Our Values
Because our aim is to exalt God in gospel-centered community, we put all of our effort into making this vision happen. Everything you'll encounter at Grace is intentionally designed to fulfill at least one of the values listed below.
1) Celebrating God's Sovereignty
God rules over everything we see—from galaxies to atoms—for his own glory and our joy. This is not only true of the physical world but of human souls as well. In the Bible, we find a picture of God ruling over the hearts of men in absolute sovereignty as he calls them to himself and keeps them for all eternity. It's God who ultimately determines to call us to himself and overcome our sinful rebellion so that we might be in right relationship with him again. And he will rule in this complete sovereignty for all time. At Grace, we want to worship God for who he is.
2) Conforming to Biblical Truth
The God who reigns supreme over our hearts has spoken to us about who he is and who we are. The Bible tells the story of God's action in our world as he creates and redeems his people through the work of Jesus Christ. As we submit our lives and church to God's Word, we will find it shaping our affections and character as well as our actions and choices to make us more like the people God designed us to be before we rebelled against him in sin. At Grace, we want our lives to display God's truth.
3) Commitment to Spreading the Gospel
More than anything else, the world needs to hear the truth about who God is and what he requires of men in order to be saved. It's our privilege as believers to share the good news of God's work with those who do not yet know him. Whether it's in our homes, workplaces, or neighborhoods, we carry the hope of Jesus Christ with us each day and must commit to using our lives as a means of seeing others know him. At Grace, we want to see others find their joy in the gospel.
4) Covenant with One Another
We humbly believe that edification, equipping, encouragement, and unity all happen when we commit to one another. That is what we believe covenant membership is all about. The commitment that the church family makes with the individual. As a united family, we covenant with others to celebrate God with them, covenant to help others conform to truth, and we covenant with others as partners in spreading the gospel. At Grace, we want one another to glorify God and grow in joy.
Our Mission
Grace Church Salado exists to exalt God as a gospel-centered community where people can encounter God, be equipped with truth, and engage the world.
We draw this vision for God’s people from both the Old and New Testaments and specifically from passages like Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 4:35-5:1-33; Mark 12:28-34, Luke 24:13-49, John 4:1-42 Acts 1:8, Acts 2:36-47, and Colossians 1:3-2:10.
This E3 Vision is at the core of all we do at Grace. It guides our ministry structure, drives our strategic planning and initiatives, informs the way we spend money, and so much more.
Before people can love God, they need to encounter God. We want Grace Salado to be a place where people can truly experience God- where they would experience Him, learn about Him, be in awe of Him, sing about Him, talk with Him, and come to love and trust Him.
As people encounter God, we want to grow them into mature disciples by equipping them with biblical truth. Our desire is that they would be empowered to live righteous lives, to share about Jesus, to fight sin, to love their neighbor, to worship God, and to care for the “least of these”. Some of the ways we equip our church is through bible studies, community groups, men and women’s ministries, stephen’s ministry, discipleship relationships, internship programs, and Sunday morning sermons.
Ultimately, our hope is that the people of Grace Salado would not just encounter God but that they would engage the world by helping their neighbors and the nations encounter God. We believe that all followers of Jesus are called to be disciples that make disciples, so we want to encourage our church body to go and reach the community of Salado, the Bell County area, the state of Texas, the United States, and the nations. We want to multiply healthy churches both locally and to the ends of the earth for the Glory of God.
What We Believe
We affirm the Apostles' Creed, the New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1853), and the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) as symbols of our belief in historic Christianity, evangelicalism, believer’s baptism, and congregational polity. The Statement of Faith below summarizes these creeds and confessions while stating essential beliefs of the Church in a manner accessible to all.
