mission
We exist to be a community that glorifies God by being and making gospel-centered, grace-saturated disciples.
God glorifying | gospel centered | grace saturated | Jesus following
gospel centered
When we gather for corporate worship, the gospel is displayed.
Yes, we know – Gospel centered might seem like a catch phrase. But like Paul, we are "not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). So that means everything about our ministry, beginning with the corporate gathering on Sundays and flowing out to every moment of discipling, teaching, counseling, and fellowship, comes from the gospel. This comes from the conviction that every part of Scripture ultimately points to Jesus, our redeemer in the gospel story.
On Sunday mornings, when you gather with us, we'll sing the gospel, pray the gospel, hear the gospel preached and read, and taste and see the gospel displayed in the Lord's Supper and baptism. We preach through the Scriptures expositionally, believing that the main message of the text must be the main message of the sermon. We know that the power to change comes from the gospel too, so our counseling and discipleship follow the biblical pattern: God creates heart change through the gospel, and we respond in Spirit-empowered, gospel-shaped obedience.
When we gather for corporate worship, the gospel is displayed.
Yes, we know – Gospel centered might seem like a catch phrase. But like Paul, we are "not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). So that means everything about our ministry, beginning with the corporate gathering on Sundays and flowing out to every moment of discipling, teaching, counseling, and fellowship, comes from the gospel. This comes from the conviction that every part of Scripture ultimately points to Jesus, our redeemer in the gospel story.
On Sunday mornings, when you gather with us, we'll sing the gospel, pray the gospel, hear the gospel preached and read, and taste and see the gospel displayed in the Lord's Supper and baptism. We preach through the Scriptures expositionally, believing that the main message of the text must be the main message of the sermon. We know that the power to change comes from the gospel too, so our counseling and discipleship follow the biblical pattern: God creates heart change through the gospel, and we respond in Spirit-empowered, gospel-shaped obedience.
God glorifying
God's glory is displayed to the world through his church.
Gospel Grace Baptist Church was founded as Mount Tabor Baptist Church in 1835. Six other churches joined forces to start a new church in the small country town of Fayette, Indiana. Planted there by other churches, this little church worked for decades to participate in missions, reach their community, and raise up faithful members and elders to be sent out to do the same in other places.
We renamed our church Gospel Grace Baptist Church in August of 2022 to give clarity to who we are and meaning connected to mission. That begins by recognizing the glory of God – his beauty, his wisdom, and all his matchless perfections – as the fountainhead of our mission. That's what Paul prayed for in Ephesians 3:20-21: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
How does this work itself out? It begins by knowing that God is sovereign and we are not, so the church exists for him and not for us. We engage in mission for his glory, seeking to spread the gospel of his kingdom and display his glories to our community and to the world.
grace saturated
In Ephesians 2:8, we are told "by grace you have been saved through faith." God gives grace freely and abundantly, purchased by the blood of Christ. As a result, Christians are to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
God has shown grace to us in saving us and making us his own. Our response is one of grateful response. We express it in our counseling ministry, which reaches out to those in hard times. It's in our small group settings, where believers care for and walk with and disciple one another intentionally. It's in a culture of relational evangelism, where we bring those who need Jesus to see the compelling community of God's New Covenant people. We express it in how we partner with missionaries that do care work and organizations like Love, Inc, which helps the homeless and poor of Boone County.
We seek to soak grace into every part of our culture, of who we are, showing one another Jesus and loving one another toward him. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
In Ephesians 2:8, we are told "by grace you have been saved through faith." God gives grace freely and abundantly, purchased by the blood of Christ. As a result, Christians are to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
God has shown grace to us in saving us and making us his own. Our response is one of grateful response. We express it in our counseling ministry, which reaches out to those in hard times. It's in our small group settings, where believers care for and walk with and disciple one another intentionally. It's in a culture of relational evangelism, where we bring those who need Jesus to see the compelling community of God's New Covenant people. We express it in how we partner with missionaries that do care work and organizations like Love, Inc, which helps the homeless and poor of Boone County.
We seek to soak grace into every part of our culture, of who we are, showing one another Jesus and loving one another toward him. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
Jesus following
The Bible has a lot to say about following Jesus. It tells us that Jesus followers are people who love him, live holy lives, deny themselves, can expect to suffer, and who bring others to him.
That doesn't necessarily sound like an easy road, but it is the path to the highest treasure there is. Jesus is worth following. We follow him in hope of what we have not yet seen, the sight of the coming king who is making all things new.
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
The Bible has a lot to say about following Jesus. It tells us that Jesus followers are people who love him, live holy lives, deny themselves, can expect to suffer, and who bring others to him.
That doesn't necessarily sound like an easy road, but it is the path to the highest treasure there is. Jesus is worth following. We follow him in hope of what we have not yet seen, the sight of the coming king who is making all things new.
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
