MISSION
Reach the unchurched by being intentional neighbors that reflect Christ
Culture
Get to know Grace
Welcome Home
Everyone is invited and all are welcome
Due North
We exist to help people locate God’s direction for their life
Our Father
We do us, not I. We do life together and ministry in teams
Classroom
For God’s glory, we challenge one another towards continuous growth and higher learning in every meaningful area of life
We Do Jesus
We are not into agendas, non-salvific theological debates, party politics, or religion
Engaged In & Out
We are changemakers & intentional neighbors both inside & outside God’s house
Contagiously Outrageous
Since God is extreme in both His love and generosity so are we
Kingdom Come
We see every moment as a potential heaven meets earth moment
Core Values
Why we do what we do
1. We believe in a Pastor led and staff driven church that equips the body to find their gifts and callings. (Ephesians 4:11; Titus 1:5)
2. We believe that God is an excellent God and therefore everything we do at Grace Community Church in living out our vision will be done with intentional excellence. This includes, but is not limited to, actual worship services, teachings, groups, videos, delivery, and events and afterwards to evaluations and critical reviews. (Colossians 3:17).
3. We believe the church needs to always be culturally relevant while at the same time be biblically based. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
4. We believe unchurched people matter to God and therefore matter to us. (Luke 15).
5. We believe the teaching ministry of Grace Community Church should be life changing and transformational in nature and anything less than that compromises the vision to reach the unchurched and compromises the ability to train and equip those in the church to accomplish the vision. (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Thessalonians 1:9).
6. We believe men and women with God given leadership gifts should lead the ministries of the church. (Romans 12:4-8).
7. We believe that if service is beneath you then leadership is beyond you. (Matthew 23:11)
8. We believe that everything we do as a church must reflect Christ, but especially His love. (John 13:35).
Leadership
Dr. Chip Bennett
Dr. Chip Bennett serves as the founding Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church. Chip also serves as an adjunct professor in multiple universities, training the next generation of Pastors.
Chip's education, coupled with his real life experience gives him a very unique skillset when it comes to preaching and teaching.
You will hear the Bible in a new and fresh way, as Chip uses practical application, literary understanding and the imaginative gift of story in his weekend messages.
Michael Ammirati
Executive Director
michael@gracesarasota.com
Barbara Ammirati
Ministry Teams Facilitator
barbara@gracesarasota.com
Chris Pedro
Bee Ridge Campus Pastor
chris@gracesarasota.com
Chris Absher
Lakewood Ranch Campus Pastor
chris.absher@gracesarasota.com
Our Beliefs
God
We believe in one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
Jesus
We believe that the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, took on flesh (while maintaining full divinity), lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, resurrected on the third day and ascended into heaven. Because of what Jesus has done for all of humanity, the gift of salvation is offered to everyone by faith in Jesus. He will one day return to reign on the earth as King (John 1:1-5, Colossians 2:9-10, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Hebrews 14:15, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 14:6, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Timothy 6:14-15).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, lives in everyone who believes in Jesus and is our helper. The Spirit empowers us to proclaim the Gospel boldly and spurs us on to good works that reflect Christ to the world (Acts 1:8, John 14:16-17, 1 Peter 1:2).
Humanity
All human beings have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and are therefore in need of a Savior. However, every person has inherent dignity and worth because they are made in the very image and likeness of God. Therefore, we believe in being incredibly intentional about how we treat every single person God puts in our path (Romans 3:23, Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:13-16).
Salvation
We receive salvation through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone. Christianity does not start with DO, it starts with what Jesus has already DONE for us. By believing in Jesus we can have a right relationship with God and spend eternity with Him (Colossians 2:13-15, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 14:6, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 10:9-10).
The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. The Scriptures point us to Jesus and they are authoritative in the life of Christian to tell us how to live and reflect Christ to those around us (2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 119:105, John 5:39-40).
The Christian Life
We believe that God desires every Christian to live a life that reflects Christ to those around us. So, we believe in living contagiously outrageous lives of service and generosity toward others (John 13:1-17, Acts 4:32-35).
The Church
We believe that God desires every Christian to be a part of a local church. Being part of a local church helps us get equipped to share our faith, connect with other believers, and serve one another and the community together. God loves His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Hebrews 10:23-25, Matthew 16:17-19).
Welcome to Grace!
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We're passionate about being intentional neighbors that reflect Christ.
We want to walk with you on your journey toward Him.
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