Rivers Edge began in 2009 when the McMinnville Adventist Church realized a need for growth. The Elders believed this would be a way to expand the Gospel and meet local ministry needs and after numerous committee meetings, a unanimous vote, and completion of paperwork, Rivers Edge began a worship group in the McMinnville Adventure Church. 

Finding themselves called to invest time and resources in the McMinnville Adventist Christian School, Rivers Edge did some renovations and moved to their current location in that school’s gym at 1349 NW Elm, McMinnville, OR.

During the church plant pastors included Lynn Bryson and Leon Ringering, David Schmidt, and Jim John (an original member who led in the process and then became the pastor and an ordained minister).  Rivers Edge became an official Seventh-day Adventist church in 2018.

Rivers Edge is an active church, here to serve the local community.

Ancient Israel’s capitol was Jerusalem which was set in the center of the major the trade routes of the ancient world. God set them up to be a light to the world, as it says in Matthew 5:14. As a church, God has set Rivers Edge up like ancient Israel. We aren’t called to hide from engagement with the world but are called to connect and be a blessing to the world. We aren’t called to become like the world, but to become like Jesus.

We are called to be a light and the light that we share is not light that we inherently possess of our own. It’s the light of God’s presence in our lives. We strive to be a light to our community.

Matthew 5:13 says that we are the salt of the earth. Salt is good in food when it is intermingled. We need to intermingle and in our intermingling we don’t want to loose who we are. Hence we have this tension in scripture of intermingling but also being a light. We must connect, engage, intermingle while retaining our identity as followers of Jesus. 

Join us in our mission as salt and light!