Hope Is Knowing God Is On Your Side
WHO WE ARE
We at RVFC are called to help people become joyful, mature followers of Jesus.
God in the Bible tells us being a joyful, mature follower of Jesus is the true good life in this world. It is also the one that will be best rewarded for all eternity in the next. We need to have an eternal perspective.
We want to become a fellowship of believers who continually grow in bringing the light, love, and hope of Christ to our neighbors for their good and God's glory.
We are loosely associated with Venture Church Network Northeast. We function like a baptistic non-denomination church, although by Constitution we are a Baptist church.
Benefits of a Smaller Church
A family feel
You can get to know people better, and they you
You get to be on the ground floor of the amazing things God is going to do here
There are more opportunities to talk with Pastor Ed about ... whatever
Your children get more personalized attention
Getting involved leads to more opportunities to grow spiritually
RVFC
- Wear whatever you want
- Drink coffee in the sanctuary
- Meet some great people
- Listen to a relevant message from Pastor Ed
- Have your children sit with you, or send them to Children's Church (ages 5-12)
God Wants To Do Great Things Through You!
Looking for More?
You Can Experience True Soul-Satisfaction
What to Expect on Sundays
- A casual environment
- Friendly people
- A one-hour service
- Mostly contemporary music with an occasional hymn
- A 25-minute message
- Kids dismissed for Children's Church after 20-25 minutes
- Coffee fellowship after the service
- We celebrate the Lord's Table the first Sunday of the month
Service Time
Sundays @ 10:30 am
Renew Your Purpose
Find What the World Can't Give You
Discover a Pleasing Fellowship
Reap a Harvest of Hope
Learn God's Word
Our Children's Church Has:
- Age-Appropriate Bible Lessons with Practical Application
- Crafts
- Snacks (sometimes)
- Prayer Requests
- Teachers who love the kids and want to make faith fun and understandable
- Your child (or children) will get more loving attention than they'll get at a big church
Our Team
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Ed Moser, Pastor
Rev. Dr. Edward Moser grew up in nearby Ellington, CT. He brings to the ministry at River Valley a degree in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Duquesne University. Pastor Ed has a passion and a gift for proclaiming God’s word clearly and in a manner that connects with people at various spiritual levels. He has been at River Valley since December, 2005.
In his spare time, Pastor Ed likes to exercise (stationary bike on Zwift & Kinomap), read history and philosophy, and listen to music - everything from contemporary Christian worship to classical to bluegrass. He's an avid New England Patriots fan. Now in his early sixties, Pastor Ed is content with God’s call to live life as a single person, making use of the extra time it affords him for ministry and learning.
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Wayne T. Despard, Deacon
Wayne Despard grew up in Windsor Locks. He has been a dedicated servant in the church for decades.
Wayne is married to Sandy, and has two grown children and six grandchildren. He is an avid sportsman. He's also a great handyman.
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Worship Team
Lori Beauchesne and Kyle Chmielecki comprise our Worship Team at present, with Lori being the leader. Both are gifted musicians. Lori has an amazing voice. They desire to lead the congregation into God's presence each week. They would love to add more people to the team. Interested?
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RVFC Children's Teachers
We have dedicated children's teachers at RVFC. Donna Dufour, June Lawrence, Brandon Blais, and Wayne Despard. They are committed to providing hands-on, memorable Bible lessons each week, that will help your children grow in character.
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June Lawrence & Lori Rutovich, Deaconesses
The deaconesses at RVFC serve in various ways, but have a special concern for the woman at RVFC.
Practical Beliefs
We Believe ...
- that God loves people
- that he wants people to live truly meaningful and satisfying lives
- that he told us how we can do that in the BIble
- that we need Christian fellowship to help us to do it
We Believe in ...
- accepting people as they are, while encouraging growth
- cultivating loving, supportive friendships
- making a difference in the community
- helping families and individuals meet the challenges of living in the 21st century
Abbreviated Doctrinal Statement
- The Bible is God's inerrant, infallible word.
- The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are co-equal and co-eternal.
- Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and our only Savior.
- The Holy Spirit is at work in salvation and sanctification.
- All people have sinned and need to be forgiven.
- Jesus Christ is our substitutionary sacrifice.
- Salvation is by grace through faith alone, and believers are eternally secure.
- Jesus Christ was resurrected bodily, and his return is imminent.
- Everyone will be resurrected bodily and spend eternity in either heaven or hell.
- Believers baptism by immersion is the condition for local church membership.
- The Lord's Supper is symbolic of Christ's body and shed blood.
Our Story
- River Valley Fellowship Church (RVFC) came into existence on June 25, 2006 at the Windsor Locks Senior Center when a group of believers voted to accept the name and Constitution and By-laws of the church.
- Those believers had been members of Immanuel Baptist Church of Suffield, Connecticut, and so RVFC has an earlier history.
- In 1981 a group of people in Suffield, CT committed themselves to learn more about Jesus and to sharing the gospel of Christ with people.
- Pastor Len Waterman, who was a Conservative Baptist Church Planter led the original Bible Study, which consisted of 6 people. The group soon grew.
- The first church service of Immanuel Baptist Church was held in July, 1982 with 14 people in attendance.
- David Johnson was called as the pastor of IBC for that first service. Pastor Dave and his wife Christina served for 11 years at IBC. The church grew numerically and in the knowledge of God’s Word under his leadership.
- In 1994 the church called Pastor Alan Graffam, who brought a new vision for a cell church ministry to IBC. Pastor Al and his wife Paula served at IBC for 9 years growing the church spiritually through his preaching ministry, focus on practical application of God’s Word and oversight of the cells of the church.
- In November 2005 the church then called Dr. Edward Moser as the pastor of IBC with an understanding that the church was looking for a new start. Within a few months Pastor Ed had established a Transition Team, which selected a new church name, wrote a new Constitution and By-Laws, and detailed a new mission and ministry style for the church. All of the recommendations of the Transition Team were accepted by vote of members of the church and River Valley Fellowship Church came into existence on June 25, 2006.
