River of Life International was founded in 1995 by Dr. Alison Brown, who had the vision of the ministry being a river of God’s love to the nations.
Although intended to be an international work. River of Life started out in England, with Dr. Brown and friends ministering on the streets to drug addicts and the homeless.
In 1996, the first River of Life crusades where held in Greece, with Crusades in India starting the next year. The 1997 Indian crusades also resulted in the start of the first River of Life Orphanage.
In 1998, Dr. Brown and her young son Paul moved to Kenya, where the first River of Life ministry in Africa started the next year.
Wherever River of Life has spread, it has done so by working with local pastors. River of Life connects people, holds conferences, and provides training and resources for local preachers and evangelists to go out and reach their own countries. By facilitating the missions of local pastors, River of Live has been able to plant congregations in places unsafe for foreign missionaries, with little hindrance from language and immigration barriers. The River of Life churches and schools are all directed by local christian.
Dr. Brown still holds a leadership position in the ministry, along with Bishop Kanthi Sudhakar Golla , who oversees the Indian portion of the ministry, and Bishop Samson Obonyo, who oversees the ministry in East Africa.
River of Life Ministries International currently supports 5 orphanages, numerous local pastors and evangelists, and church congregations in India, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, The Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, and Wales.