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| We believe a Great Commitment to the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40), and the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) will grow a Great Church whose
end is the glorification of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore,
Grace Bible Fellowship exists to glorify God: by CELEBRATING God's presence. (Worship) by DEMONSTRATING God's love. (Ministry) by COMMUNICATING God's Word. (Evangelism and Missions) by INCORPORATING God's people. (Fellowship) by DISCIPLING God's people. (Spiritual formation) Our local church body, under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, is organized as elders (overseers), deacons (servants), and body members (believers, saints, proclaimers). It is our belief that the ministry of the church belongs to the members of this church. Every member is considered a minister, God giving "pastor-teachers" to the church "...to equip the saints for the work of the service, to the building up of the Body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11, 12). It is our belief that through the Holy Spirit, Christ has given every member a spiritual gift and it is the duty of each member to understand and use that gift for the benefit of the body.
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A group of families near the Peoria area greatly burdened for a strong, evangelical, Bible based church to begin in the area contacted an American Sunday School Union missionary to request the beginning of a Sunday school. The year was 1965. The interest in the community was so strong that soon a church was begun, and a retired pastor and his wife, Albert V. and Aleene Hayes, responded to the call to "fill in temporarily" as pastor. This temporary position continued for eleven years, during which time the church continued to grow. In 1976 Pastor Hayes retired again. Don Bayne, fruit of the ministry at Peoria and a recent graduate of Prairie Bible Institute, with his wife Carol, assumed the shepherding of the flock. By 1983, it became very clear that the church body had outgrown the little Peoria facility. They had gone to two services and there was no room for growth; the Sunday School space was severely crowded, as was parking space. Therefore, in February 1984, after much prayer and consideration, the church as a whole moved to Tangent and began using the closed McFarland Elementary School facility. Later that year, the name was officially changed to Grace Bible Fellowship; and the Peoria church, which is independent of Grace Bible, took the name of New Hope Community Church. For 12 1/2 years, we were without a permanent church home. In 1993, we purchased eight acres of beautiful property on McFarland Road. On November 11, 1996, we moved into our new 13,600 square-foot Worship and Ministry Center...debt free! Again we were experiencing growth pains and were in need of more room for our children's ministry and youth ministry. In 2003, we began building an additional 15,000 square-foot addition designated primarily for children and youth ministry. In May of 2006, we occupied the new educational facility...debt free. God is good all the time!!! |