About Us

Mission

The mission of Grace Bible Fellowship is to unite together in worshipping the Lord, to bring people to Jesus Christ, to develop them to Christ-like maturity, and to equip them for loving service to others.

Vision

Every believer growing and serving together in love.

Statement of Values

We value the centrality of Jesus Christ in our church; therefore we break bread together weekly to remember His person, work, and ministry (Col. 1:18). The focus and purpose of this time is worship (1 Cor. 11:23-26). He is the chief shepherd of the church. (1 Pet. 5:4)
We value the Word of God; therefore we teach it and use it as the foundation for our faith and practice.
We value the priesthood of all believers; therefore we encourage each person to value their role as a minister for Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:9). Each has the privilege and responsibility to develop a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and to find opportunities to use their gifts and abilities to help people. (Eph. 4:11-14)
We value the plurality of leadership; therefore we have a group of male elders (pastors) with equal authority, who lead as shepherds under the headship of Christ (1 Tim. 3:1-7). They have been given the responsibility of leading, feeding, protecting and giving oversight to the church. (1 Pet. 5:1-4)
We value the proclamation of the Gospel; therefore we prepare ourselves to be witnesses for Christ in the communities in which we live, and encourage and support those from our church family who do this cross-culturally. (Matt. 28:19)

We value the autonomy of the local church; therefore we are responsible to Christ alone in our government and independent of any controlling organization or affiliation. (1 Cor. 1:2) As a part of God's kingdom, we enjoy warm relationships with other Christian churches.

Our Missionary Family

As a local church, we are involved in the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ both at home and around the world. We have the responsibility before God to take part in fulfilling the great commission. One of the ways we do this is in praying for and supporting missionaries. Following are the missionaries and ministries that we support on a regular basis.
Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML) is an organization that is located in Spring Lake, NJ. It is the umbrella under which local missionaries of the Brethren movement serve. It handles finances, communicates needs and reports, and works with foreign governments on behalf of the missionaries. Commendation, direction, and support for the missionaries come from the local assembly and not from CMML. CMML does not tell the missionaries where to go or what to do. That is between the missionary, their local church and the Lord. All gifts that are sent to CMML for missionary support go directly to them and none is taken out for overhead costs. CMML is supported by gifts sent specifically for that purpose.
Eagle Fern Camp is located on 115 wooded acres along Eagle Creek about 35 miles southeast of Portland. It has seven weeks of camps for children and youth during the summer along with some high adventure and horse camps. One of the distinctives of our camp is its reliance on volunteers to provide programming that is both fun and spiritually enriching. The camp is also rented by many churches and other organizations during the year. Many have come to know Christ and rededicated their lives to Him through the ministry of Eagle Fern. As a "sponsoring church" of Eagle Fern, we have a member on the board and contribute regularly to its ministry. Click here to learm more.
Pablo and Sarah Cenepo-Torres serve the Lord in Trujillo, Peru. Pablo grew up in Peru under the mentoring of Bert and Colleen Elliot. While attending Capitol Biblical Seminary, he married Sarah and together they returned to Trujillo, Peru where they are involved in discipleship, evangelism, and church planting. They have four daughters - Abigail, Hannah, Gabriella and Selah. Click here to learn more.
We also have people who serve overseas who are actively a part of our fellowship that we stay in contact with and pray for regularly - Pam Zarek (discipleship in Peru), Jessie and Bobbi Gill (humanitarian work in Russia), and Bob and Sue Cullen (church planting in Uganda). In addition we encourage those who participate in short term missions.

At Grace we have been blessed to have a rich missionary heritage. Our lifetime missionaries include Jim and Elisabeth Elliot (Ecuador), Gordon and Thelma Frazer (Native Americans), Tim and Mary Malyon (Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association), Arne and Solveig Lenhartzen (Zaire), and Bert and Colleen Elliot (Peru).

Stewardship

God is the source of all blessings temporal and spiritual. All that we are, we owe to Him. Our time, talents, and material possessions belong to Him. We are to use them for His glory and for helping others. A lifestyle of giving is clearly taught in the Bible. (Matt. 6:33) Good stewardship encourages a Christian to find true value in life. We believe that the believer's entire resources are a gift of God and that the Holy Spirit should be permitted to determine the use of that which the believer retains for himself. Giving is to be done to and through the local church on a regular basis.
As a local body of believers, our mission is to worship the Lord, bring people to Christ, help them develop to Christ-like maturity, and equip them for service. In order to accomplish this, it is imperative that each person exercise proper use of his/her time, resources and talents. We are responsible to the Lord for how we use what He has entrusted to us. Our giving is a means by which we give honor to God and is to come from a heart that is full of praise and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us.

