Worship

We believe that worship is the heart satisfied in God, or a heart seeking to be satisfied in God. Therefore the affections (emotions of the heart) are absolutely necessary to true worship. The great commandment is a command to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Deut. 6:5). Therefore, the music and the style of the worship service must seek to help people feel and think right about God. The music that is chosen, must be God-centered and theologically sound. We are to worship God in spirit and in TRUTH. The words that we sing are important and they should matter to us. However, they are not all that matters, for we are to worship in SPIRIT and in truth. How many times did Jesus say with grief in his heart – “with their lips they praise me, but their hearts are far from me”? I believe that the worship service must strive for these two important elements.

We sing both old hymns of the faith, which are filled with great, beautiful poetry that help worshipers feel and think like they ought to about God, and contemporary worship songs that communicate sound theology and a passionate hunger for God. We believe that the beautiful musical heritage of Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, John Newton, William Cowper and others should not be ignored. We also believe that many of the new worship songs are helpful to enjoy God and express that all-important affection.

We encourage you to prepare during the week for corporate worship.  One way in which to do this is to read and consider the primary Scripture passages for the sermon and the lyrics to the songs that we will be singing.  You can read the Scripture and the lyrics (for this week and previous weeks) here.

If you love Jesus and play an instrument or sing and would like to serve on the music worship team at Grace Church, please contact Matt Howard or Pastor Daniel.  You may also download the information and application form here.

Sunday School

At Grace Church we have Sunday School for all ages.  Our adult and teen class is called "Berea" and our children's Sunday School is called "X-treme Grace".  Both groups meet from 9:00-10:15am on Sunday mornings).

In Berea we are studying Mark Dever's Promises Made.  Tom Schreiner says this, "For many Christians the Old Testament is daunting and confusing. The books are long and speak about a culture dramatically different from ours. Mark Dever's sermons do not substitute for reading the Old Testament, but they do provide a wonderful help in understanding it. Dever unpacks the major themes of each book with remarkable clarity, and the book also shines in conveying the message of the Old Testament for today. Here is a survey to the Old Testament that is accessible and spiritually edifying."

Please contact Pastor Dave with any questions. 

In X-treme Grace we use Children Desiring God curriculum, which is developed by the staff at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis.  The goal of the curriculum is to fuel spiritual desire in children by exalting the greatness and worth of God and His glorious work in Christ. I have experience with this curriculum, and all I can say is Wow! Praise God!  It actually does what it says it does. And it has all the content of a God-centered, Christ-treasuring, Faith-building, Prayer-empowered, Bible-saturated, Family-strengthening and Christian-fun children's ministry.

If you are interested in finding out more about or assisting with the Sunday children’s ministry, please contact Jake Thompson at (763) 486-3279.

Discipleship Group

Who: Everyone who has a heart for (or curiosity about) following Jesus and calling others to follow Him as well.

What: In order to foster and maintain the kind of honesty, openness, vulnerability, fellowship and community that we believe the Bible urges us toward, discipleship groups are small gatherings of less than 12 people (of the same sex), led by a trained leader, and designed to spur one another on in following Jesus and serve as a springboard for life together.  

The Apostle Paul words it this way, “Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.  7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.  8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

In other words, Paul says that coming alongside others by sharing the gospel and our lives, best models the example of Christ and the personal nature of God.  This is at the heart of our discipleship groups—coming alongside one another in order to follow Jesus together.

When: The discipleship groups meet at various times throughout the week.

Where: Various locations (usually homes) determined by the group and group leader.  Please contact the Church for a list of leaders and locations.

Why: To glorify God by obeying His calling to be disciples (followers of Jesus) and His commission to make disciples of all nations because of our love for God and others.

Please feel free to contact Pastor Dave, or any of the other elders, if you have any thoughts or questions. 

First Place

First Place is a Christ-centered health program for men and women of all ages. Using a support system that incorporates Bible study, Scripture memorization, prayer and balanced eating and exercise plans, First Place provides the opportunity to change your life, not only physically but spiritually and emotionally.

The tremendous success of First Place is due to its biblical approach to weight management, which puts Christ first and improves every area of a person’s life: spiritual, physical, mental and emotional. This Christ-centered, balanced weight-loss program has guided hundreds of thousands of people to a healthy lifestyle and a closer walk with the Lord.

The program includes Bible study, group support and accountability; a proven, common-sense nutrition plan; regular exercise; daily prayer; and Scripture memorization.

The First Place program consists of nine categories, which make up the "commitments" that each member is asked to prayerfully consider and follow when joining a class:

• Attendance • Encouragement • Prayer
• Bible Reading • Scripture Memory • Bible Study
•"Live-It" Plan • Commitment Record • Exercise

First Place offers a series of Bible studies. These studies address many issues of everyday life and provide opportunities for growth in Christ. Members complete a weekly Bible study which—combined with prayer and Scripture reading—helps to impart God's strength, empowering

To learn more about FirstPlace, visit their website at www.firstplace.org

Nursery

We provide a nursery ministry for kids through 3 years old during the service (10:15 AM-11:45 AM).  The infant nursery is for children 18 months and younger. The toddler nursery is for 19 months through 3 years old.

We view the nursery ministry as something much more than a place for childcare during the worship service. We desire for this ministry to be an opportunity to spiritually serve the parents and children by through prayer, care and instruction.

If you are part of the Grace Church community and desire to serve in this capacity, contact Suzanne Tromberg at stromburg@frontiernet.net.

Grace for Kids

We offer a teaching time for children from age 4 through 2nd grade during the sermon time of the worship service. The children are brought back in after the sermon for the closing songs.