Our Culture
Every congregation has a different look and feel, a different culture. Even congregations with similar mission statements and core values may have different cultures.
Different congregations emphasize different ministry areas, have a different demographic makeup, or hold services in different languages. The list below is intended to help you better understand RCC’s culture – our look and feel.
Learn more by listening to Pastor Mark Coffin’s Sermon on what the Culture of Riverside Community should look like
Expository teaching: Primarily we teach through books and sections of Scripture in order to understand Scripture historically, culturally, and in context.
Every member is a minister: Every Christ-follower is gifted uniquely and called to serve God and others.
Importance of relationships: God is a relational being. We serve God and each other within the context of relationships.
Encouraging people in their walk with God: We seek to encourage and support individuals as God uniquely draws them closer to Christ. We encourage people in their own personal pursuit of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Helping people pursue health in their relationships: We seek to help people build and strengthen relationships. We seek to bring God’s unique healing and reconciliation to broken relationships.
Who people are, is more important than what they do: Our focus is on individuals rather than what they might accomplish.
Development of men as Godly leaders: We seek to develop men who lead in a Godly manner in all aspects of life. In our western culture it is not uncommon for men to take a passive role within the church, family, and society rather than function within their roles as God would desire. We refer to this as Male Passivity Disorder, or MPD.
Building strong and Godly families: We seek to be family-sensitive in every area of ministry. We welcome children and students with adults during times of group worship.
The next generation: We purposefully pursue the next generation for Christ.
God’s leadership: Our leadership desires to be led and directed by God. The elders seek God’s leadership through prayer, reflection, listening, and by sharing with each other what God lays upon our hearts. We use unanimity in decision making by the elders.
Godly stewardship: We encourage intentional stewardship of our time, spiritual gifts, money, and other resources as part of our daily worship of God.
Missions involvement through relationships: We partner with missionaries with whom we have relationships. We do this through prayer support, financial support, other resources, and on-site trips. We desire to help people grow as Christ-followers by creating opportunities to experience missions first-hand.