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Sweet River is a "start-up" church whose passion was found in the mid 90's with a Church called River of Life Fellowship. We at that time failed to succeed in our ministry of grace and call it our "Ishmael." But the vision of a Holy Spirit-Baptized, Reformation-grace, Church, was very much alive and well in Pastor Tony's heart.
In late 1999 he, along with a few ministry friends began to pray in a little Hill Country Church in Boerne Texas. What was later realized as a "crossing of the Jordan" so to speak, to the land of Promise, we prayed hard for this new work. Pastor Tony had one particular prayer-partner who gave sacrificially to our vision though he stayed in Boerne. We say, "Thanks Ray!"
The mantel of prayer for timing, location and the right conditions, continued from 2000 to 2005. Pastor Ron Fisher of Haven in the Hills Fellowship, along with a few ministry friends contributed to this work in terms of being a "helping roll" of generosity and availability for our first few services. Pastor Gibson says, "Thank you so much Ron and others, you were truly an inspiration."
The wind of God's Spirit began to blow on April 24th, 2005 as we raised our sail 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 first 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 its foundation without a denominational affiliation, or a network of Church oversight, can be like pushing a car up-hill wearing dress shoes. It's slippery, it's heavy, and it can back-up on top of 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.
Welcome to Sweet River Church
