Grace Church of Philly
Grace Church of Philly continues in its formative stage of planting a gospel-centered city church in Philadelphia. We are asking God to continue His work of calling people from all nations to experience the unity that only the gospel can bring. We seek to elevate the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ above all things so that we can experience the Christian unity for which Jesus prayed. We like to call ourselves ‘non-religious followers of Jesus’ because we recognize how ‘religious Christianity’ has created confusion about what it means to be a Christian and how the Christian life is to be lived. We are an ethnically diverse congregation of young and old, rich and poor, college grads and high school drop-outs who seek to encourage one another to grow in the fullness of life and ministry to which Jesus has called us.
We believe that God, through the Gospel, transforms individual lives, relationships, communities and culture. This conviction brings confidence and hope, challenges us to boldness and courage, and calls us to trust and to prayer. Because of this confidence in God's transforming grace, we want to dream big dreams and be involved in ministries of extension and multiplication.
We believe God's grace permeates every aspect of our life together. Whether a person is a mature believer, a young Christian or a seeker, God's grace speaks to the heart and satisfies the soul. Everything that we do will announce and present grace rather than law and legalism. We intend to communicate a warm, winsome and caring evangelical faith.
We believe that worship is central in the life of the believer. Worship that glorifies God, both in daily life and the regular gathering of the church, is the natural response of the believer to the grace of God. We desire to facilitate participatory corporate worship experiences that give God glory, honor and praise, that open the way for authentic encounters with Him and that bring His followers great delight.
We believe God calls every believer to wholehearted discipleship. A church full of Christians who are running hard after God, living with intent as His children and using their gifts to extend His Kingdom, brings God great glory and is a powerful witness to the world. We are eager to help every Christian live as a learner, minister, evangelist and steward.
We believe that the Christian life is best lived in community. The Christian life is not meant to be a solitary experience. We will encourage everyone to be in a small group and will structure all ministry in teams.
We believe that the church is a 'glocal' mission outpost. By 'glocal' we mean being missional both locally and globally. It is impossible to separate the Christian life from mission and harvest. As a mission outpost, the church and its members actively seek ways to penetrate the community, the nation, and the world with the Gospel and to include all those encountered in God's Kingdom and church.
We believe that effective ministry must be biblically based as well as culturally relevant. We do not need to sacrifice either biblical truth or cultural relevance. All of our ministries will be in the "vernacular", speaking directly to the immediate cultures and people without compromising scripture or theology.
