Minneapolis, MN
August 31, 2018 | Mikayla Heldt
Portia Allen has spread the gospel to a wide range of audiences and is making a difference in her community through teaching, public speaking, and involvement at River Valley Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota .
The journey to the Twin Cities started when Portia’s husband Clinton was recommended to be the worship pastor at a new campus being opened by River Valley Church. Clinton now currently serves at the Crosstown campus, and Portia served as the Local Projects Director for a season.
“My role was to work with the eight River Valley campuses to serve the local communities around us in tangible ways to express Romans 2:4, “it is his kindness that leads us to repentance’,” Portia Allen says.
Two of River Valley’s core values are the “Presence of God” and “Our heart is global”. These values go hand in hand in reaching the rest of the world and spreading the gospel.
“Experiencing the manifest presence of God is what propels us to have a global heart,” says Allen.
River Valley’s missions has increased drastically, with over 250 missionaries and organizations supported through the church, and approximately 100 people preparing to become missionaries. Their worship culture has grown as well, as the current project, “A Million Lifetimes” has garnered national and international influence in churches and many streaming platforms. They are currently recording an acoustic project of songs from the album to continue to steward the momentum God has given them.
“We are in constant awe of all the Lord has allowed us to be a part of at River Valley,” she says.
As the Local Project Director, Allen and her team focused on serving in the community, either individually, or with a family or group. She realized that her strongest leaders came from people who had served on missions trips and had been a part of a Global Team.
“Serving the lost abroad ignited a fire to serve the lost locally. After all, if you can offer a cup of cold water, a hot meal, or warm clothes overseas, you can do it here in your local community as well,” she says.
Portia attended Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) from 1996 to 2000 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education . She credits SAGU for helping to prepare her to teach effectively by creating relationships with her students.
“I love the balance between relationships and academics that Southwestern just continued to talk about in our classes,” she says.
She also said that SAGU also aided her when she stepped out of the classroom and took on the administrative role at River Valley.
“Being in leadership wasn’t brand new to me…because of the opportunities I had at SAGU.”
Recently, Portia made the decision to step away from her position at River Valley and focus on some of her “God Dreams” that she’s had since her college years, such as speaking and writing. She says her desire to speak began during her time at SAGU in a student-led chapel.
“My main audience is within the women’s ministry world, but I have had opportunities to preach at weekend services at my campus, conferences, internationally and back in my home state, Texas.” she says.
Portia looks forward to seeing what God plans to do through her ministry.
“He can do more than I can ask, think, or even imagine, so the future has to be pretty awesome!”
To learn more about SAGU’s Elementary Education degree program, click here .
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu
