What we Believe Continued...
The Grace Place faces the future with a sense of anticipation of greater blessings ahead.
Participation
We are a body and therefore we rely on each member to use their gifts.
Acceptance
The Grace Place is a place where you can find acceptance instead of rejection, and hope instead of despair.
The Bible tells us that God's grace accepts us as we are. As God's "body" (the church), we can do nothing less. God has called The Grace Place to be a place of healing, hope and help to those who have experienced rejection and failure in their lives.
Jesus said He came to offer the hope of the Gospel to sinners - not to the self-righteous.
Excellence
Excellence honors Christ and captures the attention of non-churched people. The Grace Place is in the service of the Eternal King! He is worthy of our best efforts. We may not hit the mark of excellence every time but we continue to improve so Christ may be glorified through our lives and the ministry of His Church.
The Bible
The sole basis of our belief is the Bible. The scripture in its entirety is composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, which originated with God, and was given through the instrumentality of many different chosen authors.
God
We believe that there is one true, living, holy God, who exists eternally in the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus was miraculously conceived, born of a virgin and sinless in life. Christ was fully man and fully God, walked our earth, lived a life of obedience, suffered at the hands of men and died on the cross. He fully atoned for the sins of all, was bodily resurrected and enthroned at God's right hand as our Intercessor.
Evangelism
Reaching people for Christ in our primary ministry. The central purpose of God's revelation in Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with Himself described as follows:
• Humankind was specially created, but is now tragically lost apart from God's redeeming grace.
• Each person can be made new in Christ by the Holy Spirit and thereafter continuously grow in knowledge of God.
• Salvation is wholly a work of God's free grace, received by repentance and faith.
• The Christian Life
• The essential accompaniment of a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life of holiness and obedience, attained by believers as they yield to the Holy Spirit.
As the believer submits more fully to the Lordship of Christ, the Holy Spirit releases the power that enables the believer to be totally dedicated to God.
The Church
All believers become members with one another in the church universal with Christ as the Head. God's people who acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord should meet regularly to devote themselves to prayer, fellowship, worship, study, observations of baptism and communion, edification of the body, discovery and development of spiritual gifts and active ministry to the world.
Human Destiny
The Scriptures clearly teach that there is a conscious personal existence after death described as follows:
• All dying without Christ will suffer eternally, while those in Christ will enjoy eternal blessedness.
• Christ will return to judge the world, receive the saved and rule the world in righteousness.
Truth
Proclaiming God's Word as Truth and applying it to our everyday lives. Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This church seeks to impact the community by accurately interpreting doctrinal truth for the benefit and growth of the seeker and the believer.
This church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to whom we are all ultimately responsible. The church also recognizes that leadership calls for a commitment of faith and practice that is above reproach.
Spiritual transformation takes place through God empowered preaching / teaching.
"When the people heard this (Peter's anointed sermon), they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:37,38
"For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
We believe the Word of God is totally true and that it is the primary change agent in people's lives.
"God empowered" teaching means preaching/teaching that is empowered by the Holy Spirit from preparation to presentation.
We believe God empowered teaching/preaching must be balanced.
The Church should be relevant without doctrinal compromise.
". . . there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language." Acts 2:5,6
• Relevance means that our methods are effective in relating the Gospel to the needs of people in our culture.
• Relevance requires adapting our structures to meet our community's needs without violating the principles of Scripture.
• Relevance was modeled by the ministry of Jesus Himself. Jesus would draw from the everyday experiences of people's lives.
• That is why we use multi-media, drama, and music to relate to the culture we live in.
Prayer is the foundation for life-changing ministry.
"Then they returned to Jerusalem . . .came to the upper chamber . . . and . . .with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer." Acts 1:12-14
Prayer is the first thing we see the early church doing.
The early church teaches us that for the church to accomplish what God wants her to - the foundation of prayer is essential.
Strategic planning is an expression of faith.
The plan was incredibly simple, it was to minister.
"In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world .. ." Acts 1:8
As you study the book of Acts, you will clearly see that Acts 1:8 was used as the exact strategy of the early church. Acts 1-7 shows us the church's witness to Jerusalem.
Acts 8 through Acts 11:18 shows us the church's witness to Judea and Samaria.
The remaining chapters show us the church's witness to the uttermost parts of the world.
We learn from the early church's example that our primary focus must be on our Jerusalem.
The Bible describes the church as a body not an organization.
"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body . . ." Romans 12:4,5
Since the church is a body our primary focus should be the development of a healthy body.
As a body the church maintains its ability to remain flexible and responsive to change.
To have a healthy body the church must be a Biblically functioning community.
To have a healthy body the church must pattern its ministry program after the New Testament model - not fads.
• A healthy body will naturally grow and reproduce itself.
• The primary responsibility of spiritual leadership is developing a spiritually healthy body.
• Real life-change happens best through developing vital relationships in small groups.
The Christians "broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts." Acts 2:46
The New Testament is filled with illustrations and instructions regarding the relational experiences believers had with one another.
• Before we can minister to people through the church - we must be the church to each other.
• Small groups encourage life-change by identifying "itches" and finding the Biblical scratch for them.
• Small groups encourage life-change by moving us from theorizing about Scripture - to the practical application of the principles of Scripture.
• Small groups encourage life-change because they communicate that people are more important than programs.
• Small groups encourage life-change by accountability.
All true Christ-followers will pursue spiritual maturity.
SCRIPTURE: Love (or maturity) is ". . .the most excellent way" ~~ I Corinthians 12:31b
The New Testament identifies spiritual maturity as the primary qualification for leadership.
Spiritual maturity is the process of moving to full devotion to Christ.
The church's ministry focus should be balanced - a spiritual birthing center, nursery, school and workshop.
SCRIPTURE: "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."~~ Ephesians 4:12,13
• The church must be a birthing center.
• The church must be a nursery.
• The church must be a school for spiritual growth.
• The church must be a workshop - utilizing the gifts of the saints in ministry.