We believe that each one who fellowships at Grace has a responsibility before God to share in the support of the total ministry of this assembly. First Corinthians 16:2 provides a pattern for us to follow in our giving. It is to be regular - "on the first day of every week", personal - "let each one of you", systematic - "put aside and save", and proportional - "as God has prospered". The New Testament believer does not seem to be held strictly to the "tithe", but is to give in proportion to how God has blessed him. God is more concerned about the heart of the giver than the amount of the gift as can be seen in 2 Corinthians 9:7, "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver." A more thorough study of 2 Corinthians 8-9 can be helpful in understanding the principles of giving. We do not solicit gifts from believers at Grace but rather attempt to communicate the needs and trust God to direct each person to give as the Lord guides. The priorities for the use of funds that the Lord provides are to maintain the local ministry of Grace, to provide help for those in the body who have special needs, and to support mission work around the world. Reports as to how the funds are spent will be distributed at an annual meeting. The decisions for determining the use of money are made by the elders in conjunction with those involved in the various ministries. Gifts are given confidentially and are known only by the church treasurer and bookkeeper. An offering is taken as an aspect of our worship during the Breaking of Bread each week. There is also a box in the foyer for those who wish to contribute. In summary, we believe each child of God should give as unto the Lord, after prayerfully seeking His will, not of necessity but through love and gratitude to God.

Elders

The ministry of Grace Bible Fellowship is under the direction of elders who serve God under the Chief Shepherd as shepherds being responsible for the leading, feeding, protecting and oversight of His flock. They are to be men whose lives meet the scriptural requirements set forth in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 and who have conscientiously accepted the doctrinal statement and philosophy of ministry of this local assembly.
We believe in a plurality of elders who function in equality under the authority of the Scriptures and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The elders are the decision making group and are responsible for the overall ministry. Delegation of responsibilities to others is necessary for their proper functioning as elders. We have a full time worker who serves as an elder with equal authority of the other elders and joins with them in carrying out the pastoral responsibilities in the assembly. We support him financially through a regular salary. (1 Cor. 9:14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18) In the event of salaried full-time or part-time elders or leadership staff, salary decisions shall be determined by the non-paid elders and leadership staff.
The elders have the responsibility to determine what will be taught at Grace Bible Fellowship relating to the essential doctrines and practice. In non-essential matters, freedom will be given for individuals to come to their own conviction before God and are encouraged to obey those with grace and without judgment towards those who have differing convictions. (Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 1:10; Titus 3:9-11)
The elders have the responsibility to exercise biblical discipline and conformity to biblical standards to those who are regular attendees at Grace Bible Fellowship. The purpose of biblical discipline is repentance, reconciliation and restoration and may involve a public statement to the church. Submitting oneself to discipline is always best but those who wish to decline going through discipline may do so by discontinuing their attendance at Grace Bible Fellowship services.

The current elders are to continually watch for a man who meets the qualifications for an elder. After prayer, the elders will ask him to pray about the possibility of becoming an elder and to discuss the matter with his family. If his response is positive, the elders will present his name and their intention in written form to the congregation. Individuals of the congregation will have two weeks in which to respond to the elders in written form. Finally, the elders will communicate his recognition as an elder to the congregation. The removal of an elder is by a majority of the other elders.

Deacons

Deacons are to serve God under the direction of the elders to assist them in caring for the practical needs of those in the church. They are to meet the scriptural requirements set forth in 1 Timothy 3:8-13 and to have conscientiously accepted the doctrinal statement and philosophy of ministry of this local church.

The term deacon simply means servant. Following the pattern set forth in Acts 6:1-6, they are to serve as ministers of mercy in the church so the elders can "devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." In conjunction with the elders, they are to identify practical needs of people in the church family and organize people and resources to meet them. This might include visitation, providing meals for the sick, delivering food, counseling, caring for housing needs or helping with needs in the home. Addressing many of these needs can be better done with the presence of women or couples which seems to be why Paul includes women in his discussion of deacons. (1 Tim 3:11; Rom. 16:1) Deacons are chosen by the elders and are responsible to them.

Polity

Oversight for the various ministries at Grace is the responsibility of the elders. Ministry teams will be given responsibility for specific aspects of the ministry. They will oversee these areas in conjunction with the elders. An elder will be assigned to each team to serve as a liaison between the ministry team and the elders. Ministry teams may include finance, youth, Christian education, men and women's ministry, facility, missions, evangelism, deacons, and music. Ministry team leaders will be appointed by the elders.
Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman and Himself, Grace Bible Fellowship only recognizes marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the elders shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24: Matthew 19:4-6)
Approval for use of the church facilities may be granted at the discretion of the elders for any activity that is not inconsistent with our teaching, practices and policies or our historical view of biblical values. Weddings at our facility may only be conducted by qualified individuals who agree with our ministry policy and who are approved by the elders. The rental of the residence owned by the church is an extension of our ministry and so may be rented at below market rate.
Offense and conflict will inevitably arise within the church. These should be resolved in private between the individuals directly involved - with humility, confession and forgiveness. If private one-on-one meetings do not resolve the issue, then the parties should ask for assistance from the elders. Any public confessions, announcements or discipline should only be done with the approval of the elders. (Matthew 18:15-17; Luke 17:3; Romans 12:18)

Individuals who publically minister, teach, preach or hold office at Grace Bible Fellowship agree:
1. To teach nothing inconsistent with Scripture or this statement of values and beliefs.
2. To avoid emphasizing teaching or practices which are inconsistent with our historical distinctives and practices.
3. To live in a manner that is consistent with biblical values and teaching as reflected in our policy.
4. To acknowledge that ministry at Grace Bible Fellowship is done with the oversight of our eldership.