Showing We Care - The River Christmas Offering, 2010

Dear River Friends and 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. Last year we raise $1,495.00. This year we increased our goal to $1,600.00.

As a new church in the Treasure Valley, we are committed to do everything we can to carry out the mission God has given us; “Helping people find their way to God and teaching them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus”. We are not looking for perfect people, in fact we say No Perfect People Allowed! Our community 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 are a non-traditional, modern church for people who have given up on the traditional church, but not on God.

When we began The River last year, we determined to give our people the best opportunities available to discover what it means to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus. 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: provide financial support for the hurting, hungry, and needy people in our area, our Children's Community Easter Outreach, Youth Camp Scholarship Fund, New Church Planting, and initial support for Ben and Tracy Slee - the newest Campus Crusade for Christ staff members at BSU!

I hope you will carefully look over the 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

The SHOWING WE CARE! Special Christmas Offering is a call to sacrificial giving with a goal of raising $1,600 for five specific ministry initiatives:

To share God’s love with our community by providing financial help to the hurting, hungry, and needy.

This year more people are suffering from unemployment and under-employment in our area than ever before. So we are partnering with the Eagle Community Food Bank to provide food, clothing, and finances to assist those families who are struggling. We will be collecting canned and non-perishable food along with good, clean, used clothing for both adults and children on December 12 and 19 at our Sunday services.

Children’s Community Easter Outreach.
Before we began The River we hosted an Easter Egg Hunt in the Lexington Hills Community. We put out over 3,000 plastic eggs filled with candy and prizes for the children. We had over 250 people attend this free event. This helped to develop a positive identity of The River and led to a successful Grand Opening Easter service. Last year we changed locations and we did not have time to plan for a successful community event. This year, with your help, we hope to develop a new Community Easter Outreach focusing on children.

To provide summer camp scholarships to help our youth go to camp.
Last summer our youth ministry took 8 students to summer camp in McCall. We provided half scholarships for almost every student making it possible for them to attend. This year our goal is to provide financial resources to send 15 students to camp.

To support New Church Planting in the Northwest and the Pacific Southwest.
Statistically the best way to reach non-churched and de-churched people is to start new churches. The River began with the financial support from individuals, churches, and organizations who are committed to new church planting. We want to be able to support and help other new church starts just as we were helped.

To provide initial financial support for Ben and Tracy Slee with Campus Crusade for Christ.
Ben and Tracy are the newest staff members serving Christ on the Boise State University Campus. Their objective is to WIN students to Christ; BUILD them up in their faith; and SEND them out to reach others for Christ. They reach students through one on one conversations, small group bible studies, and special events on the BSU campus.

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 Offering is an opportunity for us to grow in our faith and to prepare us for what God wants to do through our church.

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 give on a regular basis to our church throughout the year. This Special Christmas Offering is one of those occasions where sacrificial giving stretches you and grows your 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 $1,600, 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. However, you may continue to give until December 31. Please use the “Showing We Care!” offering envelopes or indicate that your gift is for the 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?
You may give online at RiverChristianChurch.com. 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. Simply mark in the memo area that your gift is for the “Showing We Care!” 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.

Are My Gifts Tax-Deductible?
YES! The River is recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 charitable organization. All gifts are completely tax-deductible.

Loving The Difficult People in Your World!

In our ever-changing relational world, there are 3 types of people:
1- Non believers- Some members of your oikos are non-believers, or better yet, pre-believers. Your role for them is that of evangelist, seeking to help provide them connection points with Christ.
2- Believers who are not walking with the Lord- Some will be Christians who, for whatever reason, have become distracted and aren’t presently attending church. This makes up the largest number of people in our area. Your role, with them, is to help them get back on track and pick up where they left off, with you as their biggest cheerleader.
3- Believers who are presently walking with Christ- If they are involved in church and already intentional about their walk with Christ, then your role in their lives will be to encourage them to keep moving forward in their faith.

Now there is problem: The problem is that there are some people who are in your OIKOS, who for whatever reason, you have a hard time with or they have a hard time with you. And the truth is you wish God had put them in someone else’s OIKOS! But you’re stuck with them and they’re stuck with you!

So how do you change your world when someone in your world is difficult to love?

When you think about it, everybody’s difficult, at least part of the time. And if your desire is to be effective as a worldchanger then you must learn how to love the difficult people that are in your OIKOS.

Jesus said John 13:34-35 "By this shall all men know that you're My disciples that you have love one for another." Jesus says that the number one characteristic of a believer is love. It makes sense, God is a loving God and He wants us to become like Him.

The fact is if you’re a Christian you should be a loving and caring person, if you’re a non-loving Christian that’s what’s called an oxy-moron: or maybe you’re just a moron! Jesus expects us to love everybody, even the difficult people in our lives. After all, love is what attracts most people to Christ.

If you're going to be a world changer then you'd better learn how to love the difficult people in your world. In Romans 12:9-21 Paul gives us 3 characteristics that we must develop if we are going to love others and be effective worldchangers. Check it out!

For more information listen to my podcast.

OIKOS - Change Your World!

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!

Community Christmas Eve Servce

Showing We Care! Special Christmas Offering

The River Christmas Offering
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

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!

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!