The River has a unique history which has helped shape us into the church we are today. We are what is called a 'church planting' that began in 1981 as Yorktown Christian Center.

HOW DID IT ALL GET STARTED?
We are part of a family of churches, with Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage, Alaska being the sending church. Forty people, including children, were sent to start the church in Westchester County, New York, in 1981. They not only sent us, they helped us financially and have continued to love us and support us through conferences and personal visits by various ministry teams. In the last 25 years Abbott Loop Community Church has helped start over 60 different churches around the United States.

WHY IS THE CHURCH IN DUTCHESS COUNTY TODAY?
With most of the families having already purchased homes in Dutchess County, New York, the leadership team decided to move the church to where the people were already living. In 1987, the church moved to Hopewell Junction, New York and rented a vacant IBM building on Route 82. Hence the name Hopewell Christian Center came into being. Then in 1991, after outgrowing that building, we moved to an office building in Wappingers Falls, NY and we continued to grow as God added to the church family. Then to make a long story short, God gave us our present facility on November 5, 1996.

WHY POUGHKEEPSIE?
We must go where the people are living, and Poughkeepsie, New York, is the most populated area in the county. It is also a crossroad with Route 9, Routes 44 & 55, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge. The River has a unified purpose of reaching those who not only need Jesus Christ as their savior but also the many Christians who are in desperate need of renewed vision in church life and balanced training in Christian living.