Church Stance
Church Purpose
Church Beliefs
Church Covenant
Church Membership
Brief History of Grace Baptist Church
Church Vision
Church Mission, Vision and Values
 

Taking our stand on the Bible as God’s inerrant Word, we accept the affirmation of Faith of the Baptist General Conference, including the deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, intercession for us and personal visible return. We believe that a sound knowledge of Biblical doctrine is essential for mature, stable, fruitful Christian living (Eph. 4:13).  We do not claim to be perfect in our own views, for we see through a glass dimly (1 Corinthians. 13:12).  We hope to be always learning and growing (2 Peter 3:18), so that we will not be blown about by every wind of doctrine.  Our aim is a humble and firm grasp of the truth found in the Scriptures, with a readiness to learn more, to the glory of God.
 

The foundation of this Church is the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11), and its code of guidance in all its affairs is the Word of God. This Church affirms its faith that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of Almighty God (Mark 13:31).

The object of this Church is to worship God according to the teaching of His Word, to practice the precepts and examples of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ as set forth in the New Testament, to sustain its ordinances and doctrines, and to preach and propagate among all peoples the Gospel of Salvation which is by personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The priorities of ministry of this church flow from the vision of God's glory revealed in Jesus Christ. We exist to savor this vision in worship (John 4:23), strengthen the vision in nurture and education (1 Corinthians 14:26: 2 Peter 3:18), and spread the vision in evangelism, missions, and loving deeds (Matthew 28:18-20; 5:16; 1 Peter 2:9; 3:15).
 

B. The Trinity
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption.  Genesis 1:1, 26; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1, 3; 4:24; Romans 1:19, 20; Ephesians 4:5-6.

C. God the Father
We believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.  Matthew 23:9; Luke l0:21-22; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 2:5-6; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6.

D. Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal visible return to earth.  Matthew 1:18-25; 20:28; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; 20:28, 30-31; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9-10; 9:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 7:25; 9:28; 1 Peter 2:21-23.

E. The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.  John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27; 16:9-14; Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26.

F. Regeneration
We believe that all men are sinners by nature and by choice and therefore, under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  Genesis 1:26; 2:17; 3:19; 5:2; Psalms 51:7; Proverbs 28:13; Ecclesiastes 2:11; Jeremiah 17:9; John 1:13; 3:14, 16; 5:24, 30; 8:12; 10:26; Romans 3:19; 5:19; 8:1; 9:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10; James 1:14; 1 John 1:9; Revelation 19:3, 20; 20:10, 14-15.

G. The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.  Acts 1:8; 2:41; Ephesians 2:19-22; 5:19-21; Hebrews 10:23-25.

H. Christian Conduct
We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and well being of his fellowmen; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions, and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.  John 14:15, 23-24; Romans 12:1-3; 1 Corinthians 4:2; 10:31; 2 Corinthians 9:6-9; Colossians 1:9-10; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 John 2:3-6.

I. The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

J. Religious Liberty
We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.  Romans 14:7-9, 12; 1Timothy 2:5.

K. Church Cooperation
We believe that local churches can best promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another in a denominational organization. Such an organization, whether a regional or district conference, exists and functions by the will of the churches. Cooperation in a conference is voluntary and may be terminated at any time. Churches may likewise cooperate with interdenominational fellowships on a voluntary basis.  Acts 5:36, 41; 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:1; Galatians 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4, 10-11.

L. The Last Things
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal felicity of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.  Matthew 16:27; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15.
 

We promise by the aid of the Holy Spirit to forsake the ways of sin and to walk together in Christian love and in the paths of righteousness. With this in view, we engage to strive together for both the peace and purity of this church; to sustain its worship and steadfastly to cherish and hold its ordinances, disciplines and doctrines; to contribute as faithful stewards such time, talent and money in the measure that God prospers each of us, that the responsibility for the work of the local church and the worldwide ministry of spreading the Gospel be faithfully and effectively discharged.

