Our Defining Values

At Grace Community Church we believe the Bible is the word of God and the
standard for all life and practice. While we seek to learn and apply all aspects
of the scriptures, there are certain components of the Bible's teaching that we
hold particularly important in defining what we are seeking to be as a church.
These defining values would be reflected in the following core commitments of
this church.

At Grace Community Church we are committed to:

__

1. The Scriptures and Sound Doctrine

- We believe the Bible is the authoritative, inerrant word of God and the
standard for all life and practice. At Grace Community Church, we value the
importance of sound doctrine. We are continually seeking to grow in our
understanding of biblical truth and applying this truth to our lives. This is
reflected in our commitment to the scriptures, our high view of preaching, our
emphasis on the application of truth and the materials we carry in our
bookstore.

2. The Centrality of the Gospel

- The gospel is our central message and the lens through which we view life. We
believe the gospel is the power of God to save people and transform lives. The
gospel is the foundation of our sanctification, the source of our joy in God,
the basis of our worship and the reason we are committed to evangelism. We hope
this is reflected in all that we do as a church.

3. A Growing Passion and Affection for God

- We are seeking to cultivate an ever-increasing love and affection for Jesus
Christ as we pursue a deeper relationship with Him. This is reflected in our
corporate worship, our commitment to the spiritual disciplines, our love for
God's word and our desire to cultivate joy and gratefulness in our personal
lives.

4. The Priority of the Local Church

- We believe that the church is God's chosen means to fulfill His purposes on
the earth. We are convinced that this is brought about as God's people commit
themselves to, and participate in, a local church. This is reflected throughout
our values as we seek to be a church that both represents Jesus Christ
accurately and faithfully and seeks to further His purposes in building this
local body to spiritual maturity and taking the gospel to the lost.

5. Pursuing Growth in Godliness

- We believe that the church is to be a growing reflection of Jesus Christ and
that God's purpose for His people is that they grow in godliness. We are
committed to the pursuit of godliness in our families, our marriages and our
personal lives. This is reflected in our emphasis on small groups, our pursuit
of biblical fellowship and our commitment to not just learn biblical truth but
to apply it in our lives.

6. Relationships and Biblical Fellowship

- We embrace the necessity of relationships within the church as both a source
of joy and a means of God's grace. We seek to grow in sharing our lives with
others in order to be better able to love one another, serve one another,
encourage one another and help one another grow. This is reflected in the high
priority we place on small groups, our pursuit of biblical fellowship, our
emphasis on building strong families and marriages and encouraging the practice
of hospitality.

7. Joyful and Grateful Servanthood

- Servanthood is defined in the Bible as the mark of true greatness and all of
God's people are called to live lives that exemplify joyful, thankful
servanthood. This is reflected in the emphasis of serving one another in our
small groups, our desire to cultivate the use of spiritual gifts, and a wide
variety of church and ministry activities that provide opportunities for us to
serve one another and our community.

8. Identifying and Equipping Leaders

- We believe that leaders are a gift of God to the church and are essential for
the local church to fulfill its purpose and mission. We are committed to
investing in the development and equipping of leaders to secure God's work in
and through Grace Community for the generations that follow us. We believe that
pastoral leadership is primarily charged with equipping the saints for the
ministry rather than doing the ministry. Our commitment to identifying and
equipping leaders is reflected in a variety of training, discipleship and
leadership development activities that take place across the church.

9. Evangelism and the Expansion of the Gospel

- We are called as a local church body to fulfill Christ's work on earth. A
significant part of this call involves taking the gospel to those who do not
know Jesus Christ. We are committed to ever keeping before us the privilege and
responsibility we have to share the gospel, both individually and corporately.
This is reflected in our Alpha program and service outreach activities, our
involvement in missions and future church planting, and our cultivation of a
growing effectiveness on the part of our members in sharing the gospel with
friends, family and co-workers.

10. Pursuing the Active Presence of God and the Work of the Holy
Spirit

- We value the active presence of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit
through the many spiritual gifts portrayed in the Scripture. This is reflected
in our corporate worship, times of personal ministry in both corporate
gatherings and small groups, our desire for spiritual gifts as a means to build
the body and our emphasis on pursuing a growing faith and dependence upon God in
our daily lives.

top