Our Pastors
“The greatest desire of our heart is to love God and serve people! This deep desire is that everyone can hear the good news of the Gospel and experience its changing power so they can live the good life God has prepared for each and everyone. We believe that God has a calling and a purpose for every human being and we want Christians to receive full equipment to carry out this mission.”
Tomi and Sanna Lehto
Pastors, River Church Finland
Although born in Finland, Pastors Tomi and Sanna lived a major part of their life in the United States where they graduated with a Bachelors in Theology from the River Bible Institute.
After Bible school, they were hired to work in the local church where they served for the next 7 years until the Lord led them to start their own work in Finland.
In 2011, they came back to Finland as missionaries to evangelize in different cities across the country. Soon after, God called them to start a church in Helsinki, and in 2012, River Helsinki Church was born.
From the very beginning, their vision was to be a genuinely international church, reaching and loving people from all socio-economic classes.
Their greatest desire is to see Finland changed by the power of God.
They received their official accreditation in 2010 and received their pastoral mandate in 2012.
They have three children: Maria, Jonathan and Abigail.
What we believe
That true ministry comes from His (Agape) love, without which we have no right to claim ourselves a Christian. That ministry should be directed the Holy Spirit, therefore: we remain flexible and yielded to the Holy Spirit to direct our ministry.
That the Bible is God’s Holy Word, verbally and fully inspired and that it is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In God the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that:
He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Christ.
In Jesus Christ, the divine, eternal and only begotten Son of God. We believe that in His earthly life He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin and lived a sinless life.
In His vicarious and atoning death for the sins of the world. We believe in His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension to the right hand of the Father to make intercession for the saints, and in His personal, visible return to the world in power and glory.
In the Holy Spirit, in His personality and deity, that He was sent forth from the Father. We believe that He is come to indwell, sanctify, instruct and comfort the saints.
That all men are, nature, sinners, destitute of all power to save themselves. We believe, therefore, that the only means of salvation of sinful men is through the grace of Jesus Christ.
That all Christians are ordained the Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel of Christ. Therefore: It is the primary duty of all Christians to serve as evangelists, and to minister to others according to the gifts they have received of the Holy Spirit.
That the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest gift of God, the Father and His Holy Spirit, and should be the primary message of the Christian church, taking precedence over all differences, whether they be theological, denominational, ideological, or physical in nature.