Purpose
Our Mission
Grace Church exists to raise up mature disciples of Jesus Christ in an environment of grace through biblical instruction, personalized equipping, and relational support.
Our Vision
Grace Church will become a family of believers that fosters a sense of belonging and a desire to be equipped as effective ministers of Jesus Christ.
Our Values
Priority: A loving relationship with Jesus Christ is our absolute priority.
- Jesus Christ’s visit with Martha and Mary underscores the fact that a loving relationship with Him must be our highest priority and more important than our service for Him – Luke 10:38-42.
- “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing” (Covey, Merrill, Merrill).
Teaching: Life-related Bible teaching is foundational to discipleship.
- Only the penetrating power of the Scriptures can fully expose the motives, excuses, and values of the human heart – Hebrews 4:12.
- Only the God-breathed Word has the capability of producing spiritual maturity – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Grace: We will operate with a grace orientation that refuses to employ gimmicks or manipulation.
- The Lord intends that His on-going grace should be the source of strength for our lives and ministries – 2 Timothy 2:1.
- Grace is risky, dangerous, and easily misunderstood (Chuck Swindoll).
- Unacceptable alternatives to a grace-orientation include an emphasis of works over grace, a promotion of do’s and don’ts, and a minimization of the amoral zone.
Authenticity: We value authenticity in personal relationships.
- The cultivation of character is a prerequisite to authenticity without which we will naturally rely upon masks and veneer to cover up our flaws – Job 4:6.
- Authenticity requires us never to do anything merely to be seen and noticed by men – Matthew 6:1-2, 5-6, 16-18.
- Authenticity allows our flaws to be a part of the message God is writing in and through our lives – 2 Corinthians 4:6-7.
Assimilation: We aspire to assimilate every member into the life of our church.
- God counted every person as being important in the early church – Acts 2:41.
- The early church functioned like a spiritual family through involvement in one another’s lives – Acts 2:42-46.
Equipping: We aspire to offer comprehensive training that equips our members to be functioning ministers of Jesus Christ.
- God has created every person in a unique way to live a unique life in order to accomplish a unique purpose – Psalm 139:13-16.
- Every believer in Jesus Christ has been recreated with a new heart and new longings in order to live according to biblical standards – Ephesians 2:10.
- Each of us has been given spiritual gifts in order to serve the Lord in a very unique way – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6.
- The risen Christ holds each local church responsible to equip her people to use their lives and gifts for mutual maturity and ministry – Ephesians 4:11-16.