God wants to change the world. That’s why He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth.
The world not only needs to be changed, it’s practically begging for someone to change it.
Now get this, it doesn’t matter if you’re a new believer or if you’ve been a Christian for a long time, God says I’ve got a job for you. “I want you to change your world; it’s a simple task, but not an easy one.”
Changing the whole world might sound like an overwhelming task for any individual believer to take on. That’s why God hasn’t asked you to change THE WHOLE world; He’s asking you to change YOUR world.
The truth is God has asked a few select people to take on a specific call to do something global that actually impacts the whole world, people like Billy and Franklin Graham, Luis Palau, and a few others, but that doesn’t apply to most of us.
Now, don’t misunderstand me, that doesn’t mean that what He calls us to do is any less important than what He’s called them to do.
The fact is God has given each of us our own little niche of humanity. Everyone has been given, on the average, anywhere from eight to fifteen people- individuals whom God has supernaturally and strategically placed in our relational world.
The Greeks called that circle of influence your oikos- and over the course of the next 4 weeks, both in our teaching time here at church and in our small groups meeting in homes throughout the week, we’re going to help you discover who makes up your world.
These people who are in your world, your OIKOS, are on God’s radar screen. And He wants to reach out to them through the one element they all have in common- YOU.
God wants YOU to be a world changer!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Showing We Care! Special Christmas Offering
The River Christmas Offering
Showing We Care!
Now through December 31, 2009
GOAL: $2,000
Showing We Care!
Now through December 31, 2009
GOAL: $2,000
Come As You Are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, Tell The Story
November 2009
Dear River Family,
I am excited to share with you information regarding the SHOWING WE CARE! Special Christmas Offering that begins now and runs through December 31st.
As a brand new church in the Treasure Valley, we are committed to do everything we can to carry out the mission God has given us; leading people into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ by encouraging them to: Come As You Are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, and to go out and Tell The Story! We are not looking for perfect people, in fact we say No Perfect People Allowed! One significant thing we have discovered about our community is that it is not irreligious, it is packed with people who believe in God but have given up on the church for one reason or another. With this in mind we have set out to be a non-traditional, contemporary church for people who have given up on the traditional church, but not on God.
When we began The River seven months ago, we determined to give our people the best opportunities available to discover what it means to become a fully devoted follower of Christ. With this offering you have the opportunity to deepen your commitment to Christ, enlarge your ministry commitment and opportunities, and provide for the needs of others.
This offering is designated to four purposes: providing financial support for IberoAmerican Ministries; Servant Evangelism to our city, beginning a Benevolence ministry to our own members, and support of our own youth ministry – STRIKE!
I hope you will carefully look over the enclosed information about this exciting opportunity for us to give sacrificially. Will you join us and begin praying now about what God would have you give, over and above your regular giving, to our Special Christmas Offering? Allow God to stretch your faith!
Your Friend and Pastor,
Dave Griewe
pastordg@aol.com
The SHOWING WE CARE! Special Christmas Offering is a call to sacrificial giving with a goal of raising $1,500 for four specific ministry initiatives.
THE PURPOSES OF THIS OFFERING
To support Jeff Phillips; Founder of IberoAmerican Ministries: a mission dedicated to reach Muslims in Southeast Asia.
Jeff Phillips and his wife Kathy left for Chile the day after their first wedding anniversary immediately after graduation from San Jose Bible College (now William Jessup University). They have been in living in Chile for the past 33 years. All four of their children, as well as their four grandchildren were born in Chile. They have seen 20 churches planted during that time which are now beginning to reproduce churches on their own. Each of these planted churches has national pastors and elders. Most recently, Jeff took a team to a Middle Eastern, war torn country, to live among and love Muslims. There he started a Women's Center to help the hurting people. IberoAmerican Ministries goal is to mobilize 1000 Latinos to move into and start churches around the world focusing on reaching people where there is no Christian testimony or churches. Two of Jeff’s children and their families have answered that call and are currently working among needy people. For more information: www.iamweb.org
To share God’s love to our community through Servant Evangelism.
