Representing God's Love

Grace Hills' mission is to represent God’s love in our church and community. Our vision is to live as ambassadors of God’s love, anticipating that God will work in and through us to bring renewal of heart and life to the people in our church and community. We value helping people become: rooted in faith; sprouting with hope; fruitful in love; and sent for renewal.  


As people place their trust in the Good News of Jesus Christ, we believe that God’s love will bring healthy transformation to individual lives. And, as people share God’s love with others, the Holy Spirit will be evident in strengthening and reviving whole communities.

a covenant church

Grace Hills Covenant Church is a devoted community of people living in the Good News of Jesus Christ, and seeking to make the Good News of Christ seen and known. Grace Hills is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church (www.covchurch.org). As a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church, Grace Hills seeks to form and nurture communities that are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and passionately engaged in Christ’s mission in the world.


To learn more about the Evangelical Covenant Church click the button below:


 covenant church / who-we-are

What We Believe

1. We affirm the centrality of the word of God.

We believe the bible is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. The dynamic, transforming power of the word of God directs the church and the life of each Christian. 


2. We affirm the necessity of the new birth.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, TNIV). New birth in Christ means receiving God's grace of forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life and committing our lives to Him. Growing to maturity in Christ is a lifelong process for both individuals and communities of believers. God forms and transforms us—and it is through people transformed by Christ that God transforms the world.


3. We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the Church.

The early Covenanters were known as “Mission Friends”—people of shared faith who came together to carry out God’s mission both far and near in the priesthood of all believers. Mission for them and for us includes evangelism, Christian formation, and ministries of compassion, mercy, and justice. We follow Christ’s two central calls. The Great Commission sends us out into all the world to make disciples. The Great Commandment calls us to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves. 


4. We affirm the Church as a fellowship of believers.

Membership in this church is by confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ and is open to all believers. We observe baptism and Holy Communion as sacraments commanded by Jesus. We practice believer's baptism (and infant baptism at the parent's request). We believe in the priesthood of all believers—that is, we all share in the ministry of the church. We also affirm that God calls some men and women into professional, full-time ministry. The church is not an institution, organization, or building. It is a grace-filled fellowship of believers who participate in the life and mission of Jesus Christ. It is a family of equals: as the New Testament teaches that within Christian community there is to be neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28). 


5. We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit. 

The Covenant Church affirms the Trinitarian understanding of one God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The New Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit works both within individuals and among them. We believe it is the Holy Spirit who instills in our hearts a desire to turn to Christ, and who assures us that Christ dwells within us. It is the Holy Spirit who enables our obedience to Christ and conforms us to his image, and it is the Spirit in us that enables us to continue Christ’s mission in the world. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to us as individuals and binds us together as Christ’s body. 


6. We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1, TNIV). This freedom is a gift of God in Christ, and it manifests itself in a right relationship with God and others. It is not a private gift to be used selfishly, but is given to serve the community and the world. For Paul, this freedom means that we are set free from the power of those things that on their own tend to divide. United in Christ, we offer freedom to one another to differ on issues of belief or practice where the biblical and historical record seems to allow for a variety of interpretations of the will and purposes of God. We seek to focus on what unites us as followers of Christ, rather than on what divides us. 


In essential beliefs, we have Unity

There is one Body and one Spirit...there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all. (Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV)  


In non-essential beliefs, we have Liberty. 

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters...Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls... So then each of us will give an account of himself to God...So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. (Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22, NIV)


In all things, Love.


Want to dig deeper? Read "This We Believe - Covenant Affirmations" by Donald Frisk, click the button below.


 This We Believe - covenant affirmations By Donald Frisk