About Grace Fellowship Church
Welcome to GFC! We are glad you are here. It is our prayer that this website would be a blessing to you as you seek to learn more about us, and that we might have the opportunity to get to know you as well!
We are a Reformed Baptist congregation of Christian believers in Hazleton, PA who are serious about the gospel and who sincerely love the truth of God’s word. We are a protestant, evangelical, reformed and Calvinist church that offers Bible-based preaching, teaching, and worship.
We have worship services in English as well as Spanish, along with Sunday school, prayer meetings, and many other ministry events to get involved in. Our worship style is one of a simple God-centered hymn-singing, with deep, rich words that communicate the love of God to our minds as well as our hearts. We also enjoy small group Bible studies, weekly prayer meetings, fellowship events, and much more. There’s a lot going on at our church, and we’d love for you to be a part of it!
“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.“
-Ephesians 1:22-23
Disctinctives of GFC
First and foremost, we are a Reformed Baptist church. This means that we hold to the set of teachings known as Reformed theology, which uniquely emhasizes the providence of God in both creation as well as salvation. Most Baptist churches in America are not Reformed, but we believe that careful study of the Word of God allows no better interpretation than the Calvinist understanding of the nature of man and the order of salvation. We believe that God chooses to save us BEFORE we choose Him, and that God is in complete and total control of the universe. We also believe that Baptism is only for born-again believers, and should only (and always) accompany a credible confession of faith in Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Savior. (For more on what we believe and our specific doctrinal standards, visit our Beliefs page.)
In addition to being serious about theology, we are also a church that is serious about authentic fellowship, discipleship, and one-another ministry. We know that faith without works is dead, and that a faith that is alive will produce good works (James 2). For this reason, we seek to meet regularly together, not only for worship, but also for prayer, fellowship, and acts of service to each other and to our community. This includes children as well as adults! Onf of our greatest joys is equipping families to enjoy God more and raise the next generation of faithful Christ-followers.
Exalt / Equip / Evangelize
Grace Fellowship Church exists to glorify God by EXALTING the Lord, EQUIPPING the Church, and EVANGELIZING the world. What does that mean, you ask? Well, let us tell you…
EXALTING the Lord means worshiping Him, giving Him praise and glory for all he has done for us. We want to exalt the greatness of our God—to tell everyone of how he has been graciuous and merciful to us in the gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ.
We are also careful to avoid distractions in our worship services that focus on human skill or achievements or serve as mere “entertainment” rather than true worship. For this reason, our worship leaders are careful to direct all of their efforts according to the Scriptures, and to lead us in worship according to how God has said He is to be worshipped. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.” (Psalm 115:1)
The second purpose for which GFC exists is to EQUIP the saints (that is, all Christian believers) for the work of ministry. Ephesians 4:12 defines the work of ministry as “building up the body of Christ”—in other words, building up the church by helping believers grow in faith, love, and personal holiness. We are to “speak the truth in love” to one another, which of course requires active involvement in each other’s lives. In other words, we are a family, and so we seek to love, serve, and bless one another as members of God’s own family.
Practically speaking, this means involvement in ministry by teaching and training others to join in the work that God has called them to. This can sometimes be a step outside our comfort zone, but God is faithful to bless us and grow us through these experiences. It is our hope that you too will get involved and be a part of this “building up” process!
EVANGELIZING the world simply means sharing the Gospel (or “good news”) of salvation in Jesus with those around us. It’s not a script to memorize or a stick to bash people with, but instead is a gracious and loving call to anyone who will listen. We want everyone to hear and be saved, and to know the love and joy and peace that we have wih God through Christ alone!
This not only means sharing our faith locally with the people around us in Hazleton, PA, but also with people around the world. It means supporting missionaries, praying for their work, and even sending our own members out on missions trips. It is our goal to fulfill the Great Commission given to us by our Lord Himself: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Local Ministries We Support
