Preaching Through Books, Listening for Christ
Riverview Baptist Church sits on Moreland Avenue East in West St. Paul, Minnesota, a member congregation of the North American Baptist Conference and the Upper Mississippi Region of the NAB. From that one address at 14 Moreland Avenue E, the church has shaped a ministry around a single conviction: God speaks through his Word, and the Christian life is built by hearing it carefully. The pulpit walks straight through books of the Bible week after week, and the people are invited to follow along. Recent sermon series have moved verse by verse through Jonah, James, and Micah, with Pastor Alex Tibbott working through the minor prophets one chapter at a time and walking the congregation through James over many months. Visiting preachers have included Dr. Stephen Wellum, who taught on Hebrews 1:1-3. Elders Matt Glewwe and Grant Lindh, and former Interim Pastor Trent Eisenbacher, have also preached in the series.
The church's mission statement is plain and concrete: "to bring people to faith in Christ; to bring Christians to maturity in Christ; to worship and live to bring praise to Christ; to support locally and globally the work of Christ." That sentence runs through everything else, from the Sunday morning schedule to the Wednesday night calendar to the list of missionaries on the back of the bulletin.
Sunday Morning: Sunday School at Nine, Worship at Ten-Thirty
Sunday School begins at 9:00 AM and runs until 10:00 AM. Nursery care is available from birth through 23 months. From age two through eighth grade, children move through a structured set of curricula that build one year on the next: He Has Spoken By His Son for ages 2-3, 4-5, and kindergarten, introducing the New Testament story of redemption; The ABCs of God for grades 1-2, which uses the alphabet to walk through the attributes of God; To Be Like Jesus for grades 3-4, covering the gospel and the basics of sanctification; and Teach Me Your Way for grades 5-8, which moves from the doctrine of salvation into the Sermon on the Mount. Each program is designed to point children to the character of God and to Christ as the center of the Bible's story.
The worship service begins at 10:30 AM. The church describes its music as a mix of modern and traditional, led by a worship team under the direction of Kayla Lindstrom, the Director of Worship. A biblically based, gospel-centered message follows. Communion is observed the first Sunday of each month, and all believers are welcome to participate. Nursery is available during the service for infants 0-2, and Children's Church is offered for ages 2-3 and 4-6 in the preschool wing. Children aged 4-6 are dismissed midway through the service for their class, while 2- and 3-year-olds may remain there for the entire service. Children in first grade and above are encouraged to worship with their families in the sanctuary and are given Kid's Bulletins designed to engage them with the sermon.
Sunday Fellowship runs from 10:00 AM, with beverages and treats set out in the lobby and upstairs in the Fellowship Hall. It is a small but consistent touch that gives families arriving early a chance to connect before Sunday School and gives the latecomers something to do after the service wraps up.
Wednesday Nights: Dinner, Then the Whole Church Opens Its Bible
Wednesday is the second front door of Riverview. From September through May, the rhythm is the same every week: dinner is served in the Fellowship Hall from 5:30 to 6:30 PM, and programming for every age runs from 6:30 to 7:30 PM.
For children, Wednesday nights follow the Gospel Story Curriculum, a five-year program designed to walk kids from Genesis to Revelation, teaching them that the Bible is one continuous story pointing to Jesus. Each lesson ties the weekly story to the broader redemptive arc. In addition to the Bible lesson, kids work on Scripture memory and take part in activities aimed at reinforcing the passage.
The format includes a lesson, discussion, and weekly-rotating games. The youth ministry also runs special events and service projects throughout the year, often coordinated through Associate Pastor Richard Lindstrom.
For adults, Wednesday nights are organized around community groups. These are small groups that meet in the church building for Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and friendship. The community group vision is to give every adult in the church a smaller circle of believers who know them, encourage them, and pray for them. Groups are registered through the church and are open to newcomers throughout the year.
Nursery care is provided on Wednesday evenings for children from birth through 35 months, beginning at 6:20 PM, so parents can drop off their little ones before joining a group.
Children, Youth, and the Push Toward Scripture Memory
Bible memory is treated as a core part of the church's discipleship strategy, not an add-on. The conviction is that the life of faith is a fight, and God's Word is the sword that believers need to have at hand. Children are encouraged to memorize Scripture alongside their parents, and the church's worship team has recorded songs to help with the memory verses used in the children's Sunday School classes. Seventy-eight verses have been set to music, and the recordings are available for free download.
Vacation Bible School is a regular part of the calendar. The 2026 program, "The Call of God," runs Monday through Thursday, August 17-20, from 1:00 to 3:30 PM, and is open to all children from age 4 through sixth grade, including children whose families do not attend Riverview. Activities are supervised by church adults and teens.
The youth ministry partners with parents with the goal of building a biblical worldview in students as they grow into adulthood. Sunday morning programming at 9:00 AM continues the Teach Me Your Way curriculum for middle schoolers, while high school students alternate between two studies: Spiritual Disciplines in the fall and Abiding in Jesus in the spring, both built around the practices that help young people hold fast to Christ after graduation.
Adults, Ladies' Morning Out, and the College and Young Adults Group
The adults ministry centers on the conviction that Bible knowledge should lead to changed lives. The adult discipleship program runs on the simple four-part rhythm of hearing, responding to, and applying God's Word in every area of life, with a corresponding dependence on the Holy Spirit for the inward transformation that follows.
Ladies' Morning Out meets on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 AM, September through May, with nursery available for children from birth through pre-K with registration. The current study is a walk through 1, 2, and 3 John, and the morning includes coffee, Bible study, discussion, prayer, and time together.
College and Young Adults, known around the church as The Storehouse, gathers for Bible study, fellowship meals, service projects, and outings throughout the year. The group meets on Wednesday evenings during the school year at 6:30 PM and is open to anyone who wants to drop in. Occasional gatherings for those in their 20s and 30s broaden the scope for young adults who are no longer in college or who are single or married.
