River of Life History

Before River of Life Ministries (ROL) was birthed in January of 1989, Francis Frangipane had been Pastor of Victory Christian Center in Marion, a teaching-centered congregation with a history of pastor-led church government. Fellowship Christian Center (FCC), with a focus on training and home groups, was an elder-led congregation that owned the property now known as River of Life Ministries.

In November of 1988, Francis was strongly considering a move to a larger work in the Kansas City area when he received a phone call from an elder from FCC. God had been stirring in the hearts of their leadership to merge, so Francis delayed his decision to move. They met two days later and all leaders began to pray in earnest about the two churches merging.

Through an amazing series of miracles and prophetic words, the Lord joined these two churches together. All agreed that Pastor Francis should serve as senior pastor and founder of the new group. That Christmas Eve, just five weeks after the initial phone call, the two groups met for the first time as a new congregation.

The following Sunday, January 1, 1989, River of Life Ministries was officially born. From its very beginning, River of Life has served as a prophetic declaration of God's desire for unity and reconciliation among Christians.

Publication of Francis' book, The Three Battlegrounds, in 1989, along with growing worldwide interest in his 1986 book, Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God, fueled demand for him as an international conference speaker. These extra-local opportunities initiated the formation of Advancing Church Ministries to coordinate Francis' conference schedule, and Arrow Publications to make his books, tapes and teaching resources more accessible to the greater body of Christ. Francis continues to write, with many more articles and books being published since 1989.

In 1991, we began to see growth in River of Life's local body. We also saw how extensively the message of Christlikeness was influencing the church-at-large. An executive pastor position was created to facilitate day-to-day operations, while Francis remained vitally connected as senior pastor. A new sanctuary and adjoining rooms were built in 1994 to accommodate the growing local body.

In 1996, the Lord opened a door of opportunity where Pastor Frangipane was invited to provide a half-hour weekly television program for the Sky Angel Satellite network. In response to this opportunity, River of Life partnered with Advancing Church Ministries to form a Media Ministry responsible for editing the weekly messages into the half-hour television program. The Media Ministry also provides event coverage and tape duplication services for conferences hosted at River of Life and other city-wide events.

Additional doors of opportunity opened with radio and Internet Ministries. These new outreaches were consolidated under the title In Christ's Image Training. ROL's Media Ministry expanded to effectively continue producing the weekly In Christ's Image programs while also meeting the growing communication needs of our own church.

Through our audio/video communications and the development of the River of Life web site (www.riveroflife.org), the River of Life Media Ministry has become an important tool for sharing the Gospel to our own body, the city, and the nations. In Christ's Image is now distributed nationally as well as to over 200 nations through GOD TV.

In 2000 the Lord brought ROL through a significant season of change. The outcome was that, as pastors and elders, we returned to the unique call of God for our church, which was simply, to pursue Christlikeness. Becoming unified in purpose the Lord deepened our relationships with one another, and then expanded His love through the pastoral team for our congregation. In the atmosphere of a new beginning certain foundational truths were recognized as being fundamental to sustaining the love and unity all were experiencing. These truths, which came both from the Scriptures themselves and also from Pastor Frangipane's teachings based on the Scriptures, were developed by the pastoral team into what we call In Christ's Image Training (ICIT). Today this curriculum is being used in over 60 nations worldwide.

In Christ's Image Training was first launched within our own church and, soon after, became available internationally through the Ministries of Francis Frangipane website (www.frangipane.org). These classes embrace a curriculum that reflects our foundational values: Christlikeness, Humility, Prayer and Unity. Gleaned from books and writings penned by Francis Frangipane over the course of his ministry, ongoing classes are taught by River of Life's pastoral team to River of Life attenders. In Christ's Image Training Center has grown to include a full time staff, which sends the curriculum through the Internet via weekly email. Thousands throughout the world have completed the foundational classes as a result of this online ministry.

Advancing Church Ministries Association (ACMA) is being organized. God continues to unfold His plan, as He uses ICIT in a mighty way to help train the body of Christ in Christlikeness.