Men’s and Women’s Ministries

The men’s ministry encourages men to grow in their relationship with God, build up relationships with one another, and to serve God by serving others in love. The women’s ministry provides opportunities for women to connect with one another and to build stronger relationships in Christ.


Both ministries regularly organize opportunities for fellowship. Men’s activities include: barbeques, group dinners, baseball and football games, tailgate parties, board game nights, and golfing. Women’s activities include: dinners in one another’s homes, game and movie nights, and painting nights.


The men’s and women’s ministries each hold retreats at Zephyr Cove in Lake Tahoe. Year after year, these have proved to be great times of fellowship and growth.


Both ministries maintain email lists they utilize to send requests for prayer and opportunities to provide resources for those in need. 

Youth

Ministry

The youth ministry works to connect youth to Christ through four types of events:


Come – Large group outreach events, where the goal is for youth to feel comfortable in a church setting.


Come and grow – Weekly youth group meeting with Bible study.


Come and be discipled – A 12-week discipleship program, for one hour a week, made up of three students and one adult mentor; relationships are built and the basic tenets of Christianity are explored.


Come and serve – A training program to develop youth leaders.

First Connections

First Connections is our ministry to help people feel welcome when they come to River Life. It organizes greeters who connect with people as they come through the doors on Sunday mornings and has recently expanded to include light refreshments and games after the church service. These elements are fostering greater fellowship on Sundays.

Supper Clubs

Supper clubs were designed to cultivate deeper relationships at River Life. Individuals and families who sign up are split into groups and take turns hosting meals for their group once a month. Supper clubs have been a great way for people of different ages, both longtime and newer attendees, to get to know each other better.

Worship Ministry

The worship ministry exists to assist people in experiencing and desiring the grace, presence, and work of God in their daily lives. It is currently overseen by our lay pastor of worship arts. Worship is led by a rotation of leaders and other musicians in the congregation who volunteer to sing and play instruments. In addition, volunteers work to operate the sound system and the visual components during the service.


Both youth and adults volunteer in our worship ministry, further fostering the intergenerational relationships at River Life. The Leadership Team plans to hire a part-time worship leader in the future.

Children's Ministry - The Greenhouse

River Life’s children’s ministry, The Greenhouse, is led by our children’s ministry director and facilitated by adult and teenage volunteers. The Greenhouse is made up of programs for children from birth through sixth grade. Childcare for children under preschool age is available for the entire Sunday morning service, while children preschool-aged through sixth grade join their families in the service for worship and are then dismissed, with a church-wide blessing, to their programs.


The children’s ministry works to grow children’s personal relationship with Jesus through weekly Bible lessons and discussion, scripture reading and memorization, and community building.

Common Hope

Common Hope works with families in Guatemala to provide resources they need to achieve better lives. Common Hope offers education support programs, healthcare programs and access to social workers that connect families with services. Through their housing program, families can earn a home and housing improvements.


River Life began its partnership with Common Hope in 2014. Over the years we have sent groups of 10-15 people to Guatemala for week-long trips to work on service projects.

World Relief

World Relief is a Christian non-profit organization that resettles refugees in the Sacramento area. Sacramento is currently the largest recipient of refugees in the U.S. The city welcomed over 5,000 refugees in 2017, the majority of whom were special immigrant visa holders who served alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan.


Two River Life members work for World Relief, and many more have volunteered their time to welcome refugee families through airport pickups, furnishing refugees’ apartments, offering driving lessons and English tutoring, etc. We believe that welcoming refugees in our community heeds Jesus’s call of welcoming the stranger, and we are excited to show Jesus’s love to our new neighbors. Several of our congregation members also came to the U.S. as refugees.