Big Things are Happening at The River....

While the rest of the nation might only focus on Michigan plant closings, unemployment, and foreclosures, a quiet miracle occurred for the River Community Church in January 2009.

Five years ago, The River purchased 27 acres of land off Old US 23 with the intent to build their future campus. Although this property was not ideal in location we were excited about the hopes to have our own campus.

As time passed, the working relationship continued with the realtor as we kept an open line of communication. Roger Goble, a key member of our search team had asked to be updated with any additional changes in the market. Consequently, he received a phone call that was almost inconceivable. Property within the 2 mile radius between 59 and 23) that was too costly before at $1.5-2.0 million was now in foreclosure and up for sale at an incredibly low price.

Recognizing that the River was not in a position to purchase additional land; the team was still intrigued so they asked to be kept in the loop and given the heads up prior to it being listed for sale. The next phone call our realtor made was, “You are not going to believe this!”

The 80 acres of land unattainable 5 years ago now could be purchased for $320,000. River leadership and the Land search team met and came to the realization that we could not pass up this opportunity knowing borrowing from a bank was out of the question.

The River put a deposit down on the land to take it off the market while the team reached out to several people to see if they would consider loaning the church money with interest. A donor, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed to do just that.

After lead pastor Terry Prisk returned from an African mission trip, in his email box was a message from the donor revealing after seeking financial advice and much prayer, he decided to just donate it all and his instructions to Terry was simply “Purchase it!”

The River acknowledges this as truly a God thing, helping us along the way to bring the largest number of non-churched, seeking people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

Next steps, we are looking for His direction as to what we do with the land we are still paying on. Recent efforts looking into building a home for unwed mothers, or an orphanage have proven unsuccessful so we will continue to pray and keep an open mind.

Currently, we are meeting with architects designing plans for our new campus and hopes are for completion in 2014.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”. 2 Corinthians: 9