Riverview Church
Encyclopedia
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
evangelical
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
church headquartered in Burswood
Burswood, Western Australia
Burswood is an inner southeastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located immediately across the Swan River from Perth's central business district via both The Causeway and Graham Farmer Freeway...
, an inner suburb of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. Riverview has expanded in recent times to include a north and south campus, and in 2007 launched a campus in Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, which is now no longer considered a campus of Riverview Church. The church was established by former Senior Pastor Phil Baker and wife Heather Baker in 1997, out of the former Rhema Family Church which was founded in 1979 and grew to be one of Perth's largest by the late 1980s. Riverview Church operates with the mission statement: "to lead people to Christ, and build them into a worshipping community". The church maintains an ecumenical
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
, liberal
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
focus. The church is also one of the largest in Australia and probably the largest in Perth, Western Australia.
Services
Riverview hosts nine weekend church services across four campuses, and claims an attendance of more than 4,500 people per week on its website.The church runs a kids service for children aged from 0-12. These services are called KidzChurch Live, and are provided during Saturday night and Sunday morning church. The church also broadcasts its services on television, via a program called RiverviewLIVE that currently airs across 54 countries, over various networks.
History
The church was founded by the former pastor, Phil Baker's father, Brian J. Baker, who was born in England and with his wife, Valerie, migrated to New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1972 and ran various ministries there. They subsequently trained at Rhema Bible Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
under Pastor Kenneth E. Hagin
Kenneth E. Hagin
Kenneth Erwin Hagin was an influential American Pentecostal preacher. He is often referred to as the "father" of the "Word of Faith" movement. Many of his followers often refer to him affectionately as "Dad Hagin", "Pappa Hagin" and more commonly "Brother Hagin".- Personal life :Kenneth E...
, and started the Inner City Faith Fellowship at Holmes Hall in Belmont
Belmont, Western Australia
The City of Belmont is a Local Government Area in the inner eastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about east of Perth's central business district on the south bank of the Swan River...
, a suburb of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, on 9 December 1979. The church moved five months later to Brisbane Street, five blocks north of Perth's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. Baker was ordained by Hagin in 1980. At this time, the Bakers were assisted by Pastors Mike and Randa Moorhead from Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, who returned overseas after helping to establish Faith Christian Academy, which in February 1982 commenced teaching 70 school students from years 1 to 10 within the church's building.
The church changed name to Rhema Faith Fellowship in 1982 and again to Rhema Family Church in June 1985, also moving to its current premises at Thorogood Street, Burswood (then called Victoria Park
Victoria Park, Western Australia
The Town of Victoria Park is a Local Government Area of Western Australia. It covers an area of 17.62 km² in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The Town of Victoria Park maintains 154.55 km of roads, a little over 1 km² of parks and gardens and has a...
), which previously operated as a warehouse. The school, renamed Rhema Christian Academy in 1985, had grown to 200 students by the following year and had moved to premises in Colombo Street, across Albany Highway
Albany Highway
Albany Highway is a generally northwest-southeast highway in the south of Western Australia which links the state's capital Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany. The highway is approximately in length, is designated State Route 30 and separates Western Australia's Great Southern region from...
from the church. A bible school (Rhema Bible Training Centre or RBTC) was opened, and in the spirit of its evangelical
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
traditions, started churches around Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, as well as over 100 home groups operating in Perth's suburbs. At its peak in the late 1980s, Rhema claimed to have over 3,200 members at its church in Victoria Park and was the biggest single church in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. By 1989, the church also offered a children's ministry during its main service for those up to the age of 15, divided into four age groups.
On 30 April 1989, Brian J. Baker retired from the ministry, handing over to his son Phil and his wife Heather, who had been running a children's ministry in New Zealand. Phil instituted a financial management plan for the church to handle mounting debts and liabilities arising from the late 1980s recession
Late 1980s recession
The recession of the early 1990s describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Causes:...
, including disbanding the nationwide Rhema branding for churches started by RBTC graduates and loosening the relationship with the school, now renamed Regent College. Under Phil Baker's guidance in 1991-1992, the church started periodic "Guest Sundays", a mix of dramatic arts and multimedia presentation designed to reach those outside the church, made plans for a television presentation called "Rhema Live" and introduced the slogan "the church for people who don't like church", which they maintain to the present day.
However, numbers declined during the early 1990s, especially after the trial and conviction in September 1993 of Gary Holmes, the church's overseas missions director, of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy while at another church, New Day, in 1983, and subsequent media scrutiny of the church, which was labelled a "fringe religion" in bold headlines. In 1996, the church was finally forced to close, and the Moorheads started Rhema Bible Church and a related construction and development company on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, while Rhema graduate and former champion tennis player Margaret Court
Margaret Smith Court
Margaret Court, AO MBE, is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Australia. In 1970, she became the first woman during the open era and the second woman in history to win all four Grand Slam tournament singles titles in the same calendar year. Court won a record 24 of those titles during...
opened Victory Life Centre in Osborne Park
Osborne Park, Western Australia
Osborne Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher who owned an abattoir on Wanneroo Road and was elected to the Perth Road Board , in 1875.The suburb was originally full of market gardens,...
with several former Rhema pastoral and administrative staff.
In 1997, Phil and Heather Baker established Riverview Church in the same building as the old Rhema fellowship, with a more ecumenical
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
focus than its past incarnation, with a membership base that has grown consistently during the 2000s. Phil is president of the Australian Christian Churches network and regularly writes to newspapers and makes media appearances representing the charismatic movement's point of view on what it feels are key issues.
The church has recently begun to move into multi-site services, with meetings held at North (Joondalup), South (Cockburn Central), and City Burswood) sites. However, its ambitious Orange County, California site proved to be unsuccessful and Riverview withdrew after eighteen months. With an official launch date of 4 March 2007, the (former) Destiny People's Christian Church led by Wes and Ellie Beavis joined Riverview Church as its fourth campus. Connect and Worship Pastors Mark and Ali Cullen moved to California from Australia in December 2006 to assist and support the launch and subsequent growth of the church. With little progress being made, Riverview sent Pastors Marcus and Alyson Passauer to take over the leadership of the campus in December 2007. The campus faced continuing financial challenges and no upward trend in attendance. Due to budget cuts the Cullens were released in June 2008. Shortly after this Riverview made the decision to cease it's involvement in Orange County and the Passauer's returned to Australia in August 2008. The "campus" (which met in a movie theater) was handed back to the leadership of Wes and Ellie Beavis and is continuing as Destiny People.
In June 2009, Phil Baker suffered a benign brain tumour, which had to be removed. The subsequent operation resulted in complications which meant his recovery time was increased greatly. As of the beginning of 2010, Pastor Haydn Nelson was named Senior Pastor of Riverview Church.
External links
- Riverview Church home page
- Regent College, the church-associated primary school.
- ABC George Negus Tonight (June 2004) interviews Phil Baker.
- ABC Stateline (July 2004) discusses Riverview in context with traditional denominations.
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