Our Story

Rivergate's origin story begins in the 1960s, with faithful followers of Jesus planting a traditional church in Snook, TX. Eventually, we moved to Bryan, where our home was on Villa Maria, near Blinn College, for decades. Most recently, (and yes, we really hope we're done wandering), we relocated to a beautiful homestead property in College Station. We'll cover more of the significance of that in Our Setting. 

As with all families, our story has its beauty and its brokenness, its trials and triumphs, its passions and pains, its flaws and its fruitfulness. We have charismatic roots, an appreciation for liturgy, monastic influences, and we've embraced a relational expression - and we'll cover more of the significance of that in Our System. We are officially nondenominational, for those who "just have to know." But, yeah - we're hard to pigeon-hole. 

The rest of our stories are best shared around a fire pit or at a table with a meal. 

Rivergate is located on about 26 acres of beautiful country space. A large home (The Healing House) fronts the property. To the right is an attached three-car garage converted into a game room, with the back half of that being the Genesis Suite. 

We’ve got a swimming pool, which doubles as our baptismal; lots of covered porch areas for conversation, reflection, and prayer; deck seating spaces; a mid-sized playground (with a rock wall and ship-themed playhouse); and open grassy areas with a pond.

If you like the woods, we have pathways carved throughout our undeveloped acreage. Watch out for critters and wild plant life! The Cross marks that trailhead, where you can cross the bridge for a prayer walk. 

Construction on our ‘Most Holy Place’ has begun and awaits completion, as God provides the resources. That space will host prayer, worship, workshops, weddings, and more.  

An Attachment-Based Ministry Model

Rivergate has adopted an intimacy structure. The Church is not buildings or events. It’s two or more, intimately connected in Jesus' name. Loving each other in a way that reflects God’s character and captures the heart and satisfies the hunger of a deformed and detached world. To accomplish the bolded, italicized phrase requires skills and practices that modern American life no longer naturally promotes. 

Using daily touch points (check-ins), appreciation stories, validation, attunement, and more, we create strong relational bonds.* Genuine, intergenerational, conversational connection is our only real “program.” All other aspects of the Church’s mission are being informed by and adjusted through this relational lens (that’s a work in progress, btw!). There’s more to it than this, but it’s a fair summary.

*See The Other Half of Church, Renovated, and The Relational Revolution, for more about how God designed us to perpetuate joy and mature in loving character through relationships. 

When We Gather

Rivergate’s gatherings look like family meals or chats on the porch swing (got one of those too!). We have breakfast, talk about our week, then dig into discussions based on our weekly blog topics, current events, or any need or curiosity posed by someone present. We practice the skills mentioned above, and everyone has a voice - even if they use it to say “pass, please.” We may pray, sing a song, or address a wound. We laugh, cry, heal, grow, and learn to love one another more deeply and sincerely.

“What about teaching the Bible?” you may ask. Great question! Besides our weekly devotionals and the billions of solid resources at our digital fingertips, we follow Jesus’s model of “just in time” teaching. It was rare that He delivered a prepared “message.” Our group is authentically Jesus-led, in real time, even when we meet as a group. And we find that, in our gatherings, teaching to the need at hand is more effective than the “just in case” teaching more prevalent in attraction model ministries. 

What Time Do We Meet?

On Sundays, folks arrive starting at 8:00 AM for breakfast at 8:30 AM, with discussion starting around 9:00 AM.