OUR VISION

Grace Church is a diverse, growing family of Christian believers who celebrate God’s grace and proclaim the message of Jesus Christ in word and deed to the communities of greater Rochester and around the world.

OUR MISSION

Out of love for Jesus and people, the mission of Grace Church is to make mature disciples of Jesus Christ in ever-increasing numbers.

OUR MINISTRY COMMITMENTS

We believe the Lord calls his church in every age to faithfully fulfill the following ministry commitments:

Evangelistic Worship

To summarize the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14, our worship of God must be comprehensible to all kinds of people. Grace Church worship services are biblical and reverent but simple, joyful, and accessible so that the gospel may be clearly presented and glory may be given to God.

Welcoming Fellowship

Christian believers are called to fellowship with one another (Acts 2:42). Hospitality is continually encouraged and practiced, both on corporate (events) and individual levels. Each member considers it a joy to welcome visitors and attendees into the Grace Church family.

Gospel-Centered Discipleship

The gospel (the good news about Jesus Christ) is both the message one believes in order to become a Christian and also that which is central to the ongoing spiritual development of a Christian (Titus 2:11-14). The teaching ministries of Grace Church therefore instruct people to apply the gospel to all of life, that they may know God’s Word and pursue holiness in Christ out of gratitude for grace.

Grace-Motivated Mercy

Having been shown mercy by God through Jesus Christ, we show mercy to others (Matthew 25:31-46; Galatians 6:10). We endeavor to meet one another’s needs through gospel encouragement, counsel, admonition and care demonstrated in practical, sacrificial ways.

Holistic Outreach

When Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God, he did so both through what he said and what he did (Matthew 4:23; 12:28). Both corporate outreach (to the communities in which we live and through missionaries we support) and individual outreach (including our friends and neighbors) regularly include acts of love and mercy which supplement and strengthen the presentation of the gospel.

Team Ministry

We believe the gifts needed for the work God is calling the church to do are already present in her members (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). Pastors and other staff members share the burden of equipping and empowering the congregation for the work of ministry.

LISTEN TO "MINISTRY COMMITMENTS" SERMON

OUR BELIEFS

We believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. It contains everything we need to know about having a right relationship with God and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

We believe there is one God, who exists eternally in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is contingent on nothing and complete in himself. He is perfectly holy, good, just, and merciful. He creates, sustains, and governs all things by the power of his word.

We believe that the Second Person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God, became man in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is both fully God and fully man. Through his perfect life and sacrificial death, he atoned for the sins of all who will trust in him for salvation. We believe in his resurrection from the dead, his bodily ascension, his present intercession for his people, and the promise of his return.

We believe that the Holy Spirit gives people a new heart, leading and enabling them to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. We believe he indwells God’s people and gives them the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow him.

We believe that all people are created male or female by God and in the image of God, and therefore must be treated with dignity, honor, love, and respect. At the same time, we believe that all people have rebelled against God’s rule and are under his wrath, totally unable to save themselves except by his mercy.

We believe that salvation is possible by God’s gracious choice alone (not human merit or foreseen faith). We believe God freely justifies people who place their faith in Christ alone, by pardoning their sins and accepting them as righteous in his sight, for the sake of Christ alone, so that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

We believe the Church is the family of God and consists of those who have placed their trust in Jesus for their salvation, together with their children. We believe God’s will for his church is to meet regularly to worship him, serve each other, and make the Kingdom of God visible by living as salt and light in their local community and world.

We believe that all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. While good works do not and cannot make us acceptable to God, they are the inevitable fruit of authentic faith in Jesus. We believe we enjoy most fully what it means to be human when we follow God’s commands, which are liberating, life-giving, and essential for true human flourishing. We believe all honorable vocations are from God, to be pursued for his glory and for the common good of humanity.

We believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive his people to himself. Because God loves his creation, he will renew it to a condition of beauty and perfection, in which his people will glorify and enjoy him forever.

As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America, we hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith plus the Larger and Shorter Catechisms as a true and accurate (but subservient) summary of what the Bible teaches.