Last year The River hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for the Lexington Hills Community, the community where our church meets. We managed to put out over 3,000 plastic eggs filled with candy and prizes for the children and their families. We had over 250 people attend this free event to the community. This helped to develop a positive identity of The River in our community and led to a very successful Grand Opening Easter service. This year we hope to open it up to even more people within the city of Eagle.
To begin a Benevolence Fund to assist members of our church.
It is our desire to begin a Benevolence Ministry to come alongside our people in distress due to difficult financial times, a death in the family or a need for Christian counseling.
To support STRIKE! our youth ministry to Junior and Senior High students.
Our youth ministry continues to grow and in its short time has seen 15 teens make decisions for Christ! Our goal is to provide financial resources to help our youth ministry send students to camp this summer. Last year’s summer camp saw four students commit their lives to Christ.
This Special Offering will be received through December 31, 2009. Please use the special envelope in your bulletin or mark your checks or online gifts with “Showing We Care!”
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why a Special Offering?
As part of God’s plan to grow the faith of the people in His church, He calls us to sacrificial giving from time to time. This Special Christmas Offering is an opportunity for us to grow in our faith and to prepare us for what God wants to do through our church in 2010. This offering is to position us to make a greater impact in our city, in our church and around the world in 2010.
What is the difference between the Regular Offering and this Special Offering?
Your regular River offering is the proportional amount (your tithe of 10%) that you set apart on a systematic basis and give to our church throughout the year. From time to time, there are opportunities to give in a sacrificial way. This Special Christmas Offering is one of those occasions where sacrificial giving that stretches us causing us to grow in our faith. The special offering should be over and above what you give regularly to The River.
How much should I Give?
Since our goal is $1,500, this Special Offering has room for everyone to be involved. Some families within our church can give a large gift. Others are only able to give a small gift. The issue is not equal giving, but equal sacrifice. The precise amount you give is between you and God. Please prayerfully consider a sacrificial gift that will stretch your faith.
When should I Give?
The best time to give will be the next two Sundays. Please pray about giving your best gift on that day. However, you may continue to give until December 31, 2009. Please use the “Showing We Care!” offering envelopes or include a note designating that your gift is for the Special Christmas Offering. Remember, consistent gifts over time adds up – a person giving $10-$50 a week over a five-week period will give $50 to $250 to this Special Offering!
Can I Give online via bank check, debit or credit card?
Yes. You may give at www.RiverChristianChurch.com via online giving, simply select the “about rcc” drop-down menu and click on “support rcc”. Then select the “donate” button. That will take you to our PayPal account. To donate by check online, you must have a PayPal account, otherwise you may use your debit card or credit card. You can also use your bank online payment option to send a check directly to the church office. Again, simply mark in the memo area that your gift is for the “Showing We Care!” special offering.
Can I Give In-Kind Gifts of Stocks or Bonds?
Of course! Since The River is a 501c3 organization there can be tremendous tax benefits for you by giving in-kind gifts. For information on this type of giving, simply contact Pastor Dave.
Are My Gifts Tax-Deductible?
All gifts to The River, whether via your regular offering or this Special Christmas Offering, are completely tax-deductible. Your gift will be deductible in the tax year given (i.e., gifts given in 2009 will be deductible on your 2009 taxes). Please be sure to include your name and address when you give so that a receipt can be sent to you for your tax preparations. You are not required to utilize a tax-deduction for your gift, but it is available for all gifts.
How Will I Know if We Reach Our Goal?
Please pray for God’s guidance as we all give sacrificially. You will be updated on our giving progress during our Sunday services. Reaching this goal will be a celebration of what we can do together as we stretch our faith under God’s leadership.
Have additional questions? Please contact Pastor Dave Griewe at pastordg@aol.com
Monday, October 12, 2009
Welcome To The River!
At The River we work hard to provide a unique environment in which anyone, and we mean anyone can be comfortable.
We seek to provide a diverse, judgment free zone where a lasting, active relationship with God can be discovered and developed at your own pace.
As we grow and develop as a church family we are seeking to continually provide a safe, energetic environment, where everyone feels accepted and respected.
