Our Name
Our name The River House of Prayer comes from the Wangunk (River Bend) Indians who lived along the river banks of the Connecticut River. This area now includes the towns of Glastonbury, Portland, East Hampton, Colechester, East Haddam, Wethersfield, Newington, New Britain, Berlin, Rocky Hill, Cromwell, Middletown, Meriden, Middlefield, Durham, Haddam, Killingworth and Chester. We desire to become a stream of blessing and favor to our community. As a ministry we desire to dwell in the river of life flowing out of the throne of God causing each side of the river to bear fruit (Revelation 22:1-2).
Our Mission Statement
The River House of Prayer exists to bring the light of Jesus Christ into central Connecticut; by intercession , worship, fasting, fervent evangelism, the teaching of Scripture, by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and by the example of transformed lives.
We purpose to be passionately in love with Jesus Christ, to build up God's people to maturity as we seek with all our hearts for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the river valley region.
Our Values
Our values are the heart standards that we esteem, the ideas and attitudes which make us who we are in God. Building with the right values attracts the favor and blessing of God. We can have the right vision, but if our values are not right -- we will wander from the path of righteousness. These foundational concepts will enable us to lay a spiritual framework upon which we can build together. Combined, they become the theme and spirit of our ministry. These are some of our values:
1. LOVING THE WORD OF GOD. We recognize that only by the written, inspired Scriptures will we grow and walk in truth and power. All teaching, revelations and prophecies will be held to the light of the written Word of God and judged accordingly. We believe that our delight must be in the law of the Lord. Psalm 1:3; 19:7-11, Luke 4:4, Jer. 23:28, I Tim. 3:16-17, I Pet. 2:2, II Pet. 1:19-21.
2. LOVING THE SON OF GOD. FIRST LOVE devotion to the Son of God will be the goal of our lives. The very ability to love the Son is made possible by His FIRST LOVE for us. We believe that God loved His Son so much, that He will populate heaven with people just like Him. Our supreme passion will be an absolute surrender to Jesus Christ. We have decided that nothing will distract us in our pursuit of Christ-likeness. We love HIM, we will follow HIM, and we long to be like HIM!
3. BRIDE OF CHRIST We have a deep conviction that God is preparing for His Son a
pure and spotless Bride that is fully alive with passion for the Man Christ Jesus. This Church (Bride) will be known by her sincere and pure devotion to Christ, virgin-like in her innocence and virtue ( II Cor. 11: 2-3, Eph. 5.27, Gal 4:19, Rev. 19:7).
4. HUMILITY AND A CONTRITE HEART. The Lord will resist those who walk in pride but He will pour out His grace upon the lowly and contrite of heart. Meekness is a virtue the Lord esteems, and we choose to value what pleases His heart. We will ask the Lord for grace to take the lowest place, so that others may be edified. This is how we live our lives worthy of our calling. Eph. 4:1-3, Col. 3:12-14, Isa. 47:15; 66:1-2, Matt. 11:28-30, Job 22:23-30, I Pet. 5:5-6, Gal. 6:3
5. A LIFE OF WORSHIP AND INTIMACY WITH THE FATHER. We believe that worship is the full time ministry of every Christian. We will seek grace from the Father to make worship (seeking His face) a lifestyle -- not just an event on Sundays. We encourage each member of RHOP to develop a daily life of intimacy and communion with God through His Spirit and through prayer. Mark 14:3-9, I Thes. 5:16-18, Rom. 12:1-2, Ps. 27:1-8, Ps. 42:1.
6. THE CROSS. More than an emblem, for the believer today, the cross speaks of the "putting off of the flesh". We will take seriously the exhortation to "take up our cross daily" and let Christ live in our place. In order to share in the life Jesus has now, we must share in the death He died -- even the death of the cross. We purpose to love the cross and demonstrate it's power to transform fallen man into the image of His Son. II Cor. 4:7-12, Luke 9:23-27, Phil. 2:5-11.
7. CORPORATE INTERCESSION. Night and day intercession will be a priority for all those committed to RHOP. Revival cannot be "worked up", it can only be "prayed down"! We will ask each member of our fellowship to participate in corporate intercession on a weekly basis -- as we determine to be those who learn to "pray without ceasing". I Thess. 5:17, Rom. 12:12, Luke 18:1.
Night and day intercession for revival must become the norm for the end-time church. Those involved with RHOP will be expected to esteem private and corporate prayer as a sacred priority. We commit ourselves to becoming co-laborers with Jesus Christ, escorting the will of God to the earth by believing prayer- I Thes. 3:10, 5:77, II Cor. 6:1, Isa. 56:7.
