The Basics: What are we doing?

Let's start at the beginning:

"Christian" literally means "Little Christ." When the term was coined in the 1st Century A.D., it was derogatory, meant as an insult to followers of Christ Jesus. Before that, it was simply known as "The Way." This is what we know: That there is one eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, self-sufficient and perfect God, and that He created us to steward and enjoy His creation and to have a deep and personal relationship with Him, based on the fact that we freely choose to love Him. The first two humans, however, chose instead to distrust and turn away from Him; this separated them from His presence. This separation is called "Sin"--it's the absence of God's nature, His character. Like light can have nothing to do with darkness, destroying it by nature, so God can have nothing to do with sin. Sin, being separate from the source of all life, causes death. This is the curse that humans have lived under since the beginning. (Take a look at some of the things Scripture says about creation and sin.)

But God, being totally perfect and totally loving, constantly seeks to be reunited with His creation. He knows that death is the only possible consequence for sin, and so it was necessary for someone completely perfect to die as a sacrifice, so that his blood could be the payment in full for all sin, everywhere. But no human can be perfect. Therefore, the only solution was for God to come to earth in human form, to live as one of us, and then to die--and in his death, to bear the weight of all sin on his shoulders. This was Jesus, the Christ, our savior, our hero. Through him, our sin can be forgiven; but just as it always was, this requires a free and conscious choice on our part. We must choose to love God and to accept what he's done for us. This choice is Christianity. As Jesus tells us: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father (God) except through me." (See some of the things Scripture tells us about Jesus being the bridge between us and God.)

Once you truly make that choice, your life changes drastically, forever. By listening through Scripture and conversing through prayer, you begin to get to know God, to understand His heart and His love for creation. Life has purpose, context, and hope. We can never truly stop sinning on this earth, but God's spirit begins to guide us, to show us where we've gone wrong and fix the parts of us that are broken. So no Christian is perfect, but if a person has truly made a choice to follow Jesus, it'll show. Their lives will begin to change as they learn God's nature of love, mercy, justice, and goodness. For a Christian, life is meant to be a perfect balance between total freedom and absolute servant-hood. Because we know that we can always be forgiven, yet because we love Jesus so much for his gift and sacrifice, we desperately want to do what pleases him. Jesus tells us that these two things sum it up: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love everyone else as much as yourself by treating them the way you would like to be treated." (Read some passages of Scripture in which life as a Christian is summed up.)

What is the Church?

The Church, in its broadest sense, is the community of all Christians, everywhere, throughout time. Everyone who has been loved and saved by Jesus Christ is a part of it. The Scriptures use many metaphors to describe the church: A household and temple, a bride, a family, a flock of sheep, soldiers, farmers, and athletes. It is very clear that church is not a building; it is a living, dynamic organism made up of many people. Though the church has a long history of dividing itself into congregations, mostly because of doctrinal disagreements, Jesus' desire for the church is complete unity.

Scripture clearly teaches that every Christian has something to offer the church as a whole, and that anyone who serves Jesus will love the church and seek to strengthen it.

The purpose of the church as a whole, the local church, and the individual Christian is the same: To love Christ and advance His purpose--salvation and redemption. Despite two millennia of tradition, conflict, and complication, the core mission of a church is extremely simple: To be a gathering of Christians, led by mature and godly pastors, devoted to the worship of God and the sound teaching of Scripture.

Before you look any closer at The River Church, it's important that you understand this: Church is not guaranteed to be a safe, comfortable place where you can be refreshed, uplifted, and have your emotional needs met. Church is not a business that caters to its customers. The purpose of the church is to serve God, not man, and the purpose of coming to church is to serve, not to be served. If you don't normally go to church, we'd like you to come and see us. There's good conversation, hot coffee, loud music, and useful teaching--but don't let that fool you. We're not here to entertain you. We're here to introduce you into a friendship with the only one who can save you from living a meaningless life, dying a meaningless death, and spending all eternity completely separated from your creator.

We love God, we love you, and we do our very best to be excellent servants of Jesus in hopes that someday soon, you will too.