The glory of God - We believe God’s
glory to be His greatest purpose, the theme of the Scriptures and the
foundation of our theology, worldview and practical living. We agree with the great confessions which
declare that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
The supremacy of Christ - We exalt
Jesus as the central character of the Biblical story, as the One Who lived,
died and rose again to reconcile sinners to a holy God, as the standard of our
sanctification, and as the forever-King on the throne.
The authority of the Bible - By faith
we are committed to the truthfulness, authority and sufficiency of the
Bible. Therefore we will ask and seek to
answer our core question, “What does the Bible say?” We are willing to shun any methodology,
philosophy, or church tradition in order to be radically biblical.
The exposition of Scripture - We
endeavor to proclaim the message of the Scripture text in its biblical, historical
and grammatical context to address the needs of our lives today. Expository preaching is the standard for our
pulpit ministry and the hope of a healthy church.
The significance of doctrine - Every
Christian is a theologian – either a good one or a bad one. We want the congregation of Grace Bible
Church to be rooted and grounded in the Truth.
The New Testament places great weight on the importance of doctrine for
the growth of the church, and so do we.
We will not rely on man-centered programs for spiritual growth, but on the sound teaching of
the Bible.
The power of the gospel – We preach
Christ who is the power of God unto salvation.
The gospel is the substitutionary life, death and resurrection of Jesus on behalf of blind, helpless sinners. The power of the gospel enables godliness in
every area of our lives: marriage, parenting, employment, recreation,
entertainment, conflict resolution, forgiveness…everything!
The heritage of theology – Because we
are committed to the teaching of the Bible, we are characterized by
conservative, historic doctrine that embraces the foundational tenets of the
Protestant Reformation.
- Sola Scriptura – based on Scripture alone;
- Sola Gratia – by grace alone;
- Sola Fide – through faith alone;
- Solus Christus – in Christ alone;
- Soli Deo Gloria – to the glory of God alone.
The sufficiency of grace - Grace is
undeserved favor that we receive from God through Christ, the Fullness of
grace. We are humbled by the doctrines
of grace…saving grace…sanctifying grace…sufficient grace…eternally securing
grace. We desire to see grace permeate
our church’s teaching, our worship, our service and our relationships. Come - grow in grace with us.
The reverence of worship – We gather to
worship our worthy God who has redeemed us.
We deeply enjoy our corporate worship as participants in praise;
however, we refuse to allow worship to become entertainment. The primary emphasis in our music is
congregational singing which we believe most appropriately highlights the unity
of the redeemed in praise of God’s grace.
Our music includes old and new songs with rich doctrine in a classical
or conservative style. We seek to
cultivate a spirit of reverence as our worship engages the mind to understand
God’s character, the will to obey God’s Word, and the heart to be moved by God’s
work.
The work of the Spirit - We long to
better understand the necessity of the Holy Spirit as the primary, active
presence of God in our lives. We
recognize the Spirit’s power to bring about the new life of regeneration and to
continue the sanctifying work until we are made like Christ. We embrace the sweet liberty of the Christian
life, but we also realize the strict duty of daily submission to the Spirit lest
we fulfill the lusts of our sinful nature.
The responsibility of membership - The church
is a body made of many parts which must contribute to the effective working of
the whole – making membership a weighty responsibility. At Grace Bible Church, we seek to fulfill the
numerous New Testament commands that unfold the nature of believers’
relationships to “one another.”
Attending Grace is not “coming to get” but “committing to give.”
The leadership of pastors - The pastors, also called elders in the NT, are to lead the church by teaching and
shepherding the congregation. Leaders
bear a burden of giving account to God, while the congregation bears the burden
of recognizing and submitting to the biblical authority of the pastors/elders.
The service of deacons - The word
“deacon” means servant, reminding us that the church is to be served by
deacons. While all Christians are called
to serve one another, the role of deacon is a key serving role filled by
qualified men.
To be a deacon is to humbly accept the lofty privilege of lowly service.
The role of family – We believe the
church to be the bride of Christ and the great prize of redemption’s plan. We are first, foremost and forever – the
redeemed. Marriage and family, while serving as rich means of grace presently, are both
illustrations of a more glorious relationship that ransomed sinners enjoy with
Holy God by grace. Our church will seek
to support all believers in their God-given roles within the family. Because God has commissioned parents with the discipleship and discipline of their children, our youth and
children’s ministries will emphasize parental responsibility.
The mandate of evangelism - Our plan to
evangelize our community begins with every believer’s witness to the merciful salvation of
God by living a life that reflects the righteousness of the redeemed
and by being ready to give an answer for the hope of salvation. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you are the
outreach “program” of the church. We
reject the heresy of hyper-calvinism, but equally shun the heresy of
easy-believism. Christ calls sinners to
repent and to believe the gospel (Mark 1:15), and we advance the kingdom by
doing the same.