We will trust God to see this house of prayer established in the river bend region with 24-hour a day ministry to God in worship and intercession, with the prophetic spirit of the Tabernacle of David - I Chron. 11:6-25. This will only be accomplished in unity with other churches, ministries and worshippers in the community.
This house of prayer is to be for all ethnic groups, breaking down every dividing wall between Black, White, Hispanic, Oriental, Jew and Gentile, rich, poor, evangelical, charismatic, male and female, young and old. It will become in miniature what the Body of Christ is meant to look like. Gal. 3:26-28, Mark 17: 1 7
8. FASTING. Part of our "discipleship to Jesus" will involve short and extended fasting. We believe that fasting is not a way to make God hear us but opens the way for us to hear God. Each of us should consider the degree God would have us involved in fasting.
9. A SACRIFICIAL LIFE STYLE. Embracing sacrifice and self-denial will become a life style choice for those associated with RHOP. Our goal is to become the delight of Jesus Christ on the earth and to manifest the same spirit of sacrifice that led Him to lay down all, on behalf of others. We expect the Lord to teach us more of this in days to come.
10. THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY. We value the priority of family life -- marriage , fatherhood, motherhood, raising children and nurturing them in the fear of God. Children are God's reward and gift to the church and are not to be seen as an inconvenience. A godly home is the foundation of a godly church. We discourage families with young children from participating in more than two nights a week of activities. Psalm 127:3-5, Eph. 6:1-4, I Tim. 5:8.
11. A NEW TESTAMENT MINISTRY STYLE. We endeavor to be real and transparent, authentic in all aspects of ministry. We will avoid all appearance of religious hype or using affected behavior as a way of manipulating emotions. Our leadership style will likewise be based on a genuine care for the flock, friendships among those we shepherd, and personal integrity. II Cor. 4:1, I Thes. 2:3-12.
12. MATURITY, WISDOM AND, CHARACTER. It is not enough simply to attend church -- God is seeking to form Christ within each member of His Body. Although we esteem and value the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we also esteem the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit (Christ-likeness). Our ambition is to become replicas of the Son of God on the earth, in deed, in motive, in speech, in ministry, and in works of righteousness. We will seek Divine wisdom in the use of all giftings, callings, mantels, and anointings within the fellowship -- that Christ will be brought forth in us. We are convinced that "anointing" must never take precedence over godly character. Gal. 4:19; 5:22-23.
13. HIDDENNESS. God values secret works of righteousness. We choose to esteem the principle of serving in "hiddenness" and waiting until God's time for public recognition. Character will be formed as we wait and allow others to be praised and recognized over ourselves.
14. A "TEAM APPROACH" TO MINISTRY. Many advisors make victory sure. We will seek to walk in team unity among the leadership of RHOP -- even when it means waiting on God to make us one in our direction and decisions. This attitude will be seen in all aspects and levels of ministry within our Body. A plurality of leadership with recognized headship will be our model for team ministry. Acts 14:22, Prov. 11:14; 15:22, Phil. 1:1.
15. PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS. Each Christian has the privilege of worshipping, serving, interceding, and ministering in the Body of Christ. We determine as a leadership, to be free from a controlling spirit or manipulation of the Body which could quench the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. Rev. 5:8-10, I Cor. 12:7-11, Acts 21:10-14, Gal. 5:1.
16. COMMITMENT TO THE LOCAL FELLOWSHIP. It is our belief that God expects every believer to become a functioning and vital part of the ministry of the local church. This would include faithful attendance, serving, financial support, and a basic commitment to the vision of the leadership team. The local church becomes the context from which visible Christianity is put on display. The Body is built up as each member does his/her part. One important responsibility of the membership is to pray for it's leadership and appeal to the eldership when they see the eldership in error. We encourage such appeals.
17. KOINONIA. "Koinonia" is the Greek word for fellowship, Our desire is to become a "house of friends", built upon kingdom principles of love, deference to one another, forbearance, honor, a sense of belonging, openness and transparency. We will bear one another's burdens, show hospitality, give encouragement, remove loneliness, and become our brother's keeper. This "koinonia" will be based upon the teaching of I Cor. 13, Acts 2:41-47; 4:32-37.
18. EVANGELISM. A commitment to win the lost is crucial for the life of any church. We will delight ourselves in sharing Christ with loving boldness and with Spirit-filled courage. We will seek to use contemporary avenues and methods to win the lost to Christ -- such as drama, music (worship), "servant" evangelism, and "lifestyle" evangelism. We see this as the responsibility of every member.
