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In order to build
a building, you need building materials. Every person yet
unreached is a potential part of the “God-Dwelling” we
are called to build. Jesus calls each believer to participate
in this process of pursuing those who have yet to believe.
Once they are won, they become a part of the house of God.
Matt. 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.” |
The building site is
the pre-existing people of God, those already won to the
Faith. Through a maturing process of love, care, mentoring
and instruction in the truth of the scriptures, “we in all things grow up into Him
who is the Head, that is Christ.” As God fills his house,
lives are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 2:4
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected
by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also,
like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.” |
Every building takes
work. The chief architect, builder and laborer of this “God Dwelling” is
God himself. Jesus Builds His Church:
Matt. 16:18
“…I will Build My Church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.”
In turn, we His Church build with him. Each believer becomes
an active part of this “Self-Building-Building”.
Ephesians 4:16
“From him the whole body, joined and held together by
every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love,
as each part does its work.”
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The building process
is accomplished in a rhythm of corporate life, which we call “Riverlife”. What
is Riverlife? Many of us have heard a great deal of preaching
on the famous “River of God” passage from Ezekiel
47. Our application, however, refers not solely to church or
personal revival, but to the overall “life-rhythm” of
our local church, its vision, and the development of each believer.
As God continues to reveal his plan to us, he has chosen to
open our eyes to see this passage in reference to the corporate
activity of God’s people moving forward in the attainment
of the Great Commission, living in the power of the Holy Spirit.
A singular life lived in the Spirit is a “Riverlife”.
How much more powerful when God releases that on a corporate
level!! The heart of this emphasis is found in verse 9 “…so
where the river flows, everything will live.” Through
the strategy the Father is imparting, we are intent in seeing
a harvest of new souls come into the Kingdom. People that are
won, established, discipled, and sent to win others.
 On a level more relevant to the community, we are Riverlife Community
Church. The town of Riverhead, NY, perched at the mouth of the
Peconic River, is in it’s inception a town based on an
economic life provided by the “river life”. In the
1690’s, the first white settlers established grist mills
that powered saw mills & fuller (cloth finishing) mills.
Currently, there is an aggressive redevelopment happening in
this locality, and with it, plans to even redevelop the riverfront
as a hub of tourist activity. God is also on the move! We intend
to minister to the spiritual life of the community by invoking
the Kingdom of God, “on earth, as it is in Heaven”.
Our strategy is not so much based around the development of a
church as an organization as it is around the development of
lost people into maturing disciples of Christ. Thus, Ezekiel
47 is thematically central to the planting of “Riverlife”.
It is in verses 3 to 6 of this chapter that we find the strategy.
Ezekiel 47:3-6
“As the man went eastward with a measuring
line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then
led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another
thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep.
He measured off another thousand and led me through water that
was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now
it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had
risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one
could cross. He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then
he led me back to the bank of the river…..”
The heart of our efforts is the Great
Commission, specifically Matt. 28:18-20, where Jesus gave his
church the mandate to make disciples of all peoples. We believe “The Great Commission” is
great for two reasons: first, because of the greatness of our “commissioner”,
namely, Christ. Secondly, because it is the noblest cause on
earth. But it is not reserved for “the great”. In
our church, we want to see the “Great Commission” become “The
Everyday Commission”. Not something so great and lofty
that only a select few can accomplish it, but something God intends
every believer to be actively engaged in as a life style. This
will be accomplished through a four step process, all in the
context of a cell based church:
1. Winning – Presenting
the message of the Cross through need oriented evangelism in
the context of relationship. This shall be accomplished through
creative cells (that are led by members of Riverlife), and through
other efforts we do together.
2. Establishing – Promoting the experience of the power
of the Cross. Those who are won are established in a strong faith
and experience of the power of the work of Jesus Christ on the
cross, Body Soul & Spirit. This is accomplished through regular “weekend
getaway” events that make room for people to experience
the power of the Holy Spirit.
