The order of worship will be carefully prepared and designed to lead the congregation to heartily focus upon God's majestic character and His great works, both in history and on our behalf in Christ.

Worship shall include singing, public praying, Scripture reading, giving, preaching, remembering the Lord in communion, and sharing in fellowship with one another. We seek to do all things "decently and in order" as a reflection of God's own character (1 Cor 14:33,40).

Understanding that God's word is necessary to people's spiritual health and growth (Matt 4:4; John 17:17), and central to equipping them for effective service and evangelism (Eph 4:11-13; 2 Tim 3:16-17), our Sunday services give priority to "expository preaching"--preaching which both clearly explains and powerfully applies the Bible to people's lives. This will usually be done in a verse by verse manner, preaching consecutively through a book of the Bible.

We believe that the biblical pattern is for the church to gather together primarily for worship and edification, and to scatter for evangelism by being 'salt' and 'light' in the world (Matt 5:13-16).

Baptism is commanded of all believers in Jesus Christ (Mt 28:18-20) and will be by immersion.

Believers’ baptism is a public declaration and confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Communion will be celebrated monthly with a special focus in the morning service.

The church shall be led by a plurality of godly men who are qualified as elders according to the qualities listed in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9, who are committed to the role of servant leadership as exemplified in the person of Christ and as commanded in 1 Pet 5:1-4, and who are in agreement with the RCBC Statements of Faith and Practice, and its Theological Distinctives.

The church will follow the directions of Mt 18:15-20/Titus 3:9-11 with regard to the discipline of professing believers who continue unrepentant in sin.

The purpose of such discipline is to lovingly restore the sinning believer to the place of obedience, fruitfulness, and blessing, and to preserve the purity and testimony of Christ's church.

We teach that while both men and women are equal in God's sight, they nevertheless possess differing God-given roles.

God gives spiritual gifts (including teaching) to both men and women in order for them to make valuable contributions of service to the body of Christ, but has limited the roles of public teacher in the assembled church and elder to men only (1 Tim 2:11-15; 1 Tim 3:1-7). The concept of equal persons fulfilling different roles is exemplified even among the three Persons of the Trinity (1 Cor 11:3). This position is known as Biblical Complementarity. The Danvers Statement, published in 1988 by a group of evangelical scholars, describes well the importance and distinctives of Biblical teaching on this issue, and is available online.

A blend of both traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs expressing accurate Scriptural truth will be used each Sunday for worship.

Musical accompaniment will be in a contemporary style with a variety of musical instruments.

Membership at River City Bible Church (for the purpose of mutual edification and pastoral support) is open to all believers in Jesus Christ who have been baptized, who affirm the RCBC Statement of Faith, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord.

 

The inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency of the Scriptures for life, godliness, and ministry

Ps 19:7-14; 1 Tim 3:14-15; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:3

The pursuit of knowing and loving the character of God

Isa 40:10-31; John 17:3; Col 1:15-20; 1 Tim 1:11; 6:13-16

The headship of Jesus Christ over His church

Matt 16:18; Eph 1:22-23; Rev 1:9-3:22

The ministry of the Holy Spirit

Jn 16:5-16; Rom 15:13; 1 Cor 12:4-7; 2 Cor 3:18; Gal 5:22-26; Eph 4:3-4

The centrality of the gospel to the life of the church

Rom 1:16-17; 1 Cor 15:1-8; Gal 1:6-9; Phil 1:27-28; 2 Tim 1:8-11

The necessity of grace for salvation, sanctification, and service

1 Cor 15:9-10; Phil 2:12-13; 4:13; Col 1:28-29;1 Tim 1:12-17

The importance of Biblical love

John 13:34-35; 1 Cor 13:1-13; 1 Pet 1:22-23; 1 John 4:7-12

The requirement of faith for salvation, christian living and service

Rom 1:17; 2 Cor 5:7; Gal 2:20; 5:5-6; 1 Thess 1:3; 1 Tim 1:3-4

The recognition of the church's involvement in spiritual warfare

2 Cor 2:11; 4:3-4; Eph 6:10-20; 1 Thess 2:17-18; 3:5; 1 Pet 5:8-11

The priority and necessity of prayer in all things

Acts 6:4; Eph 3:14-21, 6:18-20; 1 Thess 5:18; 1 Tim 2:1-4

1 Genuine Worship

2 Expository Preaching

3 Dependant Prayer

4 Servant Leadership

5 Sound Doctrine

6 Committed Evangelism

7 Supportive Discipleship

8 Personal Holiness

9 Authentic Fellowship

10 Biblical Counselling