Senior High -
Come prepared for a great year of connecting with God and each other! Meet us in the Warehouse.

Starts September 1 - on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm
(doors open at 7:00 )

Junior High -
One Way is a group for junior high students who want to know more about The Way, The Truth and The Life... and get smashed in the face with dodgeballs!

Starts September 12  - on Sundays @ 6:00 pm... be there!!!

The Crossing -
The Crossing is an after school ministry of The River Community Church to current 4 - 6th graders. Our purpose is to provide a community of encouragement to nurture faith and good character.
We are going to have a blast playing games, eating snacks together and generally discussing what we believe our relationship is with God, others and this world.

Starts September 2nd - on Thursdays from 2: 00 - 3:30 pm

Please contact me with questions.
stevengood@rivercommunitychurch.org

The Grand Opening of the Big White House at 1246 12th Ave in Coralville is this Sunday, July 4th!
From 1-4 p.m. we will have free BBQ (with vegetarian options), live music, yard games, and house tours. 

At 3 p.m. there will be a formal Dedication Ceremony (including Coralville Mayor Jim Fausett) and free raffle. 
Then at 4 p.m. we invite you to join us for a worship service on the grounds.  

The entire BWH parking lot will be used for elderly and handicap parking, the rest can park at Hillside School or the field behind it.

Please come out and join us for this fun event!

Converge World Relief Funds Haiti Earthquake Projects

After the January 12th 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Port-au-Prince and southern Haiti, the question everyone is asking relief agencies is, "What are you doing and how will my dollars be used?"

The Converge World Relief team has approved three initial projects, knowing there will be many long-term needs:

1. Temporary shelter (housing) and food for the families of five pastors who perished in the quake. These men were well-known by our Haiti ministries director (and Brooklyn, N.Y. pastor) Withny Pierre. Housing will be a critical matter in Port-au-Prince since a number of houses were destroyed last week.
2. Help families relocate to their home towns. Some are making it back to their villages and towns in the unaffected parts of Haiti at some distance from Port-au-Prince. Others have little resources to be able to extract themselves from the city.
3. Partner with a Christian clinic that is assisting victims of the quake.

Big White House Open House

Sunday, December 20th

1246 12th Ave. Coralville, IA

6:00 - 9:00 pm

Join us for a fun time together celebrating Christmas at The Big White House. See all the renovations as well as enjoy the season. There will be music and some treats to enjoy along with each other's company as we celebrate the season of Christ's birth!

Converge Christmas Eve
Hope Incarnate

Thursday, December 24th
@ The River Community Church
- 3301 Muscatine Ave. Iowa City, IA

4:00 - 5:00 pm

Come join The River and Genesis together with you and your friends and family for a candlelit service and special time together enjoying the celebration of Christ's birth. We'll see you there!

Due to the winter weather storm, The River office will be closed Wednesday, December 9th. See you on Thursday!

The River Community Church is the Iowa City Relay Center:

It's that time of year again to put together shoeboxes for needy children around the world! Go to www.samaritanspurse.org to get information on how to fill a shoebox for a child with needed supplies and toys or see below and then bring it back to The River during National Collection Week - Nov 16 - 23.

The Collection Dates and Times are listed at the end...

How to Pack a Shoe Box

1. SHOE BOX

Use an empty shoe box (standard size, please) or a small plastic container. You can wrap the box (lid separately), but wrapping is not required. Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift.

2. BOY OR GIRL?

Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child's age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Print out the appropriate boy/girl label by downloading the artwork. Mark the correct age category on the label, and tape the label to the top of your box.

3. FILL WITH GIFTS

Fill the box with a variety of gifts that will bring delight to a child.  Use the gift ideas provided on the bottom of this page.

4. INCLUDE YOUR DONATION

Please donate $7 or more for each shoe box you prepare to help cover shipping and other project costs. You can give online by using our EZGIVE option, or you can write a check to Samaritan's Purse (note "OCC" on memo line) and place it in an envelope on top of the gift items inside your box. If you or your family are preparing more than one shoe box, please make one combined donation.

5. DROP OFF

Place a rubber band around each closed shoe box and drop off at The River Community Church or the Collection Center nearest you during our collection week November 16 - 23. To find your nearest collection site click here!

GIFT IDEAS

TOYS
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS
toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER
Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE
In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)

DO NOT INCLUDE:
Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol can

Collection Dates and Times

You can now see what's going on at The River at the Converge facebook site. If you are already on facebook, look up Converge IowaCity and add it as a friend. Several others from Genesis and The River and their relatives and friends are there as well. Pictures, events, etc. are now added to that site. It's a great way to send out invites also. The pictures from the 60th Anniversary are there too. Happy surfing!

The River has lots of books to check out. And now, you can go to the resources page to see what they are without leaving the house. Just log in with your username and password and you'll be browsing before you know it. Don't have a login? Let us know, we'll help you get set up.

It's gonna be a great summer, expand your mind, read a book or two....

The River Community Church (formerly Bethany Baptist Church) Celebrated 60 years!

Here are some pictures from the banquet on Saturday evening, August 29th. About 170 attended, see if you can recognize some people you may know! The newest ones were taken by Millie - thanks for sending them in!

Sunday is The River Community Church's annual celebration. Here is the schedule for the day.

            Worship 9am

            Classes  10:15am

            Potluck as soon after class as we can get everything set up-probably about 11:45am

            Business meeting about 12:30pm. 

Right after classes are over, we will need to set up tables and chairs, put out the food, etc.  Many hands make light work. 

See You on Sunday.