"In essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty. In all things love." – St. Augustine
Mission: Grace Community is a welcoming Church family that shares the love of Jesus by serving, Spirit-filled prayer, & biblical worship. Welcome to the family!
Vision: Through the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we will prayerfully seek intentional opportunities to meet people where they are through discipleship & service.
Purpose: The purpose of this document is to clarify our beliefs, to maintain unity within the body, and to ensure we are centered on God’s purpose through His word: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Tim 3:16, NLT). This Statement of Faith is the basis for all doctrinal issues included in the bylaws of Grace Community Church of Fort Mill.
Grace Community Church of Fort Mill is rooted in the Bible and Christian orthodoxy's ancient, historical teachings. We affirm the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. Christians will always interpret peripheral doctrines differently, but the essential beliefs of Christianity affirmed in the creeds are non-negotiable. Our beliefs, influenced by the Wesleyan faith tradition and described in this statement of faith, are intended to be our basis for fellowship.
Who God Is:
• God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Three in One (Deut 6:4; Mt 28:18-20). Any other interpretation of God stands directly in contrast with what the Bible declares (Is 44:6). God is love, holy, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth (Gen 1-2).
• God the Father: God is Holy (Lev 11:45). God is love (1 Jn 4:7-12). He is the God recorded in the Old and New Testaments. He cannot be understood apart from perfect union with the Son and the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 8:6; 2 Cor 3:17; 2 Cor 13:14).
• God the Son: Jesus Christ came to earth from eternity with the Father and the Spirit as a man. The eternal Son of God became man without ceasing to be God (Jn 1:1–14; Phil 2:5–11). Fully God and fully man, He died on the cross for our sins and physically rose to life again. He has ascended to be with the Father. He will return to call us home one day. He is the way, the truth, and the life; there is no way to heaven without Him. The Scripture declares His virgin birth (Mt 1:18–23); His sinless life (Heb 7:26; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 Jn 3:4-5); His miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:37–38); His substitutionary death on the cross (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Cor 15:4); His bodily resurrection from the dead (Mt 28:1-6; 1 Cor 15:4); and His exaltation to the right hand of God the Father to now function as our High Priest, Mediator, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb 7:25; Heb 9:24; Rom 8:34; 1 Jn 2:1-2). Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead (1 Pet 4:5; Rom 14:9; 2 Tim 4:1).
• God the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Triune God and has coequally existed with the Son and the Father from eternity (Gen 1:1-2). He is the promised gift of Jesus, given to His Church at Pentecost. Every believer of Jesus Christ can receive the Holy Spirit living within them. The Holy Spirit displays His power in Christians for love and the building up of His Church (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Cor 12:13; Eph 4:11-12). The Holy Spirit calls the unbeliever, performs the work of conversion, sanctifies a Christian throughout their life, and helps us to pray to the Father through the Son. All of His spiritual gifts continue for the building up of the Church today (Gen 1:2; Ps 33:6; Mk 1:10–11; Jn 3:5; 14:25–26; 15:26–27; 16:7–15; Acts 2; Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 6:19; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Eph 4:11; 2 Pet 1:21). We affirm that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are active in the Church and none of them have ceased. (1Cor 12:7-11; Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11; Peter 4:10)
Who We Are:
• We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being (Job 3:16; Ps 51:5; 139:13-16; Isa 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer 1:5; Jer 20:15-18; Luke 1:36, 44).
• All humans have been created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28) as either male or female (Gen 1:27; Gen 2:18-22; Gen 5:2; Mt 19:4-6; 1 Cor 11:12; Eph 5:22-23); these are the only two categories of gender.
• However, Adam and Eve disobeyed God by a voluntary act of the will (Gen 3:6). That first sin had several repercussions:
o Humanity was excommunicated from the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:23).
o A curse was pronounced (Gen 3:14–19).
o The process of physical death began (Gen 2:17).
o Humanity died spiritually (Rom 5:12–19).
o Sin separated humanity from God and left humans in a fallen (sinful) condition, separated from God (Rom 3:23).
• We are all sinners in need of a Savior, and along with all of creation, we long for restoration (Rom 3:23).
• Those who receive the gift of Grace from God by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, are saved from the consequences of sin and will enjoy eternity with God in our new and resurrected bodies (Eph 2:8; Heb 4:16).
