At River City Church, we believe vision and values go hand in hand. Vision determines the direction and destination of the church, and values determine the culture. We want to be a community shaped by the story of scripture, practicing the way of Jesus, led by the power of the Holy Spirit, and extending the Kingdom of God through the church.

We embrace certain distinctive values that help capture who we are and who we want to be as a church family. This is different from our statement of faith—it has more to do with culture and perspective. They remind us what we are for, and to what we give our time, energy, and resources. While this list is extensive, it is not exhaustive. It is presented in no particular order.

We are a people of Word and Spirit. Often times it is Word OR Spirit. Our desire is to know the Word of God, do what it says, and experience the way of living it describes, responding to the initiative and leading of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the biblical authors is living inside the believer.

We are committed to the least, the last and the lost. We remember the poor, standup for the vulnerable and love those on the margins of society, both locally and globally. We pursue those who are lost and away from God, because we believe on encounter with Him will change everything.

We live by faith, not by sight. We live today according to God’s promises, even though we cannot see them, and not according to the temporary, arbitrary things that our eyes so often focus on here on earth. God’s reality supercedes what we can see and feel in the temporal.

We embrace our weakness. We know that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Our weakness leads us to depend on Him and continually submit to God, asking Him to do what only He can do, through us. When we know we are weak, then His strength is made perfect.

We prioritize prayer as our way of abiding in relationship with Jesus. We believe that God responds to prayer, and as we can cry out in Jesus’ name, he will answer us. Our conviction is that everything we do must be covered in prayer so that we will see eternal spiritual fruit and not just results.

We worship God whole-heartedly and freely both individually and in community. As we worship, open the Scriptures, and pursue the work of the Holy Spirit, we come into God’s presence with a true sense of celebration and expectancy.

We bestow honor on one another, recognizing, affirming, and empowering the special purposes and gifts God has given each person. It is easy to act out of envy, gossip or sarcasm, but we choose a “better way” of thinking, speaking and acting toward each other, honor.

We choose “Life in the Round”. No Christian or church is perfect, including ours, but we strive toward becoming more mature in the faith and living in deeper unity together. “Life in the round” is the way we live out the biblical mandate to be “devoted to fellowship.” Community is messy, but love covers a multitude of sins.

As we participate in City Groups, ministries to men and women, etc, we are presented with an opportunity to grow in the way of King Jesus, together.