Rivercliff Lutheran Church in Sandy Springs

Website: www.riverclifflutheran.org

Services: 8:30 a.m. contemporary, a less formal service with worship team and words to the songs projected on a screen. 11 a.m. traditional features pipe organ and music from hymnals.

Average Sunday attendance: 240

Minister: The Rev. Jeffrey Jordan

Denomination affiliation: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, www.lcms.org

Mission statement

“In response to God’s love, Rivercliff Lutheran Church’s mission is to joyfully proclaim God’s grace and salvation through Jesus Christ to all people.”

History

In 2008, members celebrated the church’s 40th anniversary. After the first couple of years, Rivercliff has been located at the present six-acre location.

Pastor’s path

Jordan, who was born in Detroit, is a second-career pastor who spent 13 years as a chemist with Shell Chemical Co. before answering the call to ministry.

“In 1997, after 15 years of wrestling with it, I finally gave up and decided to give this a try,” Jordan said. “We paid off all our debt, packed up the family and headed to Fort Wayne, [Ind.]” where he entered Concordia Theological Seminary.

The pastor’s first call was to a congregation in Rocklin, Calif., outside Sacramento. After serving there 8 1/2 years, Jordan answered the call to Rivercliff and joined the staff on April 18, 2010.

Ministries

The church’s Open Arms Early Learning Center is a year-round ministry with 100 children enrolled and a new Georgia pre-k program. Open Arms also offers after-school and parents’ morning out programs.

Rivercliff has been responsible for three new church plants, in Cumming, Dahlonega and Kennesaw. Jordan commends the members for their outward focus and commitment to serving others.

“The two things that characterize the congregation is an intense desire to study the word of God and to take that word out to other people,” said Jordan. “As we learn what the Bible says to us, we want to communicate it to the people we know.”

Aside from the typical outreach programs, Jordan said church members focus on sharing God through everyday contact with family members, and people at work or at play.

“Everywhere we are, we have relationships with people, and everyone needs the same joy we have. We also spend a lot of time thinking about the fact that there are a lot of good people out there who aren’t Christians. We have to open our mouths and speak the name of Jesus Christ to people who haven’t heard it. ”

Thoughts from the pastor

“At Rivercliff, we are truly a family -- God’s family -- a growing family who worships together, serves together, laughs and cries together, learns together, and reaches out with the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ. We invite you to come hear the story of Jesus’ birth during our Christmas Eve services at 5, 8 and 10 p.m. and Christmas Day service at 10 a.m.”