The Scriptures
The Scriptures, comprised of 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books, were given by the inspiration of God as a revelation of himself to mankind, and are the only sufficient, infallible, and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience. The Scriptures lead us to salvation by faith alone in Jesus Christ. They are both fully and verbally inspired by God and free of error. Their words must not be added to, superseded, or changed. Every doctrinal formulation, whether of creed, confession, or theology, must be tested by them. (Psalm 19:7-11 / Matthew 5:18 / John 10:35; 17:17 / 2 Timothy 3:16-17 / 2 Peter 1:20-21)
The Triune God
There is one God, infinite, eternal, almighty and perfect in holiness, truth and love. Having in himself all perfections and being infinite in them all, creatures owe him the highest love, reverence, and obedience. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. These persons are co-existent, co-equal, and co-eternal. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father. Yet each is truly God. One God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—is the foundation of Christian faith and life. (Isaiah 40:1-48:22 / Psalm 104:1-35; 139:1-24 / Matthew 10:29-31; 28:19 / Acts 17:24-28 / 2 Corinthians 13:14 / Ephesians 1:9-12; 4:4-6 / Colossians 1:16-17 / Hebrews 1:1-3 / Revelation 1:4-6)
God The Father
God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth. By His word and for His glory, He freely and supernaturally created the world out of nothing. Through the same word, He daily sustains all creation. He rules over all and, together with the Son and the Spirit, is the only Sovereign. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted. He is faithful to every promise, works all things together for good to those who love Him and, in His unfathomable grace, gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for mankind’s redemption. He made all things for the praise of His glory and intends for man, in particular, to live in fellowship with Himself. (Genesis 1:1; 2:7 / Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff; 20:1ff / Leviticus 22:2 / Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6 / 1 Chronicles 29:10 / Psalm 19:1-3 / Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8 / Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13 / Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19 / Mark 1:9-11 / John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8 / Acts 1:7 / Romans 8:14-15 / 1 Corinthians 8:6 / Galatians 4:6 / Ephesians 4:6 / Colossians 1:15 / 1 Timothy 1:17 / Hebrews 11:6; 12:9 / 1 Peter 1:17 / 1 John 5:7)
God The Son
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the eternal Word made Flesh, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man. Through Him, all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in Him, all things hold together by the word of His power. He is perfect in nature, teaching and obedience and is the only Savior for the sins of the world, having shed His blood and died a vicarious death on the cross. By His death in our place, He revealed divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Redeeming us from sin, He rose bodily from the grave on the third day, victorious over death and the powers of darkness and performing many convincing proofs of His resurrection. He ascended into heaven where, at God’s right hand, He intercedes for His people and rules as Lord over all, awaiting His return. He is the Head of His body, the Church, and should be adored, loved, served and obeyed by all. (Genesis 18:1ff. / Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff. / Isaiah 7:14; 53:1-12 / Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19 / Mark 1:1; 3:11 / Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46 / John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28 / Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20 / Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4 / 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28 / 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9 / Galatians 4:4-5 / Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10 / Philippians 2:5-11 / Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9 / 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 / 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16 / Titus 2:13-14 / Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8 / 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22 / 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9 / 2 John 7-9 / Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16)
God The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Through the proclamation of the gospel, He persuades men to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord. By the same Spirit, a person is led to trust in divine mercy. The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth and dwells within the regenerate. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son who, in turn, came to glorify the Father. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word. He is to be respected, honored and worshiped as God, the Third Person of the Trinity. (Genesis 1:2 / Judges 14:6 / Job 26:13 / Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff. / Isaiah 61:1-3 / Joel 2:28-32 / Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19 / Mark 1:10,12 / Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49 / John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14 / Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6 / Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27 / 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13 / Galatians 4:6 / Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18 / 1 Thessalonians 5:19 / 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1 / 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16 / Hebrews 9:8,14 / 2 Peter 1:21 / 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7 / Revelation 1:10; 22:17)
Man
God created man—male and female— in his own image and free from sin, that man might glorify him in perfect fellowship. But through temptation, man rebelled against God in sin and fell from his original holiness and righteousness. Man became subject to divine wrath, wholly depraved, and utterly inescapable of returning to God. Every part of man’s mind, will, and affections is affected by this depravity and sin. Without divine help, man and his posterity is without hope. (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6 / Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5 / Isaiah 6:5 / Jeremiah 17:5 / Matthew 16:26 / Acts 17:26-31 / Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29 / 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22 / Ephesians 2:1-22 / Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11)
The Gospel
The gospel is the good news of God’s grace to redeem man from his sin. By the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, the only divinely-appointed mediator and the only begotten Son of God, the triune God saved those who are his. He satisfied the demands of justice, appeased divine wrath, displayed his mysterious love, and revealed his divine grace by the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. There is no other name, other than that of Jesus Christ, by which man can be saved. At the heart of our faith is the finished work of Jesus Christ to secure our redemption. Therefore, every part of our lives as believers and every work of this church should proceed from and be in service to the spread of this gospel story throughout the world. (Mark 1:1 / Luke 24:46-47 / John 3:16-18 / Romans 1:16-17 / 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4 / 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13 / Galatians 1:6-9 / 2 Timothy 1:8-14 / Jude 3-4)