• Those who reject Jesus will be judged by God into an eternity of hell, absent from God (Rom 6:23; Mat 25:41).
• Christians are many parts but one body serving together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 12:1-7).
• Through our faith in God's grace, by the physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians have been adopted as sons and daughters of the Father.
• As Christians, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, empowering us to spread His Good News. The Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23) is the by-product of a Spirit-filled life and evidence of spiritual maturity. This Spiritual maturity is what John Wesley called "Christian Perfection," which is the perfect love of God in us (Mt 5:48; Mt 22:37-38).
• Grace Community Church of Fort Mill expresses this understanding through the Wesleyan lens, understanding that we don't always get it right or have all the answers. We seek to learn from all Christians.
Salvation:
• We affirm that the only means of salvation is Jesus the Messiah (Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12). He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin and shame (1 Pet 2:24) and rose from the dead on the third day, according to Scripture to infuse humanity with His resurrection life.
• He offers all humanity pardon for our sins (Heb 9:26; 1 Jn 4:9–10) and wants us to become beloved children of God (Jn 1:12). His great love for us gives us the ability to accept or reject that offer (Heb 12:25).
• When we put our faith in Christ, that triggers a spiritual chain reaction. We become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19); our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev 3:5); we become citizens of heaven (Phil 3:20–21); we are adopted and become children of God (Gal 4:4–7); our sins are forgiven and forgotten (Heb 8:12); we are credited with the righteousness of Christ (Rom 4:4–5); we are born again (Jn 3:3); God takes ownership of us (1 Cor 6:20); we receive an eternal inheritance (Eph 1:13–14; 1 Pet 1:3–5) with physically resurrected bodies into a glorified, eternal life (Jn 3:16).
• The evidence of salvation is twofold. The internal evidence is the direct witness of the Holy Spirit with our spirit (Rom 8:16). The external evidence is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23). We become new creations (2 Cor 5:17) and are transformed into the image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18). We affirm that salvation is offered to all humanity and that Jesus died for every human who has lived, is living, or ever will live (Jn 3:16). We also affirm that not every human will choose to accept God's gift of salvation.
The Purpose of the Church:
• Jesus is essential to everything — the only reason we exist as a Church is for and through Him. We are made to worship God (1 Cor 12:13).
• The purpose of the Church is to know, love, and serve God.
• The Church is the body of Christ, Jesus is our head (1 Cor 12:12–27) and we, as God's Church, have two essential tasks:
o To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as we love ourselves (Mk 12:30-31).
o To make disciples of Jesus Christ (Mt 28:18-20; 1 Cor 12:28, 14:12 Eph 4:11–16).
The Bible:
• The Bible is the only authoritative and infallible word of God, written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, consisting of 66 Books (39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament), and inerrant in its original manuscripts (Deut 8:3; Ps 1:1-3; Ps 119:105; Pr 30:5; Is 40:8; Is 55:11; Mt 4:4; Jn 17:17; 1 Thes 2:13; Heb 4:12; Rev 22:18).
• The Bible contains all things necessary for salvation and is useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness to equip God's Church (Gal 6:16; 2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:21).
The Christian Life:
• God calls all people (Mk 16:15; Jn 3:16; Jn 6:44; 2 Tim 1:9; Heb 2:9). He initiates the relationship with us, and we can either choose to accept His grace (Rom 6:23; Rom 10:9) or deny His grace (Lk 10: 16; Jn 12:48; Rev 20:11-15).
• Once a person agrees to God's grace, they become a Christian through faith. Our conversion is an essential step in the life of the Christian but our journey continues. We are saved from the consequences of sin (1 Jn 1:9) but will wrestle our entire life with the draw of sinfulness (Rom 7:14-25; 1 Jn 1:8-10).
• After conversion, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we begin a sanctification process, which means growing in God's holy love towards Christian Perfection (Jn 17:17; Eph 4:1-3, 11-16, 22-32; Phil 3:12-15; 2 Thes 2:13). The Holy Spirit continues to work in and through the believer. Ultimately, the more we grow in Christ's likeness, the better we can love others (Jn 15:12; 1 Jn 4:7).
• As a part of the body of Christ, we gather on Sundays to worship the LORD and in fellowship with other believers (Ps 150:1-6; Heb 10:24-25; 1 John 1:7).
