Riverside Missionary Baptist Church gathers at 3590 S. 3rd Street in Memphis. Founded in 1887, it is known for a history of expanding worship and teaching space, for Wednesday Encounter Bible study, for IMPACT ministries from preschool through college, and for Fish & Loaves, which provides food and clothing to the community.
Sunday Worship and Wednesday Encounter
Sunday worship is held at 8:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. at 3590 S. 3rd Street. Riverside's media ministry makes worship, Sunday prayer, sermons, funerals and Bible studies available to watch live.
Encounter meets on Wednesdays at noon and again at 6:30 p.m. It is Riverside's mid-week Bible study. IMPACT meets at 7:00 p.m., and its five student groups cover preschool, elementary, middle school, high school and college. The Spiritual Growth Ministry also emphasizes small-group instruction primarily on Sunday mornings, with classes and training seminars intended to deepen discipleship.
During worship, Experience Team members greet people, hold doors, help guests find seats and guide people during the offering. This gives hospitality a practical role in the life of the church.
From a Bush Harbor to Mitchell Road
In 1887, a group seeking a place to worship met beneath a bush harbor near the location of old Nonconnah Creek. Their discussion of organizing a church led to a Baptist church under the guidance of its first pastor, Reverend Calvin Morris and the Holy Spirit. On June 24, 1897, the congregation bought land at 248 West Mitchell Road from Newton Ford, and a deed was filed with Shelby County on December 19. Construction followed, turning the original vision into a church building.
Pastors Matlock, Henderson, Randolph, Whitaker, Jim Brown and Bates served during the early decades. Reverend W. M. Scott continued as pastor until 1926, and Reverend H. E. Gooch was elected in 1927. Reverend L. D. Sanders served from spring 1937 until part of 1940; Reverend J. C. Wade followed until 1944; Reverend S. Q. Brown served until 1947; and Reverend J. C. Pettis was elected that year. Reverend Ollie Durrie White began his long pastorate in February 1955 and led Riverside for 38 years.
As membership grew, Pastor White saw the need for a larger sanctuary and better teaching facilities. A remodeling effort began in 1960 while Riverside's worship services were held at Ford Chapel AME Zion Church. The work expanded the sanctuary and added a baptismal pool, choir stand, larger pulpit, new pews, classrooms, offering tables and pulpit furniture. The temporary worship arrangement made room for a major period of construction and growth.
Moving to South Third Street
Pastor White shared his vision for a new sanctuary in 1969 and appointed Deacon John Hayes and Trustees Arthur Butts, David Leavy and Earl Shaw to lead the search for a church facility. Riverside purchased Barton Heights Church in 1971. On March 19, 1972, a caravan procession carried the congregation from Mitchell Road to South Third Street, and dedication services followed that May.
The church held a mortgage-burning ceremony on September 19, 1982, and bought land on both the north and south sides of its property. The southern tract was paid in full in 1991. White's service ended in February 1993 after 38 years of leadership. Reverend Kevin B. Willis, Sr. accepted the call in July 1993 and was installed that October. The O. D. White Family Life Center became a reality in 1997 after the Boyle Investment Company donated the northeast property.
Willis served until 2008. That year the congregation elected Reverend George L. Parks, Jr. as its seventeenth pastor, and an installation celebration followed in February 2009. Under Parks, Riverside paid off the Family Life Center mortgage and held another mortgage-burning celebration in August 2010.
AWANA, #TheRiver and The Shift
In 2011, Riverside reshaped its children and youth ministries with AWANA, rendered as 'Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed.' The sanctuary was remodeled across late 2011 and 2012, and a remodeled Children's Building was dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in February 2012. Riverside marked 125 years of 'believing God's Word and continuing work in His kingdom' that March.
Reverend Robert S. Harvey became the eighteenth pastor in 2015 and introduced the phrase '#TheRiver.' In 2016, a community-wide baptism reached more than 60 people, followed the next day by groundbreaking for a new worship facility on the south end of the property.
Reverend Reginald S. Boyce was elected the nineteenth pastor in 2016 and installed that October. Riverside opened its new sanctuary at 3590 S. 3rd Street on August 27, 2017, following a dedication called The Shift. Pastor Boyce described the building as one that glorifies God and gives the church an opportunity to serve present and future generations. Eight additional acres were acquired during his tenure, expanding the grounds around the South Third Street church.
