We are an assembly of people whose lives have been transformed by the grace and mercy of God. We are located in Dixon, but our desire is for the effects of our ministry to impact the whole world.
Grace Fellowship is a welcoming community through heartfelt worship, authentic relationships, and a commitment to serving others, we seek to grow&nbsop;in our faith and share God’s grace with the world.
Concerning the Scriptures, we believe the sixty-six (66) books of the Old and New Testaments, as originally written, were God-breathed, both verbally and in every part. We believe God communicated through Spirit-controlled men so that the Scriptures are without error, unfailing, authoritative, and complete. We believe the Bible is the supreme revelation of God’s will for mankind and constitutes the only infallible guide for faith and life.
Concerning the true God we believe in the one eternal, self-existent, self-sufficient God, the Creator of all things; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, identical in essence and equal in power and glory; that God is infinitely perfect in all his ways.
Concerning God the Father, we believe that God the Father is holy and loving. Unlimited in time, space, knowledge, and power, the Father has planned for His glory all that comes to pass and purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself. In His sovereignty, He is neither author nor approver of sin, nor does He negate the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures. Although distinct from His creation, He is immanently at work in it, intervening as He chooses.
Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe that He is the eternal Son of God. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, He became “God manifest in the flesh.” As fully God and fully man, He lived an absolutely sinless life. He voluntarily died to make a full and vicarious atonement for our sins. He arose from the dead on the third day and ascended bodily into heaven.
Concerning the Holy Spirit, we believe that the Holy Spirit is the promised Comforter sent by the Father and the Son, possessing full personality and deity. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is the agent of the new birth, at which time He baptizes believers into the body of Christ, and His work among believers is that He seals, indwells, fills, guides, empowers, and teaches. The sign gifts of prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, miracles, and healing were powerful indicators in New Testament times whereby the authenticity of the gospel was established on Earth, but these gifts are not normative for today.
Concerning mankind, we believe the Scriptures teach that men and women are created in God’s image. Adam was created by a direct act of God, as described in Genesis 1, and not from any previously existing form of life. By voluntary transgression, he fell from his state of innocence, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners by nature and by choice, and therefore under just condemnation to eternal, conscious punishment, separated from God.
Concerning marriage and sexuality, we believe the Scriptures teach that God created man and woman as unique biological persons. God’s plan for the union of marriage is that a biological man and a biological woman come together and covenant to be one flesh for life in a monogamous union that is spiritual, emotional, and physical. God’s plan for sexual union is for its expression to be only within the bounds of this male and female marital union. We believe a person’s true identity is found and fulfilled in Christ alone and in a relationship with him. Therefore, a Christian is not to embrace identities, desires, and behaviors that are contrary to the expressed teaching of Scripture. These include but are not limited to adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, and pedophilia. Further, lasciviousness, transgender behavior, and the creation or distribution or viewing of pornography are incompatible with God’s design for sexuality.
Concerning salvation, we believe the Scriptures teach that the salvation of sinners is initiated by a loving God, wholly of grace, and accomplished only through the mediating work of the Son of God. It is upon the sole condition of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The sinner must be born again, regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby receiving a new nature. The believer who has exercised personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is justified and possesses an eternally secure salvation. A result of salvation is a life of obedience to God, producing good works.
Concerning the church, we believe the Scriptures teach that the Church of Jesus Christ, distinct from Israel in the Old Testament, was inaugurated at Pentecost and must be considered in two aspects: the local church and “the church which is His body.” This “body” is the entire company of believers in Christ. A local church is an organized assembly of baptized believers, associated by a commitment to the faith, fellowship, and proclamation of the gospel, and observing the ordinances of a believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. The Scripture identifies two offices in local churches. The terms overseer, elder, and pastor or shepherd all refer to the same office. The other is the office of deacon. The New Testament explicitly assigns headship and authority in the local church to men.
Concerning baptism and the Lord’s Supper, we believe the Scriptures teach that baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, representing the believer’s death to sin and his resurrection to a new life. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s death to be observed by believers until His return and should be preceded by honest self-examination.
Concerning angels, we believe that God created sinless, spirit beings called angels to worship and serve Him. Satan and some of the angels became proud, rebelled, and were judged by God. Satan now rules these fallen angels, also called demons. They seek continually to frustrate the purposes of God and to cause mankind to sin against Him. These were conquered by Christ on the cross and are condemned to a future everlasting punishment.
Concerning future events, we believe in the coming of Christ in the air to take His saints to be with Him. The tribulation will follow this imminent event, concluding with our Lord’s second coming to the Earth to establish His glorious millennial kingdom. Satan, after leading a final rebellion, will be cast into the lake of fire, along with death, hell, and the unrighteous dead.
Concerning the eternal state, we believe the Scriptures teach the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust. The just, those who have been redeemed, will spend eternity in full enjoyment of God’s presence. The unjust, those who through impenitence and unbelief refuse to accept God’s offer of mercy, will spend eternity in everlasting, conscious punishment.
In addition to these statements of faith, we also affirm the Baptist Faith and Message statement adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention on June 14, 2000.