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We have a lot of information here, and this is a sort of "Table of Contents" page, to keep everything organized. Something you don't see? Let us know, we want to fill you and your church in on all the most helpful info!

 

OUR VALUES

MISSION

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of who we are. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the reason for the hope that is within us. The gospel of Jesus Christ not only saved us; his gospel is changing us more and more into his image. That means from the day we first believed until life’s final breath, the gospel of Jesus Christ is our greatest need. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest need of the world, and so the mission of sharing the Good News in a variety of ways locally and globally is of primary importance to us.

Numerous times in the New Testament we see the difference it made when local churches would partner together in support of what was happening through the gospel somewhere else. We want to support and share in mission in ways that strengthen local churches, domestically and internationally. While each local church needs to define its own calling from the Lord related to mission, there are some key ways in which we can do more and reach more together than we can on our own.

EQUIPPING

In formal times of instruction, in a variety of retreats, and simply over meals with one another, we all need times of equipping in the Word of God. We never fully arrive, and so we are desirous of continuing to grow more in the love and knowledge of Jesus and his work in our lives. As pastors we are often encouraged and equipped through the experience and insights of those who are in the same local church or city as we are. We are equipped for love and good works primarily through the local church, but we come alongside of one another to supplement and support local church equipping. We do that through times for pastors/elders to come together for mutual instruction and encouragement, and for local churches to come together in shared mission projects and retreats. Our hope and aim is that these contexts serve to multiply our effectiveness in helping and encouraging one another in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

CARE

We build relationally. In the New Testament we see picture after picture of love and affection expressed in mutual care, encouragement, financial and prayer support, shared participation in acts of love, and gospel advance. While the primary location of accountability and care is rooted in the local church, we see in Scripture and value the role partnership plays in enabling us to see the broader work of the gospel of Jesus Christ beyond our local churches. We see in the New Testament a vibrancy of relationships that crossed from city to city. Those relationships knit hearts together, produced joy, and provided a foundation for counsel, encouragement, and mutual care. It was very meaningful to the local churches to know that brothers and sisters in other cities carried them on their hearts and gave practical demonstration to their love for one another, along with the encouragement and support that partnership with leadership brought to the local churches. We see in the New Testament that the grace gifts of Ephesians 4 were primarily expressed through relationship, and it is no different today.

In the early church great emphasis was placed upon care, and especially through encouraging one another. Endearing descriptions such as “holding you in my heart,” “to know of your welfare,” “cheered by news of you,” and “that he may encourage your hearts” all depict a depth of love and mutual affection the churches had for one another. We long to see the love demonstrated in the early church also demonstrated from church to church today, flourishing in our partnership and beyond.

  • So glad you asked! Grace Partnership is a partnership of local churches serving together in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The same mission of the early church continues as churches partner together today. Our desire is to support one another in the mission of the gospel, expressed through…

    • Practical equipping contexts that strengthen and equip one another

    • Partnering together in local and global mission

    • Pastoral and church relationships centered on mutual care and encouragement

    Centered on three core values of gospel expression we refer to as Shared Mission, Mutual Care, and Equipping One Another, Grace Partnership is guided by these three values. What is comes down to is that the Gospel, Jesus Christ, is at the center.

  • Our Shared Affirmations

    God the Father

    We believe in God the Father, Creator and Upholder of all things. The Father is everlasting, perfect, and infinite. He draws people to himself through his Son, in keeping with his eternal plan to redeem a people for himself. He does all that he does to his praise and for his own glory. He will carry out all things in their proper time and consummate all things in his Son, Jesus Christ.

    God the Son

    We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten eternal Son. He is fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life and offered up that life as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. He was raised from the dead, appeared to many disciples, and ascended into Heaven, where he sits at God’s right hand and intercedes for the saints as our Great High Priest. We await his Second Coming.

    God the Holy Spirit

    We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God, eternally one with the Father and the Son. The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus. He also imparts new life, indwells, sanctifies, leads, illumines, and empowers the saints to live and serve like Jesus. The Holy Spirit anoints the saints for ministry and witness, imparting supernatural gifts to believers to build up the church. These gifts are to be eagerly desired and lovingly exercised for the good of the church.

    Creation

    We believe that God created all things visible and invisible for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness. Both Adam and Eve were created equally in the image of God without sin. In creation God ordained that sexual intimacy be expressed between one man and one woman in the context of marriage. Any of other form of sexual intimacy is a perversion of God’s gift of sex. Any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery, appearance, or any other form is also a perversion of God’s gift of personhood in creation. Churches affiliated with Grace Partnership will perform wedding ceremonies only between a man and a woman as that God-determined gender given at birth. In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential.

    The Human Condition

    We believe that God created Adam and Eve in his own image as the crown of creation. Tempted by Satan, they rebelled against God. Being alienated from God due to their sin, they became subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved, and, apart from a special work of grace, unable to return to God. Their depravity is pervasive, extending to all mankind. In union with Adam, all mankind is born in and have chosen sin. It is only through the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we can be redeemed, reconciled, and renewed.

    The Word of God

    We believe that the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, are the inspired Word of God. Written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Word of God in its original writings is without error and has supreme authority in all manner of faith and conduct. In it is found the complete revelation of his will for the salvation of mankind through faith in Jesus Christ. The Word of God is the only essential and infallible record of God’s self-disclosure.

    The Gospel of Jesus Christ

    We believe that Jesus Christ is the gospel. The Good News is revealed in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. His death upon the cross is the heart of the gospel. His atoning death and victorious resurrection are the only means by which we can be saved. There is no other name by which men must be saved.

    The Church

    We believe that the Church is the bride of Christ, comprised of all believers of every age. The true church is manifest in local churches, and is God’s primary instrument through which he fulfills his redemptive purposes in the earth. God has called upon the church to preach the gospel to all nations, to remember the poor and minister to their needs through sacrificial giving and service. God has given water baptism and the Lord’s Supper to the Church to be observed until Jesus returns.

    Evangelism and Mission

    We believe that what God begins in his justifying grace is continued in his sanctifying grace. The calling and privilege of every child of God is to go and make disciples of the nations and live lives of purity, holiness, and growth in Christ-like character that is made possible by the new birth. With God’s Word and the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we are being transformed, resulting in children of God who actively seek to take the gospel to sinners, carrying out the Great Commission in word and deed.

    The Return of Jesus Christ

    We believe in the glorious, personal, triumphant return of Jesus Christ. After Christ returns, he will bring about the defeat of Satan, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the eternal blessings of the righteous. At that time, the Kingdom of God will be completely fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth. Heaven is a real place of eternal blessedness in the presence of God for those made righteous in Christ alone. Hell is a real place of eternal suffering for those whose names are not written in God’s Book of Life. The second coming of Christ is our blessed hope and motivates believers to live to the glory of God.

  • We ask that each church have...

Grace Partnership TEAM

LEADERSHIP TEAM

The GP Leadership Team is comprised of local church pastors that have been asked to serve in facilitating shared mission, equipping and care.

 

Tim Merwin

Pastor of Trinity Community Church

Titusville, FL

Phil Courson

Pastor of Abundant Grace Community Church

Gainesville, FL

Danny Jones

Pastor Emeritus of Metro Life Church

Casselberry, FL

Cristian Moscoso

Pastor of Trinity Community Church

Titusville, FL

Kayla Courson

Administrative Director

 

Still have more questions? Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.