During his early tenure, Pastor Boyce also introduced the 'I AM 22' movement. Members were encouraged to commit 22 minutes to daily exercise, memorize 22 Bible verses throughout the year, invite 22 people to church, or give $22 on top of their tithes and offering. The shared number gave the congregation a memorable way to frame commitments of prayer, hospitality, stewardship and service.
IMPACT From Preschool Through College
The IMPACT Student Ministry seeks to help students know, love and serve God. Its five distinct groups cover preschool, elementary, middle school, high school and college, creating age-specific ways to encounter God through teaching, worship, discipleship, relationship, fellowship and ministry involvement. IMPACT Children is led by Jennifer Reed and is described as completely committed to the church's youth. Adults who work with children must pass a background check.
IMPACT Dance uses dance as a form of worship God. The Healthy & Sports Ministry adds educational seminars, recreational activities and physical activities centered on teamwork and fellowship. Basketball practice takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., giving students and families another regular setting for activity and connection.
Food, Clothing and Community Care
Fish & Loaves is Riverside's ministry for feeding the community. Ella Webb serves as director, and the ministry uses volunteers to provide food and clothing and meet physical and spiritual needs on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
The Adopt a School ministry works to improve public education by building positive relationships with area schools through people's time and money. Good Shepherd Ministry supports and meets the temporal needs of Pastor Boyce and his family.
Membership Engagement coordinates a timely church-wide response to member families facing bereavement. The Veterans and Dependents Support Group helps members and others understand available services, benefits and connections to the Veterans Administration and civilian organizations; its assistance is not limited to veterans.
Strong Women of God brings women inside and outside the church together through Bible study, fellowship and community outreach. Riverside also makes giving available through PayPal, Cash App and Givelify.
Hospitality, Music and Lifelong Fellowship
First Impressions helps new members become acquainted with their church home. Its orientation classes provide information about what Riverside believes and introduce the church's ministry opportunities. The Living Legends ministry is designed to meet the social needs of senior adults.
The Men's Ministry provides opportunities for men to grow, connect with one another, mature and serve as husbands, fathers, leaders and servants. The Men's Fellowship Breakfast meets at 8:00 a.m. on every third Saturday.
The Music Ministry seeks to worship God in spirit and truth and communicate biblical principles through creative arts and musical concepts. Choir and praise team rehearsal takes place on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. Vision and Voices, the media ministry, uses videography, photography and screen graphics to communicate the word of God.
The Tech Support Team helps members connect virtually with Riverside. It provides support through email and telephone, offers tips for virtual participation and helps members connect with one another.
Pastor Boyce and the Ministry Teams
Senior Pastor and teacher Reginald S. Boyce is a native of Memphis who accepted a call to proclaim God's Word in November 2005 and preached his first sermon in June 2006. At Lane College, he served as SGA business manager and student chapel leader and received the college's Traditional Student award. He earned a Master of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary in 2016 and a Doctor of Divinity there in 2020.
Boyce was ordained to the Baptist denomination in August 2010. He previously served at Greater Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church for three years and at New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee, until 2016. Earlier, he simultaneously served Mt. Pleasant CME Church in Milan and Johnson Chapel CME Church in Trenton for three years. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Riverside names 16 associate ministers: Jorel Grant, Charlene Jones, Jarrod Smith, Pam Wolfe, Annette Lee, Janet Harts, Michelle Newsom, Sierra Pope, Willie Taylor, Johnny Floyd, Garry Ward, Galvin Johnson, Dorothy Richardson, Tommy Pope, Dual Matthews and Kim Strong. The 15-member Deacon Ministry is chaired by William Marshall, with Darrell McNeil as co-chairman. The 16-member Deaconess Ministry is chaired by Leyra Purnell, with Patricia Sykes as co-chairwoman.
Evangelize, Equip, Edify and Empower
Riverside's stated mission is to Evangelize God's Word, Equip God's People, Edify God's Name and Empower our Community Globally. As a Baptist church, Riverside centers biblical teaching, worship, discipleship, evangelization and service.
The church describes itself as the local Body of Christ and draws on Ephesians 4:16, saying that members are 'fitly joined together' and each supplies to the need of the body. Joining a faith-family is presented as a foundational step in spiritual growth, expressed through membership, orientation, Bible study, worship, fellowship and service.
From its beginning beneath a bush harbor to its South Third Street sanctuary, Riverside Missionary Baptist Church remains centered on worship, biblical formation, leadership development and care for children, adults, seniors and the wider community.