What to Expect
A Church Proclaiming the Gospel
Though we seek to proclaim the gospel in many ways both corporately and individually, the high point of this proclamation is our weekly Sunday morning worship service.
We believe that the Bible is one cohesive story with a main character and a main point. Simply put, the Bible is all about Jesus! We want all of our proclamation and teaching of God’s Word to be informed by the Bible’s central theme. We seek to be ever-growing in our amazement of what God has accomplished for us through Jesus, according to what He has revealed in His Word. We believe the gospel is both the doorway to the Christian life and it is the way that we grow in Christ (Col. 2:6-7).
When we gather together as a congregation, we prioritize the faithful expositional preaching of this book. The majority of the time in our worship service (normally about one hour and fifteen minutes long) is devoted to the preaching of the Word.
We seek to promote congregational singing as a substantial part of our worship service which accompanies and serves the preaching. We sing songs that celebrate biblical truth and lead to fitting and appropriate emotional responses. We proclaim the gospel as we sing to one another (Col. 3:16), to the praise and glory of God (Ps. 147:1).
A Church Preserving the Gospel
We intentionally seek to see the gospel and this church preserved both in our lifetimes and for many generations to come.
Through a plurality of elders and a church membership, we seek to preserve an adherence to biblical truth. The elders are constantly seeking to raise up more faithful, godly, qualified men for church leadership.
Through the proclamation of the gospel, we seek to disciple one another, that is, to present everyone mature in Christ; to this end we labor, seeking His energy to powerfully work through us (Col. 1:28-29). Through the involvement of all of the members, with their individual gifts, equipped for the work of ministry, we seek the building up of the church in love (Eph. 4:11-16).
We are an intentionally multi-generational church. A part of the work of discipleship is raising up the next generation of faithful disciples. Find more information on our children’s ministries here.
We acknowledge that our ministry programs within the church are not an end in and of themselves, but serve a greater goal of equipping the body for more confident, fruitful ministry. Though we are not a church seeking to be driven by programs, we do emphasize a few specific ministries along with the worship service on Sunday mornings:
- Sunday School - Our Sunday School program is focussed on Christian Education, specifically in studying and being taught God's Word. Sunday School is available for all ages, including the nursery for infants and toddlers.
- Gospel Community Groups - Our Gospel Community Groups are our ministry for discipleship and accountability in community.
- Grace Institute - Meeting weekly throughout the school year to prepare men and women for ministry in the local church by focussing on character, competency, and conviction.
A Church Displaying the Gospel
We seek to adorn the gospel in doctrine through healthy gospel community.
We affirm God’s purposeful call of some to a life of fruitful singleness while promoting and protecting biblical marriage (between one man and one woman) through which God has purposed to display His glory through the covenant relationship between Christ and His Church.
We have been redeemed by God’s grace and are now members of a new humanity, therefore we seek to put the gospel on display by reflecting God’s commitment, forgiveness, and love toward one another in church membership.
We seek to build up and encourage individuals in the light of the greater goal of producing healthy worshiping families within a healthy local church. In our Sunday School ministry, we seek to come alongside parents and support them as they fulfill the main role in disciplining their children.
Gospel Clarity
The teaching of the Gospel is central to Grace Church and the community of believers here. Below are some common questions and answers about the Gospel from Tim Keller’s study on Gospel Christianity and Two Ways to Live from Matthias Media.
- God, the loving Ruler of the world, created man to rule the rest of the world under Him.
- Man rejected the Great Ruler by running his life his own way without Him.
- God won’t let man rebel forever but will punish man with death and judgement.
- But because of His great Love, God took on flesh as Jesus the Son, who always lived perfectly under God’s rule.
- Jesus died as a substitute, taking death and punishment, and offering His obedience and forgiveness to those who put all their trust in Him.
- Jesus rose to life again as the Ruler of the world, giving new life and will return to judge.
- We must submit to Jesus as our Ruler and rely on His death and resurrection as our only hope for forgiveness and salvation.
- God made the created world for his glory (Psalm 19:1-5)
- God will heal the broken world with his glory (Isaiah 35:2)
- God made us for His glory (Isaiah 43:7)
- God saved us to praise His glory (Ephesians 1:12)
- When He judges, He does so for His own glory (Exodus 14:4)
- When He shows mercy, He does so for His own glory (Isaiah 48:9-11)
Looking for more information?
If you didn't find what you were looking for here check out our core values page or listen to one of our core sermons. Please feel free to contact the church office with any more questions you might have.