Frequently Asked Questions
While we do have Baptist roots here at The River Church, we are a Non-Denominational, Bible believing church. This simply means that we do not hold to a conference or a ruling denomination. We hold to God’s Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the foundation and sole authority, for all that we teach, preach, and do as a church.
We use the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. With having many locations, a large staff, and a congregation filled with many different walks of life and varying walks with the Lord; we decided that it would be best to utilize a common and standard version of God’s Word used across all we do. Therefore, unless it is otherwise noted by a speaker or within one of our publications; we will use the ESV for all preaching, teachings, and writings we produce here at The River Church.
Yes, we are led by the Elder Team, which includes executive Pastors (listed on page 1) who collectively oversee the mission and vision of The River Church. Each Elder individually leads the staff and church in implementing the following areas of ministry: reach, gather, grow, administration, family and multi-site facilitation. In addition, we find in Acts 6, the need for deacons to “...serve tables... Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.” With this in mind we have called and appointed men to be Deacons at each of our locations. These men serve the church in a multitude of ministries. They also serve to provide our Elder Team accountability in finances and real estate, meeting quarterly and voting on organizational items such as a yearly spending plan and any real estate acquisition or sale.
In Matthew 28:19-20, Christ calls His disciples and followers to carry out the act of baptism. Again, we see this clearly portrayed in Acts 2:38-41. The act of baptism is one of obedience, in our relationship with Christ. Here at The River Church, we see this act of baptism as the Biblical next step for all believers who profess faith in Jesus Christ. However, it is also very clear that there is nothing special in the water nor does the act of baptism confirm or take the place of ones personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Communion is a time of remembrance, for all followers of Christ, to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice and reassess our personal walks with the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Paul clearly outlines the importance of the sanctity of communion. With that foundational understanding, here at The River Church, we observe communion roughly 10-12 times a year throughout our locations. While we do not require people to be a member or even regular attendees of The River in order to partake in communion, we do warn and encourage the words of Paul; that communion is only for those who have a true, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We try to avoid religious repetition in all that we do, and listen to the Lord’s leading for the scheduling and partaking of communion as a body of believers.
One of our goals at The River Church is to have everything we do be rooted in God’s Word. Our vision, Reach, Gather, Grow comes directly from Matthew 28. In verses 19-20 Jesus tells His followers, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” As we strive to honor God and follow the instruction He gives us in Matthew 28, and throughout all of scripture, we have adapted different methods to do so; having multiple locations is one of them.