| Our Strategy |
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The strategy of Grace Baptist is based primarily on its Mission Statement and motto: "A Place to Believe. A Place to Belong. A Place to Become." Initially, our primary task is "to develop committed followers of Jesus Christ who impact our church, our community, and all nations for God's glory."
We define "a committed follower of Jesus Christ" as one who has a personal relationship with Jesus, is growing in his or her relationship with Christ, is committed to a local church, serves in a ministry for Christ, and actively shares their faith with others. Our motto thus provides a framework for moving an unchurched person from faith in Jesus to a witness for Christ.
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"A Place to Believe."
Our worship service will be the "front door" for the unchurched. We will intentionally seek them out, personally invite them to be our guests, provide a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, engage them through an exciting and innovative, yet biblical worship experience, preach a clear presentation of the Gospel in life-changing messages, and invite them to receive Christ as personal Savior and Lord. Children will also hear the Gospel through our simultaneous Children's Worship experience, "GraceKids." |
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"A Place to Belong."
While our initial efforts will focus primarily on our worship services, our small-group ministry is essential to begin helping new Christians develop in their faith in Christ. We're currently experimenting with the format of our G.R.A.C.E. Groups, but our goal is to have every person "belong" to a small-group discipleship gathering.
We also want attendees at some point to "belong" to our church. This year, Grace Baptist will officially constitute as a church and start accepting people into our Church Membership. It will be a "high-expectation" process that includes a mandatory Church Membership Class and signing a Church Covenant. At Grace, we will consider church membership a privilege, not a right.
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"A Place to Become."
Throughout the worship services, small-groups, and Church Membership Class, the expectation of service and witness will be emphasized.
We want our people to "become" servants of Christ. Serving in a ministry of some sort will be a prerequisite for church membership. We will include a spiritual gift inventory and ministry assessment for each person taking the Membership Class to maximize their effectiveness as a servant for Christ. A process will be developed and implemented to help ensure we place persons in positions of service that match their God-given shape for ministry.
In addition, our goal is to have all of Grace Baptist Church "become" witnesses for Jesus. Again, this expectation will be emphasized in our preaching, small groups, and Church Membership Class. Ministry will be an avenue for sharing the gospel. Each person has a different spiritual and personality make-up for effectively witnessing to others. We will educate our people how they can reach their maximum potential to help bring others into a personal relationship with Jesus.
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