We also promise to maintain family and private devotion, to teach the Bible to our children, to seek the salvation of our relatives and acquaintances, to be just in our dealings and faithful in our activities, to be exemplary in our conduct, to avoid unkind words and unrighteous anger, to abstain from every form of evil, to combine zeal and knowledge in our efforts to advance the cause of our Savior and to make Christ first in all things, both spiritual and temporal.

We further promise to give and receive admonition with meekness and affection, to remember one another in prayer, and to aid one another in cases of illness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and, mindful of the Scriptures, to seek it without delay; to encourage one another in the blessed hope of our Lord's return.

We moreover promise that when we move from this fellowship, we will as soon as possible unite with a local church where we can carry on the spirit of this covenant and the principles of the Word of God.
 

After you have taken the step of becoming a Christian, we invite you to unite with our church. This may be done by baptism, testimony, or letter of transfer.

Baptism
We do not believe that baptism is necessary for salvation, but we do believe that in obedience to Christ’s command every Christian should be immersed in water as an outward sign of their faith in the Savior. Baptism by immersion is required for membership in our church.

Testimony
Every Christian should be able to give a credible testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

Letter of Transfer
A letter of transfer may be requested from a previous church where they have been a member, if that church holds beliefs that are compatible to those of Grace Baptist Church.

Membership Class
All persons, regardless of previous religious activity or affiliation, are requested to attend a class designed to explain the doctrine and expectations of our Church. You will be given further information regarding the time and place of these classes when you make the application for membership.
 

1951: The house at 121 W. Alvin Ave. was purchased for a parsonage.  It was situated on a large vacant lot bounded by Lincoln St. on the west, Rose Ave. on the north, and Alvin Ave. on the south.  The Rev. William Larson was called as pastor, and he would serve the church until 1968.  Sunday School attendance averaged 60.

1952-1953: The first Christian education / sanctuary unit was built on the property.

1957-1959: The church built a new larger sanctuary.

1969: To accommodate increased attendance, we went to two services on Sunday morning.

1999-2004: A six acre parcel of land was purchased at the corner of S. College Dr. and E. McCoy Ln.  Our present building was designed and built.

Throughout our 55 years, God has blessed our congregation, our community, and the world.  He has granted to us spiritual growth as well as growth in numbers.  We have thrived under the leadership of several pastors and youth pastors.  And the hundreds of our members that have served as elders, deacons, teachers, nursery workers, ushers, clerks, treasurers, secretaries, committee members and choir members have truly served the body of Christ.  Many of our members have now served as short-term missionaries, missionaries, and pastors.  But perhaps the biggest impact for the cause of God's kingdom has come from the service of our members as they function as faithful Christians in their roles as parents, children, grandparents, co-workers, and neighbors.

Grace Baptist Church is affiliated with the Baptist General Conference, established in the 19th century by Swedish immigrants. Even today, one finds many Swedish names among our sister congregations. Grace Baptist recently celebrated its 50th anniversary by dedicating our new property at the corner of South College and East McCoy. Our new six acres is in the Crossroads development south of Betteravia Road.
 

Our Elder Board has been reading a book by Gary McIntosh, a guide to setting a vision for a church. The title of the book is Look Back, Leap Forward. When I saw the title I couldn't help thinking, "That is exactly what Grace Baptist Church needs to do as we anticipate the building of new facilities and moving to a new location." However, while looking back to remember and honor the past isn't hard, being willing to take a leap into the future can be much more intimidating.

A vision for the future, while it must be built on the past, of necessity requires us to dream and pray and plan for things not yet fully seen, things that are going to be different than the past.

The KJV translation of Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." I have often seen that verse used to build a case for the necessity of a church to have a vision statement that spells out the future expectations and aspirations. Actually, that translation leads us far from the real meaning of that verse, for it doesn't have anything to do with a vision statement. At the same time, its true meaning must be at the heart of any church's vision statement. The word that is translated, "vision" actually means, "Revelation from God." The heart and soul of my vision for Grace is that we look back and leap forward-by being a people who would perish if we did not hear from God!