19. MAKING DISCIPLES. Our desire will be to equip every convert with the knowledge of God, the giftings of the Spirit, and absolute surrender to the life of Christ. We take seriously our call to equip the saints for their work of ministry and to present each believer complete and mature in Jesus Christ. Eph. 4:11-13, Col. 1:28-29.
20. EQUIP WORKERS. By God's grace, we will win converts and disciple each believer to Christian maturity. We seek to develop new leadership for works of ministry within our community and to the regions beyond. Matt. 28:18-20, Col 1:27-29, Eph. 4:72-13, 11Tim. 2:2, Rom. 15:77-27
Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we desire to see existing churches grow in membership and numerous new churches planted in Connecticut. We will seek his supernatural guidance in all our efforts as we unite our hearts to the will of God and the wisdom of His spirit. Acts 13-74, Eph. 4:11-13, Titus 1:5
World missions must be the vision of the end-time Bride. The mission fields of the world are white already unto harvest. We will endeavor to support the cause of world missions by our finances, intercession and laborers. We also desire to send to the harvest fields missionary and church planting teams throughout the world. The cry of all of our hearts will be, "Here am I, Lord, send me." John 4:34-38, 11 Cor. 5:14-21, Pet. 3:9-12, Isa. 6:1-8.
21. PROPHETIC MINISTRY AND REVELATION. We welcome all the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit in our church life. Our intention is to administer these giftings with Biblical care and wisdom. We also believe that our generation is truly a prophetic generation with a calling to walk in the Acts 2:17 anointing -- including dreams, visions, prophecy, and the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that Christ is granting His end-time Bride. Acts 10, 16:9-10, Eph. 1:17.
22. FREEDOM AND ORDER. We choose to value both the liberty of the Spirit and Biblical order in our corporate gatherings. We will value deeply the Holy Spirit's spontaneous intervention in our midst regardless of the implications. Order and liberty need not contradict each other in our public meetings. We will encourage the freedom of the Holy Spirit in our worship. I Cor. 14:26-40, II Cor. 3:16-18, I Thes. 5:19-21.
23. ESTEEMING ISRAEL. A vital part of our "genetic code" as a Body will be honoring the nation of Israel and Messianic Judaism. We will seek to bless them with our prayers and finances as God's full purposes for Israel are realized.
24. UNITY OF THE BODY. Our impact increases as we walk in unity among ourselves. Dividing the Body by unwise speech is a terrible offense to God. We will view slander and gossip as major sins which will ultimately quench the Spirit of God in our midst. We purpose to never speak evil of any man, any other ministry, or of one another. Titus 3:1-2, James 3, Psalm 133.
We dedicate ourselves to work in a spirit of humility and harmony with other local and regional ministries that are also seeking to exalt Christ alone. We believe that the key to establishing a regional House of Prayer is the uniting of hearts around Christ Jesus. The joining of our lives and ministries must first be in spirit as we build relationships of trust and friendship. Our prayer is that God would free us from all suspicion, jealousy and self-righteousness as Jesus makes us one. Phil 2, John 13 and 17
25. SERVANTHOOD. Jesus came as a servant, giving us an example of what pleases the Father. We choose to demonstrate our devotion to Christ by serving His Body (the church) in lowliness and preference toward one another. We reject the philosophy of our age that is based on a self-promoting and self-serving mindset. Our ultimate joy on earth will be found as we serve one another in love, fulfilling the law of Christ. Gal. 5:13-15, Phil. 2:1-12, Matt. 20:26.
26 INTEGRITY IN FINANCIAL MATTERS. It is our desire to understand God's highest purposes in all areas of finances -- including working for a living, tithing, freedom from covetousness, investment, savings, inheritance, debt, business principles, etc. The highest financial standards will be maintained within the leadership and fellowship of RHOP.
27. OPENNESS TO OTHER MINISTRIES. Our calling is to "stay in the river" and not be side-tracked into "spiritual tributaries" no matter how valid they may be. Our desire is to remain open to all the ministries in the church today that exalt Christ, honor the Word, and exemplify Christian maturity. We welcome all the gifts of the Spirit, all the 5-fold ministries, and desire to grow in tolerance and compassion to those who have different styles and forms of worship.
28. COMPASSION By showing the love of Christ in caring for the poor, the needy and the oppressed. This includes providing for the orphans and widows among us and to administrate a practical serving of material needs. John 3:76- 78, James 1.27, I Tim. 5:3-16, Isa. 58: 6- 11, IICor. 12:15.
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60 South Road Portand, CT 06480
860-881-4279 | ihop@riverbend.net