Our Mission Statement
River Of Life Marshall is a Great Commission Church of the C&MA: existing to know Christ and to make Him known by reaching people with the whole Gospel in our community , bringing them to faith in Jesus Christ, and making 
disciples that reflect the character and priorities of Jesus Christ.
1. Our primary focus is to be a Great Commission Church:
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Because Jesus is Lord of our lives, He has the authority to command us to make disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching. These are the primary core values of our church plant:
In order to make disciples that reflect the character and priorities of Jesus Christ, we must:
A. First, we must go. We must go first to our families, our friends, our neighbors our community. We have a core value of evangelism to our circles of influence. We will go and share the good news by speaking and by living the Gospel to those people all around us.
B. Next, we must baptize. This is a both a literal and metaphorical term, meaning that we must invite people to not just know about Christ, but to commit to following Him with their lives. This decision is symbolized by believer’s baptism.
C. Finally, we must teach. We must teach the Word of God in its entirety in a way that inspires the desire to follow Him with our whole hearts.
2. In order to make disciples, we must be willing to know him. Our next value has to do with worship. We believe that to get to truly know Christ, we dedicate our whole lives to him as an act of worship:
1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)
2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
We must live and model an active worship in our lives, for not only is this pleasing to God, but it is attractive to those who do not know Him. If we do not worship Him by loving and knowing His Word, and by seeking Him daily in prayer, we will not have His priorities first in our lives. We must set aside time for daily, personal communion with God, as well as corporate worship opportunities.
3. Our next priority is to make Jesus known. It seems cliché to say that the only Jesus people may ever see is you, but it is true. To make Jesus known means to love God first, and to love people-love them enough to share with them the whole Gospel. It also means loving them and ministering to them wherever they are in life.
Romans 1:16 (NIV)
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Being not ashamed of the Gospel means that the life you live lines up with the words you speak and the faith you claim. We believe that the power of God is given us through the Holy Spirit to be able to live the Christian life and proclaim the Good News to all whom we can.
4. Our focus is first on the people who do not have a relationship with Jesus within our community of Marshall. Jesus was very specific in his words in Acts 1:8:
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We recognize that the power to reach our ‘Jerusalem’ comes from the Holy Spirit. We know that no one will come to the Father unless He draws them, but we also know that we are responsible to giving the whole Gospel message- "ye must be BORN AGAIN" -to our friends, our neighbors, and our contacts in the Marshall area. By the grace of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can accomplish this goal.
5. We recognize that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and it is a major priority to invite people into a faith relationship with Jesus Christ.
John 3:3 (NIV)
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
We desire that all men might know him, so the Gospel Ministry will be the major focus of this ministry in Marshall. We will proclaim the truth of the Gospel to all who will hear, and we will, by the Grace of God, lead people into a redemptive relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
6. Finally, we desire to be a church that reflects Jesus’ character and His priorities. Jesus is not willing that any should perish. He also proclaimed to us the Great Commission. We are not sent here to simply sit on our hands; we are called into His fields. So, River of Life Church, as one of its core values, will equip people to find and use their gifts to build up the church in the county, the state, the country, and the world in which we live. We desire plant a church within 24 months of our launch, and, God willing, to continue that trend every year until the Gospel is preached to the ends of the earth:
Matthew 24:14 (NIV)
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
We believe that the best model that we can follow from the scripture is Acts 2:42-47:
Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
We envision a church fellowship that:
Ø Devotes themselves to the teaching of the Word and fellowship. This will be done through small groups as well as the Sunday worship service.
Ø Practices regular corporate and individual prayer times for the needs of the church here and around the world.
Ø Shares with those who are less fortunate, helping people as they have need.
Ø Regular meeting and fellowship throughout the community- not just in a church building.
Ø Sharing of common experiences; meals together, activities that build fellowship and times of shared fun together.
Ø Times of regular and celebratory corporate worship and praise
Ø Intentionally presents Gospel truths to any and all who will listen.
Ø Understands that the work is ours, but the result is up to the LORD
