Grace Church Core Beliefs

God

We believe in one, true, holy, living God who is of infinite power, wisdom, goodness, and love. He is the Creator and Ruler of all things and has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - which we call the Trinity.  

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin, Mary. We believe that after living a perfect, holy life that was without sin, Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried upon death. Three days later He rose from the dead and appeared to hundreds of His followers before ascending into Heaven. It is there that He remains until His future, victorious return to earth. During His time on earth, Jesus revealed glimpses of the Kingdom of Heaven and invited all of humanity into a new covenant - one in which our reconciliation with God the Father is through Him and Him alone.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make us aware of our need for Jesus Christ, to exhibit the power of God, and to help us understand Jesus' words and deeds. The Holy Spirit lives in every person from the moment of their belief and salvation.

Humanity

All humans - every one of us, whether we know God or not - are made in the image of God. It's also true that because the first humans disobeyed and betrayed God, all humans - every one of us - are born with sin inside of us. That presence of sin is what separates us from God and makes us incapable, through our own efforts, to regain a right relationship with God.

Salvation

We believe that salvation is God's gracious gift, offered to us through faith in the life, death, resurrection, and saving power of Jesus Christ. We can never make right our sin by self-improvement, right living, or good works. It is only by trusting in Jesus Christ, and acknowledging and obeying Him as Lord of our life, that God's offer of forgiveness and redemption is accepted and we are saved from sin's eternal penalty of death. 

Holiness

From the moment of our salvation, we are given the power of the Holy Spirit. It is by this power - working in all those who profess and believe that Jesus is Lord - that we grow more and more to resemble Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed. Thus, we are not only saved from sin's eternal penalty, but from sin's power to impede and ruin our lives in the present. By responding to God's grace in faith, we are utterly saved from sin - both presently and eternally.

eternity

We were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God because of sin (hell) or eternally in union with God through forgiveness, salvation, and reconciliation (heaven). Heaven and hell are places of eternal existence.

The Bible

The Bible is God's Word, written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian belief and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is infallibly true and contains everything we need to know to be saved.

Sacraments

In the simplest of terms, a sacrament is an outward sign of an inward work of God. In our Wesleyan* tradition (the way in which we express our faith is rooted in the practices of our denomination's  founder, John Wesley*), we observe two sacraments: baptism and Holy Communion. At Grace Church, all who desire to follow Jesus are welcome to take part in Holy Communion. And baptism is a joyous celebration of faith and spiritual rebirth, celebrated at all ages.

Our Theological Tradition

Grace Church is a congregation connected to the United Methodist Church. We preach and seek to live out an orthodox, Wesleyan-Arminian theology and witness.

Do you have a  specific question or would you like to know more about what all this means?

 Contact Pastor Kelly today