Receive God’s love through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice.
Equip ourselves with God’s love through studying His word.
Apply God’s love to heal everything broken in our lives.
Live God’s love as an example and expression to others.
God’s LOVE changes everything.
Pastor Dan Murray has served in ministry for more than 20 years, bringing steady leadership, discernment, and a deep commitment to advancing God’s Kingdom. A retired U.S. Army officer, Dan continues to serve as a senior civilian leader within the Department of the Army, carrying forward the same discipline, integrity, and heart for service that now shape his pastoral calling.
Dan and his wife, Colleen, share a unified passion for seeing people healed, equipped, and walking in freedom. Colleen, a PhD-level therapist specializing in trauma care, brings depth and compassion to their ministry, offering insight into emotional and spiritual restoration within the body of Christ. Together, they lead with humility, prayer, and a genuine love for people.
In February 2024, the Holy Spirit led Dan and Colleen to The River, where they immediately found a Spirit-filled home and began serving through the Prayer Team and Streams (small group) ministry. Their heart for discipleship and community is the motivation behind the way they serve and invest in others, continually pointing people toward a deeper relationship with God. As their leadership and devotion became evident, the church affirmed that call—and in May 2025, Dan was ordained as Associate Pastor. He now serves as Interim Lead Pastor, guiding the church forward with faith, unity, and purpose.
Their testimony is one of God’s faithfulness—of watching the Holy Spirit heal, deliver, and restore lives through every chapter of their journey. Whether ministering from the pulpit, leading in prayer, or serving behind the scenes, Pastor Dan and Colleen live to see people encounter the presence and power of God.
The Ark Director
theark@theriver.net
Youth Pastors
pursuit@theriver.net
The River Kids
riverkids@theriver.net
Worship & Prayer
worship@theriver.net
First Impressions
firstimpressions@theriver.net
Follow-Up & Care
care@theriver.net
Tech Arts
tech@theriver.net
Outreach
outreach@theriver.net
Administrator
admin@theriver.net
Facilities & Grounds
facilities@theriver.net
Streams
streams@theriver.net
Facilities Staff
arkkidsclub@theriver.net
The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant
Proverbs 30:5-6; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21
There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal.
Genesis 1:26; I John 5:7; Matthew 3:16-17 & 28:19
Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He is the only person ever to have lived a faultless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on a cross for mankind, and thus atoned for our sins through His shed blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory to rule forever.
Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1, 14 & 20:28; I Timothy 2:5 & 3:16; Philippians 2:5-11
Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, in the virgin Mary’s womb; therefore, He is the Son of God. Being born of the Seed of the Holy Spirit and not a human man, enabled Him to live a sinless life and become the “spotless” Lamb of God.
Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18 & 24-25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:29
Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary rebellion and disobedience to God’s command, he sinned and fell out of relationship with God. The only hope of redemption for mankind is through faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
Genesis 1:26-31 & 3:1-13; Romans 5:12-21
The blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary was perfect because He was sinless, and is the only sacrifice 100% sufficient to cleanse all mankind of every sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished in our place to take upon Himself God’s judgment and wrath, rightfully ours through our rebellion and disobedience. His sacrifice enables everyone who receives forgiveness through faith in Him to become a “new creature in Christ” and to become a child of God.
I John 1:7-9; Colossians 1:19-23; Romans 3:21-26 & 5:6-11
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: His death, burial and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not the result of our good works or any human efforts. Man cannot save himself, only God, through His own actions.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16 & 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22
For anyone to know God, spiritual regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
John 3:3; II Corinthians 5:14-21; Romans 6:4 & 7:6; Galatians 2:19-20; Titus 3:3-7
Repentance is literally changing the way we think about God, ourselves and the world. It is turning our backs on our old sinful nature, desires and ways of living (thinking, talking and acting), taking up our cross daily (dying to ourselves) and following Jesus, walking in newness of life.
Matthew 4:17; Mark 6:12; Luke 13:1-5; Acts 2:36-39, 3:19 & 17:29-31
Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and Holy Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of Holy Spirit and God’s Word that the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life.
II Corinthians 3:17-18 & 6:14-18; I Thessalonians 4:3-7 & 5:23-24; Romans 8:29 & 12:1-5; Hebrews 2:11-18
When a person receives Jesus as Savior and Lord, Holy Spirit comes in and takes up permanent residence in that person’s heart as a “guarantee” of God’s salvation. Holy Spirit is the believer’s comforter (counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener, and standby). He is “God with Us” since Jesus has ascended to the Father in heaven. Jesus prayed to the Father and the Father sent Holy Spirit to remain with us forever.