We know that no one is perfect, except God, but we also know that God wants us to continually be in the process of becoming more like Him, so we are here to encourage you to be everything that God created you to be.
Therefore The River is committed to be a place where you can become and belong.
Our Mission: Come as you are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, and Tell the Story!
We are The River!
We seek to provide a diverse, judgment free zone where a lasting, active relationship with God can be discovered and developed at your own pace.
As we grow and develop as a church family we are seeking to continually provide a safe, energetic environment, where everyone feels accepted and respected.
We know that no one is perfect, except God, but we also know that God wants us to continually be in the process of becoming more like Him, so we are here to encourage you to be everything that God created you to be.
Therefore The River is committed to be a place where you can become and belong.
Our Mission: Come as you are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, and Tell the Story!
We are The River!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Getting into Fall at The River!
We are completely enjoying the Fall here in Idaho, the temperature has dropped, the leaves are changing, and it’s time to focus on growth! I am excited; I love the Fall and everything it brings. I am really looking forward to it bringing new people to The River! That’s why we are here: to introduce people to Jesus Christ and help them grow in Him!
· Please pray for us to grow and mature as a church.
We are just over 6 months old; running an average of 100 people and we have seen nearly 20 commitments to Christ. We are not satisfied! Our community is over 22,000 people and there are over a half of a million people in the Treasure Valley. We have discovered that the majority of people do not attend church; they are not irreligious, but they are lost and disconnected. Most non-churched people here have some form of religious background but for some reason they have disconnected from church, not God, just church. That doesn’t mean they know Jesus, they are most likely religious; making them very difficult to reach for Christ. They have been infected with enough religion to make them immune to a relationship with God. Our mission is to reach those people where they are, break down their religious barriers, and help them to fall in love with Jesus. Pray for us to accomplish this vision!
· Pray for our people, the people of The River, to reach out to their friends and invite them to church. Pray for divine appointments for them to talk to them about a relationship with Christ.
· Pray that my messages on marriage and family will reach our community with God’s practical and invaluable council on developing great families while pointing people to the life saving grace of a relationship with Jesus.
· Pray for our small groups to grow and develop as they work through applying each Sunday’s message to their life.
· Pray for the growth and development of our worship teams. Heather and Phil share the responsibilities of leading our worship on Sundays. We are struggling with having enough musicians to put together a weekly band and our goal is to have two or more complete worship teams. Pray for God to lead the right people to us and for us to recognize them and get them involved. We see playing an instrument as an opportunity to reach musicians who don’t know Jesus.
Cathy and I are both doing better physically; thank you for your prayers! We are not 100% but we feel we are getting there. Cathy joined my gym and she is going with me every day! Pray for her as this is huge lifestyle change. I love her going to the gym with me (I’ve tried to get her to do this for 30+ years)! Pray for her to develop this as a habit and to learn the right kind of exercises that will be best for her and will accelerate her healing and lead her to complete health.
Pray for our finances. Our outside support has been cut in half in the past two months. As a new church we are doing OK averaging nearly $1,000 a week in offerings, but it takes a minimum of $8,000 a month to meet our needs (that includes my support but not the rest of the staff who are on support). September brought a shortfall of nearly $900. Since our Grand Opening we have put ourselves $6,304.99 in debt. We know that statistically it takes 3 years for a church to be self supporting, but we don’t have that much time, so we are asking God for a miracle to pull us out of debt and to meet our needs every month. Maybe God is asking you to be part of the solution.
Click here to support The River!
· Please pray for us to grow and mature as a church.
We are just over 6 months old; running an average of 100 people and we have seen nearly 20 commitments to Christ. We are not satisfied! Our community is over 22,000 people and there are over a half of a million people in the Treasure Valley. We have discovered that the majority of people do not attend church; they are not irreligious, but they are lost and disconnected. Most non-churched people here have some form of religious background but for some reason they have disconnected from church, not God, just church. That doesn’t mean they know Jesus, they are most likely religious; making them very difficult to reach for Christ. They have been infected with enough religion to make them immune to a relationship with God. Our mission is to reach those people where they are, break down their religious barriers, and help them to fall in love with Jesus. Pray for us to accomplish this vision!
