The River - A Community Church members celebrating their first Sunday at their new location in New Kensington

Every Sunday at 10:45 a.m. there are a number of people that go to The River-A Community Church. Nearly half of them haven’t been in a church for years. They have become part of a new and growing church designed just for them. The other half of those attending are long time church members that made a decision to make a difference by helping start The River and slowly, one by one, encourage friends, fellow workers, neighbors and others to be part of a church.

Dean Ward is the pastor of The River-A Community Church. He explained that he grew up a Christian, went to Christian schools. One day, as a senior, he came to the realization that he did not know one person who wanted to be a Christian. That realization led to a big change in his life. He began to intentionally develop relationships with people who were not comfortable with God. That experience became the foundation of his call as a minister and the mission to reach others with the gospel. After a number of years in ministry, and work, he asked God if he could plant a church.

The River-A Community Church was founded in the fall of 2004. Services began at the New Kensington Penn State campus with 60 to 80 persons from the Church of God in North Apollo, friends from Delmont, Greensburg, New Kensington and other areas. A lot of marketing, including billboards, backed up the efforts of the founding members to reach those who were not comfortable with God. Now, two years later, The River has nearly doubled in size and moved to 200 Freeport Road in New Kensington, the former Alcoa Clubhouse and Citizens School of Nursing.

The new location offers more opportunity for others to attend The River. Located in the midst of a housing area, it is an easy walk or drive One new person who walks to church said, “It is good for my heart walking to church, and good for my soul while there”. Although Penn State campus was a place to start, it was located in a rural area and required setting up for church each week. It also wasn’t available when the campus was closed.

The River - A Community Church located at the former Alcoa Clubhouse and Citizen's School of Nursing as seen in this old postcard

Pastor Ward said that many of the newcomers that attend have come to a personal relationship with Christ or renewed their earlier Christian commitment. “We help people be comfortable,” he went on. “We intentionally use music and speak plainly to connect with people,” he explained. Although the style of worship, preaching and teaching has changed to create common ground and offer a friendlier environment for those separated from God and church, the fundamental belief has not. The River is part of the Church of God denomination.

The River-A Community Church focuses on doing three things well: children’s ministry; music; and preaching. The messages (how to live a Christian life) are communicated through music, multi-media, video, drama and relevant preaching. To make teaching more comfortable and help members develop relationships, five to six small groups meet during the week. There is an active children’s ministry, kidsQuest, for 4 through 5th grade and a youth ministry for older kids. The church also connects to the community through programs and activities. Celebrate Recovery, a popular and successful national program for persons with addictions is held at the church. Other service programs are Kids Closest (free clothing) and Kids Fest. The River also sponsored a car show last year that was a big hit. Pastor Ward held the service outdoors that day and when preaching illustrated how his broken down ’57 Ford convertible was beautifully restored with how God restores our broken lives.

The process of starting The River began a number of years ago. Pastor Ward was on the staff at the Church of God in North Apollo and began talking to as many people as he could about planting a church. After talking with the church leadership and the denomination, they began to recruit and train volunteer church members. Using programs such as Willow Creek’s Contagious Christian and other course, volunteers learned how to develop friendships with people (usually about 25 persons) who are not believers. Volunteers had to be willing to leave the churches they were in to form the new church.

Pastor Ward is a native of western Pennsylvania (Delmont) and his wife Leslie (Hetrick), grew up in the New Kensington-Arnold area. They and their four children live on Parkview Drive in New Kensington.

The River-A Community Church meets every Sunday at 10:45 a.m. for worship. Children’s programs and nursery are held at the same time and youth meet Sunday night from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Small groups meet during the week. Call 724-33RIVER for more information and visit their web site at www.cometotheriver.net.