We are community of Jesus followers with a call to fulfill the scriptural command of Isaiah 61; to preach the Good News to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, and to set the captives free. We envision a place where people are free from their strongholds, where they are being restored to God’s original design for their life. A community free to fulfill the ministry of reconciliation; free to bring the Lord the glory He deserves.

We are a place of refuge. A place of freedom. A place of healing.

We believe that discipleship is Jesus’ primary means of advancing the Kingdom of God. He modelled discipleship through the way he relationally taught his disciples to obey his commands and then commissioned them to do the same. Our desire is to create environments where you can be relationally discipled and equipped to make disciples in a similar way.

We focus on 4 areas of discipleship: foundational discipleship, formational discipleship, vocational discipleship, and leadership development.

Our disciple-making ingredients: a commitment to teach truth, a context of community, a culture of obedience to Jesus, and a charge to reproduce.

Our desire is to experience God through the power of the Holy Spirit in a way that is consistent with what God has already revealed through Scripture. We want to carry a culture in everything we do that that is both radically Word-based and radically Spirit-led.

We hold a high view of the Bible as the true, authoritative, and inspired Word of God. We also believe in an active involvement of the Holy Spirit, who empowers the church for the work of the ministry. We recognize the sometimes felt-tension between the Word and the Spirit, where the church has often compromised proper handling of the Word in order to pursue the Spirit’s power or has used the Word as means of reigning in spiritual passion and the use of spiritual gifts. At River of Life, there is regular teaching on how to read the Bible, hearing God’s voice, and the gifts of the Spirit. We provide on-going training for our prayer team and have clear protocols for operating in spiritual gifts during our services and as a part of community.

We believe in the regional or “city-wide” church. We believe we are stronger when we work together and celebrate the diversity and unique giftings of local congregations. These relational partnerships allow us to have a broader view of what God is doing and a broader reach of influence locally, nationally, and internationally. They also allow us to focus on what we do well while reaching out to team with others in their areas of strength and giftedness.

Local partnerships we are currently connected to: Messenger Fellowship,  Harvest Net, YWAM Akron, Made to Flourish, Lionshare, F.L.O.W., Indwell Discipleship