purpose driven ministry
Our purpose
The River is a Family of believers who love to Worship in Community, Sharing the Gospel and exploring the Depths of Christ together.
Our mission statement covers our unique view of the five purposes found in the great commission.
Gospel - Depth - Worship - Family - Community
More specifically, the unique calling and purpose of our church is as follows:
To grow in revelation and relationship with Christ (Depth and Worship)
To encourage and support each other (Family)
To model love in our communities (Community)
To bring others into the knowledge of Christ (Gospel)
Our Vision
First and foremost, we seek to be a church led by the Holy Spirit. Our vision and our view of our purpose is always subject to His. Our plans, schedules, events, and ideas should all be in line first with Him and second with our vision. We will make room for Jesus to do what He wants to do in us and through us, Sunday through Saturday.
We want our church to be an exciting and comfortable place to come and worship God. Our members and staff always seek to make every visitor feel welcome.
The work of the ministry should happen primarily outside of the church walls. So at our church, we seek to equip the saints for the work of the ministry that goes on in their homes, their workplaces, and their communities at large. Through the teaching of the Word, we attempt to bring practical application for every day living, and to heal the wounded soldier so they can continue the mission to which God has called them.
Growth is a sign of health. The church should not be a stagnant club of old time members, but a growing, evolving, and living entity. We invite everyone from all walks of life to join us. Non-believers can rediscover a message often lost amongst the noise of American Christianity, and believers of all backgrounds can dig deeper into the revelation of the Grace of God.
Our church also seeks to find ways to use the gifts, talents, callings, and ideas of all its members, with a focus on our church’s unique purpose and the working of the five-fold ministry. We encourage you to seek out ways to be serve, be involved, and share new ideas on how we can better bring the message of grace and redemption to the lost and wandering in this mission field.
Our Beliefs
We’ve boiled down our beliefs to the most simple, central, or distinct.
The Bible is Inspired by God
All Scripture is God breathed. (2 Timothy 3:16) It was written for us (1 Corinthians 10:11) and is useful for teaching, warning, rebuking, correcting, training, equipping, and revealing Christ (Luke 24:27). Only in Christ can we clearly understand the truth of the Scriptures (2 Corinthians 3:14).
Sin brought Suffering and Death
Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin (Romans 5:17). All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Suffering entered the world through sin (Genesis 3:14-24). Evil and suffering is not God’s plan for the world, but a result of sin and the enemy (Genesis 1:31, John 10:10).
Jesus is the One True God
Jesus identified Himself as one (John 10:30) and the same with the Father (John 14:9). He was identified as God by His disciples (John 20:28, Matthew 16:16). Jesus is the one and only path to the Father (John 14:6) and the only source of salvation (Acts 4:12).
Jesus Overcame Sin and Death
Jesus conquered death by His death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-26). He conquered sin (1 Corinthians 15:56-57) having nailed the handwriting of requirements against us to the cross along with our sin and debt (Colossians 2:14). He triumphed over all powers and authorities publicly (Colossians 2:15).
Salvation is by Grace through Faith
The gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). We receive God’s grace, His unmerited favor, through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:9). We are made righteous apart from works (Romans 3:21,28), when we believe in Jesus (John 3:15-16).
We are Called to live out our Righteousness
We identify with a righteousness that is not our own but from Jesus (Philippians 3:9). This surety gives us boldness (Hebrews 4:16) and freedom (Galatians 5:1). We are called to use this freedom, not as a license to sin, but to serve each other in love (Galatians 5:13), to display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and to walking according to the Spirit ((Galatians 5:16, 25, Romans 8:4).
The Holy Spirit still works Supernaturally
God did miracles from the first moment of history, throughout the Old and New Testament (Genesis 1-Revelation 22). Jesus promised miracles through men and women of faith, not only his 12 disciples (John 14:12). God works supernaturally through His people by the Holy Spirit. We call these manifestations the Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
Jesus healed out of compassion (Matthew 9:35-36, Mark 1:41, Matthew 14:14, Luke 7:13) and because Healer is part of who He is (Exodus 15:26), as such until we have the perfect manifestation (1 Corinthians 13:13) of God’s will as in Heaven (Matthew 6:10), mankind will still need God’s compassionate supernatural response to suffering.
We will be Resurrected to New Life
The resurrection of Christ is essential to the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-7, 17). Jesus was the first fruit of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus’ resurrection is evidence of the resurrection we look forward to (1 Corinthians 15:16). To be absent from the body in death is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8), and we know that one day we will be given new bodies (2 Corinthians 5:4-5) when the dead in Christ rise (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
The core of it all is this:
Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again.