Beliefs & Affiliations

We believe that there is a God who speaks.

We stand within the rich stream of Christian faith which affirms that this God has communicated in history and this has been accurately recorded in the literature we call the bible.

Some assume that church is a place to go once your questions are answered, your doubts resolved and life is put together. Rather, at Grace we encourage people to wrestle honestly with Jesus’ claims to bring good news. For a brief summary of the Christian hope and a few resources, read more here.

We adhere to ancient documents such as the Nicene and Apostles creeds, which faithfully summarize essential teachings of the bible. In being affiliated with The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), our denomination, we affirm the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as our doctrinal standard. The PCA provides accountability, support, and partnership in mission at regional, national, and international levels.

Furthermore, we believe:

  • God is real, personal, beyond us, but knowable because he is not silent. God sustains us moment by moment and is active in this world. Our lives are not random or senseless but have meaning and purpose.

  • Humanity resembles God so that every person possess dignity and worth, reflecting something of his goodness.

  • This world is not right. While our families, societies, and even the physical environment may warp or damage us the problem ultimately lies within. The human soul has been corrupted by placing self at the center of reality rather than God. This pollution, called sin, leaks out tainting everything else. The Christian faith makes sense of our loneliness, pain, disillusionment, and inability to make things right.

  • God’s plan to set things right culminates in Jesus. In Jesus, God takes on our human nature and lives the life of goodness and love for which we were destined but failed to realize. Jesus dies a violent, cursed death taking our sin on his shoulders but rises alive triumphant over our corruption. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection we can be made right with God and can be certain that evil will be vanquished. There is hope for us and for this world.

  • Being a Christian involves ethical change and moral renewal but these arise only from the transforming power of the gospel. The gospel, or good news, tells us that we are worse than we ever realized but more loved than we ever hoped. The life of the Christian is both exciting and daunting as God changes us by his Spirit and uses us as agents of his renewal in this world.

  • The church is essential to life and growth as a Christian. Jesus calls his followers friends and creates a new relational world that softens our sense of isolation and uniquely shows who he is. While the church does not save, it is the community of the Savior.

  • Part of our unique calling is to love and serve the city of Worcester alongside other churches, ministries, and institutions. While God’s love stretches to all nations we have a particular responsibility to our neighbors and therefore focus on the city and greater Worcester.