Why I Attend Grace Alive
Our family has served in ministry for nearly 20 years. At the beginning of this year, we found ourselves looking for a church home. This was something we had never done before, just visiting churches and finding the right fit. It was a daunting task but we were excited to “choose” a church for the first time in our lives. We had a list of things we were looking for in a church and another list of churches that we wanted to try. We started with Grace Alive and planned to visit for two weeks before moving down the list. The first week, we knew this was our home.
Grace Alive had everything we wanted in a church. It is a multi-ethnic community of people that are committed to growing closer to the Lord in personal life and as a group. The worship is filled with the Spirit and speaks to our weary souls. The preaching is absolutely what we needed. We leave every week feeling convicted, challenged, and encouraged. The Gospel is clearly first priority and the people are encouraged to take that to their own spheres of influence. Grace Alive has a place for our children to learn the Word and worship with other kids in a fun way. There are plenty of opportunities to serve within the church as well as in the community. This was a big one for our family. After so long in vocational ministry, we wanted a church where there was a clear place for us to plug in and serve others.
The week of our first visit, we received welcoming messages from several of the ministry staff. The second week, we learned about Next Steps and scheduled dinner with the pastors. This was a wonderful time to get to know the pastors and the personality of the church. Along with that, we learned about serving opportunities and membership steps.
Our family was directed to several small groups with different locations and demographics. Finding a Community Group was very important to us because we never had that privilege before. In church staff life, our time has always been committed to teaching small groups in own our area of ministry. We have never been in an adult small group where we can connect with other families. Once again, the first group we tried was the perfect fit. There is a variety of ages, races, and stages of life. There are lots of kids for our own to connect with. We enjoy meeting weekly and learning through each others’ perspectives and experiences. There is lots of discussion about the Word as we study together. There is laughter and friendship and intercession and love for others that may not otherwise be in your circle. It is a beautiful glimpse of THE CHURCH shining the light to the world.
Grace Alive is a thriving community of believers from many walks of life following Jesus together and living life together. It is a refuge in many ways. A refuge from the tensions going on in our country. A refuge for broken, wounded people to find healing. A refuge for weary souls in a difficult world.