John 14:16-18 AMP, 26; 16:7-15; II Corinthians 5:5
Given by the Father on Pentecost, after Jesus ascended to heaven, The Holy Spirit came in the fulness of His power and filled every believer that day, birthing the New Testament church in fulfillment of the Father’s promise, as Jesus foretold. The Father gave the Holy Spirit to empower the church to be powerful witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection throughout the whole earth.
Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Luke 11:9-13, 24:49; John 15:26-27; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 17-18, 38-39; 8:14-19; 10:44-48; 11:15-18; 19:1-7
The Holy Spirit demonstrates His power through a variety of spiritual gifts to build, encourage and strengthen the church, demonstrate the veracity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible’s lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations, as the Spirit wills. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire and seek the demonstration of these spiritual gifts in their lives. The spiritual gifts operate in harmony with the scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters.
I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; Hebrews 2:3-4; Romans 1:11, 12:4-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; I Timothy 4:14; II Timothy 1:6-7; I Peter 4:9-11
The church (Greek, Ekklesia) is Christ’s representative government in the earth. We are His chosen people, a Holy priesthood. We are also the ambassadors of the King of Heaven, to all the kingdoms of the world. The church is all referred to in scripture as the body of Christ, with Him being its head. God Himself places each member in the body and enables them with specific gifts. Each believer, born of the Holy Spirit is an integral part of Christ’s body and God-ordained to perform His divine purposes in the earth.
Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; John 17:10-26; I Peter 2:9; Hebrews 10:24-25, 12:22-24
Physical healing was a center piece of Jesus’ ministry and fulfilled prophesy about Him. Jesus also empowered His disciples to heal the sick in His name. Finally, Jesus included the command to all believers to lay hands on the sick to heal, also as a sign that He is Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. The gifts of healings is also one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, He distributes to members of the body of Christ as He wills.
Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:2-3 & 107:20; Isaiah 53:5; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 8:16-17; I Peter 2:24; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body, three days after His crucifixion, as the first born of many brethren. Every person, the saved and unsaved, will one day be resurrected too; the saved to the resurrection to eternal life in Christ, and the unsaved to eternal damnation.
Luke 24:1-8, 13-16, 30-31, 36 & 39-43; John 2:19-22, 20:19-20, 26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:42-44; Philippians 1:21-23 & 3:20-21; I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Heaven is a real place where God the Father rules over the universe He created, and Jesus sits, enthroned at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us. It is also the place to which every believer’s spirit goes upon death, and waits to return with Christ, when He comes as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to establish His eternal earthly kingdom.
Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, & 25:34; John 17:24; II Corinthians 5:1-2, 6-8; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4; Philippians 3:20
Hell is also a real place, created by God for Satan and his angels, containing a lake of fire that burns eternally. God will conduct a great judgment of all mankind at the end of time, and will sentence all people whose names are not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, to eternal damnation and torment in the lake of fire with Satan and his angels. This is the second death.
Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; II Thessalonians 1:6-9; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15 & 21:8
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth a second time to establish His eternal kingdom. This will occur on a date and time undisclosed in the scriptures. Jesus said it is not for us to know the day and time when He will return, that only the Father knows this.
Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; II Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7, 22:7, 12, 17, 20
Isaiah 53:5
Matthew 8:17
I Peter 2:24
James 5:14-16
Joshua 1:7-8
Malachi 3:10-11
Luke 6:38
II Corinthians 9:6-15
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
Psalm 34:9-10, 84:11
Philippians 4:18-19
I John 3:17-18
Jesus’ own example and command is for every new believer in Jesus Christ to be baptized in water by emersion, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the remission of sins.
Matthew 3:13-17, 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 8:12 & 36-38; 10:47-48, 19:4-5
(Holy Communion)
A unique time of communion between believers and Jesus is when the bread and fruit of the vine are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ shed blood and broken body on Calvary. These elements serve as a reminder to every believer that Jesus’ sacrifice paid the price for complete forgiveness and wholeness.
Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-32
The Bible defines marriage as a life-long covenant entered into between one man and one woman.
Genesis 1:26-28, 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-8; Ephesians 5:30-33
