Our Purpose

"To magnify the glory of God through Jesus Christ in all things (1),
by responding to His grace in worship (2),
applying His grace in discipleship (3),
and extending His grace in outreach (4)."

3. Applying His Grace in Discipleship

We glorify God and enjoy Him by regularly meeting with the express purpose of building up the saints (1). This discipleship involves the experience of loving one another with a fervent love (2) that is actively expressed (3) in a fellowship which promotes growth in Christian character, wisdom and holiness (4). The spirit of a truly edifying fellowship is one of loving and gentle interactive accountability (5). In order to facilitate this interaction we seek to create an ongoing and ever-changing variety of opportunities for smaller groups to assemble. Often the most effective ministry occurs in these smaller and more intimate settings where focused relationships develop among people who know and care for each other. It is our design that these smaller cross sections of Grace Bible Church will ultimately produce a place where everyone belongs.

Discipleship also involves the building up of all the members of Christ's body through the ministry of the Word of God (6). We are committed to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture (7) which establishes our world view and frames the way we live our lives. So we preach and teach the Bible in a variety of settings with a humble dependence upon the power of the Spirit of God to empower the Word and transform the lives of individual believers (8). These individual believers are then in turn to do the work of the ministry. It is the prerogative of every member to be directly involved in the ministry of the local church. The role of our elders/pastors (both staff and self-supported) is to equip the members for this privilege (9).

Initiatives in Discipleship 2007
GBC has adopted the following initiatives as a part of our discipleship renewal in 2007.

1. We must seek greater participation in small groups.
2. We must endeavor to equip the flock more effectually in the areas of biblical counseling, a Christian world-view and the narrative/redemptive plot line of the Bible.
3. We must endeavor to increase the accessibility of biblical knowledge by utilizing media more effectively and strengthening the relationship between Grace School and our own programs.
4. We must include more incarnational modeling of the truth (living out the truth) to complement the educational element of the classroom.
5. We must endeavor to expand the deaconate and its ability to connect people’s gifts with needs in the body.
6. We must encourage more “medium” size fellowship gatherings that include
   meals.
7. We must endeavor to uphold the authority of Scripture by continuing to practice church discipline and protecting the purity of the church.
8. We must endeavor to create and promote one-on-one discipleship to complement the larger classroom approach.
9. We must maintain discipline in the membership process.

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(1) "Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing." (1 Thess. 5:11)
"So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another." (Rom. 14:19)
"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven." (Ps. 148:13)
(2) "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart," (1 Pet. 1:22)
(3) "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? if a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" (James 2:14-16)
(4) "And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another;" (Heb 10:24-25)
(5) "Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted." (Gal. 6:1)
(6) "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:32)
(7) "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
(8) "And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:4-5)
(9) "...And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;" (Eph. 4:11-12)