Each day our greatest hunger should be for the Word of God, even more than for good physical food. We are to love to hear from God so that we could say, like the psalmist in Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Verse 111, Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. Verse 127, Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.  Verse 159, Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love.

While Proverbs 29:18 doesn't say anything about a pastor's or a church's vision, it does say everything about what gives a people and a church life, hope and satisfaction; joy, peace, meaning and yes, vision!

- I desire Grace to be a Bible loving, Word saturated, precept obeying, wisdom driven community of people who are always seeking, learning and growing in their love for and knowledge of the Word of God.

- I desire that we not be afraid of working hard to find out what justification, expiation, sanctification, regeneration and a whole host of other Biblical terms really mean as Jesus and Paul and others explain them to us.

- I desire that we be "Word driven" rather than "need driven," in determining what we will teach and preach and how we will reach our community.

- I desire that we love doctrine because it is the only thing that will ultimately unite us in a common faith in Jesus and a pursuit of holiness.

Therefore: we will have a strong commitment to teach and preach the doctrines of God's sovereign grace, not shying away from them because we think they are old or unpopular or irrelevant, but exalting in them because they open a fuller and richer understanding of the Glory of God. We will be enabled to live for, and at the same time, share a true vision of the splendor of God's majesty with a world lost and dead in their sins.

We are wise to look back to our spiritual forefathers who carefully crafted a sound Biblical understanding of God who has guided the church through the ages -- but we must leap forward to present those eternal truths in new and stirring ways. We must look at technological advances, deciding how to use them to reach more people, enabling us to gain a better grasp of God's word. We are venturing out and using the web with our current web site, but the near future will offer the opportunity to web-cast our worship services live around the world at very little cost. We could produce CD's of our worship and teaching services for people to take home, to give to shut-ins, to neighbors, missionaries, and others.

Perhaps we will receive and show live video reports and interviews with our missionaries who are located in far away lands and pray for them in their needs and rejoice with them in spiritual victories. There are possibilities so limitless that many of us don't even yet know they exist!

Pray for God to rise up people with the technological knowledge and love for spreading the fame of Jesus throughout the world.

Yes, look back and leap forward! By being a renewed community of Believers: By that I mean, that we not be the same as we have been, but be much more. The army had a recruiting slogan, "Be all that you can be".  And while that is impossible on this earth, we can be more than we are now!

I pray that we don't plan to go to our new location with the attitude that we are going to be what we are now in a new place!

Pastor James is setting the pace for the rest of us, by putting together a team of youth leaders, training them and unleashing them to serve.

Our church by-laws say, "Members of this church will have the liberty to participate in and organize themselves for ministry, provided that such participation and organization does not conflict with [our Affirmation of Faith]."

That's what I want to see - members ministering, empowered to do so by our leaders. When you come and ask, "Can I do....," our response will be "Sure, let's look at how it might work!"

Isn't it reasonable to think that God is likely to raise up a director of senior adult ministries from our midst? Someone who has a love, desire and talent for just that very task? Someone we could further train and empower to serve God?

Isn't that what we have done with our Director of Children's Ministries, Michelle Winger? She has a passion and talent for doing children's ministries and she loves it! All we did was recognize her gifts and empower her to serve.

It is the same with our Business Manager, Susan Richardson.

And, I believe, it can be the same for a preschool director, a director of athletic outreach, a director of video productions, a director of assimilation, a visitation pastor and so on.

Does everyone who serves the Lord in ministry have to have a seminary degree and come from out of town? Some do, but let's have leaders who will empower all of us to serve where we have the talent, gifts, desire and calling.

Therefore: we will empower you to serve the Lord where he is directing you to serve.

Do you have a ministry in mind for yourself?

