Thinking of Visiting Grace?
Visiting a church for the first time isn't easy. The location is unfamiliar, the programs can be confusing, and you're lucky if you can even find the bathrooms! We realize that it's hard to be a stranger and that's why we want to do everything we can to keep you from feeling like one.
To help you get to know us a little better, we thought we'd share 7 things about our church that might be good to know before you come. As you explore our website, you'll also find detailed information on who we are, what we believe, and the things we value most. But in the meantime, here's the 7-item cliff-notes version...
Someone once said, "If you're looking for the perfect church and you find it, don't join it - or else you'll ruin it!" At Grace, there's no need to worry about that. We aren't a perfect church - and we don't expect you to be perfect either. In fact, Grace Church exists for people who don't have it all-together. If you decide to visit, we hope you'll be yourself and come as you are. Whether you've been a Christ follower all of your life or have never read a word of the Bible before and are just checking out the Christian faith, you are welcome here. We won't put you on the spot, ask you awkward questions, or point you out as a new person... we hope you'll feel free to involve yourself at your own pace.
One thing about us that you'll probably notice on your first visit is that we try to keep things simple. We aren't trying to be the flashiest event around, but we do want the experience to be meaningful. We teach straight from the Bible and believe it's the most relevant, hopeful, challenging, and inspiring message on the planet. You can find out more about what to expect on a Sunday morning here.
In a nutshell we are passionate about three things... helping people become alive in Christ, connected with each other, and engaged in the world. These are the guiding values that shape everything we do. We've dedicated a page to this if you want to take a look.
The world is a multi-generational multi-ethnic place, and we desire that our church would reflect that. We like to think of our church in terms of an extended family - a variety of people from different backgrounds, ages, cultures, and experiences coming together to learn and grow by being united in the gospel. This is why we put an emphasis on our Community Groups and our Children's, Student and Young Adults gatherings. There's a place for everyone to connect. Every person matters to God and we want them to matter to us, too.
We think that the church is meant to be much more than just a place to recharge our batteries. It's a gathering-center where people of all ages team together to give to and serve in our community and around the world. Our church spends a lot of time and energy investing in programs like Buddy Break (our monthly event for children with special needs), Homework Help (our weekly tutoring program), and other opportunities in and around our community. We've also been grateful to be able to plant churches in Hartland and Commerce as well as play a part in God's work through churches in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia, Trinidad, Haiti, and other places around the world. We believe that everyone has something important to give and we try to take Jesus' words to love our neighbors seriously.
We believe that the Bible is not a story about good people becoming better. It's about broken people being given new life, a fresh start, and another chance. We believe that Jesus takes shattered lives and makes them whole again. We've seen it. We've lived it. We rejoice that, no matter how far from God a person feels, there is always hope! We talk a lot about grace at Grace - honestly, we don't know what we'd do without it.
We'd like to get to know you, too. A few times a year, our staff and Elders host a newcomers party. Check the bulletin for dates and locations and hopefully we'll have the chance to meet!
No matter how you ended up at our website, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully, if you decide to visit Grace, you'll feel at home right away. If there's questions we can answer or anything we can do for you feel free to give us a call at 248.887.3700 or get in touch with us here.
