Iowa Church With ARC Connections Reported to Use NDAs

The Spiritual Abuse Institute (SAI) is committed to increasing transparency around the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in religious settings. As part of our ongoing efforts to promote healthy, accountable, and transparent church environments, we maintain a public, factual database of churches and ministries reported to have used NDAs that could limit transparency and open communication.

Today, we are adding River Church in Clinton, Iowa to the Church NDA Disclosure Database.

River Church is a multi-site church with locations in both Iowa and Illinois, and it is a part of the Assemblies of God denomination.

While not officially listed as an Association of Related Churches (ARC) member on ARC’s website, popular ARC programs like “Kingdom Builders,” “Growth Track,” “21 Days of Prayer and Fasting” to begin each year, and “Dream Team” suggest a potential connection to the embattled church planting organization. However, what that connection looks like, if any, remains unclear.

The church is 11 years old and looks to have a significant presence in its community.

SAI received an anonymous submission of a document reported to be an NDA used by River Church. After careful review, including assessment against our published definition of a “silencing NDA,” we determined that the document meets our criteria for inclusion.

Being listed in this database does NOT mean River Church is abusive, unhealthy, or currently using an NDA — only that a document fitting our criteria was reported and reviewed in accordance with our process.

A silencing NDA is any agreement that could restrict a person’s ability to speak freely about their experiences at a church or ministry, beyond what is necessary to protect sensitive personal or member information.

Churches choose to use documents that fit this description for various reasons. Many of which are not malicious, such as obtaining documents recommended by an HR or law firm.

Regardless of a church’s intent or their understanding of these documents, however, the reality is that they carry the potential to be used to silence people about concerns like sin, spiritual abuse, and other questionable practices. And these documents can often strike fear into the hearts of staff and parishioners who sign them, often under a feeling of duress.

The inclusion of churches on this database is about public transparency, education, and preventing those potential negative and harmful impacts. However, we make no assertions, assumptions, or judgments regarding a church’s leadership, theology, or community health based on their inclusion on this list.

All submissions are reviewed for consistency and the redaction of personal information, unless the article is based on another publicly available report. The church is then notified and given an opportunity to respond or provide clarification before publication.

River Church was contacted on September 16, 2025, and we followed up on September 30th. Here are the specific questions we asked; we also invited them to share any comments or clarifications they wanted SAI or the public to know.

At the time of publishing, we have not received a response from River Church. If we receive a comment from them in the future, we will update this article to include it.

Our goal is not to accuse, shame, or blacklist any church, but to empower individuals and organizations to make informed decisions about their faith communities. By documenting the reported use of silencing NDAs, we aim to foster open dialogue and greater accountability throughout all spiritual spaces.

If you represent River Church and wish to provide additional context, request a correction, or pursue removal from the database, please see our Removal and Correction Policy or contact us here.

Learn more about the NDA Disclosure Database here:

-              See the Database

-              NDA Disclosure & Publishing Process

-              Data Protection Policy

Last updated: 10/22/25