What We Believe

It would be impossible to spell out in detail every aspect of our faith, so we'll start with what we consider to be core and then move out from there.  For the community at City Grace, our faith in Jesus Christ is the most essential element. We believe in the scriptures which teach us the full divinity of Christ, the atoning nature of his sacrifice for us, the power of his resurrection and resulting salvation that is available to all who believe in Jesus and his invitation for us to join with him in the bringing of social and cultural renewal to this hurting world.  We believe that Jesus, and he alone, provides the answer to our deepest longings and desires, and that as long as we search for meaning and fulfillment in created things, we will always feel incomplete and unsatisfied. We are a welcoming community, embracing anyone regardless of race, class, religion or orientation. The only condition for entering into the community is a desire to learn more about who Jesus is, what he has done for us, and what it means to live our lives with him at the center.

As far as our specific take on the scriptures, we fall squarely in the Reformed tradition of protestantism. We uphold the unconditional nature of election, the sovereignty of God and a high view of God's providential care for us and this world. We believe that salvation is completely unmerited and can only be received by faith in God. However, we do not shy away from urging people to embrace the free gift of God, and strongly maintain that faith involves consciously deciding and willing to put one's faith in Christ. Faith is not "easy," but takes much work and effort. However, it is God who instills in us an interest and a desire to follow him, and it is his Spirit in us which opens our eyes to see who he really is.

City Grace subscribes to the three ecumenical confessions that have defined the majority of Christianity throughout the ages.  These are the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed.  Our Reformed roots are also reflected well in the Heidelberg Catechism (1576), the Belgic Confession (1561) and the Canons of Dordt (1619), which we believe faithfully articulate the main teachings of scripture.