3. Discipling – Teaching the established believer to carry
the Cross, daily obeying the commands of Jesus. This is accomplished
by nurturing every believer into a maturing leader through an
ongoing spiritual boot camp.
4. Sending – Supporting the boot camp graduates to proclaim
the message of the Cross and win others. Through a supportive
relationship of commissioning and coaching each maturing leader
is to become a discipler of others through their own cell group
expression.
In the prophetic experience of Ezekiel in chapter 47, we
see these four stages of the development of the believer depicted:
- Water
up to ankles= WIN – A lost
soul is won. The “Ankles” represent
them now having their feet fitted with the gospel of peace
(Eph. 6:15)They are encouraged & motivated
to become more fully established by attending a weekend getaway
as soon as one is made available.
- Water
up to the knees = ESTABLISH -Seeing each person
firmly established in Christ. Through a “Weekend Getaway” each
person is brought back to the Cross to experience their salvation
more fully. “Knees” represent
establishing their prayer life, as a representation of the
fuller spiritual formation of Christ in them.
- Water
up to the waist = disciple- the next step of their
development is studying the Word of God in the “Spiritual
Boot Camp”. The school is simple. It is an adequate
amount of material so that people can assimilate & share
it with others. “The Waist” represents
putting on the “belt of truth”, thus strengthening
their lives with God’s Word.
- Water
up to the head- = send. At this
point in the passage Ezekiel is swimming. This represents
the believer as a firm and maturing leader, moving forward
in the River of God as a “Fisher of Men”. They
have “grown up into Him who is the Head” (Eph.
4:15). “Swimming” represents
the established & equipped believer now sent to flow
in the River of God’s Spirit to win others. As Ezekiel
did, they return back to the river bank of the world, for
the purpose of winning others. This is accomplished as each
believer is commissioned to do this in their own cell that
they have started. |
Whereas some churches are purely local in
focus and flavor, we are called to create a regional expression
of the Church, especially from eastern Suffolk County. This
effort is primarily based out of the greater Riverhead area.
We value and welcome people from all age groups and races.
We also know that if we aim for nothing, we will achieve
nothing. So, we feel the primary age group we are to target
in the east end region is people in their twenties,
thirties and younger. In addition, we hope to be
effective in building a multi-ethnic environment where
all races are celebrated. We state this because we know that
the needs of this generation are different than the needs
of those who have preceded them. Nevertheless, we are sure
that as we meet the needs of this group, the needs of others
outside this target group will be met as well, inasmuch as
they share the same needs. We anticipate that people of diverse
ages will find Riverlife Community Churchmore
than appealing, and that there will be those more advanced
in years that will partner with us to reach this target group. |
We are in an ongoing discovery of the values
that we esteem as a church. The following is a list we have
developed so far. Some of these have been adapted from other
sources, yet resonate with our true heart:
- Expressing Christ’s
Love is more important than anything we believe, do,
or say i.e. love
over church philosophies, strategies, policies, visions
or spiritual insights. We practice fostering a
safe atmosphere where there is genuine love, acceptance,
and forgiveness toward every person. This
would also include “seeking to understand a person
before being understood.” 1 Corinthians 13:8
- People who don’t
know God matter to us because they matter to God. We
aim to reach as many people with God’s love,
using every possible means. It’s a process that
many times develops through an ongoing friendship which
requires patience, prayer and endurance—not simply
a one-time event. Luke
19:10
- An authentic relationship
with God through Jesus Christ is the most important priority
for a believer. Everything
in a believer’s life will be a reflection of their
communion with the Lord. It must continually grow and
be fostered through meditation, worship, prayer and study
in order to further exemplify the character of Christ
to this world. Mark 12:28-30
- Empowerment of the Holy Spirit
must be present in all that we do. It is important
that every believer is led by and dependent upon the
true work of the Holy Spirit. This is the only way one
will effectively accomplish His Great Commission.
