To put it simply, we’re different.
You’ve heard that before, right? You’re not alone.
In July of 2017, twelve of us met in a stranger’s living room to dream of what we now call Two Rivers Church. As we dreamed, we recognized our collective pain over the harm that the church has caused so many of our kin — BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees — and the list goes on.
Our work is centered in the guiding principle that we are not and will never be a church that causes harm. Like Jesus, we’re committed to taking bold action that leads to equity, justice, inclusion and belonging. It’s not easy, but it’s what we we’re made for.
We operate with clarity
We recognize that the harm that is done in churches is often the result of ambiguity. Our church is committed to communicating our values, beliefs, commitments and policies with absolute clarity. We’re proud to say that we’ve been verified clear by the Church Clarity project.
Our work is centered in justice, equity and inclusion
The message of the Gospel is simple: In God, everyone belongs. The heart of Jesus’ life was to show us a living example of how our world can change when all people matter. Yet too often, the church has been a place where people are kept out, denied access or shamed for who God created them to be.
At Two Rivers Church, we center our work on the life of Jesus, who made radical welcome plain in all of his interactions. We believe in creating both a church and a world that is more than fair, but one that is just, equitable and inclusive of all people. In Jesus’ life, he was always bringing into the center of his community those whom the leaders of his time had marginalized: sex workers, the poor, those who were sick and ill, people in occupations that were looked down upon. He created a new community where love was the center – God’s love for all and the community’s love for each other.
We are Anti-racist
The very first chapter of Bible, Genesis 1, tells us that God created and called all creation good. We know that in God’s eyes, all people are beloved, beautiful and created of value and worth. One of our core values is to be inclusive – but this goes deeper than just welcoming people of every background into our community. To be fully inclusive means we have a commitment to becoming anti-racist and dismantling white supremacy.
We live in an American society that was founded on white supremacy and for too long the church has been complicit in maintain oppression of our Black, Indigienous and People of Color (BIPOC) siblings and kin. At Two Rivers Church, we embrace the value of being anti-racist in very explicit ways: we center the voices of BIPOC people in worship, small groups, and studies. We use a Mutual Aid approach to our community, working with partners who center the experiences of Black people in particular. We support community efforts like Black Lives Matters demonstrations in ways that organizers most need. And we put our money where our values are, giving financially to community partners who are led by and build up communities of color.