I Went To The River, I Found Jesus’ Heart and Beautiful Worship!

Today I attended a church I have never visited before. It is called The River. They meet 10:30 Sunday Mornings, at 1842 Keystone Court in Redding. It has such a nice feel to it. I loved being there. I felt very welcome. They have a wonderful sense of family.

I had a purpose for going to The River today. I have been trying to meet Brandon & Kristen Buchanan and Brent & Tam Hodge for awhile. The “Buchanan Bunch” actually live right here in Redding, The River is their church home. The “Hodge Clan” is from Grand Point, Oregon. The Hodge Clan had travelled down to do Worship with Brandon and Kristen. The Hodge Clan includes Brent, Tam, Kass their daughter, she played guitar and sang and Kota, their son he played the drums. It was amazing!

Pictured- Kass, Kota (kind of), Tam, Kristen, Brent and Brandon. Here is the list of songs that were sung:

-Great Humble King
-Holy is the Lord
-I Will Overcome
-Lead Me On (A Hodge Clan Original)
-Wonderful You (Written my Kristen and Brandon)
-Unrelenting Love (Written by Tam through a Conversation she had with God)
-I’m so Glad (Solo with Kristen, Brandon playing the guitar)

When you hear these amazing artists play, harmonize and worship together it is hard to believe that they have only been together a few times in the last couple months. When Tam sang Unrelenting Love it brought tears to my eyes. Kristen sang I’m So Glad at the very end of the service and it gave me goosebumps.

Now following this was an amazing message by Pastor Brian Nickens. Since this was my first time attending The River I had no idea what to expect. I was seriously not disappointed by His message. His heart for the Lord was so evident when he prayed before starting. Then spoke a message on Psalm 16. Line by Line, Verse by Verse. I love this form of message because it gives me an opportunity to really sink into the word as we are intended to do.

I don’t normally attend The River; I am a partner at a different church. I also am a prayer volunteer for a Global Church. I would seriously recommend The River to any Christian that wants to hear Amazing Worship and Biblically sound messages. If you attend a big church and feel lost in it….Try The River. It is a wonderfully intimate setting. Some people may think I am crazy for telling them to go to a church I don’t normally attend. I personally agree with Craig Groeschel when he says…

Satan Loves for churches to COMPETE against each other….God Loves for churches to COMPLETE one another. I will be back at the River. I know this from the bottom of my heart. I heard God speak to me there. I listened to His human angels worship him beautifully. Thank You for making me feel so Welcomed!