Weekend Services

The primary gathering for Riv’s people is the weekend service. We’re a multi-site church, meeting in different venues around the greater Lansing area. It’s at these venues that many people first encounter the concept of becoming sacrificial Followers of Jesus. Our weekend services aim to have these elements:

Aggressively Biblical: We believe the Word of God is our ultimate authority on issues of life and faith. To the extent that the Bible is clear on issues, we stand firm. In areas where there is more “gray,” we allow for difference of opinion to promote Christian unity.

Culturally Fluid: Culture will always be in a state of flux. We are committed to engaging culture as a fellow traveler, learning from it, and challenging it when necessary. Our goal is to exhibit a discerning but friendly relationship with the culture around us. We desire to connect the message of Jesus to our culture and to that end, we actively seek connection points wherever we may find them.

Multi-Generational: Our services offer an opportunity for people of different generations to connect with each other. To this end, we remember that there are people at different life stages present at these gatherings. We “cross-pollinate” generations by encouraging different age groups to serve together during our weekend services and in other ministries.

Focused on Teens, College Students, and Young Families: While maintaining a multi-generation make-up, we aggressively focus on young people. When planning the elements of our weekend services, we look primarily at these generations. This requires a delicate balance of focusing on the young while encouraging those older than our target to become part of reaching a younger generation. To this end, we value the experience of our older generations while catering to the stylistic preferences of the younger generations.

Dynamic Children’s Ministry: RivKids, our children’s ministry is a vital part of our vision at Riverview. Many people first encounter Christianity at a young age and their attitudes toward Jesus are shaped greatly by these experiences. We seek to foster an environment in which kids, teachers, and parents are all excited to learn and grow in their relationships with Jesus.

Accepting, Patient, and Compassionate to Those at Various Stages of Faith: We recognize that people attending our weekend services will be coming from very different places in their walks with Jesus. It is our desire to create an atmosphere that allows people to connect with Jesus without an “Us vs. Them” attitude. We will seek to be sensitive to people who are looking for different levels of connection.

Artistic: We use the arts both as a way of communicating truth and exploring our faith. We encourage the creation of original music, visual arts, digital arts, written word, and other creative expressions. As much as we are able, we incorporate this art into our services and publicly value this expression of the body.

Classes that Meet a Variety of Needs: Through RivU, we seek to provide ongoing theological education and life skills training to those in our church who desire them. Through classes, mentoring relationships, internships, and other venues, we raise up leaders within the chuch. In this way, we train our members and raise up pastors and leaders from witin Riverview both for local ministry and church plants.