Who We Are
Rocketown is the place for teens to have fun, make friends, and launch a life of purpose and faith.
With amazing entertainment, recreational facilities, after-school programming, and concerts, Rocketown creates an open, welcoming environment where youth know they’re accepted and belong. Surrounded by caring staff and volunteers, students are given the opportunity to experience the love of God, explore bigger possibilities, and find their place in the world.
Our Core Values
Caring staff: Our staff truly cares about the teenagers that come to Rocketown and takes time to get to know them and what they’re navigating in life. Every team member is trained in social-emotional learning and is committed to our mission, making Rocketown more than just a place to hang out – it’s a place to be known, understood, and accepted.
Commitment to excellence: We want Rocketown to be the coolest place to hang out in town, period. We invest in world-class facilities, the trendiest entertainment, and awesome recreational opportunities that make Rocketown a place where teenagers want to be.
Helping teens become who they’re meant to be: While Rocketown is a place where teens can come to simply hang out and have fun, we also offer pressure-free ways for teenagers to begin to develop their sense of self, their gifts, their passions, and their critical thinking skills. There is freedom at Rocketown for teenagers to try new things, talk about tough topics, share their opinions, find their voice, and discover new possibilities for their lives – all alongside staff who genuinely cares about them and has their back.
Fostering lives of faith: As a Christian organization, our ultimate hope is that teenagers will respond to the Gospel at Rocketown – even if that just means asking the first question. There is no belief required to belong, but we also openly talk about our relationship with God, so teenagers can experience the love of Jesus and develop their own spiritual lives – the most important aspect of becoming who they’re meant to be.
Our Story
Contemporary Christian Music artist, Michael W. Smith, founded Rocketown in 1994. Michael’s vision of Rocketown was to serve youth that might be disconnected or feel alienated from mainstream society or their communities through an all-ages concert venue.
Michael strategically located Rocketown in the vibrant heart of downtown Nashville, enabling us to reach out to at-risk teenagers in the Nashville area, offering them a sanctuary where they could feel cherished and supported.
Since Rocketown’s founding, the problems of isolation and disconnection in our society have only grown. And Rocketown continues to adapt and step up to meet the new challenges teenagers face. Today, that concert venue in downtown Nashville has grown into a massive rec center where teens can connect with each other and caring staff, complete with a café, skatepark, recording studio, e-sports arena, and more.
But our mission remains the same: to create a place where every teenager is safe, known, and welcomed and to offer hope to the next generation through Christ’s love.