The story of River of Life begins about 160 years ago in the woods of North Alfred. The church, then known as "North Alfred Baptist" existed for many years and stood as a beacon of light for the Gospel in the Alfred community. Over the past 10-20 years, we've come to believe that there is a calling for us in the urban area of Sanford and that's why we've picked up and moved into town. It's here that we have put down our roots for over two years now and have seen just how wonderful it is to call ourselves a part of this community. Not only does our weekly worship gathering meet here in Sanford, but we also host a drop-in center called The Shed. The Shed is a spot for various activities for young people during the week, as well as adult gatherings for encouragement and growth in life. We desire to continue to grow in our understanding what it means to be an active part of our community. We want to invest ourselves in such a way that is faithful to the Gospel of Christ and positively transformational for us and the lives of those around us. It's His Story that is central to our story. His story provides us the context through which we relate to and understand life in the midst of whatever culture or situation we find ourselves. It's because of Christ and His Story that we believe in viewing life holistically; in other words, that God and His redemptive work in the world should motivate and guide every area of our life, and cause us to be spiritual, communal, and missional people.

Spiritual- the heart of our lives and everything we do ought to be centered on the relationship we have with God. He is the cause of life and redeemer of our lives and all of Creation. As stated above, His grand story of humanity and creation continues to be lived out as He continues to draw people into His loving plan for newness of life. His example of living set forth in the Life of Christ is our standard for how we are seeking to live, although we continually are falling short just like everybody else, everything in our lives ought to flow out of our growing, dynamic relationship with our Creator.

Communal- God has designed humans to live and related to one another. It's through Christ's Church, the world-wide, universal body of believers who call on the Name of Jesus and are committed to following Him that God has provided the community of faith. Our understanding of God and His grace comes not only through individual, personal relationships with Him, but through our interaction with Him as a community of believers. Local churches (which we are just one) provide a tangible, neighborhood place for people to come together and seek a growing relationship with God while learning from Him and one another how to live on this earth. This leads us to our last point, being missional...

Missional-how we live on earth is, again, guided by the example we see in the life of Christ, a life full of Grace and Truth (John 1:17). One of the main parts of living according to His example (because we love Him) is the communicating of God's love for others by our words and actions. What does this mean? Jesus sent out His followers to proclaim the Good News of His life, death, resurrection, and imminent return (a mission-Matthew 28). He also told us to live our lives in such a way that our actions and words imitate Him, and therefore, speak plainly of what kind of person He is and the love He has for all humanity (Matthew 5). We wake up in the morning and go to bed at night a sent people. It's the community of faith (the church) being an active part of the the community at large, investing ourselves in the lives of our neighbors. So, in essence, we are seeking to live in love and for people to see God's character in us. Again, we're human just like anyone else, so we rely on His grace to empower us to love others, and to forgive us when we mess it up.

What's your story? We'd love to hear about it, where you're from, where your journey of life and faith has led you. Come join us sometime and share your story.

If you're interested in visiting us, find out when, where, and for what purpose we meet at our weekly gatherings page. Thanks for reading!