About Us

We at River of Life Assembly of God believe that God is real, and that He passionately wants to be involved in your life. God has the power to transform every situation you are facing, and He wants to bring you into your true destiny. We worship God and believe that He will do great things in our lives and in our city. We want you to be a part of that!

Core Values

The Word of God - Our foundation is the absolute truth and authority of the Word of God. The Scriptures are fully utilized to teach, correct, edify and empower believers to serve God, care for one another, and reach out to the lost.
Prayer - We believe that God desires a personal, intimate relationship with each of us. This can only be developed through fervent, abundant, and persistent prayer, arising from humble hearts burning with an insatiable desire to know God better.
Fellowship/Community - We strive to create an authentic community devoted to providing a safe, nurturing and supportive environment where all can heal, learn, grow, and share in the blessings and responsibilities of church family life.
Discipleship - The Christian walk is a never-ending process of growing, learning and applying Biblical truth and spiritual discipline. We walk this path together as a church body, sometimes learning and sometimes teaching; exhorting and celebrating every effort to go higher in our lifestyle and deeper in our relationship with God.
Church Family/Body - A healthy, vibrant church body consists of every member fully engaged in ministry in proportion to the gifts they have received from the Holy Spirit.
Evangelism/Outreach - A church is a living organism, a body of people united in blessed assurance of our eternal life in Christ. As we draw closer each day to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's return, we must reach out to the lost souls and broken lives around us.
Biblical Preaching and Teaching - The Word of God is living and active, and must be proclaimed, taught, and applied to our daily lives. The church is responsible for assuring that the whole truth contained in the Scriptures is preached, taught, and understood.
Worship - We worship God in spirit and in truth with all our being, unashamed and unrestricted, inviting Him to inhabit the praises of His people, take control, and move powerfully in the minds and hearts of the assembled congregation.

Doctrines: Statement of Faith

The Bible
It is God’s communication to us humans; his love-letter written for us and to us.
In it, God reveals Himself, the greatest treasure we will ever know.
It is fully true, and it contains wisdom, inspiration, and guidance for us to live by.
God Himself
There is just one God. He has created all things seen and unseen.
He exists eternally in three persons [the Trinity], as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
He can be known personally by us, and He desires a close relationship with each person.
Jesus Christ
When He was on earth, He was fully God yet also fully human.
His birth was supernatural; He was born of a virgin.
He was tempted just like all of us are, yet He never sinned.
The miracles He performed on earth were real.
He was crucified, and His innocent blood was shed as a sacrifice so that our sins could be forgiven.
He died, was buried, and physically rose from the dead.
He will return to earth in power and glory.

Our Pastor

Elden and Linda Lathrop are graduates of Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York. They have served churches in Chittenango, Alton, and Sodus, New York before coming to River of Life Assembly of God in August of 2001. They have a deep desire to see every believer live in the fullness of life that can only be experienced through intimacy with God.