Revive. Inspire. Serve. Empower.

Learn about the mission behind the movement!

Who We Are

At Rise City, we believe in people over performance, servant-hearted leadership, and spiritual transformation over shallow tradition. We are passionate about creating space for worship that moves you, relationships that ground you, and a mission that sends you out to love the world well.

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What we believe.

  • We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. We acknowledge that God used man to write the Bible. We acknowledge that the bible has been used to harm and abuse people. We believe that the bible, in its original writing, is God's authoritative word for doctrinal truths.

     (Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

  • We believe in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.

     (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Hebrews 3:7-11; I John 5:7)

  • We believe Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for humanity and thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.

     (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1,14, 20:28; Philippians 2:5-6; 1 Timothy 2:5, 3:16)

  • We believe in a variety of spiritual gifts that are meant to build and sanctify the Church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Word of God and the order of the Church.

     (Romans 1-11, 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; Ephesians  4:16; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:5-16; Hebrews 2:4; 1 Peter 4:10)

  • We believe that the ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the scriptures. All who repent and believe in Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus, they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life.

     (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47,48; Romans 6:4)

  • We believe in the ordinance of the Holy Eucharist (The Lord's Supper), consisting of the elements --bread and the fruit of the vine-- is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4), a memorial of his suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26), and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26) and is enjoined on all believers "till He comes!". We invite all believers to the table and celebrate the open table.

  • We believe in the power and significance of the Church and the necessity of believers to meet regularly together for fellowship, prayer and the ‘breaking of bread’. The church should be a diverse symbol of God’s creation and thus we welcome as many races, generations, ethnicities, and gender expressions as God created.

     (Psalm 92:12-15; Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23)

  • We believe that God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives in order to help others more effectively.

     (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:14-16)

  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as He promised.

     (Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7)

Meet Pastor Justin

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Two adult men and a young girl sitting together outdoors against a rocky background, smiling at the camera.
Two smiling men in suits standing in an indoor space, one with his arm around the other's shoulder.

Justin Bertrand-Pitts, is a native of Tifton, Georgia born to Rosie Brooks and Billy Pitts. Justin answered the calling to servant leadership at the age of 14 and continued to train and serve in various positions throughout his adolescent years. A product of the Tift County Educational system, he graduated in 2003. During that same year he received his official License and ordination blessing under the leadership of Rev. Charlie H. Sneed and The Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church of Tifton, Ga. During the summer of his Graduation Rev. Pitts was hard at work earning certifications in Sermon development and Pastoral Leadership.

In 2006, after moving to Savannah Ga, Justin suffered from Depression and suicidal thoughts all while being homeless often living in various hotels, but he refused to stop preaching and teaching about the goodness of the Lord. In 2008, his TURNING POINT came when he moved to Houston, Texas where he met his Partner of the last 18 years, Mr. Desmond Bertrand.

Currently he works full time as the Executive Director of M.E.N. Incorporated, a non-profit youth services organization he and Desmond started in 2011. Justin is also a named co-founder of Theta Chi Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, a Greek Letter community service organization. 

In November 2023, Desmond and Justin adopted a beautiful little girl named Tatyana Destiny Bertrand-Pitts. The couple enjoys spending time watching tatyana doing gymnastics and playing with their dog "Sugah".

Meet the Team

  • A logo with a black background featuring a stylized red letter 'R' with a line through it, resembling the Rockstar Games logo.

    Desmond Bertrand-Pitts

    Lead Trustee

  • A black T-shirt with a red and black logo featuring a stylized letter R within a circle.

    Devin Gibson

    Director of Music & Worship

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    Don Tisdale

    Lead Deacon/Hospitality Lead

  • Red letter R integrated into a black and white circular logo with a stylized human figure, possibly representing a sports or entertainment brand.

    Henry Forehand

    Partner Representative