Knowing what a church believes is one of the most important things to be familiar with when searching for a church home. Below is a general statement of what Grace Fellowship bases its faith around. We also make our full doctrinal statement available for download and encourage you to read it. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
The Bible
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and are the only sufficient, certain, inerrant, infallible, and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. It is the only book needed for living a God-centered life. We subscribe to the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.
The Trinity
There is one God who is eternal and exists in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), who are equal in Deity but distinct in person.
The Fall & Sin
All of mankind shared in Adam’s sin of disobedience toward God and is, therefore, under the penalty of that sin and totally helpless in dire need of God’s help (grace).
Salvation
The God of the universe in His amazing love and grace has chosen, in His sovereignty, to redeem people bound in sin by the power of the Holy Spirit through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. A person is made righteous before God by trusting in Christ alone in payment for their sin on the cross. All who have been made righteous before God will spend eternity with Him. However, any person who has not been made righteous by trusting in Christ’s payment for sin on his or her behalf will be separated from God in punishment forever.
Christian Living
God desires that his followers love Him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and that they would seek to love others as they would themselves. This means that God calls us to embrace a lifestyle of dependency on Him in allowing His Spirit to control us in all areas of living in order to fulfill His heart.
The Church
The local church is God’s primary method for people to be nurtured and enabled to live a God-centered life. Those who commit to a local church are called to serve and support the mission of that church in all ways possible. Grace Fellowship is led by a group of godly men chosen from within our Church to lead in God-centered, Spirit-dependent ministries and living.
Baptism & the Lord’s Supper
It is important to recognize and model the priorities that God’s Word places on baptism and taking the Lord’s Supper. Therefore, we hold to the practice of water baptism and the regular observation of the Lord’s Supper. We do not believe that either of these practices are prerequisites for salvation, but that they serve as a demonstration of our living trust and hope that rests in Christ.
We believe the Bible teaches that baptism is the public profession of one’s salvation and the Lord’s Supper is the remembrance of one’s salvation. As such, it is our conviction that baptism should precede one’s participation in the Lord’s Supper. The full position paper from the Elders can be read here.
Human Sexuality & Marriage
The Bible teaches that sexual relations are to be exercised solely within marriage (Exodus 20:14, Hebrews 13:4). Grace Fellowship seeks to promote healthy marriages by, among other things, opposing all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. Marriage is an institution established by God as clearly described in the Bible. Grace Fellowship recognizes that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime (Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:31-32). Accordingly, Grace Fellowship, its pastors, staff and members will not facilitate same-sex unions or same-sex marriages, nor shall church property or resources be used for such purposes. We subscribe to the Nashville Statement on human sexuality and gender.
Jesus Christ’s Return
Jesus Christ will return visibly and bodily to this earth, at a time not expected, to finalize history and the earthly plan of God. The followers of Christ will then enjoy His heaven forever. We look forward to that and desire to share this hope with the nations.