What does “a river in the desert” have to do with building a new sanctuary at a west Alabama Presbyterian Church? Even considering the reference to Psalm 105:41, that seems to be a strange connection. As you wonder, first consider the context of that verse. The psalmist is telling of the wonderful works of God as he speaks of the time God’s people were lost in a desert. God caused Moses to strike the rock, and life giving water came forth, water that flowed in the desert like a river. We know from the New Testament that the rock is a type of Christ, who was struck, and that the life-giving water that the Lord called the water of life, the Gospel, was given, and that it flows to this day.
Now consider this. Riverwood was begun 35 years ago to bring the Reformed faith, the Gospel, the same living water, to an area that was very literally dying of thirst. In this moralistic version with its own post-modern landscape, it was an area that had little water to give. At Riverwood, the Gospel, the living water, was to be there for everyone who would come, no matter what their situation, because God always chooses those who drink. It was begun by, and has been blessed with, ministers who have seen the thirst in a desert that appears green to an eye without the Gospel lens and who understood and was faithful to the vision. This is the original vision of Riverwood Church and as we move toward a new and exciting phase, we are reviving it as the theme of our campaign to build a new sanctuary.
Now that God has blessed Riverwood with growth in numbers, it has become increasingly apparent that a new building is a necessity to fulfill the vision of a river in the desert and that it needed to be built sooner rather than later. An architect has been engaged and a builder contracted. Now Riverwood begins an exciting new phase, a time when the physical church must expand to accommodate the Gospel ministries that have defined Riverwood.
Here on the website, watch vision take a physical form from the plan that the Church has prayerfully started. As the new building begins to emerge, Riverwood will need everyone to participate, to encourage, to give, and to pray. So join us now as we seek to advance God’s Kingdom, to continue to be a part of the river of the Gospel of Christ that flows in the desert places of the world and brings life to God’s chosen people.