 Core Values
River City has translated its vision into 8 core values which are Biblically-based and serve as the template for which all program decisions are made. In other words, the core values help us all keep the main thing, the main thing!
We Value People
Because all people are eternally valuable to God, they are to us as well.
(Luke 15, John 3:16, Luke 19:10)
We Value God's Word in the Bible
God's word in the Bible contains an unchanging message for changing times.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 119:89, Hebrews 4:12)
We Value Real Worship
There are various ways to touch the heart of God as we celebrate His love and listen to His voice.
(1 Corinthians 9:19-23, John 4:23-24, Revelation 7:9-12)
We Value Doing Church As A Team
Every person is created for ministry, gifted for ministry, authorized for ministry, and needed for ministry.
(1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4:7-16)
We value personal growth through small groups
Life-change happens most effectively in the atmosphere of small groups.
(Acts 2:42-46, Luke 6:12-13, James 5:16)
We value love in action
God expects each believer to understand and demonstrate the compassion of Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 25:31-46, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 3:11-20)
We value unity on the essentials & understanding on the non-essentials
Remaining focused on the essential truths of the Christian faith.
(Ephesians 4:1-6, John 17:23, Psalm 133:1)
We value Kingdom expansion
Inviting and bringing others to church so that God’s Kingdom may be furthered in other places through new churches.
(Acts 1:8ff.)
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 The River City Church Faith Statement
The mission of River City Church is to move people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, which is uniquely God-inspired, without error, and the final authority on all matters on which it testifies. As the Bible teaches, there is one God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each possessing all the attributes of Deity.
God the Father created everything visible and invisible and still upholds and rules His creation by His providence and power. God made humans in His image and likeness to have fellowship with Him and to be stewards of his whole creation, but they rebelled against Him by sinfully going their own way. The result of this rebellion is broken fellowship with God, a brokenness that we ourselves are powerless to restore. Yet, amazingly, God Himself took steps to restore this fellowship with us and in His perfect wisdom set down a plan to save us from the consequences of our sin. And so salvation comes only through God's saving grace - not human effort - and must be received personally by repentance and faith.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, plays a key role in God’s plan of salvation. Jesus came among us and lived a sinless life and voluntarily paid for our sin by dying on the cross as our substitute. This accomplishes salvation for all that receive grace by trusting and believing in Him alone. He rose from the dead and now reigns in heaven. Jesus is the only mediator between God and us. He will return to earth to fulfill history.
The Holy Spirit draws sinners to Christ and equips believers for personal growth and service to the church and community. The church's role is to glorify God and serve those in need. At the end of history, everyone will experience bodily resurrection and the judgment. Only those who are saved will experience the resurrection of life and the joy of eternal fellowship with God.
River City Long-Range Plan
Strategic planning is a regular part of River City leadership development. Our first long-range plan wound up in June 2007 and a new long range plan was developed and endorsed beginning in April 2008.
Links & Affiliations
River City Church is very much inter-denominational. Currently there are people with Catholic backgrounds, various Protestant and Evangelical backgrounds, as well as little or no church background.
River City Church embraces two primary relationships, or "affiliations":
It is affiliated with a vibrant and growing Protestant denomination called the Christian Reformed Church in North America. "Christian" because we believe that Jesus is the son of God who alone can save us from sin and give us abundant life. "Reformed" because we believe that all we do and believe should be tested by the Bible. In the year 2001, the Christian Reformed church tripled its commitment to plant and establish new community churches across North America! River City Church is a direct result of this bold decision. Presently there are approximately 1,000 churches in this family of churches across North America, with 750 in the U.S. and 250 in Canada.
River City church is also affiliated with the Willow Creek Association, an expanding network of 10,000 churches from around the world that use a similar approach in reaching people with the message and love of Jesus Christ.
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