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Sweet River is a "start-up " church whose vision goes back to the mid 90's with a Church called River of Life Fellowship in Boerne Texas. This church failed to succeed its mission but the vision of a Spirit-Baptized, Reformation grace Church , was very much alive and well in Pastor Gibson's heart.
In late 1999 our Pastor along with a few ministry friends began to pray in a little Hill Country Church in Boerne Texas. What was later realized in those days by Pastor Gibson was a "crossing of the Jordan" so to speak, to the land of Promise. This threshold of timing led to the name, Sweet River Church. Pastor Gibson had one particular prayer-partner who gave sacrificially to our vision of the new work. We say, "thanks Ray!"
The mantel of prayer for timing, location, and the right conditions, continued from 2000 to 2005. In 2001 however, Pastor Gibson took a Music Director position at a Church called Haven In The Hills Fellowship in Fair Oaks Texas (just south of Boerne) and continued with them for almost three years. Some of Haven's members and the senior Pastor would play a "helping roll" of generosity and prayers for the launching of this new work. Pastor Gibson says, "thank you so much Pastor Ron, you were truly an inspiration."
Just prior to the Music ministry with Haven, Pastor Gibson moved to New Braunfels Texas. It was in January 2000 where God began to speak to him concerning the general location of this new work. He later would settle on what we call God's choice in the matter. Sweet River Church was to begin in the far north east area of San Antonio. It was an area none would have guessed. Though we have not yet purchased our own property, we will eventually settle somewhere in the Schertz, Selma, Live Oak area.
The wind of God's Spirit began to blow on April 24th, 2005 as we raised the sails and began to move out of the harbor of prayer and planning. We had an increasing expectation of what God was about to do and so we felt a sense of gratitude. The doors to our very first Sweet River Worship Service swung wide open and we were off. We began in an elementary school cafeteria in the north east area of San Antonio. We were actually in the Wind Crest community just off of Crown Ridge drive. We had live music from ministry friends headed up by Lani. Thanks Lani! We also had special music from the Hare family, thanks guys! There were over 50 in attendance on that day, most of which were friends, relatives and ministry associates. We knew most of them would return to their own Churches and we would need to roll-up our proverbial sleeves and get to work. That we did!
A word from our Pastor:
"Planting a new church from scratch without a denominational affiliation, or even a network of Churches, can be like pushing a car up-hill wearing dress shoes. It's slippery, it's heavy, and it can back-up on you and run you right over. I felt none of the above when I answered this call. For me an uphill climb only makes it that much more a challenge to my faith and my calling. I was inspired by a quote from Pastor Rich Warren of the Saddle Back Church in Southern California. In his book: The Purpose Driven Church, Pastor Warren tells of his pioneering days which began with his immediate family in the living room of his home. He now Pastor's one of the largest and thriving Churches in the country. Speaking to Pastors and leaders on the subject of planting a new work, Pastor Rich said, "wait for the Lord to send the wave of momentum, and then when you see it, get on it …"
This word has been such a rich and inspirational voice of motivation for us here at Sweet River Church because it involves patience, timing, and God's creative work of momentum. We're in the right direction and waiting for a strong gust of Holy Spirit momentum. When we see Him coming we will pitch our sail and catch the wind of the Spirit.
