The River Church has two services on Sunday at 9 and 11 am. They also have services at 12 noon and 7 pm on Tuesday. The praise & worship ministry and the awesome band is able to usher God in during the service prior to hearing a great word preached by Bishop Ronald Godbee. Bishop Godbee is a kind man of God that cares about people and teaches from the Bible. The church has multiple ministries including a nursing home ministry, dance ministry, media, and a ministry dedicated to the health of the members of the church. The River often gives back to the community by having events such as back to school events with free book bags and supplies for individuals in the community and giving away food during the pandemic. There is also a separate curriculum that is taught to the children in the church for those that attend 4life during the service. The church also has safety measures in place such as taking temperature and providing hand sanitizer to those that worship at the church. I def recommend visiting the River Church in Durham. read more

My first visit to The River Durham started off amazing on 7/6/2025! The usher who greeted me was thorough and made sure I felt welcome upon entering. I really enjoyed the praise and worship and loved experiencing a down-south Black church atmosphere. The bishop delivered a sermon titled "Justice and Mercy," and I appreciated how he addressed heavy-hitting topics that most pastors wouldn't usually touch upon. He expressed empathy for those who felt justice was not served in the verdict from the Diddy trial, and he talked about how our justice system often fails us. He highlighted many inequalities within our systems, including the political system and the rollout of "The Big Beautiful Bill". He also pointed out that the Constitution wasn't written with 'us' in mind. I admired how the Bishop could take a more radical left-wing stance in support of the Black community while also calling for God's mercy to be the true source of justice. However, things took a drastic turn when the sermon began to derail. The Bishop made comments laced with homophobic rhetoric that left me feeling uncomfortable. He said, "I don't agree with a homosexual lifestyle because it interrupts the community," and "I want the church to be a place for homosexuals to run to." I was shocked to hear this unnecessary commentary, as it had nothing to do with the original sermon topic and disrupted the flow of his message. How can someone's individual sexuality impact an entire community?? Let people love who they want to love. It was astounding to hear a pastor, who is calling for justice in our community, spewing antiquated homophobic views. Even if he holds a mindset of "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," he wasn't leading with love. I don't understand how he expects the queer community to view this church as a safe haven if this is how he approaches it. I pray Bishop Ronald engages in more research and discussions with more progressive pastors on this subject. For example, Pastor Mike Walrond from First Corinthians Baptist Church in Harlem discussed this topic on Jerrod Carmichael's show with his mother, who has a similar mindset. This pastor provided biblically-based guidance on this issue, and I hope Bishop Ronald takes the time to review this scene because he risks alienating congregation members and visitors. This church's demographic leans a bit younger, which made the situation even more surprising. As an ally of the queer community, I understand that their struggle for equality is similar to the ones that we have historically faced in the Black community. The statement that had me the most flabbergasted was something about losing homosexuals due to their sin. He started off talking about people who live a life of crime in the streets. And he remarked about not wanting to have to bury them. But then he circled back to people who are "battling sexuality" and said that and "if they don't get it right he's going to have to bury them". (I'm paraphrasing but that was the sentiment). This is hyperbole at its finest. This notion that being gay leads to demise, in the same way that it does for someone living a life of crime, is such a false equivalency. I have friends who are queer and I would never want to invite them to a church that preaches with this mindset. If God made us all in His own image, wouldn't He have considered homosexuals during that creation? Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. Gay people are simply trying to live their lives. I've also heard from queer people who have attempted to "pray the gay away" due to pastors preaching in this manner. No one asks to be oppressed, and people do not choose to be born this way; yet God still loves them in the way that He loves you and I. I was honestly quite disgusted, and I'm surprised I didn't get up and walk out, but I kept waiting for the bishop to redeem himself. I was shocked to look around and see that those around me seemed unfazed, which reflects the church body and perhaps indicates they are just used to this rhetoric. This will be my first and last visit to River Durham. It's a shame because this church seems to be doing amazing work in the community, such as giving back to small businesses. Right now, there's a focus on non-profit companies that are making it impact in the area. I definitely know that there is a need in that space. I just hope that the Bishop realizes there is a need to also shift his mindset around the queer community because they need his support too. I pray you do better. In Jesus' name. read more

I love my church! If you're ever in RDU area, the river is a must visit place of good worship, word and welcoming experience of God's love!

My husband and I visited The River one Sunday and enjoyed ourselves tremendously! The P&W was fabulous and the preaching was Awesome! I attended the JJ Hairston service as well as attended a Sunday service alone and have not been disappointed at all. The Bishop is a humble preaching man with a serious anointing! The members are friendly and it's a very energetic church with a love of the community and the people. read more

We recently moved to area from AR and are in search of a new church, this is not the church for us. They had very friend staff and my daughter seemed to have enjoyed her time in the pre-k classroom, can't say the same for my husband and I. The 10:30 service must be 2hours long, we left at 12:30 and the visiting bishop must have been about 15 minutes into his sermon. We also felt extremely bad walking out because they sat us in the front, I don't like to be told where in church to sit. The worship was so loud and different from my previous church, the message I struggled to follow it. Let me say that I started attending a Christian Church about a year ago and our experience was beautiful in AR. There I learned about God and the Bible every Sunday and the outline they provided helped me follow along all this in 1 hour. The River church was so different the sermon was all about his personal experience very little was actually used from the Bible. We will not be returning not for us. read more