At Grace Life Church, we are committed to continually strive to be a true biblical local church. Our mission is not to be mildly biblical or somewhat biblical; we aim to be thoroughly biblical in everything we do. In this pursuit we have established four foundational “Structures of Grace” that shape our local church life: Congregational Worship, Small Groups, Global Missions, and Homelife Discipleship. Based on scriptural commands and strong scriptural exemplification, we see these as foundational for maintaining a biblically healthy church that glorifies God in all things.

These are not isolated from one another but are intricately connected, working together to build up the body of Christ. Through these structures, we live out our calling as a local church—God’s people, gathered and serving for His glory. Each structure serves a vital function, and when faithfully lived out, they form one whole to advance God’s mission in the world!

Structure of Grace 1: Congregational Worship

Statement: The church assembled to worship through the Spirit-empowered preaching of the Word to strengthen the saved and convert the lost, with singing that reinforces the faith and expresses praise to God our audience.

Congregational worship is the foundation. It is the hub of the wheel, from which all other ministries flow. Congregational worship must be centered on the Spirit-empowered preached Word of God. It is the foundation stone of everything we do. Without faithful Spirit-empowered Bible preaching, we will not see the lost savingly converted or the body growing in Christ being equipped for the work God has called us to do. Spirit-empowered, biblical preaching that humbles the heart, builds a deep treasuring of Christ, unfolds God’s wisdom from the Word, and informs and directs the following Structures of Grace.

The first phrase in this statement—the church assembled—sets forth that as God’s people we are to assemble together to worship Him (Hebrews 10:25). In the Old Testament, Israel gathered regularly for worship (Deuteronomy 31:12, Nehemiah 8:2), and we continue this practice in the New Testament. Acts 2:42-46 shows us the congregation meeting together in one accord. The New Testament local church is an assembly of believers that assembles together regularly to worship, in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

However, worship is not just a formal meeting—it is about the heart. Psalm 122:1 says: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Worship is about obedience and service to God and also the enjoyment of God. We worship God when we find joy in Him, obey His Word, and serve one another in our local church.

In Scripture, congregational worship also includes singing—singing that reinforces the faith and expresses praise to God, our audience. Paul exhorts in Ephesians 5:19: “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” The Bible teaches that singing should reinforce the truths we believe, and these truths are most effectually brought forth through the preaching of the Word of God. Music and singing in our congregational assemblies are very important. But, it should never take precedence over the preaching of the Word. Worship is not simply about emotional experiences stirred by music; it is about responding to God’s Word. The Spirit-empowered preaching of the Word and Spirit enabled reception of the preached Word is the highest form of worship. It strengthens the saved and calls the lost to repentance. If the sermon becomes secondary to music, the church is out of balance. The New Testament teaches that our core ministry in the local church is the preaching of the Word, and everything else must support that.

Structure of Grace 2: Small Groups

Statement: The church organized into Small Groups so that we can evangelize the lost, equip the saved, and provide fellowship to meet individual needs.

Small Groups are the heart of “body life” at Grace Life Church. While congregational worship provides the foundation, Small Groups are where we walk out the truths learned from the preaching of the Word in the context of personal relationships. In Small Groups, every church member has, as a part of the “team,” the opportunity to evangelize, equip, and care for one another in a way that cannot happen in larger gatherings.

We see the importance of Small Groups throughout Scripture. In the early church, the apostles met in Solomon’s Portico for public teaching and worship, but they also met “from house to house” (Acts 2:46). Small Groups were an integral part of how the early church functioned, and they allowed for deep relationships, teaching, and mutual care.

Exodus 18 provides a powerful model of organization that is relevant to our Small Groups today. In the story of Moses, Jethro advises him to divide the people into smaller groups, with leaders over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens (Exodus 18:21-22). Moses brought the Word to the entire congregation (Exodus 18:20), but he was to organize and delegate the everyday shepherding needs to others (Exodus 18:21-22).

This is a foundational principle for the church today. It allows for better care, accountability, and spiritual growth.

In 1 Corinthians 12:7, Paul reminds us that EVERY BELIEVER is given spiritual gifts “for the common good.” In Small Groups, we have the opportunity to use these gifts to serve one another. Whether through teaching, mercy, service, encouragement, etc., every member has a role to play in the body of Christ. As we walk out our calling in Small Groups, we fulfill the biblical mandate to love and serve one another (John 13:35).

Small groups are also the primary context where members fulfill the mission of God to evangelize the lost. Evangelism is not just the responsibility of the pastor or a missions committee; it is the responsibility of every believer. Through the “team” approach of small groups, every member can play a part in reaching the lost. We have seen this so often in our Small Groups. A lost person is invited to join the group. He/she is then loved, encouraged, cared for and hear the gospel with every member playing a part.