Finally, let's look back and leap forward:

By being a profane people: I know I have to explain this. I do not mean this in the negative sense of the word as we use it today. I mean profane in its classical meaning of, "Out of the Temple" or, "outside of the Temple."

Luther said that the Christian life is to be so strong that we go out of the temple and into the world. By learning how to get to heaven on the vertical plane, we also learn how to be Christ for our neighbor on the horizontal plane, so that, after we come out of church on Sunday morning, we go into the world with the gospel.... Luther did not see the task of the church as being contained in a monastery someplace, "...but that the Word of God penetrate the culture and the strongholds of this world."

Yes, anything and everything that happens in the church buildings with the church meeting as a gathered community is to have the final goal of bringing Christ to our world, or as Luther put it, "being Christ to our world".

The die is cast, the stage is set, there is no holding back, and we are going to leap forward. God has brought us to this place in our history and now he has sold our property behind us - we will move!! And with that move will come many changes and many golden opportunities. The future looks bright and exciting, but it must be guided by the values of our past, the values and beliefs that have kept us on course for over 50 years. If we grow and expand, but lose the guiding principles of God's word, then we will have failed.

We cannot fail!

God's glory is too precious, his Kingdom too wonderful to abandon them for anything this world can offer us.

Come join us in seeing dreams blossom in reality, children and adults become children of God, long time saints become growing and serving saints, ministry being vitalized and people being empowered to be all that God wants them and us to be --- not all we can be, for that is reserved for heaven, but more than we are right now. Let's look back to get our bearings and direction, and then let's fearlessly leap forward into the future that God has designed for us.

2 Mohler, Albert,...[et al.], "Feed My Sheep," (Morgan, PA.: Soli Deo Gloria, 2002), 156. McIntosh, Gary, "Look Back - Leap Forward," (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House, 2001).
 

Our Vision - to develop a passion for knowing Christ & becoming like him.

Values - beliefs we treasure that will guide us in the future:

     Worship - We believe that God commands His Church to worship him in spirit and truth. Therefore, we value personal and corporate worship involving the entire body of believers in praising God for His character and his works. We believe our very lives should be an act of worship. (Rom. 12:1-2)

     Scripture - We believe the Bible is our final authority in faith, doctrine and conduct, and that rather than being restrictive, it blesses us with joyous freedom. Therefore, we value personal reading, studying and joyful obedience of the scriptures.

     Prayer - We believe that God desires His people to pray and that He hears and answers prayer. Therefore prayer will be integral part of all the ministries of this church.

     Godly Living - We believe that we should pursue holiness and godliness as the standard of life in our Christian community. Therefore, we will live in accordance with the teachings of scripture, under-girding them with an environment of forgiveness and grace.

     Evangelism - We believe that God commands His people to share the gospel with those around them. Therefore, we are committed to pass our faith on to our children, youth, neighbors, the community in which we live and to all who have yet to experience God's grace.

     Missions - We believe in the Great Commission which commands us to make disciples of all nations. Therefore, we are committed to reach the world with the gospel through praying for, sending and supporting missionaries and by going ourselves.

     Assimilation - We believe that God calls us to value all people. Therefore, when people visit our church we will extend them the warmth of our personal fellowship, and encourage them to exercise their talents, abilities and spiritual gifts in the ministries of our church.

     Discipleship - We believe that the Christian life should be a constant process of growing in grace. Therefore, we will encourage and train believers for spiritual growth so that they may become more Christ-like in their daily lives.

     Leadership - We believe scripture requires us to choose and enable church leaders. Therefore, we commit to the development of current and potential lay leaders so they may become more spiritually sensitive and functionally effective.

     Fellowship - We value the people of God and enjoy spending time together in fellowship. Therefore we value personal and corporate interaction involving the entire body of believers for mutual encouragement and accountability. Service - We believe service is an important aspect of our worship of God and is pleasing to Him. Therefore we will endeavor to serve Him in any way needed.