OUR MISSION

To grow believers to maturity in Christ and
expand the Church locally and around the world

OUR PASTOR

Grace Church is led by Pastor Greg Barrier, a board of elders selected by church members, and a staff of volunteer ministry leaders. At every level of leadership, you will find people who are deeply committed to faith and service.

GREG BARRIER

Pastor Greg has served at Grace Church since 2004. He is passionate about pastoring and loves ministering side by side with the people of Grace.

Greg completed his Masters of Divinity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts and his Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked one year as a pharmacist before taking his first ministry position with Cru, where he served for 17 years in various capacities around the U.S. and abroad. His first pastoral position was in his home state of North Carolina.

Greg has been married to his wife, Martha, since 1991, and they have four children.

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WHAT WE BELIEVE

The core of our faith rests in the gospel of Jesus Christ—the forgiveness of sin everyone needs, the reconciliation with God made possible by Jesus’s death and resurrection, and the eternal hope we have when we believe in Him.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

Grace Church is a member of The Evangelical Free Church of America and affirms the following Statement of Faith.

God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

The Bible
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

The Human Condition
We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled, and renewed.

Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel’s promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

The Work of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

The Church
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifested in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish believers.

Christian Living
We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor, and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

Christ’s Return
We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service, and energetic mission.

Response and Eternal Destiny
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace.

THE EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of churches united around a common Statement of Faith. Evangelical refers to an emphasis on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Free refers to a church government model in which every local church governs itself. 1500 churches across the United States belong to the EFCA. The EFCA also has 59 worldwide ministry partners.

OUR PARTNERSHIPS

We value partnerships with individuals and organizations that are on a mission to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and offer practical help to their communities. We partner with local groups who minister on the University of Delaware campus and to the homeless and needy in Wilmington and Newark. Our support also extends to national and international groups with wide-ranging ministries, some of which are led by people who once called Grace Church home.

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OUR HISTORY

Grace Church held its first worship service on January 5, 1986, at a private residence in Landenburg, Pennsylvania. Later that year, Grace called its first pastor and joined The Evangelical Free Church of America—an association of churches united around the same Statement of Faith. In the years that followed, two full-time and two interim pastors led the congregation, until Pastor Greg Barrier assumed leadership in 2004.

From the beginning, finding a permanent home for Grace Church proved to be a significant challenge. For nearly 30 years, faithful members met in various places near Newark, Delaware—a Grange Hall, schools, and church buildings belonging to others. God always provided a place, but the longing for a place to call home was strong. God provided that in November 2016, when Grace purchased the upper Nazarene Church property at 355 Paper Mill Road, in Newark.

Three decades later and counting, Grace Church is more committed than ever to its mission of pointing others to Jesus and encouraging believers on to mature, vibrant faith in our local community and around the world.