The Hartford Courant ran a great article about Riverfront Family Church today. RFC is an American Baptist church plant meeting in Hartford (960 Main Street — the old G. Fox Building). It has become my home church in this season of my life and it has been a great blessing to me. I love the vision of the church, I love the pastor of the church (who has become a good friend), and I love the people of the church — many of which have also become good friends.
RFC is rare in that it is both a legitimately evangelical church as well as a legitimately socially progressive church. Preaching/teaching is solidly biblical; members are challenged to become serious disciples of Jesus through covenant together, small groups, spiritual disciplines, etc; justice is not just a buzz word, a real part of the DNA of the church and its members; and grace and love is lived out in very real, practical and life-changing ways. It is also one of the most diverse churches I have been a part of — which may say more about other churches than this one. But the truth is that as the church grows, it is increasingly diverse in terms of geography, age, race, ethnicity, etc. Worship is contemporary, refreshing and spirit-filled..
For me, RFC has been a great place to worship, develop new friendships, have a place to invite friends, use my gifts, and experience healing. It is a place where I have been loved and accepted for who I am — and that has been very powerful, especially given this season of life. It is also fun to be part of a church plant that has a similar heart (though very different strategy/focus) as my previous church.
The church draws from all over the greater Hartford area, including Glastonbury, Manchester, West Hartford and South Windsor. They are members of the Manchester Area Conference of Churches (MACC) as well.
Here is a clip from the Hartford Courant article…
Raised in an evangelical church, Nancy Butler said she enjoyed a personal connection with God, an intimate knowledge of the Bible and the uplifting music during her early religious experiences.
“But I had problems with the social policy of the church,” she said. “Women couldn’t be ministers, and I didn’t like the attitudes toward gay people and other religions.”
She said she tried to ignore her conflicted feelings until she and husband Greg Butler started a family.
“That’s when I started really looking at it,” she said, recalling how her daughter once reacted to seeing a man in a turban, after a story lesson at church. “She started crying and said, ‘That man kills Christians.’ And I said, ‘That’s it!’ “
You can read the whole article here.
If you don’t have a home church, I hope you will check out RFC sometime!
THOUGHTS?
BEN DUBOW 
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