Life Bible Church seeking help to raise $2.3M to save property from being washed away by Willamette River

Life Bible Church, a non-denominational, multi-generational congregation located in Harrisburg, Oregon, is now seeking help to prevent its land from being washed away by the Willamette River after losing more than a half-acre of its property to erosion over the last two years.

“Our church property and the ministries that take place here are at significant risk. Over the past two years, rapid riverbank erosion has accelerated beyond what could have been anticipated, threatening buildings, infrastructure, and the safety of our campus,” the church revealed in a GoFundMe campaign launched over the weekend seeking to raise some $2.3 million.

“After exhausting every available option and seeking counsel from engineers, agencies, and leaders at every level, we now stand at a critical moment where immediate action is required.”

In an extensive letter shared on the church’s website, founding lead pastor Brad Neuschwander and administrator Cari Malpass detail, in technical prose and pictures, how the church, founded in 2001, got snagged in the emergency.

The property, the former site of Riverbend Resort in Harrisburg, became the permanent home of Life Bible Church in June 2015.

“This facility was the answer to years of prayer, and allowed LBC to more effectively reach our community, region, and the world,” the church website reads.

According to a 2025 city document, the church constructed a 23,000-square-foot sanctuary on the property and retained existing approved conditional uses, including a motel, resort and RV park. The property also boasted a pool, which the church was forced to decommission in 2024.

“The river had already undermined and removed all concrete decking surrounding the swimming pool that came with the property when we bought it, and we were advised that we could be held liable if the pool were to float downstream,” the pastor and his administrator explained. “Removing the pool entirely was not recommended, as it would further destabilize the surrounding soil. After consulting with contractors, we elected to fill the pool with sand and rock at a cost of $12,000.”

As they have grappled with the erosion problem facing the church property since 2023, experts explain in the city document that the church has likely lost about 0.61 acres of land over the period.

“The property has lost riverbank from 40’ at the southwestern edge of the property, and up to 85’ of bank on the northwestern corner of the property. Inside the City limits, there is approximately 424’ of bank on the Willamette River located on this property,” the document states.

“When the original expansion of the church was built back in 2013, there was 75’ or more from the top of bank to the structure along most of the bank, although there was more to the swimming pool and hotel. The average width of bank loss appears to be 62.5 feet, which equates to 26,500 sq. ft., or .61 acres that has likely been lost from the property in this location.”

After evaluating a number of other solutions to stop the erosion of the church’s land, including one from the Army Corps of Engineers with an estimated cost of up to $10 million, the church said an engineer who is a member of the congregation gave them an alternative solution with an approximately $2.3 million price tag.

“The proposed solution includes steel sheet piles extending approximately 500 feet in length and driven to a depth of 56 feet, installed 20 feet from the existing bank,” the church’s pastor explained.

“The project requires approximately 500 sheets at an estimated cost of $4,500 per sheet. The estimated $2.25 million figure includes post-construction sidewalk repairs, fencing, or landscape restoration,” the church further stated, noting that the construction work began on Jan. 12.

“We are praying that the ground remains stable throughout the installation and that no further structural damage occurs as this critical work progresses.”