Our Mission

RiverLakes Community Church is a body of believers called to glorify God by declaring the gospel, maturing believers and giving our lives away for Jesus Christ’s sake.

Our Vision

Know. Grow. Go

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
John 17:3

From Jesus’ perspective, a disciple is one who follows Him.  The Bible makes it very clear the only way to eternal life and a relationship with God the Father is through His son, Jesus Christ. Eternal life requires entering into a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. This gift of grace is accomplished when we admit our sin and place our faith and trust in Jesus, the one who gave His life for us so that we might have life eternal.

There is a growing population of people in the greater Bakersfield area who are in desperate need of the life transforming message of the Gospel.  We believe God has uniquely positioned us in this community at this time to reach these people with the Good News of Jesus. Proclaiming the Gospel to those who do not know Jesus is a command of Scripture and one of our highest priorities and commitments.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ.
Ephesians 4:15

As a body of believers, we are compelled to reflect Christ’s character in our lives and to carry out His special work in the world. From the moment we commit our lives to Jesus, we enter into a life-long process where God is transforming us into the image of His son. This spiritual growth occurs as we commit to know God’s Word, apply it to our lives and embrace it as the final authority for all life.

Our goal is to be a Church that makes disciples who make disciples.  We believe this spiritual growth process best takes place in relational discipleship environments where people are committed to growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.  These relational environments are the primary vehicle to meet the spiritual and physical needs of our people through disciplined learning, accountability, prayer and unconditional love. We are also committed to developing intentional leaders through on-going training and discipleship modeling. RiverLakes is a place where families can grow in a safe, inviting and wholesome environment with opportunities for learning, loving and fun for all ages.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. 
Matthew 28:19-20

A disciple is committed to the mission of Christ.   His mission was about loving people. When we commit to follow Jesus and allow Him to grow and mature us, we cannot help but care about what He cares about most.   We will be a people who give our lives away for His sake through acts of love and service to others.  We were once alienated from God, but because of Christ, we who were poor in spirit and hurting, are now rich in Him (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Jesus tells us in John 13:34-35 to love one another as He has loved us. By displaying this kind of love, people will know that we are His disciples.  One of our priorities at RiverLakes is to encourage our people to use their gifts, talents and resources to build up the body of Christ.  

We are also committed to serving the poor, struggling and hurting in our community with the goal and purpose of leading them to the source of true life transformation, Jesus. Jesus commanded us to show kindness to the poor, hurting and dispossessed in our community, just as we were shown kindness by Him.

In addition God’s Word clearly commands the Church to “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus is Lord and He died for the sins of people from all nations.  We are compelled to devote time and resources to fulfilling the “Great Commission” of our Lord Jesus.

Our Core Values

Our core values are the essential elements of what we believe, who we are, and what we do at RiverLakes Community Church. We believe these values reflect the very heart of God and His design for the life and practice of His church.

1. Gospel Centered

We believe that the ability to be and make disciples is rooted firmly in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus who forgives our sins and empowers us to live a new life. We are a church that points everything back to Jesus. 1 Cor. 15:3-8

2. Biblical Foundation

We believe being a disciple means building our lives on the clear teaching of Scripture. We are a church that honors God’s Word with accuracy and obedience. 2 Tim. 2:15; James 1:22-25

3. Dependent Prayer

We believe that prayer is essential to being and making disciples. God will do great things in proportion to our great dependence upon Him. We are a church that depends on the Spirit through prayer. Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-8

4. Relational Discipleship

We believe in making disciples in relational small groups with an intentional leader using a reproducible process. We are a church that makes disciples who make disciples. Matt. 4:19

5. Spiritual Maturity

We believe we can measure maturity by how well a disciple loves, and Christian love expresses itself most clearly through service and sacrifice. We are a church that expresses love and maturity though serving others. Mark 10:42-45; John 13:1-17, 34-35; 15:12-13; Eph. 4:11-16

6. Family Focus

We believe families are the building blocks of a church and a society, and they are the primary environments where disciples are made. We are a church that encourages discipleship in the home. Eph. 5:22-6:4

7. Relentless Evangelism

We believe that multiplying disciples is Jesus’ strategy for reaching the world, and it starts with engaging nonbelievers with the goal of sharing the gospel. God has called us to do this locally, regionally and globally. We are a church that reaches the world, one person at a time. Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8