Rivers of Life (Spanish: ''Ríos de Vida'') is a group of approximately eighty

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

churches around the world. The churches are in countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Netherlands, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Cuba, Panama and the United States. Rivers of Life has 4

bible colleges A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian minis ...

known as Bible Houses, 2 children's homes, a school with approximately 600 students, and an FM radio station (FM Victoria) amongst other ministries set up to serve the church's purposes. It is not to be confused with other churches and organisations around the world called Rivers of Life. These include River of Life International, which was founded in the UK in 1995 and now has churches, schools and orphanages in Africa and India.

History

Rivers of Life was founded in 1967 in

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

, a suburb of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina by the Spanish nationals Jorge Pradas and Oscar Mirón along with others. Mirón had moved to Argentina to flee the persecution of

Christians in Spain under

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

. He fled the country after he had been a target in an attempted assassination. When the church began, he opened up his workshop for church meetings to be held there. Jorge Pradas was the main leader of the church at the time. The church in Quilmes now has approximately 1,000 members. By the 1970s, churches had been established in Europe. For Rivers of Life's 40th anniversary, the mayor of

, Sergio Villordo visited the first church.

Beliefs

Rivers of Life holds to the orthodox Christian faith. It is a free, evangelical and

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...

Church. Its practices include

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

the Lord's Supper The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

, the

spiritual gifts In Christianity, a spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A ...

and the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

vision of Christ's church. It believes in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and in the full divinity, atoning death and bodily resurrection of Christ. It also believes that the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

is God's authoritative word inspired by the Holy Spirit. Rivers of Life accepts and adheres to key tenets of the Christian faith, including the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

, the

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed—also called the ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes"—is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christolo ...

and the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

Bible Houses

Rivers of Life believe that as well as secular preparation for life, e.g., a university degree, Christians need to be prepared in other ways such as service, living in community and studying the Bible. For this reason, it formed

known as Bible Houses. Their name derives from the fact that nearly all the students live in the same hall of residence. The standard course lasts for two years. There are currently four Bible Houses: In

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, UK, there are two community houses but no Bible House. All the Bible Houses are situated closed to a Rivers of Life church and the students attend all the church services. The Bible House students also serve the church in various ways.

History

Beliefs

Bible Houses

References

External links