· Pray for our people, the people of The River, to reach out to their friends and invite them to church. Pray for divine appointments for them to talk to them about a relationship with Christ.
· Pray that my messages on marriage and family will reach our community with God’s practical and invaluable council on developing great families while pointing people to the life saving grace of a relationship with Jesus.
· Pray for our small groups to grow and develop as they work through applying each Sunday’s message to their life.
· Pray for the growth and development of our worship teams. Heather and Phil share the responsibilities of leading our worship on Sundays. We are struggling with having enough musicians to put together a weekly band and our goal is to have two or more complete worship teams. Pray for God to lead the right people to us and for us to recognize them and get them involved. We see playing an instrument as an opportunity to reach musicians who don’t know Jesus.
Cathy and I are both doing better physically; thank you for your prayers! We are not 100% but we feel we are getting there. Cathy joined my gym and she is going with me every day! Pray for her as this is huge lifestyle change. I love her going to the gym with me (I’ve tried to get her to do this for 30+ years)! Pray for her to develop this as a habit and to learn the right kind of exercises that will be best for her and will accelerate her healing and lead her to complete health.
Pray for our finances. Our outside support has been cut in half in the past two months. As a new church we are doing OK averaging nearly $1,000 a week in offerings, but it takes a minimum of $8,000 a month to meet our needs (that includes my support but not the rest of the staff who are on support). September brought a shortfall of nearly $900. Since our Grand Opening we have put ourselves $6,304.99 in debt. We know that statistically it takes 3 years for a church to be self supporting, but we don’t have that much time, so we are asking God for a miracle to pull us out of debt and to meet our needs every month. Maybe God is asking you to be part of the solution.
Click here to support The River!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Faith... Most of the time!
I trust God completely, most of the time... It's a strange thing to live by faith. Several times in my life I have taken pretty big steps of faith trusting God for everything to survive, and God has always met my needs. But then something weird happens; I start to "help" God, I don't know why. It's like I think, living by faith is Ok for short periods of time, but after a while I need to get back into control.
I feel like the Israelites in the wilderness. They trusted God for a while, then they tried to do things on their own. After a while God removes His blessing and they suffer. They realize they have forsaken God so they repent and trust God again and He blesses them again. At least until they forget Him again. It's a cycle that is repeated in the Old Testament over and over again.
What disturbs me is that it happens to me too!
I was reading in 2 Chronicles 15 & 16 about Asa, one of the Israelite king's who loved and trusted God, most of the time. The prophet of God came to him and said, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." And Asa determined to trust God and God blessed him and all Israel.
But after a while, a problem came up and Asa didn't think of asking God for help, he asked another king to help him out. It seemed to make sense. He had a problem, another king provided an easy solution. It wasn't an evil decision, it made human sense, it's the way things had been done many times before. But he didn't ask God for His help.
Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand... When you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." OUCH! God wanted to give Asa a full blessing and freedom for the Israelites. Asa wanted the same thing, but did it his way, not even realizing he wasn't trusting God.
God wants us to trust Him, lean on Him, and turn to Him all the time, for everything! When we do, He blesses us. When we forget Him and turn to other means to meet our needs, whatever they may be, He removes His blessing and lets us get by on our own.
I NEVER WANT TO GET BY ON MY OWN! I want to trust God every day for everything. But it is so easy to get comfortable and forget. He meets our needs, we are pleased, we give Him praise and then we just sort of forget and when the next problem comes up we try to solve it on our own, but without God's blessing because we didn't ask Him for His help.
I understand Paul's cry of anguish far too much, Romans 7:15 & 24-25 "I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate....Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Thank you Jesus that you love and died for imperfect people like me. Now Lord help me to always trust you and not forget you. Amen.
I feel like the Israelites in the wilderness. They trusted God for a while, then they tried to do things on their own. After a while God removes His blessing and they suffer. They realize they have forsaken God so they repent and trust God again and He blesses them again. At least until they forget Him again. It's a cycle that is repeated in the Old Testament over and over again.
