OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Rockwood is not a stop on the way to somewhere else. It is home. We believe when you invest in a teenager in Rockwood you are not just changing one life. You are changing the trajectory of a family, and eventually a neighborhood.
WHERE WE ARE
Rockwood sits in the heart of East Portland, one of the most underserved and underresourced communities in the Portland metro area. It is a neighborhood of families, immigrants, young people, and individuals who work hard and deserve more than they often get.
High rates of poverty. Limited access to healthy food. Few safe spaces for youth after school. A community that has been overlooked for a long time.
We are here because this is exactly where we are supposed to be.
WHY WE ARE HERE
We did not choose Rockwood because it was convenient. We chose it because we believe God meets people where they are, and so should the church.
AS IS Church is not a commuter congregation where people drive in on Sunday and drive back out again. We are embedded in this neighborhood. Our neighbors are our community. Their kids are in our youth groups. Their families eat at our Wednesday night dinners. Their stories are our stories.
We are not here to fix Rockwood. We are here to belong to it, to stand with our neighbors.
Rockwood is not a stop on the way to somewhere else. It is home. We believe when you invest in a teenager in Rockwood you are not just changing one life. You are changing the trajectory of a family, and eventually a neighborhood.
WHERE WE ARE
Rockwood sits in the heart of East Portland, one of the most underserved and underresourced communities in the Portland metro area. It is a neighborhood of families, immigrants, young people, and individuals who work hard and deserve more than they often get.
High rates of poverty. Limited access to healthy food. Few safe spaces for youth after school. A community that has been overlooked for a long time.
We are here because this is exactly where we are supposed to be.
WHY WE ARE HERE
We did not choose Rockwood because it was convenient. We chose it because we believe God meets people where they are, and so should the church.
AS IS Church is not a commuter congregation where people drive in on Sunday and drive back out again. We are embedded in this neighborhood. Our neighbors are our community. Their kids are in our youth groups. Their families eat at our Wednesday night dinners. Their stories are our stories.
We are not here to fix Rockwood. We are here to belong to it, to stand with our neighbors.
UNDERGROUND PDX
Underground PDX is our community outreach hub at 740 SE 182nd Ave in Rockwood. It is the hands and feet of everything AS IS Church believes.
Here is what happens there every week:
Community fitness programming. Underground PDX runs CrossFit coaching and group fitness classes led by certified coaches. The gym is not just a gym. It is a place where people build strength, find community, and discover what they are capable of.
Wednesday night dinners. Every Wednesday at 6 PM we feed our neighbors. No questions asked. No requirements. Just food and a place to belong.
Kids and youth programming. Every Wednesday evening kids and teenagers have a safe, supervised, engaging space to learn, grow, and be known by name.
Adult community groups. While the kids are in their groups, adults gather for Bible study and open conversation about faith and life.
Youth fitness camp. Every summer we run a youth fitness camp for kids in the neighborhood, giving them access to coaching, community, and a safe environment during the summer months when school is out and unsupervised time goes up.
Mentorship and wraparound support. We walk alongside families and individuals who need more than a program. They need consistent, caring people who show up.
ONE MISSION. TWO NAMES.
People sometimes ask what the difference is between AS IS Church and Underground PDX.
The honest answer is that there is not much of one.
AS IS Church is the spiritual heartbeat. Underground PDX is the community expression of it. Same people. Same building. Same mission. We exist together because we believe faith without action is not really faith at all.
When you support AS IS Church you are supporting everything that happens at Underground PDX. When you walk into Underground PDX you are walking into the community that AS IS Church exists to build.
Underground PDX is our community outreach hub at 740 SE 182nd Ave in Rockwood. It is the hands and feet of everything AS IS Church believes.
Here is what happens there every week:
Community fitness programming. Underground PDX runs CrossFit coaching and group fitness classes led by certified coaches. The gym is not just a gym. It is a place where people build strength, find community, and discover what they are capable of.
Wednesday night dinners. Every Wednesday at 6 PM we feed our neighbors. No questions asked. No requirements. Just food and a place to belong.
Kids and youth programming. Every Wednesday evening kids and teenagers have a safe, supervised, engaging space to learn, grow, and be known by name.
Adult community groups. While the kids are in their groups, adults gather for Bible study and open conversation about faith and life.
Youth fitness camp. Every summer we run a youth fitness camp for kids in the neighborhood, giving them access to coaching, community, and a safe environment during the summer months when school is out and unsupervised time goes up.
Mentorship and wraparound support. We walk alongside families and individuals who need more than a program. They need consistent, caring people who show up.
ONE MISSION. TWO NAMES.
People sometimes ask what the difference is between AS IS Church and Underground PDX.
The honest answer is that there is not much of one.
AS IS Church is the spiritual heartbeat. Underground PDX is the community expression of it. Same people. Same building. Same mission. We exist together because we believe faith without action is not really faith at all.
When you support AS IS Church you are supporting everything that happens at Underground PDX. When you walk into Underground PDX you are walking into the community that AS IS Church exists to build.
