In April of 2021, God began to call Kyle and Katie Vaillancourt to move from Bradenton to the North Port area and begin a church plant.
Before starting the work, God led them to visit the Rock Calvary Chapel. It was here that Katie and Kyle met Pastor Aaron Smith. Little did they know that the Rock was one of 52 church plants stemming from a major church planting revival out of Calvary Rosarito in Mexico. It was here that Pastor Aaron invited Kyle and Katie to train as church planters in their School of Ministry, and eventually for Kyle to join the pastoral staff.
The time of serving at the Rock is when God made His will clear to Kyle. The Lord’s desire is to establish a place in North Port where His Word would be faithfully taught and many could come to receive hope. God was calling them to spend their life transforming North Port for Jesus.
In July of 2023, Katie and Kyle began hosting Saturday night home Bible studies. God continued to amaze as He answered Katie and Kyle’s prayers to send laborers in the harvest. During this time the Lord called and assembled a dream team to partner in what God was doing.
By September, the Lord had answered another prayer and provided a place for the new church to meet. Around the same time that Katie and Kyle moved to the area, another ministry from Bradenton had just began meeting on Thursdays less than two minutes away from the Vaillancourt house. For a year, they were praying for a church plant to use their space on Sundays and Kyle and Katie were praying for a space to meet.
The launch date was set for January 14th of 2024 and the rest is history!
Before starting the work, God led them to visit the Rock Calvary Chapel. It was here that Katie and Kyle met Pastor Aaron Smith. Little did they know that the Rock was one of 52 church plants stemming from a major church planting revival out of Calvary Rosarito in Mexico. It was here that Pastor Aaron invited Kyle and Katie to train as church planters in their School of Ministry, and eventually for Kyle to join the pastoral staff.
The time of serving at the Rock is when God made His will clear to Kyle. The Lord’s desire is to establish a place in North Port where His Word would be faithfully taught and many could come to receive hope. God was calling them to spend their life transforming North Port for Jesus.
In July of 2023, Katie and Kyle began hosting Saturday night home Bible studies. God continued to amaze as He answered Katie and Kyle’s prayers to send laborers in the harvest. During this time the Lord called and assembled a dream team to partner in what God was doing.
By September, the Lord had answered another prayer and provided a place for the new church to meet. Around the same time that Katie and Kyle moved to the area, another ministry from Bradenton had just began meeting on Thursdays less than two minutes away from the Vaillancourt house. For a year, they were praying for a church plant to use their space on Sundays and Kyle and Katie were praying for a space to meet.
The launch date was set for January 14th of 2024 and the rest is history!
Pastor Matt was ordained at The Rock Calvary Chapel in Port Charlotte, Florida, where he faithfully served and started his journey in the School of Ministry. During this season, God gave him a deep burden for the next generation, and he stepped into the role of Youth Group Pastor, ministering to students through the teaching of God’s Word and discipleship.
In time, the Lord placed a calling on Pastor Matt’s heart to plant a church in Northern Kentucky. Following this call in obedience, our church was born as a new church plant in the Burlington, Kentucky area, sent out by our home church, The Rock Calvary Chapel.
Pastor Matt's vision and mission: "Our fellowship is built on the foundation of God’s Word, and we are committed to remaining faithful to the whole counsel of Scripture, teaching and preaching verse by verse through the Bible. Our chief purpose is to bring glory to God in everything we do."
In time, the Lord placed a calling on Pastor Matt’s heart to plant a church in Northern Kentucky. Following this call in obedience, our church was born as a new church plant in the Burlington, Kentucky area, sent out by our home church, The Rock Calvary Chapel.
Pastor Matt's vision and mission: "Our fellowship is built on the foundation of God’s Word, and we are committed to remaining faithful to the whole counsel of Scripture, teaching and preaching verse by verse through the Bible. Our chief purpose is to bring glory to God in everything we do."
Jim and Gayle Darling officially launched their outdoor church on October 19th, 2025, in Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda. Jim has long had a heart for evangelistic outreach and regularly shared the Gospel in downtown Punta Gorda through conversation, signs, and tracts. This earned him the nickname “Jim the Baptist.” In response to God’s calling on his life, Jim attended The Rock Calvary Chapel’s School of Ministry in 2021. He was officially ordained on October 16th, 2025, and sent out as a church plant shortly after. His church, The Way Street Church, now meets every Sunday at 9:30am in Gilchrist Park.
Lars Edson and his wife, Bonnie, felt called by the Lord to plant a church in Bristol, Tennessee. In preparation, they joined The Rock Calvary Chapel’s School of Ministry, where they were trained and equipped for this calling. After graduating, Lars and Bonnie traveled to Bristol with Pastor Aaron on a church-planting vision tour to seek a potential campus. During that time, they discovered a vacant Presbyterian church building that was available for rent. The owner, who had previously been part of Calvary Chapel fellowships, welcomed the opportunity to partner with them by leasing the building. Lars was officially ordained on January 4th, 2026, and began his ministry in Bristol the following week.