Mission Statement

The identity of Riverside Baptist Church is centered in its understanding of God’s call as the body of Christ in the world.  As the body of Christ, we are an open and affirming community of believers without regard for race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, gender, or disability, all with a diversity of gifts and experiences united under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  As the continuing presence of Christ in the world, we seek to share the grace, peace, joy, and hope of God with all people.

This mission is carried out through faithfulness in the primary disciplines of the Christian life set forth in Acts 2:37-47.  These disciplines include education, worship, fellowship, and missions.  Each church member and the congregation, as a whole, are responsible for practicing and providing these disciplines.  Only through faithful practice of these disciplines will the church achieve the maturity of faith necessary to represent Christ in the world.

Four biblical principles serve as guides in carrying out the mission of the church.  First, Jesus Christ is the defining reality for the grace which we seek to share.  Second, each person is called upon to share who he or she is and what he or she possesses in accomplishing the common good.  Third, the grace of Christ is shared freely with all people without discrimination.  Fourth, we are guided by the first and second commandments which Jesus identified as encompassing all laws, to love God and one’s neighbor as oneself.