welcome to the river 

experience  connect  empower

Josh PAyne

Lead Pastor

Joshua Payne serves as Lead Pastor of The River Church. Before serving as Lead Pastor, he invested several years of ministry into seeing the vision of The River Church expand, from serving in the roles as Student and Assistant Pastors.  He attended Jackson College of Ministries for a brief period and currently holds his ordination with the UPCI. He and his wife, Tiffany, are blessed with two children, Londyn and Brantly, and they live in Albany, Louisiana. 

Service Times

Every Sunday - 9am & 11am

Every Wednesday - 7pm

our mission

experience. connect. empower.


Experience - Our desire at The River is for people to experience God in a personal and powerful way. God is not just a historical figure, but He is someone we can personally encounter and experience. It is our sincere belief that God wants to be made know and visible through His presence to all people. 


Connect - Once you've experienced His presence, our goal is to connect you to the Kingdom of God. This core value is important because it focuses on belonging, discipleship and growth. 


Empower - Once you experience and connect, we believe empowerment will be a rewarding time in your Christian life. At The River, we want you to have more than a form of godliness. We want you to possess the power that should follow every born again believer and get you activated to help grow the Kingdom of God. 

have any questions?


  • We know meeting someone for the first time can be intimidating, and going to a new church for the first time can be nerve-racking. We have an incredible greeting team that will greet and assist you as you walk into the door. We want to help make your first experience at The River Church a great one! Sunday's at The River are exciting, fun, and engaging. Come as you are and expect to feel welcomed as our guest. Wednesday’s are exciting, casual, and relaxed. 

  • Our services are about 60 to 90 minutes in length. This includes a worship set and message from one of our speakers, or our Pastor.

  • At the The River, your children are our top priority! We have multiple classes that will meet your child's needs. To find out more information about our classes, you can click here.

  • We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God. Matthew 4:4, Psalm 119:11

    We believe there is only one God. Deuteronomy 6:4  

    We believe everyone should attend church faithfully with a pastor helping them and guiding them along their journey.  

    1 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 10:25, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

    We believe in the power of prayer. Mark 1:35, Philippians 4:6, Matthew 26:40-41

    We believe in the Great Commission. We are commanded to share Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet, wherever we go, and wherever the Lord sends us. Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:47-49

    We believe while faith is powerful and necessary, it is powerless without obedience. John 14:15, 1 John 2:3-4

    We believe the born-again experience is being baptized in Jesus’ name by full immersion in water and being filled with God’s spirit.  Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus further explains, “Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:3, John 3:5

    We believe repentance is part of the salvation process.  Jesus said, “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3

    We believe that if you obey the word of God, you will be filled with the saving power of his Holy Spirit. Acts 5:32

    We believe the question in every heart, is the same question that cried from the hearts of people to Peter on the day of Pentecost. “What must we do?” We believe the answer Peter gave is the answer for everyone, everywhere, till the end of time: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38-39