Rainier Church Directory

In the News

RAINIER ASSEMBLY OF GOD

75950 Rockcrest Rd.

Rainier, OR 97048

503-556-8211

Pastor Garry Siegenthaler

Sunday

9:30 a.m., Sunday School, all ages

10:30 a.m., Worship Service & Children's Church

6 p.m., Evening service

Wednesday

7 p.m., Adult Bible study, youth and children's activities

NEW--Email: rag@cni.net

NEW--Website: http://www.rainierag.org

ALSTON'S CORNER ASSEMBLY OF GOD

25272 Alston Road

Rainier, OR 97048

503-556-1961

The Rev. Steve Berry

Sunday

9:30 a.m., Sunday School

10:30 a.m., Worship Service

6 p.m., Worship Service

Tuesday

7 p.m., Men's Fellowship

Wednesday

7 p.m., Family Night:

Adult Bible study, Youth,

Missionettes and Royal Rangers

NEW--Website: http://www.hisacag.org

NEW--Email: info@hisacag.org

Rainier -- Holier than Most?

By Janine Manny

The Daily News

Dec 24, 2005

RAINIER -- There is no place to buy groceries in Rainier. But if you are looking for spiritual sustenance, Rainier provides a veritable smorgasbord of churches.

Rainier, a city of 1,750 people, has 15 churches.

By comparison, Clatskanie (population of 1,650) and eight churches, while Castle Rock (population 2,150) has 13.

Recent polls by Gallup, the Institute of Social Research and the Glenmary Research Center all report that Oregon has the lowest percentage of people who regularly attend church.

So, are the residents of the Rainier area bucking that trend? Is Rainier holier than other Oregon communities, or are most of the pews in town empty?

"Over a period of time, I think that Rainier has had a higher percentage of church goers," said Patsy Sturdevant, pastor of Rainier United Methodist Church. "Most rural communities do, because church is a gathering spot, so you'll have a higher percentage than say, the Portland Metro area."

She fears church attendance in the community may have waned in the six years since she took over the 80-member congregation, however: "Some of those (Rainier) churches started during a better economic period when Trojan was operating."

The Rev. Steve Berry of Alston's Corner Assembly of God Church, which has 100 members, said the appearance of so many churches might be misleading.

"Driving through the city limits, it might seem like there are a lot of churches, because the bulk are in the city," he said. "But the population of the whole area is more like 5,000 and there are fewer churches out away from the town."

"If you filled up every seat in every church, there would be a relatively small percentage of the community that would be sitting there," Berry said.

He noted that Oregon and Washington are the least-churched sections of the country. He said some people move here are escaping the Bible Belt and are less inclined to attend church.

"One of the reasons is that people have moved to the Northwest away from other areas that might have 200 years of church and family traditions," he said. "That's not to say that those people are less spiritual, but they are less likely to develop traditional church affiliations."

Pastors point out that some members of their congregations are Cowlitz County residents, and that it takes a lot of different churches to meet everyone's needs.

"The attendance of mainline churches (such as Catholic and Methodist) is fairly low, but the community churches and evangelical churches have more folks." Sturdevant said. "The younger generation has no denominational ties, many are looking for a home, and when they find a church that meets their needs, that's where they attend."

Berry agrees.

"The goal of the pastors in the community is to reach out with the message of Jesus Christ," he said. "If that can be accomplished with more churches, so be it."

Berry compared selecting a church to choosing a fast food restaurant.

"I don't want to be flippant," he said. "But there can be a McDonald's and a Burger King across the street from each other, and both are busy. Some people won't pull into either one, but will drive down the road to Taco Bell. They all serve similar foods, but with different flavors."

Members of the Rainier Ministerial Association meet every Tuesday morning at the Assembly of God Church to discuss the spiritual community.

The Rev. Garry Siegenthaler, president of the association and pastor of Rainier Assembly of God, said the number of unchurched people in the community often comes up.

"We in Oregon and Washington have the dubious distinction of being first and second in lowest numbers of people who go to church," said Siegenthaler, who leads a congregation of 220 members. "We're an unchurched population and we're not happy about that. I know we still have a lot of work to do."

Leo Pisarchuk, the pastor of Rainier Church of Truth, said churches need to have room available in case more people want to attend. His group, which includes several Russian-American families, numbers about 35.

"It's good we have so many churches," he said. "Many churches have empty seats, and that's good. We have room for more, so please come and be with us."

Calvary Chapel

24056 Beaver Falls Road

Rainier, OR 97048

Pastor Al Fredrich

360-578-6258

Services are currently held at the Longview Calvary Chapel location while the Delena building is undergoing change.

Sunday

10:30 a.m., Sunday School

10:30 a.m., Worship service

Wednesday

7 p.m., Worship service

NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

2nd & D Sts. East

Rainier

503-556-5641

 Mass Schedule

Saturday Vigil 5:00 p.m.

Sunday Mass 9:00 a.m.

RAINIER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

1st & C Street

P.O. Box 188

Rainier, OR 97048

503-556-3440

Web Site

Sunday

9:45-10:45 a.m., Sunday School for children,

ages 4-12th grade

Nursery school available for 3-year olds and under

11:00 a.m., Worship Service

RAINIER COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD

COLUMBIA BIBLE CHURCH

407 East 2nd Street

Rainier, OR 97048

Interim Pastor Jim Morud

503-556-2404

Sunday

10:30 a.m. Worship Service

with fellowship following

Information: 503-556-3901

Riverside Community Church

P.O. Box 481

305 W 3rd Street

Rainier OR 97048

503-556-1216

Pastor Paul Rice

Riverside Community Church is an independent community Church, started about 18 months ago.

In Belief and structure we are set up just like Foursquare and very similar to Assembly of God.

Sunday

10:30 a.m. Services

9:30 a.m. Sunday School

Tuesday

7:00 p.m. Men's & Women's Bible Study

(Child care provided.)

Wednesday

7:00 p.m. Youth meetings (4th-12th grades)

503-556-1216

RAINIER WARD, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

27410 Parkdale Rd.

Rainier, OR 97048

(½ mile from Hudson Park)

Bishop Scott Anderson

Chapel and Bishop's Office:

503-556-9694

Sunday

10-11:05 a.m., Sacrament Meeting

11:20-Noon, Sunday School

12:10-1 p.m., Priesthood meeting, women's relief society,

young women and primary

Wednesday

7-8:30 p.m., Youth, 12-18, activity night

Visitors always welcome

Full-time missionaries phone: 503-556-4607