- Fostering the spiritual
maturity of every believer and equipping members for
ministry is paramount for accomplishing God’s
divine purpose on this earth. We
believe in the continual growth of our spiritual life
every day. The pastors/leaders have the primary responsibility
to coordinate and reproduce mature team leaders who in
turn do the primary ministry and care giving, maximizing
the capacity of the body of Christ to reach
others. Eph 4:11-13
- Ministry and leadership styles
that are fresh, relevant and innovative. We
believe that it is important to do whatever it takes
to inspire people to search after Christ and His kingdom.
This means that we must be willing to take risks and
open our hearts to greater vision. Ways to develop compelling
styles include: creativity, supernatural inspiration,
excellence, encouragement, evaluation, and faith. Luke
14:23, 1 Corinthians 9:22
- Personal Destiny - Godvalues
every person and has an important plan for each one’s
life. We believe that it is important to encourage as many
people as possible to discover their God-given paths through
the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Each person’s life
has a tremendous importance in the bigger picture, and
there is nothing more fulfilling than walking in the way
God has marked out for the individual.
- Family First – We
validate that God calls people from every walk, be they
single, a single parent, married or married with children.
No matter what our station in life, we believe it honors
the Lord when those who serve him are able to do so without
devaluing the quality of family life. Thus we endeavor
to cultivate a family friendly environment in all Staff
and Lay ministry.
- Team - Whenever possible,
we deploy ministry thought the corporate effort of team.
Our gifts and efforts are at their best when complimented
and completed by those of others, in a context of healthy
plurality.
- Team Leadership – We
practice team, and we empower leadership. Our concept of team
is not in a sense of ambiguous plurality, but under the clear
facilitation of a servant-leader God has called to oversee
and be accountable for the team effort.
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We believe that “church growth” is
the result of “church health”. The healthier Riverlife is,
the more readily we will grow numerically. The following
are growth values we embrace that reflect church health.
We seek ongoing growth in each of these eight quality characteristics. Empowering
Leadership – this includes
the match of pastor and the congregation, Delegation and
sharing of ministry, Leadership through vision, and leading
change
- Gift-Oriented Ministry – This
includes every disciple understanding their gifts, matching
their gifts to tasks, Providing coaching, training, and
support, and recognizing the significance of people’s
service.
- Passionate
Spirituality – This
includes the maintenance of personal spiritual disciplines,
corporate spiritual disciplines, and the cultivation
of contagious faith throughout the Church family.
- Functional
Structures – This includes
providing adequate organizational structures and systems,
leadership oversight, cultivating vision, goals and planning
for each area of our organization, and learning how to
incorporate creativity and healthily manage change.
- Inspiring
Worship – This includes
gatherings that leave people feeling inspired, providing
creative worship planning, providing an atmosphere that
is visitor friendly, with good care for children, God centered/celebrative
music and life-transforming (behavioral) preaching.
- Holistic
Small Groups – Groups
that are spiritually oriented, engaged in developing relationships & authentic
community, encourage member. participation, that are guest
sensitive, and are set for ongoing multiplication
- Need-Oriented
Evangelism – we
want to encourage both personal and corporate expressions
of evangelism, promote a culture that is seeker aware,
and maintain effective assimilation of newcomers to the
Faith.
- Loving Relationships – relationships
that produce joy & trust, healthy interdependence,
supply necessary affirmation & encouragement, and redemptive
conflict resolution when needed.
* Growth Values Adapted from Natural Church Development by
Christian A. Schwarz
 Each
of these growth values is critical to the overall health
of Riverlife.
In the barrel diagram below, the barrel represents
the overall structure of church life. The barrel
staves represent
each growth value. The height of each stave
represents the level of quality in each area, whether low
or high. The contents of the barrel represent
the overall growth of the church. The conclusion is that
as we focus on improving in the area we are most lacking,
the quality of life in the church is improved, and thus will
be reflected in greater and more sustained growth.
Thank you
for taking the time and effort to get a sense for who we
are and what we are about. We are still on a journey; seeking
God for all that he has for us. We appreciate having the
opportunity to share these things with you in some detail
and hope that you will feel inclined to give yourself fully
to see God’s Kingdom expanded through Riverlife! |
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