FAQ - River of Life Fellowship

Q. How long ago did your church begin?

River of Life Fellowship opened its doors to the public on September of 2003. It started as a Wednesday night prayer meeting which evolved into a Friday night cell meeting. The church's vision was given to our Senior Pastor, Bobby Dizon, during one of Morris Cerrullo's conference at Abundant Grace Community Church. This vision confirmed the direction of the group to proceed in the establishment of a cell church. As the one cell group grew, multiplication was needed, thus giving birth to two more cell groups. As the group began to affect the lives of their families and those around them in their workplaces and neighborhoods, the need grew for the addition of a corporate gathering. We outgrew the office suite that we were renting along University Drive in Edinburg. We currently meet corporately on Sundays at 10:00 am in our church building located at 12212 North Rooth Rd. McAllen, TX 78504. By the end of 2011 we had 18 cell groups that meet weekly in the McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, and Pharr area. We currently have 44 cell groups and the Lord keeps adding to this number.

We are a non-denominational church under the apostolic covering and care of Fountain Gate Fellowship under the leadership Pastor Scott Beard and ground work guidance of Pastor Randy Boyd of Prepare International.

Just as in our physical bodies where many cells work together to bring life, we consider "cells" to be the most basic foundation of life. Each "Cell Group: is a basic unit of life. A "Cell Church" is a church that seeks to minister to the world through small groups of people called "Cells." Each "Cell Group" is made up of about three to fifteen adults and their families who are committed to helping each other grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus Christ. These groups do many of the same activities as the corporate church. Cell groups meet weekly for prayer, discussion of the Word of God, to encourage each other, and to participate together in fun activities. The members of the Cell Group share in life together through committed relationships. The primary objectives of the Cell Group is to help build the Life of Christ in each member to develop and release spiritual gifts, and to make disciples who will take the responsibility of reaching the world around them.

We meet weekly to celebrate Jesus and what He is doing among our families. Our Sunday Celebration Service begins at 10:00 am and ends approximately at 11:30 am.

The Sunday Celebration Service is a great time together of praise and worship, followed by practical instruction for daily Christian living from the Word, shared by our pastor or pastoral elders.

Our music varies from upbeat, contemporary praise to quiet, reverent worship. We believe in Psalm 150 worship - a variety of instruments and singers. Please refer to our statement of faith.

During the celebration time the children are served through our Nursery (Infant to 18 mos), Toddler (18 mos. to 3 years), Preschool classes (3-4 years), Schoolers (5-8 years), and Pre-teens (9-12 years) by virtue of our children's ministry - King's Kidz Ministry. Our team of dedicated teacher volunteers lead the children as they share together through activities and lessons where they learn about Jesus from stories in the Word, worship together, pray for each other and build relationships.

We have youth cell groups where teens minister to one another with the supervision of our youth minister on today's relational issues. It is an avenue where youth cell leaders learn leadership principles. However, our strong belief is that the primary responsibility for bringing up children belongs to the parents and the church body comes alongside to compliment that through ministry.

We are casual. You'll find a lot more jeans than ties, and you will almost never find our Pastor in a tie except for occasional formal events. Come as you are and be comfortable!