Riverlife Church is a multi-ethic church based in Austin TX, reaching the nations in the city and the world with the gospel of Christ.
SHORT HISTORY
We started as Filipino Christian Fellowship – a gathering of mostly Filipino believers in Christ for Worship, a bible study group that met on Sunday afternoons to hear God’s Word, for Worship, for Prayer, and Fellowship in 2012. In 2014 we became a 501c3 church plant of the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention (SBTC) with the mission to reach the 1st and 2nd generation Filipino-Americans in the city.
In the last few years our membership has become more ethnically diverse, hence we changed our name to Riverlife Church with a mission to reach the nations who are now in Austin TX. Because of this, our worship service, Riverlife Groups is in English.
Our in-person and live-stream service, small groups, one-to-one discipleship, and our partnership with missionaries abroad allow us to reach more people and the world with the gospel as well as train leaders. Check our Facebook page (Riverlife Austin Facebook Page). Some of our members have their own ministry reaching to their friends and family online with the gospel outside of Austin.
SUNDAY WORSHIP
On Sundays, our members come from all over the city and the surrounding areas to worship together here at South Austin. Another like-hearted church (Pleasant Hill BC) has graciously allowed us to use their facilities in the afternoon at 3:00 PM for our Sunday gathering.
We meet in-person every Sunday at – 6709 Circle S Rd Austin TX 78745.We’ll be meeting on a new timeslot soon (10:30 AM starting December 5, 2021)
BEYOND Spectators
Most of our members have committed to giving their Sundays to the Lord – anyone who attends our church has the option to attend worship and leave after. Our Sunday worship lasts only for 1.5 hrs.
But they can also choose to stay for the fellowship meal and connect with other people, attend classes and training, and do other activities after the worship service. This is the first step to genuine fellowship and getting involved.
Every believer has a role and a purpose in the body of Christ, no one is merely a spectator, everyone is in fact minister of the gospel (Ephesians 4:11-12).
PREACHING – Sunday Gathering
On Sundays, we worship through music, through the preaching of God’s Word, through prayer, and through fellowship. The preaching of God’s Word is vital to the spiritual growth of a believer and the church as a whole for God’s Word is the “bread of life”, it also unifies the church for the mission our Lord Jesus Christ has called us to do for it requires the entire body of Christ (the church) to fulfill this mission (The Great Commission – Matthew 28:19-20). We follow Jesus’ example as he preached to the crowds.
TEACHING – Riverlife Groups
Our small groups called Riverlife Groups meet in our homes around Austin for worship, for the teaching of God’s Word, and for prayer and fellowship during weekdays. This is like a platoon, where we establish genuine fellowship , friendship, support among believers.
A setting where you can study and discuss God’s Word, ask questions which normally can’t be done on a Sunday gathering. This is following Jesus’ example of teaching the 12 disciples. In fact some of Jesus’ greatest teachings started with a question from his disciples (the teaching on prayer in Matthew 6).
TRAINING – Discipleship
We are also in process of growing our 1:1 discipleship ministry which we believe is how believers are trained on the fundamental disciplines of the Christian faith. The spiritual disciplines of a believer are what it means to follow Christ, to walk with him daily. This includes prayer, meditation of God’s Word, confession of sins, fellowship with other believers, sharing your faith to others, and walking in step with the Holy Spirit.