After your first visit to Grace, we hope you come back and decided to join our family of church members. Here are a list of things to help you accomplish that goal:
Small Groups:
- First Steps
- 101 - Discovering Church Membership
- 201 - Discovering Spiritual Maturity
- 301 - Discovering My Ministry
- 401 - Discovering My Mission
Classes:
- First Steps
- 101 - Discovering Church Membership
- 201 - Discovering Spiritual Maturity
- 301 - Discovering My Ministry
- 401 - Discovering My Mission
- The meaning of baptism
- Why be baptized?
- How are we to be baptized?
- Who should be baptized?
- When are we to be baptized?
- General questions
- The baptism process
First steps is a New Believers class that focuses on six lessons.
- Discovering Jesus Christ
- Discovering Eternal Life
- Discovering Prayer
- Discovering the "New Me"
- Discovering God's Forgiveness
- Discovering God's Guidance
You Will learn about who God is and how to become a Christian. How to know you have eternal life and know you will never lose it. How to pray and know God will answer your prayers. How to handle temptations and trials and know you have the power to change. Why God forgives and how to Handle your guilt. Where guidance comes from and how to make right decisions.
Discovering Church Membership
The 101 class is a basic introductions to the Grace Fellowship Church family and is a required class for membership. Since we have members from many different backgrounds, this class is designed to clearly explain who and what our church is about.
Discovering Church membership is divided into four areas that unite us:
- Our Salvation (What God has done for us)
- Our Statement (Why we exist as a church)
- Our Strategy (How we fulfill our purpose)
- Our Structure (When and where we fulfill our purpose)
Assurance Of Salvation
Assurance of Salvation is an elective class that concentrates on five basic promises God gives to Christians:
- Assurance of Salvation
- Answered Prayer
- Victory Over Sin
- Forgiveness
- Guidance
Growing In Christ
Growing in Christ is an elective class that focuses on eight principles and promises and the corresponding responsibilities and privileges you have in living a life that pleases God. These include:
- Putting Christ first in your life
- Relying on the Lord's strength
- The importance of the Bible
- Love
- Giving
- The Church
- Good works
- Witnessing
Discovering Spiritual Maturity
201 is a required class for church members who desire to grow to spiritual maturity. This class will focus on four basic spiritual habits that will equip you with the tools and skills you need to begin these lifetime habits.
- Time with God's Word
- Prayer
- Tithing
- Fellowship
Fundamentals Of The Faith
FOF is an elective class. As birth is only the beginning of life, so salvation is just the start of a new life in Christ. The importance of growing in grace cannot be overemphasized. New Christians need to lean on mature believers and be nurtured in the faith with plenty of "tender loving care."
This is especially true because a new believer is very vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. By both open and subtle devices, the devil seeks to disturb their faith. They must be shown how to keep themselves in the love of God, how to grow spiritually, and where to find nourishment, instruction, and inner strength.
The Lord wants the young in the faith to mature into fruitful, Spirit-led Christians.
Discovering My Ministry
Class 301, Discovering My Ministry is a member's only class and is to be taken after 201. In it you'll discover your spiritual gifts, temperament and talents. It will also help you to discover how to fulfill God's purpose by matching your talents with specific ministries in our church family.
At Grace Fellowship Church we teach that every Christian is created for ministry, saved for ministry, called into ministry, gifted for ministry, authorized for ministry, commanded to minister, to be prepared for ministry, accountable for ministry, and will be rewarded according their ministry.Life Perspectives
This is a 30 week elective class which will help you develop a Christian world view.
In order to have a Christian world view there are three levels of doctrine you must grasp.You must...
- Learn it, which involves knowledge and understanding.
- Love it, which involves conviction.
- Live it, which involves skill and character.
Discovering My Mission
This is the fourth of our basic purpose-driven classes. In this class you'll begin to discover your mission in the world.
You life mission has both a universal and unique element. Class 401 focuses on the universal aspect of your mission and shows what God calls every Christian to do.
This class will help you organize your "story" about how you came to know Jesus. It will also give you some communications tips on how to share your testimony more effectively.
It will give you some keys to spiritual fishing and how to build a bridge to make friendships with those you know.
Lastly, it will give you some practical ways that you can begin doing these things as a member of Grace Fellowship.
We are so happy that you desire to follow the Lord's example in baptism. There will probably be other baptized with you. Hundreds of people like yourself have been baptized by our Pastor. God will bless you as you demonstrate your faith in Christ!
Baptism does not make you a believer; it shows that you already are one! Baptism does not "save" you, only your faith in Christ does that. Baptism is like a wedding ring - it's the outward symbol of the commitment you made in your heart.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith... it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." -Ephesians 2:8, 9
1. It is a symbol of Christ's burial and resurrection.
"Christ died for our sins... he was buried... and he rose again..." -1 Corinthians 15:3, 4
"...for when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ." -Colossians 2:12
2. It is a symbol of our new life as a Christian.
"When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. The old live has passed away and a new life has begun!" -2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life!" -Romans 6:4
1. Because you want to follow Christ's example.
"At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river." -Mark 1:9
2. Because Christ commanded it.
"Jesus said, 'Go then, to all the people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and then teach them to obey everything I have commanded you..." -Matthew 28:19-20
3. Because it shows you are a believer.
"...many of the Corinthians who heard him and were baptized." -Acts 18:8
4. Because obeying Christ's command shows you know Him.
"We know that we have come to know Him, if we obey His commands." -1 John 2:3
1. Like Jesus was baptized - by being immersed in water.
"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water." -Matthew 3:16
2. Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion under water.
(Example) "then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water..." -Acts 8:38-39
3. The word "Baptize" literally means "to dip under water".
The greek word "baptize" means to "immerse or dip under water."
Every person who has made the decision to believe in Christ.
"Those who believed and accepted His message were baptized." -Acts 2:41
"But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good News... and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." -Acts 8:12
"Simon himself believed and was baptized." -Acts 8:13
The one requirement for baptism is belief in Christ! We do not baptize children until they are old enough to understand and believe.
As soon as you have believed!
You shouldn't delay."Those who believed... were baptized... that day!" -Acts 2:41
"Then Philip began with the Scripture and told him the Good News about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'Look here is water! Why shouldn't I be baptized right now?' Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' The official answered, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him." -Acts 8:36-39 (paraphrase)
There is no reason to delay. As soon as a person decides to believe in Christ, he or she can and should be baptized.
1. What about being baptized twice?
Our church recommends that you be baptized again if you have not been baptized by immersion since you became a believer. Every Grace Fellowship Church member has been baptized by immersion as Jesus demonstrated and commanded us to follow.
2. Can my family be baptized together?
Yes! If each family member understands fully the meaning of baptism, and each one has personally placed his/her trust in Christ for salvation, we encourage families to be baptized at the same time. It is a wonderful expression of commitment. However, we do not encourage anyone to put their own baptism on hold while waiting for a family member to accept Christ.
The baptism process at Grace Fellowship has been designed to be both simple and meaningful. From the registration form to the baptism meeting, each step has been carefully planned with you in mind:
- Complete the baptism registration. Once we receive your registration form, we will contact you to schedule your meeting and baptism.
- Attend a meeting. After we receive your registration form, we'll contact you to schedule you for an informational meeting.
- Get baptized! Baptisms take place once every three months during a Sunday evening Celebration Service.