Foundations of Grace Community Church
Salvation: Our desire is to lead men and women into a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. God created Adam and Eve to walk with Him in intimate fellowship. But Adam disobeyed God, and brought sin (a nature to rebel against and disobey God) and death to the whole human race. Each of us falls short of God’s goodness and deserves eternal death and separation from Him in hell. But God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, that everyone who believes in Him would not die eternally, but have everlasting life. To accomplish this, Jesus died on a cross for sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. This salvation is for anyone who will repent (turn away from sin) and believe in (turn toward and trust) the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe is to not only accept that what the Bible says about Jesus is true, but to trust in Him as the Lord and Savior of your life. If you have spiritual questions or concerns, we would be glad to discuss them with you.
Discipleship: Discipleship is the heartbeat of our relationship with God. To be a disciple is to continually deepen in our relationship to Jesus Christ. As we abide in Him (remain connected) through such things as worship, fellowship, prayer and the scripture, we abound more and more in Christ-likeness. This abiding and abounding in Christ brings glory to God and fills us with immeasurable joy.
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” - John 15:11
Statement of Faith
Grace Community Church is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America. We affirm the EFCA Statement of Faith, which is found below.
We Believe…
- God: We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory
- The Bible: We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
- The Human Condition: We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
- Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel’s promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
- The Work of Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation
- The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
- The Church: We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
- Christian Living: We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
- Christ’s Return: We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
- Response and Eternal Destiny: We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.