Man’s Response
The proper response to the gospel is faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a faith that is naturally accompanied by repentance from sin. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life, and saving faith is evidenced by kingdom service and works. While neither repentance nor works save, unless a person is willing to deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Christ, he cannot become His disciple. This response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for His own pleasure and glory. Salvation is the free gift of God and is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. This salvation by grace is to be sincerely preached to all men in all nations. (Genesis 3:15 / Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8 / Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6 / Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32 / John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17 / Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32 / Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14 / 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10 / 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 / Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15 / Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16 / Philippians 2:12-13 / Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff. / 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 / 2 Timothy 1:12 / Titus 2:11-14 / Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14 / James 2:14-26 / 1 Peter 1:2-23 / 1 John 1:6-2:11 / Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5)
Man’s Inheritance
Anyone repenting of sin by the miracle of regeneration and looking to Christ and his substitutionary death is declared righteous by God through the free gift of Christ’s imputed righteousness, receives the gift of eternal life, and is fully accepted by God. Thus becoming a child of God, the believer is forgiven of sin, liberated from the law of sin, and freed to pursue the fruit of new life in Christ by the active power of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. While indwelling sin remains a reality, the Spirit leads us to grow in the likeness of Christ so that all people may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. All believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith, knowing they will have to give an account to God for their every thought, word and deed. Nevertheless, the believer’s ultimate confidence to persevere is based in the sure promise of God to preserve His people and hold them until the end. (Matthew 25:34 / Acts 20:32 / Romans 8:16-17 / 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 / Galatians 3:27-29 / Ephesians 1:10-14, 18; 3:16 / Colossians 1:12; 3:24 / Titus 3:7 / Hebrews 6:12 / 1 Peter 1:4 / Revelation 21:7)
The Church
The Church is made up of sinful man, called out of the whole human race by the gift of God’s grace through salvation, into the fellowship of Christ’s body, which is guided by the Spirit.The Church is not a religious institution or denomination but those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to glorify and serve Him by faithfully doing His will on earth. This service involves a commitment to see the gospel preached, disciples made, and churches planted in the entire world. This responsibility belongs to all members of the Church as they are committed in covenant membership to the local church. The ascended Christ has given gift ministries to the Church, including prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the equipping of Christ’s body so that it might mature and grow. In the context of the local church, God’s people receive pastoral care and oversight and the opportunity to steward their gifts for His glory and the good of the others. (Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20 / Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28 / Romans 1:7 / 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12 / Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32 / Philippians 1:1 / Colossians 1:18 / 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14 / Hebrews 11:39-40 / 1 Peter 5:1-4 / Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3)
The Ordinances
The Church observes two ordinances: believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Believer’s baptism is only intended for the individual who has personally received the saving benefits of Christ’s atoning work and become His disciple. In obedience to Christ’s command, a believer should be immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Baptism is a visual and symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that a former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts a person’s release from the mastery of sin. Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is to be observed only by those who have become genuine followers of Christ. This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death. As we come to the table with an attitude of faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls and signify our unity with other members of Christ’s body. (Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20 / Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26 / Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20 / John 3:23 / Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7 / Romans 6:3-5 / 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29 / Colossians 2:12)
The Consummation
The consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, is finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment, but the righteous, in glorious bodies, will live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new. (Isaiah 2:4; 11:9 / Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64 / Mark 8:38; 9:43-48 / Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28 / John 14:1-3 / Acts 1:11; 17:31 / Romans 14:10 / 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58 / 2 Corinthians 5:10 / Philippians 3:20-21 / Colossians 1:5; 3:4 / 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff. / 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2 / 1 Timothy 6:14 / 2 Timothy 4:1,8 / Titus 2:13 / Hebrews 9:27-28 / James 5:8 / 2 Peter 3:7ff. / 1 John 2:28; 3:2 / Jude 14 / Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13)
Church Constitution
Our updated constitution was adopted unanimously by the membership in July 2017. It explains what we believe and how we operate as a church.
Membership Covenant
As part of the process of joining our church, we ask that all prospective members consider carefully the responsibilities of membership as well as its benefits, as outlined in the membership covenant.
© 2020 Grace Church Salado
Visit Us: 5798 FM 2484, Salado, TX 76571
Mailing Address: PO Box 736, Salado, TX 76571
info@gracesalado.com | 254.947.5917
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Editing ‘What We Believe’