered, multigenerational, multiethnic church family united in Jesus Christ.
We are grateful for the generations who have faithfully served before us and expectant about what God will do next. Wherever you are in your faith, you are invited to worship with us, grow alongside us, and become part of the Rosemont family.
In His Love,
Pastor Dylan Lebakken