A Letter from Paul Carter

Dear Members and Friends of Grace:

Every choice, every change, every move forward comes because of vision, need, and desire. We have experienced the need of a new building for some time and we have prayed that God would give us the means to meet that need. But the vision has always been bigger than a new building.

Jesus came announcing the Kingdom of God. After preaching, teaching and training His disciples, He sent them, and us, to announce the gospel and be part of raising up disciples throughout the world. That is our vision. That is how God has used us. People who grew up in this church, who were part of us while students at the Universities and Law School, who served with us for a while and then were led to other jobs in other cities, have been sent as ambassadors from this church to be His witnesses throughout the world.

Now the building that has served us well needs to be replaced in order for us to continue the work we have been given by Jesus and in which we have been engaging for so many years. We have worked for many years to lay the groundwork for what we are now doing and by God’s grace, we can move forward.

In His Grace,

Paul

Our Heritage

35 years ago people we know and have worshipped with for years sat and listened to why it was a good idea to close this church. They did not have enough people, enough money, or enough energy to keep going.  But they voted to keep going together in order to continue to proclaim Jesus in Rockbridge County.

In fact, every time we have been faced with an opportunity to expand our ministry, whether it was moving the pastor’s family out of the 2nd floor apartment, bringing on a youth pastor, or moving forward with plans to expand our building, we have chosen to proceed despite the apparent difficulties. Once again we have chosen to expand our ability to accomplish what God has called this church to be in our community.

Ministry Need and Opportunity

The needs in Rockbridge County are the same as those we see around the world: a clear gospel message, a Reformed distinctive, biblical discipleship, and a vision for the expansion of the Kingdom here, across the Commonwealth, and around the world. We want to be part of fulfilling those needs.

We are not looking for our market share of believers in Lexington. Our vision is bigger than just the city of Lexington and its two universities. We are intent upon being part of what Jesus is doing in Rockbridge County as a whole. We are praying for and seeking worshippers of Jesus to be raised up from among those who do not know Him across this whole area. We are committed to exhibiting and proclaiming that in all things Jesus Christ is preeminent to those who don’t yet believe it.

Our opportunities are limited primarily by our current building. We all agree that is true. We need only mention the bathrooms, the cramped Sunday School space, the basement leaks and darkness, the lack of parking, the cramped worship facility, and reports of people who visit but do not stay because of facility problems. So we are taking steps to build a building that will help us better serve our community, leading to praise and honor to Jesus alone.

Our Plan

We will build a new facility that allows us to open doors to increased ministry. A larger building gives us a place for us all to gather in worship, a safer place for our children, a better setting for discipleship training for adults and our youth, an opportunity to expand our pastoral staff to provide biblical counseling, and an opportunity to engage in church planting in other parts of the county as we continue to grow.

 

Our Commitment

A Plan for Grace @ Greenhouse Village