The River Church

Today we visited the River Church. It was my BFF Jan's birthday and we spent the morning together and then went to lunch. There are so many church plants popping up all over Asheville and I am such a church geek. I used to read about all different kinds of churches when I was on staff at Covenant. But because I was on staff and had to be there every Sunday, I couldn't go check them out, but now I do have that opportunity.

We enjoy the Underground. I love to hear Kevin speak. He is a very talented teacher and you can tell he is anointed; however, we haven't really connected there. Most of the women (not all, but most) are at a totally different life stage than I am and most of the guys are at a different life stage than Mike. We have some really good friends that we met at Covenant and we were all at the same stage in life. It's hard to socialize with people that have little kids because Brooklyn always ends up entertaining them (and she resents that). She likes us having friends that have kids her age.

Likes about the River:

They are reaching outside to others. They are doing bedrolls for the homeless. They are sending money to Nicaragua to buy a wheelchair for a woman that has cerebral palsy.

They communicate well. They send a newsletter out via email. Their website is informative. They have a new visitor packet.

They are friendly. We were welcomed by several different people and not just the pastor.

For what they are doing I liked the way they did music. They didn't have people bring in instruments and try to put together a band.

Dislikes:

They don't start on time. Sunday is the biggest day we get to spend as a family and with friends. I work. My time is valuable. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I do think that my time should be valued and if you are going to start at 10:30 then you should start then.

The preaching style was more Baptist. This is just a personal preference for me - I like a more conversational style of message.

The way they do music. Wow, a like and dislike. I just like a band to worship with; however, I do think it works for what they are doing.

Just my perception.