Our Mission
Life Together
With Jesus:
God desires a relationship with us. The Scriptures make this clear from the first pages of Genesis through the final strokes of the pen in Revelation where Jesus promises to come again and make all things new. In fact, one of his names, Immanuel (God with us), conveys his intention to be with us always.
His words of invitation to relationship are found throughout the pages of the Gospel: “Abide in me and remain in my love”, “Come”, “Take and eat”, and “Follow me”. Jesus, God in the flesh, left himself open to us through these invitations. His life, death, and resurrection demonstrated his commitment to seek us, restore our brokenness, and send us out into the world. In the process, he wraps us in his love that we might learn to give it away.
At Riverside, we seek to be open to life with Jesus as a way of responding to his persistent, open-hearted invitations to us. We depend upon the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ gift to us, to empower this “With-Jesus” life. The Holy Spirit enables us to live the reality of Christ residing in us. Since we have this closeness with Christ through the Spirit, we rely on the Holy Spirit to remind us of all Jesus taught: his way of being, his truth, and his great love for us.
Biblical references:
Matthew 4:19; Matthew 11:29; Luke 6:12; Luke 18:1; John 14:26; John 15:9-14; John 21:15-16; 1 Cor. 2:10-12
With each other:
We were made in God’s image for relationship with God and with one another. Throughout Scripture, we see invitation after invitation to encourage one another, to bear each other’s burdens, to ask for forgiveness and extend forgiveness to each other, to not give up meeting together–the list goes on!
At Riverside, you’re invited into our family. Life is full of all sorts of experiences, and no matter what you are experiencing, we welcome you. We share the hard stuff, the joyful stuff, and the everyday stuff of life. Part of what makes our church family unique is how much we genuinely like each other and aspire to love each other well as Jesus modeled for us. In pursuing “life together”, we seek to develop relationships that extend beyond our building’s walls. Our vision is to create opportunities for people to share life in countless ways—camping, volunteering, studying, cooking and eating, working on house projects, helping with homework—together. We delight in the ways our members engage with one another.
We were made to be in community. As we navigate the everyday stuff of life—the mundane, the challenging, the wonderful—we do it together.
Biblical references:
Gen. 1:27; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 2:42, 44-47; Romans 12:10; Colossians 3:12-14
With our neighbors:
The abundant life that Jesus offers is meant to be shared beyond the church building. Just as God blessed Abraham in order to bless the nations, Jesus calls upon us to be a conduit of God’s goodness to our community and the world.
Service to our community is not merely a special project; it stems from a love for our community that is woven into the fabric of our lives. God has blessed us with local resources and relationships that we choose to fill with God’s presence, freely sharing our talents, knowledge, money, and possessions. As God makes all things new, we partner with Him in Greater Lafayette to effect irresistible change through the love of Christ.
We also recognize that God’s work is expansive and encompasses the entire world. As such, we foster partnerships with individuals and organizations in countries around the globe to further God’s kingdom. Our focus is on long-term relationships and the organic developments that grow from them. We know that making God’s kingdom a reality is not a matter of programming; it is a matter of faithful obedience to wherever God calls us.
Biblical references:
Genesis 12:3b; John 10:10; Matthew 28:19-20; Matthew 5:14-16; Revelation 21:5