How we aspire to relate to each other

What we believe as a church matters, but how we live as Christians also matters. James warns: “If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself” (James 1:26). Likewise in John's Gospel we hear Jesus say: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35).

So while our Doctrinal Statement summarises what we believe, the bullet points below capture how our church members have committed to seek to live out our faith together as a church community. In all these things, we recognise that we all are all works in progress and need to show much grace to each other.

To be a Church Member at Grace Church Kidderminster is with God’s help, together with others, to be shaped by grace, show grace to others and share grace with others in the following ways:

● A Follower – of Jesus Christ who is shaped by his death and resurrection and who
seeks to walk wholeheartedly with him and become more like him. (Colossians 2:6-7)

● A Learner – who is listening to, trusting and obeying God as you hear him speak by
his Spirit in his word and who wants to grow in your love and knowledge of Christ. (2
Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:2)

● An Attender – committed to the regular gatherings of the church and to attending and
participating in Church Members’ Meetings. Sharing views respectfully and openly
and engaging in constructive discussion on matters raised at church meetings.
(Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Timothy 4:12; Philippians 2:1-2).

● A Pray-er – who prays individually and wherever possible meets with the rest of the
church to pray for the unity, ministry, leaders and members of Grace Church and the
wider church. (Colossians 4:2)

● A Carer – who loves the members of Grace Church as your own family, helps others
grow and watches over them, taking care of their needs and sharing their joy and
sorrows. (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10)

● A Servant – using the gifts God has given you to build up the church and play your
part in helping others to grow and hear the gospel. (Ephesians 4:16)

● A Sharer – who will use what God has given you to joyfully and generously support
the ministry of the church, other Christians and the spread of the gospel, as much as
possible, regarding 10% as a helpful Bible guide to consider what you could give. (1
Timothy 6:18)

● A Witness – with a concern for the glory of God and the fate of others, who will pray
for those you know in the hope of sharing Christ with them and for the global mission
of the gospel. (Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 3:15)

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Welcome

If you're thinking of joining us or visiting us this information will hopefully give you a feel of what to expect from a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building on Greatfield Road (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. Most people usually aim to get here a few minutes beforehand so you have time to find a seat. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome badge.

Anyone is welcome. If you are not used to going to church you will find that everything is explained and that you are under no obligation to take part in anything. There is no dress code – please wear what you feel comfortable with. We don’t collect money during any of our services.

We serve tea and coffee after the service.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and there are disabled toilets in the foyer.

Our Service

The service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome from the service leader. A typical service will also include the following and last for around 70 minutes.

singing together (usually around 5 songs in total across the whole service) - we sing a mix of modern songs and older hymns in a contemporary style
a short "family slot" consisting of a short talk particularly suited to children in the first part of our service
a brief update about any church family news
a member of the church leading us as we talk to God in prayer
a member of the church reading from a passage from God's word, the Bible
a talk which helps us to see the meaning and relevance of that Bible passage to all of our lives today
we then finish with a final song as we respond to what we have heard from God's word
once a month in the service we share the Lord's Supper during the meeting (where we remember Jesus' death for us through sharing bread and wine)

What about my Children?

Children sit with their parents or grown up for the first part of the service. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. After about 20-25 minutes, the service leader will announce when it’s time for the children to go to their various groups.
Whilst you are dropping your kids off at their groups, we pause to take time to chat to someone sitting near or next to us, giving folk a chance to come back before the sermon begins.

We have groups on a sunday morning aged up to 11. We encourage secondary school age children to stay in the service with their parent(s) or grown up who has brought them.

The children's group typically includes games, craft, drama, reading bible stories and prayer. Parents pick up their children when the service finishes.

Other Ministries

We also plan to run the following activities during the week:

Parent and toddler group
Seniors afternoon meeting
Groups on Monday evenings for both primary and secondary school aged children

Get in touch with us if you would like more information about coming to church

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at Grace Church.