Throughout our 40 years of ministry, we have much to be thankful for. Through good times and difficult times, God has been faithful in leading Grace Church. We are grateful for God’s active work in our lives, as He prunes and refines us for His glory. It is through these seasons of life that we are made more and more like Him.
As Christ followers, it is our calling to glorify and worship God and to make disciples for Him. We do this in the way we live, love, give and reach our world. As your leaders, we want you to know that we have each committed ourselves to the following and encourage all of us here at Grace Church to do the same:
1. Lead lives characterized by humility, mercy and grace.
2. Model transparent and abundant communication.
3. Embrace hope and a positive ministry future.
4. Work supportively and collaboratively to fulfill our calling.
Grace Church exists to glorify and worship God by making disciples who reflect Christ.
Through prayer, time in God’s Word and accountability in large and small gatherings of believers, Grace Church is committed to:
• LIVING in obedience to His commands
(John 14:23-24; 1 John 2:3-6)
• LOVING others as God loves us
(John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:7-12)
• GIVING our time, giftedness and finances
(Eph. 5:15-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Matt. 6:19-21)
• REACHING our world for Christ
(Matt. 28:19-20, Acts 1:8)
The leadership of Grace Church has established the following priorities as we continue cultivating and monitoring ministry unity and stability. Please join us in prayer and dialogue as we implement them. Through patient reliance on the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are convinced that He who started a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.
January – June 2012
1. Continue pastoral search process and keep it moving at an appropriate pace.
2. Maintain continuity and quality in Sunday services and in children, youth and adult ministries.
3. Continue cultivating and monitoring ministry unity and stability.
4. Complete evaluation of education ministries and determine next steps.
5. Continue to monitor finances/prepare budget for 2012/2013.
July – December 2012
1. Wisely seek to complete calling of lead pastor.
2. Maintain continuity and quality in Sunday services and in children, youth and adult ministries.
3. Align and strengthen ministry infrastructure around ministry priorities.
4. Implement next steps for future of education ministries.
5. Ensure stability and stewardship of finances.
The following core beliefs represent the essential foundation of what we believe about God's Revelation of Himself, the Bible, humanity, life on earth, and eternity.
The Bible. The Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
God. The One True God Existing eternally as three persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).
The Lord Jesus Christ. His preexistence and deity (John 1:1-13), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14); Matt. 1:18-23;, sinless life (Heb. 4:15), substitutionary death (2 Cor. 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), as cension into heaven and present ministry (Heb. 4:14:16), and coming again (Acts 1:11).
The Holy Spirit. His personality (John 16:7-15); and deity (Acts 5:3-4); and His work in each believer: baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (1 Cor. 12:13); Rom. 8:9); and filling (Eph. 5:18) to empower for Christian life and service (Eph. 3:16; Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:22-23).
Man. His direct creation in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28), his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Gen. 3:1-24, Rom. 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).
Salvation. A complete and eternal salvation by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
The Church. One true Church, the body and the bride of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (1 Cor. 12:12-13); and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Eph. 4:11-16).
The Christian Life. A life of righteousness, good works and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Rom 12:1- 2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Eph. 5:22-6:4) settling differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (1 Cor. 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Rom. 12:7-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6), including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18).
Ordinances. The Christian should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are (1) baptism of believers by triune immersion (Matt. 28:19) and (2) the threefold communion service, consisting of the washing of the saint's feet (John 13:1-17), the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-22, 33-34); Jude 12), and the communion of the bread and the cup (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Satan. His existence and personality as the great adversary of God and his people (Rev. 12:1-10), his judgment (John 12:31), and final doom (Rev).
Second Coming. The personal, visible and imminent return of Christ to remove His Church from the earth (1 Thess. 4:16- 17), before the Tribulation (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10), and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6).
Future Life. The conscious existence of the dead (Phil. 1:21-23); Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and reward of believers (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Rev. 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the eternal punishment of the lost (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:15).
|
Subscribe to Grace E-news, the Weekly E-mail Updates by entering your e-mail below.
.png)
501 West Lincoln Avenue
Lititz, PA 17543
P: 717.626.2155
F: 717.626.5683
|
