Vision and Ministry

Why We Exist

Grace Presbyterian Church exists because Jesus Christ is at work in Rockbridge County in just the same way as He is across the world. We are a congregation gathered from many places that now live in this place with the shared desire to experience and exhibit His grace. We recognize that Jesus by His nature and His work on Earth is pre-eminent over all things and so our lives are to be organized to best reflect His life and teaching.

Jesus described His intentions for our lives when He said to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and  “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:27,29) The ministries of Grace Church are always intended to help us to honor His pre-eminence by fulfilling these two commands.

Our Ministry in a Nutshell

Discipleship is a verb carefully concealed as a noun. Jesus last words before He ascended into heaven were that we are to be His witnesses “even to the uttermost parts of the earth” as the King James Bible translated Acts 1:8. Sometimes when we who live in this area look around us we think that we are already in “the uttermost parts of the earth” and don’t have to go any further. If so, it’s a very pleasant “uttermost” part that we’ve been led to by our God. And since we are here we ask ourselves how will we carry out the command of Jesus to make disciples?

Here’s how we’ve organized the church to help us be His disciples in Rockbridge County.

Worship

Our worship services are part of our discipleship. Each Sunday morning we gather to offer to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit our worship. The format of our Service is hearing and response. That is, we hear the words of God through Scripture and respond to His grace and mercy together as His worshippers. At the same time we are also witnesses to His grace to those around us and seekers of greater knowledge of Him and greater love for Him.

Sunday School

The Sunday School classes are the part of discipleship where we are being taught to obey all that Jesus has commanded us as He said to do in Matthew 28.18-20. The classes are always on a section of the Bible, or what the Bible teaches on a subject, with the intention of building knowledge and understanding in order to build deeper love for Him, clearer understanding of applications of Biblical teaching, and greater unity in fellowship with each other around the Scriptures.

Small Groups

 Worship Services and Sunday School do not allow us much time for the kind of life together that the Bible calls us to develop. How can we bear one another’s burdens, for example, when we have so little time to relax and share together? Various small groups, adult and youth groups, meet on various nights of the week in homes. The meetings usually are for an hour and a half and include conversations around coffee or cokes, discussion of the Bible and prayer for each other. Each group chooses its own format and Biblical subject matter as well as its own schedule. The focus is on being the church together by developing deeper fellowship and an avenue to be shepherds to each other.

Individual Discipleship

Many people choose also to get together in 2’s or 3’s for prayer together, to eat a meal together, to talk about the Scriptures, to talk about their progress in the Christian life, etc. These are encouraged in the church but they are not formal gatherings organized by the church. Instead they are spontaneous opportunities in the church body to grow in love for Jesus and for each other.

Missions

From discipleship naturally flows ministry outside the church building. It’s the ministry to others that God uses to motivate us to greater faith, love for Jesus and love for others. Many members take part in neighborhood Bible studies, service through groups such as Habitat for Humanity, Hospice, various community boards and services such as food banks, help with special need people in our community, food pantries, youth work and others.  Also we help to support various missionary efforts and send people to minister in Trujillo Peru in a multi-faceted ministry of economic development, education and church planting. We send our pastor yearly to help lead preaching seminars in Caribbean nations with Langham Preaching International; a ministry begun in London by Dr. John Stott some years ago. And, of course, the two Universities in Lexington are a focus of our ministry. We are pleased to support and participate in Reformed University Fellowship at Washington and Lee and The Navigators at VMI.

A Place to Grow in Him

Often when people move to Rockbridge County, though they like the area and the lifestyle it allows us to have, they can’t help but miss the things they had in past days. Someone gave me a name for that as it applies to looking back and thinking things were better "where we used to go church:" Glory-days Christians. That describes us when we long for what we had but forget that God has now called us to a new place to be the Church of Jesus. Rockbridge County is not only a good place to start life and to retire to, it is a place where Jesus is at work opening the eyes of people to recognize who He is, opening hearts to love Him and our neighbors, and to live our lives in light of His pre-eminence.

My Prayer for You

I pray that you will find this church to be the place from which you can grow in love for Him and for the people who are your neighbors.

Paul Carter, Senior Pastor