History

Our History

In the summer of 1999, a team of five families moved to the Philadelphia area to start five separate Churches. Known as the Nehemiah Project, this mission is the beginning of a vision that was started by the following groups:

  • North American Mission Board 
  • Pennsylvania/South Jersey Baptist Convention
  • The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
  • The Greater Philadelphia Baptist Association

When the birth of this vision was made public, my wife and I felt lead to inquire the possibilities of joining in what God is doing in Pennsylvania.

After going through assessments and praying through the process, we were commissioned and trained to start a Church in Pennsylvania. Throughout this process God began to plant His vision for this Church on the hearts of His people. By the time we moved to Pennsylvania, the purpose of the Church had been established: Riverside Community Church is a body of believers who, through their commitment to Jesus Christ, boldly penetrate the culture of the community in which they live, work, and play with the love of Christ and the message of the gospel so that society, as a whole, will be changed.

With the vision on our hearts and minds, God brought us to Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. We began small in number, just my wife and I! However, as we began to seek God's face and watch where He was working, doors began to open. We met our worship leader a couple of months down the road. He joined our core group. The three of us began to meet weekly for prayer and Bible study.

Soon afterwards, I began coaching at the YMCA. It was through this involvement that I met the executive director of the YMCA, who willingly offered their facilities for a Tuesday night Bible study. Through word of mouth and God's providence, our core group grew. In March we began planning for our preview services. Mission teams from Kentucky and South Carolina came ready to serve. They handed out 14,000 door hangers, informing people in the community of our beginnings. We followed up with another 25,000 piece mail-out letting everyone know about a series of services that would be held in April at the new Regal 22 Cinema.

On April 9th, we had our first preview service. What a morning to remember!! The day before it was a pleasant 75. The next morning we woke up to a blizzard!! In the midst of fear and doubt, God showed Himself once again. Seventy people joined us for the service, and we met some wonderful new people. Since we began our preview services, the Lord continues to bring people who are ready to serve and hungry to hear. Our core group continues to grow. The Lord is preparing His leaders. We originally had the intention of having services once a month in the summer as we prepare for our launch in the Fall. However, God has other plans. It was mentioned to us that there is a desire to meet weekly during the summer. Because of the excitement about what God is doing, people have joined together to make it possible! The Lord continues to bless Riverside because He is at work in this community.

Riverside officially launched as a church on October 15, 2000. Our first service attracted 179 people. From this beginning, Riverside has grown to average over 250 on Sunday mornings and has expanded to small groups and intense study times called Expedition. We have developed several new ministries and brought on two full-time pastors to help meet the needs of a fast growing church.

God has so much in store for us as a church, and we anticipate the mighty things He is going to do in our midst. You will not be disappointed!

This is only the beginning of an incredible movement of God. We believe that He has amazing things in store for all of us. Our prayer is that as Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself, and transformation will sweep across this community and throughout this nation. We watch with anticipation as to what will happen next. We can't wait to tell you the rest of the story.......