What we Believe

Below you can read our doctrinal statement of faith. But we highly encourage you to learn about our heartbeat and priorities to get a better understanding of who we are at The River.

We believe there is only one true God who is the eternal King, Creator and Redeemer of all that is. He is perfectly holy, just, loving and truthful. He has revealed Himself to be eternally self-existent—one being in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

We believe the Bible, to be the inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God.

We believe humankind was created in the image of God to know and enjoy Him, yet we willfully rejected the Lordship and glory of God for which we were intended. Because of this, sickness, death and judgment entered the world and now creation experiences the effects and consequences of sin.

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin Mary, and is God’s Anointed One, empowered by the Holy Spirit to inaugurate God’s Kingdom on earth. He was crucified for our sins, He died, He was buried, He was resurrected, He ascended into heaven, and He is now alive today in the presence of God the Father and in His people. He is “true God” and “true man.”

We believe we are saved by God’s grace, through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Anyone can be restored to fellowship with God through repenting, believing, and receiving Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates, justifies, and adopts us as we enter the Kingdom of God as His sons and daughters.

We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by Whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live holy and minister super-naturally. The baptism of the Holy Spirit according to Acts 1:4-8 and 2:4 is poured out on believers that they might have power to be witnesses.

We believe the victorious, redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides freedom from the power of the enemy—sin, lies, sickness and torment.

We believe the Church consists of all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. He gave His church the ordinances of Baptism and Communion. The Church exists to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ and further advance His kingdom by undoing the works of the enemy, preaching and living the good news of God’s love, discipling the nations, and baptizing and teaching them to love and obey God.

We believe in the ever increasing government of God and in the Blessed Hope, which is the glorious, visible return of our Lord Jesus Christ for His overcoming bride—His church. Heaven and hell are real places. There will be a resurrection of the saved and the lost, the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting death.