• God has designed ways for us to experience Him more fully. We experience this relationship by doing all the good we can (Gal 6:9), avoiding any kind of evil (Rom 12:2; 1 Jn 2:15-17), and attending to Spiritual Disciplines such as prayer, Bible study, sharing deeply with one another, service to others, and fasting (Jos 1:8; 1 Chron 16:29; Mt 6:5-6, 16-18; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Thes 5:16-18; 1 Tim 4:7-8).
• We celebrate two sacraments (God working the divine through the ordinary): Baptism and Holy Communion. Neither sacrament is necessary for salvation but they are necessary for obedience and experiencing all God has in store for us.
o We affirm that baptism is a public profession of faith in Jesus. It's a declaration to the world that we have died to sin and have been raised with Christ to walk in the newness of life (Rom 6:4). Through baptism, we enter into the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
o Communion is Christ's presence with us (Mt 26:26-29; 1 Cor 10:16; 1 Cor 11:23-34), though the bread and cup do not physically become His body and blood. Communion is a sacramental means of grace and is open to anyone willing to lean into Jesus through self-examination (1 Cor 11:26-28). We do not "make ourselves right" before coming to the table, for salvation and sanctification are the work of God; therefore, we come expectant of His grace.
• We affirm that God calls some people to be single, unmarried, and chaste. We affirm them in this calling and in their ministry. This calling can be for a season or a lifetime. We affirm that being unmarried makes people no less and no more important in the Kingdom of God (1 Cor 7:7-9).
• Marriage is God's divine design of a sacred covenant between one man and one woman (Gen 2:23–24; Mt 5:31–32, Mt 19:1–12), and any secular marriage outside of this is contrary to God's word (Lev 20:13; Rom 1:26-28; 1 Cor 6:18; 1 Cor 7:2-3; Heb 13:4). We affirm that the covenant of marriage is holy, sacred, and beautiful. In our fallen and broken world, relationships are often fragile; yet we believe that with the grace and power of God – along with the guidance of Scripture and a faithful community of believers – there is hope to have healthy marriages and to experience healing from past relationships. According to Scripture, marriage reflects the relationship between Jesus and the Church (Eph 5:32). Just as Jesus lovingly and sacrificially gave His life for His bride, the Church, the husband, plays the role of Jesus by giving his life for his wife. And the wife responds to the husband's sacrificial, loving initiatives by trusting his leadership in her family's life, just as the Church responds to Jesus by trusting His leadership (Eph 5:25–33).
• When a Christian dies, he or she is glorified with God and into the fellowship of saints (Dan 12:2; Jn 11:25; Col 3:4; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Jn 3:2).
• We affirm that there will be a final judgment in which the dead will be resurrected and judged according to their works (Mat 25:31–46; Rom 2:1–9).
o Everyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life will be consigned to hell, along with the devil and his angels (Rev 20:11–15).
o Those whose names are written in the Book of Life, which comes only through faith in the grace of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection, will be resurrected and stand at the judgment seat of Christ to be rewarded for their good deeds (1 Cor 4:5) and enjoy God in the new heaven and new earth for all eternity (Rev 21:1–4).
The Apostle's Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again; He ascended into heaven, He is seated at the Father's right hand, and He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Our Wesleyan Heritage (Theological Characteristics):
1. God's Grace: God's grace extends to all humanity.
a. It comes by His prevenient grace, enabling us to respond to the Good News of salvation. Humanity can reject or accept His invitation. Jesus declared, "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (Jn 6:44). Those who accept this grace, through faith that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, are saved.
b. Salvation is God's act of justifying grace, which all can receive.
c. Following salvation, God empowers us in His sanctifying grace. We are filled with God's holy love and grow in Christian character.
d. We will experience God's glorifying grace when we are resurrected and fully conformed to the image of Christ in the New Creation.
2. Means of Grace: We believe in "means of grace," ways God moves in our lives through the sacraments (Baptism and communion), as well as other holy avenues such as prayer (private or public), Scripture (reading or listening), good works, fasting, and community worship.
3. Community: We believe Christianity is meant to be expressed in the Christian community.
4. Personal and Social Holiness: We believe in continually pursuing holiness including striving toward Christian perfection (Wesley defined it as being "clothed in the righteousness of Christ, but still bound in sin"). We reject the idea of sinless perfection but hope that our whole life, body, and spirit will be re-oriented toward our Triune God as we are filled with His love.
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