MISSION - VISION - BELIEFS
River Run Christian Church traces its heritage to the Restoration Movement, and as such is an independent, non-denominational Christian church that believes in the authority of Scripture, unity of all believers, weekly observance of the Lord's Supper (Communion), and a believer's baptism by immersion.
River Run Christian Church exists to love God to the fullest, to love others as God has loved us and to share God’s love locally and globally; simply put:
“Love God - Love Others - Share God’s Love”
River Run Christian Church desires everyone to experience growth by cultivating relationships with God the Father, through Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit; which will naturally lead to a desire to draw near to and share God’s incredible love through:
WALKING - with Christ and Others
REACHING - through People and Programs
TEACHING - in Word and Deed
SERVING - the Church and Community
God
We believe:
God is the one true God eternally existing in three distinct Persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
God is the creator of all things visible and invisible. (Genesis 1:1-2, Deuteronomy 6:4, Acts 17:24-28, Hebrews 11:3)
Jesus Christ
We believe:
Jesus is God's one and only Son, the one and only Savior (John 1:14, John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:18, 1 John 4:9)
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18)
Jesus was born “Jesus of Nazareth”, through the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, being fully human and fully divine. (Matthew 1:18, Matthew 21:11, Luke 1:26-38, Romans 5:15-17, Colossians 2:9)
Jesus lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 2:22)
Jesus was crucified on a cross for our sins (Luke 23:1-46)
Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again bodily from the dead on the third day (Luke 23:44-56, Luke 24:1-8, John 20:24-29, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
Jesus ascended into Heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father (Luke 22:69, Acts 1:1-9, Colossians 3:1)
Jesus will return to judge both the living and the dead and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. (John 14:1-3, Acts 1:10-11, Act 10:39-42, 1 Peter 4:5)
Holy Spirit
We believe:
The Holy Spirit is the active presence of God in the world and resides within every Christian. (Matthew 28:19, John 14:15-17, John 16:5-15, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:38, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Timothy 1:14)
The Holy Spirit empowers Christians for works of service (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
The Holy Spirit empowers us to live Christ-like lives (Galatians 5:22-25)
Holy Bible
We believe:
In the Bible as God's Holy Scripture, without error in its original form and inspired by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13, 2 Timothy 3:14-16, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
In the Bible as the final authority for all matters of faith and practice, and realize that it is profitable for teaching, correction, instruction and equipping the saints. (Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 5:18, Matthew 24:35, Romans 15:4, Hebrews 4:12, 2 John 1:9)
That the Bible teaches that man, created by God, willfully sinned against God and as a result is lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12, Romans 3:23)
Salvation
We believe:
Salvation and the forgiveness of sins come only by grace from God and are made possible through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 26:28, Romans 5:9, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7)
The Bible teaches that to receive Christ as Savior one must believe in Jesus Christ as God's Son, and as Lord and Savior of the world; confess Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior; repent of your sins; be baptized into Christ through immersion in water; and continue to grow and live in Christ. (Romans 5:1-2, Matthew 10:32, Luke 24:45-47, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, 17:30, Romans 10:9, Romans 6:1-7, Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:12, 1 Peter 3:21, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 John 4:15-16).
Eternity
We believe:
Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. When Christ returns, He will formally pronounce the eternal fate of each individual, both living and dead. The saved will be assigned eternal life in Heaven with God, the unsaved/lost, eternal separation from God in Hell. (Daniel 12:2, John 5:28-29, John 6:39, Romans 8:10-11, Hebrews 9:27-28)
Church Unity & Leadership
We believe:
The Church is the body and the bride of Christ, founded on the day of Pentecost, consisting of all Christians everywhere. (Matthew 16:13-18, Acts 2:14-47, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31)
Jesus is the Head of the Church, His body, and that each Christian is a part of it. (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:11-13, Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:15-18)
The Elders are to exercise authority over the local congregation. (Acts 20:28, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Peter 5:14)
Lord's Supper
We believe:
The early church joined together for the Lord's Supper (Communion) on the first day of the week as a memorial to our Savior Jesus Christ, to fellowship with Christ and each other in the breaking of bread and to celebrate God's gift to us through His son's death, burial and resurrection. (Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7, Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:26)
Stewardship
We believe:
Members of the body of Christ should strive to be stewards of God's blessings as they totally commit themselves to Jesus Christ. They recognize that everything they have belongs to God and that God's Word teaches about financial giving to the church. (Malachi 3:10, 1 Corinthians 9:6-8)
Marriage/Sexuality
We believe:
Marriage was established by God and defined in Scripture as the exclusive covenantal union of one man and one woman in which such union is a lifetime commitment. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:21-33)
God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged outside of this marriage covenant.
God created humankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)
Any form of sexual immorality is sinful and offensive to God. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:24-27, Leviticus 18:22)