Like the phrase every member ministry through Small Groups—each member has a vital role in meeting the needs of other believers. Without Small Groups, it would be easy for individuals to “fall through the cracks.” The church is not meant to be a place where people are largely anonymous members of a large crowd. Small Groups provide a personal and intimate setting where we care for one another, pray for one another, and support each other through life’s challenges. Whether it’s offering help during a crisis, providing accountability, or simply offering encouragement, Small Groups ensure that no one is neglected.

Structure of Grace 3: Global Missions (Local church-centered Missions)

Statement: The entire church family involved in local church-centered missions, following a biblically sound, personalized, and strategic approach for the glory of God among all peoples.

Missions is not an optional activity for Grace Life Church—it is central to our existence as a local body. We do not have a missions program; we exist for missions. From the very beginning, the task of missions has been entrusted to the local church (Matthew 28:18-20), and we believe that everything we do should be for the purpose of advancing the gospel and establishing “true” local churches to the ends of the earth.

The first formal sending out of missionaries began in the local church in Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). The church in Antioch, as a local church body, was deeply involved in the work of missions. It was the local church at Antioch that laid hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them out with the blessing of the congregation. This model of local church-centered missions is what we strive to follow.

In Acts 14:24-28, we see that Paul and Barnabas return to the local church in Antioch, reporting all that God had done through them. The local church was not just a spectator in missions; it was an active participant, celebrating the gospel fruit that had been borne. This model continues today: missions is not just about sending money to a missions agency or supporting a missions program; it is about local churches being personally involved in the work of reaching the lost and planting churches.

At Grace Life Church, we personalize missions by adopting missionaries in our Small Groups, getting to know them, praying for them, encouraging them, and supporting them. We strive to make missions something we are personally involved in. At our annual missions conference, the True Church Conference, church partners, church plants, and missionaries come back and report all that the Lord is doing in their respective locations around the world. Through our pulpit, Small Groups, and the annual True Church Conference, we seek to keep missions at the forefront of our minds and hearts.

Missions is also about raising up and training leaders. Jesus’ approach to missions was to train key men who could carry on the work (Mark 3:14). And Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22 shows that he expected the local church at Ephesus to be training men for the work of missions. At Grace Life Church, we believe in training men within a healthy local church who will go, preach the Word, make disciples, plant churches, and strengthen existing churches. Through our local church-centered Pastoral Training Institute, we are raising up men who are not just getting academic knowledge—they’re getting real-life, local church experience in a biblically, spiritually healthy local church. These men are being trained by pastors and staff, myself included, who have decades of local church ministry under our belts. We teach them theology but also the proven methodologies that God has blessed over decades at Grace Life Church. Sometimes we refer to it as “theology in shoe leather.” They aren’t just trained in the classroom but in the trenches of ministry. When we send them out, we don’t just send them with a degree in hand. We send them out with our love and support, and our support doesn’t stop. We commit to stand with them indefinitely to mentor, encourage, mediate difficulties, provide financial support, and whatever else is needed to stand with them and their work of church planting and church revitalization.

This is the biblical strategy that we follow in our local church-centered missions work. Our goal is to plant healthy, biblically sound local churches that will reproduce and multiply for the glory of God.

Structure of Grace 4: Homelife Discipleship

Statement: Taking the church home so that the doctrine and instruction of our pastors, sloshes over into our home life, and throughout our lives as we live in the world.

Moses is a sound example of this truth. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

Deuteronomy 6 shows us the very simple and essential principle where the pastor (in this case Moses) taught the fathers. The fathers then take the Word home and in an informal and lifestyle manner let these truths slosh over from church into the home and then into the world as we live our lives.

We note particularly the fact that it’s not a formal structured thing at all, but it’s fathers and mothers taking home what they’ve learned at church and purposing from their hearts to make it real and incarnate in the home as they live out everyday life. The discipleship of our children should flow naturally as we live everyday life, with the principles of Scripture spoken and applied from hearts that joy in the Lord and in His Word. The instruction and discipleship we learn at church gatherings must flow out to our homes and then to all aspects of our daily lives. If not, we have a tragic disconnect and become hypocrites.

Conclusion:

The Structures of Grace—Congregational Worship, Small Groups, Global Missions, and Homelife Discipleship—are interconnected reciprocals. Each structure flows into the others and together they form a biblical model of healthy local church life.

Congregational worship provides the foundation, Small Groups give the context for living out the Word and provide care for the entire church body. Missions is taking the gospel to the world, and homelife discipleship is taking the truth of the Word into homelife and into the world.

At Grace Life Church, we are committed to a biblically healthy local church that exists for the glory of God. We believe these Structures of Grace are essential for fulfilling that purpose. We are passionate about seeing God’s glory spread to all peoples through the faithful preaching of the Word and the establishment of biblically, spiritually healthy (or true) local churches to the ends of the earth!