Our Beliefs
Helping people find, know, and follow the Lord Jesus Christ and multiply.
Who are we?
Grace Community Church is a non-denominational, elder-led congregation located in Arlington, Texas. Our deepest desire is to see everyone who walks through our doors find, know, and follow the Lord Jesus, and teach others to do the same. We value the pursuit of God and are hungry to know His presence, hear His voice and chase after Him. We believe in simplicity and wish to do nothing "for religious effect," but rather to operate in a natural, low-key, "non-hype" pattern.
One of the ways we measure how much we love our neighbors is by asking the question, “If Grace Community ceased to exist, who outside our church walls would miss us?” We have many ways that we care for those outside our church, including some of the following: English as a Second Language, Sports Ministry, Financial Peace University, Embrace Grace & Embrace Life, Kicks for Kids, Hoops for Hope, Taste Community Project, Awana, Cornerstone College Ministry, and many more.
We are committed to doing our part to fulfill the Great Commission - the final instructions Jesus gave us in the Gospels to make disciples of all the peoples of the world. We have more than 20 Great Commission workers we directly support, serving in hard-to-reach places all over the globe to bring the message of salvation to those who haven’t yet heard. Our support is not only financial but also pastoral, spiritual, emotional, and in prayer. We hope to continue sending Great Commission workers to unreached people groups in the coming years as we look forward to the return of Christ.
We strive to keep a healthy balance of worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and teaching, without any one of these areas becoming our main focus. We believe all five of these elements are important to the growth and development of God’s people and are committed to cultivating a church where all are important, but none are ultimate.
We seek to honor the Lord in everything we say and do, both as a church and as individuals. We seek His kingdom and His righteousness and hope to be a reflection of Christ and a light in this dark world.
Beliefs
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We believe that there is one Living and True God, eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory, and that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all.
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teaching, His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and His eventual personal and visible return to earth. We believe that in His first coming, Jesus inaugurated the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all the biblical gifts of the Spirit.
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We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, fully inspired, without error in the original manuscripts, and the infallible rule of faith and practice.
Our desire is to do and teach just what the Bible says. Consequently, we have a particular approach to scripture. We like to read and believe it as it is, without imposing our own presuppositions and preconceptions onto the text. The basic issue for us is experiencing the Bible, not simply knowing it. Therefore, we highly value expository teaching with an emphasis on doing and experiencing.
We believe that the Bible is the written Word of God and that it is absolutely reliable for all matters pertaining to life with God and one another.
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We believe that all men are sinners by nature and choice, and are therefore, under condemnation; and that God regenerates and baptizes by the Holy Spirit those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
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We believe in the personal and visible return of Jesus Christ and the consummation of His Kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.
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We believe in the universal Church, the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members.
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We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the Church: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe in water baptism and communion open to all believers.
We believe also in the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Holy Spirit, for the ordination of pastors, elders, and deacons, for receiving gifts of the Spirit, and for healing.
We believe in what is termed The Apostle's Creed as embodying fundamental facts of the Christian faith, and we endorse the historic orthodox creeds of the Church.
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We believe these truths demand a personal response which can result in a transformed life.
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At Grace, we believe that God is calling every Christian to commit to the person of Jesus Christ and also to the mission of Jesus Christ. We believe He is also calling each of us to commit to the church of Jesus Christ and so we offer an opportunity every couple of months called Discovering Grace, a two-part meeting, where senior pastor Gary Hutchison will share in more detail about each of these commitments and give everyone who attends the opportunity to become a member of Grace.
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