Drop zone church

Former Green Beret Steve Phelps is a cartoonist, biker, and also a skydiver and pastor of The Rock Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At times Steve combines the latter passions and offers a worship gathering that meets somewhere between heaven and earth.

The idea developed as Steve befriended skydivers at the drop zone outside the city. The owner of the drop zone became a believer, and the other jumpers seemed receptive. "They always said, 'If I ever went to church, I'd go to your church.' But they never came." So Steve, with the help of the drop zone's owner, decided to bring the church to them.

The Rock Church started meeting in the airplane hanger at the site about fifteen miles north of Tulsa, and on several occasions, Steve literally drops in. "It's like the opening of the Super Bowl when a skydiver lands in the stadium with the football. I landed with the Bible. The church thought it was really cool."

The event attracted many visitors and about forty skydivers, some who have ...