Seminars, GriefShare, and Bible Reading Plans
Riverview regularly hosts theology seminars that are open to anyone who wants to dig deeper. Recent series have included a four-week Trinity seminar in October 2025 and a four-week Person of Christ seminar that ran from March through May 2026. The audio for each session is available to download for free.
For those walking through the loss of a loved one, the church hosts GriefShare, a faith-based support group that connects adults who are grieving with one another. The next session is scheduled to begin in 2027.
For anyone wanting a steady Bible reading habit, the staff recommends a small set of audio resources: Bible in a Year with Ray Ortlund, the Chronological Bible Plan with Robert Smith, and the M'Cheyne Plan with Kristyn Getty. Each of these walks the listener through the Bible in a year, and all are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
What the Church Believes
Riverview's statement of faith is available as a downloadable PDF. At the center is the conviction that the Bible is the trustworthy, sufficient, and authoritative Word of God, given by divine inspiration and without error. The church affirms one God existing eternally in three coequal persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and holds that human beings were created in God's image, that sin entered the world through Adam's disobedience, and that salvation is offered as a free gift through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
The church practices two ordinances: baptism by immersion for believers upon profession of faith, and the Lord's Supper, observed together as a memorial of Christ's broken body and shed blood. Church government is congregational, meaning each local body is self-governing under the lordship of Christ, with members sharing responsibility for its life and mission.
Additional convictions include religious liberty for all, the proper distinction between church and state, the responsibility of Christians to pray for and submit to civil authorities in matters not contrary to Scripture, the call for Christians to be salt and light in society, and the affirmation of marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, defined in a separate Christian Affirmation of Marriage document.
On eschatology, the church looks for the personal, visible, and sudden return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, final judgment, the eternal punishment of the unrighteous, and the eternal reward of the righteous in resurrected and glorified bodies.
Leadership and Staff
Senior Pastor Alex Tibbott joined the pastoral staff in June 2024. He holds a Master of Divinity and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he and his wife Sara adopted their son Jonathan in May 2024.
Associate Pastor Richard Lindstrom came on staff in July 2015 after an internship teaching the youth. He holds a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a B.A. in History from Northwestern. He married Kayla in 2022.
The church is governed by a group of elders that includes Trent Eisenbacher, who served as Interim Pastor of Christian Life and Growth from October 2023 through 2025; Matt Glewwe, who became an elder in 2024 when Riverview transitioned to its current governance structure; Grant Lindh; Samuel Mande, who has attended the church since 2005; and Tim Sheppard, a counselor at Counseling Care. Kayla Lindstrom serves as Director of Worship and Office Administrator, having joined the staff in 2021 with a degree in Music Ministry from the University of Northwestern.
Local Outreach: From a Locked Door in the County Jail to a Shoebox in a Warehouse
Riverview's outreach is rooted in long relationships with a handful of partner organizations. The church has sponsored children through Angel Tree, a ministry of Prison Fellowship that provides Christmas gifts to the children of incarcerated parents; in 2023 alone, the congregation's gifts reached 40 children and their caregivers.
The church partners with Neighbors, Inc., in Northern Dakota County, maintaining a year-round food shelf collection area and clothing drop-off bins on the church campus. Each March, the congregation runs a focused food drive and is encouraged to "Pack the Pews" with grocery bags for Neighbors.
Riverview is one of seven churches that form the Cornerstone Jail Ministry under Pastor James Bzoskie, which brings the gospel to men and women in the Dakota County Jail. The church leads a Sunday morning worship service at the jail every eight weeks and supports a weekly Wednesday morning Bible study at the facility.
Since January 2018, the church has partnered with New Life Family Services in the Twin Cities, supporting their work with women and men facing unplanned pregnancies, as well as their licensed adoption agency, post-abortion counseling, and parenting classes.
Riverview also partners with Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities in St. Paul, a ministry serving people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and addiction; with Operation Christmas Child, donating more than 100 shoeboxes each year for the past five years; and with Village Creek Bible Camp in northeast Iowa, where church members attend retreats and help with staffing and maintenance.
Missions Beyond the Neighborhood
Riverview's missions philosophy is built on three convictions: that God commands his people to take the gospel to every nation, that reason demands it because so many have not yet heard, and that blessing flows back to those who give. The church supports a wide network of home and foreign missionaries, including Steve and Carol Jean Gallagher with Wycliffe Bible Translators, the Morozov family in Russia, Project Increase Ministries, Di Zimmerman with Cru, Dr. Rick and Debbie Bardin, Robin's Nest Orphanage, Bob and Lynn Koehn with Cru, Craig and Kim Jentink with Shiloh Military Ministries, the Kennedy Family and the Strickland Family with RTIM, and the Project Salve and White Cross Ministries of the NAB. The church also continues to support Angel Tree and Operation Christmas Child as mission partnerships.
Giving, Online, and a Place to Plug In
Five giving options are available: a secure lockbox outside the sanctuary, bank bill pay, online direct withdrawal or credit/debit giving through Vanco Payment Solutions, and text-to-give at 651.362.1571. Donors may direct their gifts to one of three funds: the Current Expenses Fund, the Missions Fund, or the Building Fund. Online giving is set up to allow recurring, scheduled donations. Vanco holds a PCI Level 1 service provider designation.
A simple connect form, called the Online Blue Slip, is available for first-time visitors who want to share their contact information and let the church know they came. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and the office can be reached at 651-457-3831 or at riverview@riverviewbaptist.net. Sunday services and recent sermons are also available on YouTube, and the sermon archive includes a Spotify playlist of songs regularly sung in worship. Recordings of recent seminars are available for free download.