Thanks for stopping by the Riverbend website. We hope you'll enjoy the experience and discover something special that is meaningful to your life. A lot of folks hear about us and ask what type of church we are. In a nutshell, we are a Bible-based congregation of baptized believers who adhere solidly to the sovereignty of God in all things, which includes salvation.

Denominationally, we are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. We teach and preach what some people call the "Doctrines of Grace" because these doctrines are purely biblical and because they form the solidarity on which the Southern Baptist founders based their convictions. In short, we are a Reformed Southern Baptist Church.

Please continue to browse our website ... see what we're all about. If you live in our geograpical area (East Central Florida), we encourage and welcome you to visit with us personally—either during one of our worship times or during the week.

Above all, we desire and pray that you will consider your all-important relationship with the Lord. And we encourage you to click on The Gospel Truth portion of our website to confirm that your relationship with Him is bibical.

May God bless you.

Dr. R.A. Hargrave
Senior Pastor

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Watch Riverbend's worship services live online. Our live service times are Sundays @ 10:30 AM and Wednesdays @ 6:15 PM.

To go to our "Riverbend — Live" page click here.









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Riverbend Connection  

To view the latest edition of Riverbend's biweekly newsletter, click here.


 R-mail
 
To view the latest edition of Riverbend's e-notepad, click here.

A note from Dr. R.A. Hargrave about this new sermon series:

If you want to embed into your heart, mind and spirit some intense truths about the biblical Doctrines of Grace that we preach and teach at Riverbend, then don't miss the worship service over the next few weeks.

I am doing an eight-part series entitled The Doctrines of Grace: An Intense Study of Salvation. We are taking the foundational Scripture we have taught a few times before on this vital topic and going even deeper into the grace principles that were taught so carefully and vividly by Jesus and His apostles in the First Century.

I am praying that God takes this series and uses it to glorify Himself while blessing us with a new assurance of the rich truths these doctrines contain. I am also praying that you will be present so that you can see how intrinsically and emphatically God's Word explains and fortifies these doctrines.  If you cannot physically be present in the worship services (9 a.m. or 10:30 a.m.), you may still be involved by tuning in live on the internet through www.GraceWorx.com at 10:30 a.m.  Or, you may view them on that same site, as they are posted about two days after the service.

A music festival, featuring Riverbend talent, has been scheduled at the church on June 10 (Sunday) at 5 p.m. Entitled Make His Praise Glorious, it will be 100 minutes of a variety of Christian music—in Gaither Homecoming style. Rick Cobb, Pastor of Music & Worship, is putting together the program, to be followed by AfterGlow (food and fellowship) on the patio and in Fellowship Hall. The food platter (two hot dogs, chips, cookie and drink) is $4 in advance if purchased in the Bookcart Lobby during May 27-June 6 or $5 on June 10.

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Dr. R.A. Hargrave's current preaching series on Wednesdays is Church Killers.  He is carefully examining problems the infest church members and eventually kill the church.  If you have missed some parts of this series, you may hear them by going to GraceWorx.com or by clicking here.

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All ladies are invited to the Women of Grace Bible Study on Sunday, May 27, at 5 p.m. in the Worship Center. The emphasis, which centers on extraordinary women in Scripture, is about Mary and Martha of the New Testament and entitled Working and Worshiping.

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Ellsworth to Speak
Dr. Roger Ellsworth, Senior Pastor at Parkview Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn., will be the featured speaker at Riverbend Academy's Third Annual Commencement in the Worship Center on Friday, May 27, at 7 p.m.  You are invited. Dr. Ellsworth has authored 47 books and also pastored churches in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri. He served two years as President of the Illinois Baptist State Association and ten years on the Board of Terustees of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary--two as Chairman.  He and wife Sylvia have two sons and three grandchildren.

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Need a ‘Helping Hand?’
If you are a Riverbend member and need some repair or installation assistance with a project at your home, a new ministry in the church might be your answer. It’s called “Helping Hands” and is comprised of 23 men in the church who have handyman experience.  So if you need free assistance with a dripping faucet, a broken window screen, a garbage disposal, a ceiling fan, heavy pictures that need hanging, clogged gutters, a sluggish lawn mower, sagging cabinet doors, mis-aligned sprinkler heads, toilet problems, etc., give Helping Hands a call.  The ministry leader is Dave Van Zuiden (dvanzuiden@att.net" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline">dvanzuiden@att.net or 265-4843 or 852-1011); the assistant leader is Louie Donath (louierulo@aol.com" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline">louierulo@aol.com or 258-6044 or 547-3282).

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Quality Music Instruction
Interested in enhancing your musical talent? If so, perhaps you should consider Riverbend’s Conservatory of Music. Quality training by professional musicians is available in voice, piano, guitar, woodwinds, percussion and brass. For more information about enrolling in the new eight-week Summer Semester which begins June 11:  (1) Grab a pamphlet and application blank at Information Station; (2) Visit the website: www.riverbendchurch.com/ministries/conservatory; or (3) Call Pat Schaeffer, Conservatory director, at 673-2475, or e-mail her at patschaeffer@cfl.rr.com.

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Send a Youth to Camp

Help a student attend “The Journey” summer camp in July by hiring them. Let Pastor Michael Harsch know about the work available: baby-sitting, yard work, garage-cleaning, car-washing, etc.  To have a job completed by a certain weekend, contact Pastor Michael by Tuesday afternoon: call 672-1821 or e-mail:   Michael@RiverbendChurch.com.

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Are You Enrolled?
If you are not enrolled in a Bible Fellowship Group, perhaps you should visit one to see just what you are missing. These small groups meet mostly on Sundays at three different times for the purpose of fellowship, Bible study and prayer. The BFGs meet at 7:45 a.m., 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.  To find out more, contact Pastor Jason Karr (672-1821 or click here).

Wednesday Suppers
Fellowship Supper each Wednesday (4:15-6 p.m.) in Fellowship Hall includes a choice of two entrees, plus vegetables, salad, dessert and drinks. It also contains a special kids menu. Prices of the meals: Under 4 & over 90, free ... ages 4-12, $4 ... all others, $5 ... family rate, $20.

Personal Prayer Time
The regular Friday prayer ministry, known as "Stand in the Gap," is available during 3-7 p.m.  This is the come-and-go-as-you-please intercession time, is usually in the Worship Center.  You may pray as a family, as a couple, as a small group or alone.  This is a great time for intercession and personal worship ... Two corporate prayer opportunities are available: "Bless This House" on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. in Room 128; "Pastors Prayer Partners" on Wednesdays at 5:45 p.m. in Room 187.

'Like' and 'Follow'
Receive frequent updates about the happenings at Riverbend from two popular social media outlets, Facebook & Twitter. Go to www.facebook.com/RiverbendCommunityChurch and click on the "Like" button ... Follow Riverbend on Twitter by going to www.twitter.com/riverbendcc and clicking on the "Follow" button.

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The Bible-teaching ministry of Dr. R.A. Hargrave, Riverbend's Senior Pastor. Watch or listen to sermons (aired via national TV and radio), buy resources (DVDs, CDs and books). To learn more, click here.



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Considering Membership at Riverbend?

If you want to consider Riverbend as your home church, perhaps you should enroll in the nine-week seminar designed to help you make that determination.

It's called Discovering Riverbend, and it meets every Sunday morning.  

To learn more about it, click here.

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