What disturbs me is that it happens to me too!
I was reading in 2 Chronicles 15 & 16 about Asa, one of the Israelite king's who loved and trusted God, most of the time. The prophet of God came to him and said, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." And Asa determined to trust God and God blessed him and all Israel.
But after a while, a problem came up and Asa didn't think of asking God for help, he asked another king to help him out. It seemed to make sense. He had a problem, another king provided an easy solution. It wasn't an evil decision, it made human sense, it's the way things had been done many times before. But he didn't ask God for His help.
Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand... When you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." OUCH! God wanted to give Asa a full blessing and freedom for the Israelites. Asa wanted the same thing, but did it his way, not even realizing he wasn't trusting God.
God wants us to trust Him, lean on Him, and turn to Him all the time, for everything! When we do, He blesses us. When we forget Him and turn to other means to meet our needs, whatever they may be, He removes His blessing and lets us get by on our own.
I NEVER WANT TO GET BY ON MY OWN! I want to trust God every day for everything. But it is so easy to get comfortable and forget. He meets our needs, we are pleased, we give Him praise and then we just sort of forget and when the next problem comes up we try to solve it on our own, but without God's blessing because we didn't ask Him for His help.
I understand Paul's cry of anguish far too much, Romans 7:15 & 24-25 "I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate....Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Thank you Jesus that you love and died for imperfect people like me. Now Lord help me to always trust you and not forget you. Amen.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Why I love the church and hate the church...
I love the church, it is the body of Christ. So why do I struggle with liking the church?
The church as God designed it is a loving accepting home for any and everyone. Unfortunately that is not what the church seems to be. Honestly, there are many churches who do show grace and acceptance, at least for a while. But for some reason as soon as a person who really needs grace, comes to church, we begin to try to change them. Not that change is bad, it is God's will, but we seem to think God gave US the responsibility to change people. He didn't. That's the job of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to love people, accept them, nurture them, teach His Word to them, encourage obedience, and then love some more; with the same grace God extended to each and every one of us and then leave the results up to GOD! Why can't we get that?
Try to love the unlovely for a while. The back slidden Christian, the self committed atheist or agnostic. Try to love those who are different than you; someone of a different ethnic group, a different lifestyle choice, a different economic class, a different sub culture than you. It's not easy, but it's God's command. We are to love people just like He loves us. Jesus said "Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay his life down fr his friends." John 15:13 (NIV) That's the standard.
It is sad to me that one of the great commands of Christ is that we love one another, but it is that same command that convicts us all and turns the world away from Christ. Let's learn to love like Jesus; totally and completely accepting of all people, no matter what the background, race, lifestyle preference, culture, or actions. We are to love people to Christ and let Him change their lives. That is my prayer for the church. That is my prayer for you.
The church as God designed it is a loving accepting home for any and everyone. Unfortunately that is not what the church seems to be. Honestly, there are many churches who do show grace and acceptance, at least for a while. But for some reason as soon as a person who really needs grace, comes to church, we begin to try to change them. Not that change is bad, it is God's will, but we seem to think God gave US the responsibility to change people. He didn't. That's the job of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to love people, accept them, nurture them, teach His Word to them, encourage obedience, and then love some more; with the same grace God extended to each and every one of us and then leave the results up to GOD! Why can't we get that?
Try to love the unlovely for a while. The back slidden Christian, the self committed atheist or agnostic. Try to love those who are different than you; someone of a different ethnic group, a different lifestyle choice, a different economic class, a different sub culture than you. It's not easy, but it's God's command. We are to love people just like He loves us. Jesus said "Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay his life down fr his friends." John 15:13 (NIV) That's the standard.
It is sad to me that one of the great commands of Christ is that we love one another, but it is that same command that convicts us all and turns the world away from Christ. Let's learn to love like Jesus; totally and completely accepting of all people, no matter what the background, race, lifestyle preference, culture, or actions. We are to love people to Christ and let Him change their lives. That is my prayer for the church. That is my prayer for you.
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