Good morning! My name is Colin Rueter, one of the pastors here at Grace. My sermon this morning is part two of “This is Grace.” Last Sunday, Pastor Dave walked us through the good news of Jesus, the Gospel and our Statement of Faith. The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is what unifies all Christians. The Statement of Faith from the EFCA (denomination) is the next level of distinctives from other churches. Do we remember the four parts of the Gospel? GOD, MAN, CHRIST, RESPONSE

This morning, I have the privilege to share more specifically what makes Grace Church more refined in belief: our mission statement, the building blocks of being a disciple here, and our core values. Pastor Dave was at the wide end of the funnel, the low-hanging fruit of Christianity, and I am now narrowing down to the distinctives of Grace Church. This is what makes Grace distinct from other churches. We are not saying we are better or that we are the true church, the aim is distinctives for us as Grace Church, key aspects that we speak to, aim for, and treasure from God’s word. These have come about, primarily, from the church seeking to say: “Who are we and what do we believe?” and putting those down in writing. The aim of what we do is to present one another mature in Christ – in order to do that we need some guidance from God’s word with specifics for us at Grace Church in Wyoming, MN in the year 2025.

It is interesting doing this as a new pastor, because I am learning to know these better, love them deeper, and share them with joy to others. But as Susan and I prayed about next ministry steps, we looked for specific values and theology, specific doctrines and methods in ministry, where I could thrive as a pastor and enter into the Lord’s work faithfully. We have that here, projected in the mission statement, practically set in the core values.

So, whether you have been a part of Grace for years or months, or this is your first time, our prayer is that you would know, love, and share the mission and values of Grace with the utmost joy as you share the Gospel with others. Pastor Dave’s aim from last week: Firmly establish us in the truths of God so that we might live out our faith with greater confidence, clarity, joy, and unity.

Main Point: At Grace Church, we would be unified on specific truths of God for our faith from His word to reach maturity in Christ.

As we grow in our love for these truths within the family of Grace Church, we pray it will lead us to joyful obedience as we reach Wyoming and the ends of the earth with the Gospel.

This morning, I would like to walk through three specific aspects of Grace Church: 1) Our Mission; 2) Building Blocks; 3) Core Values

#1) Our Mission

‘Become a People Treasuring Christ and the Building of His Kingdom’

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

The mission statement is in place to give us a specific aim within the Great Commission, which is the mission of every church over all time. Grace Church exists in a specific time, a specific location, and thus, our mission must be Grace-specific.

The key in the mission is to become something – what? A people who treasure Christ – He is our supreme worth, treasure, most valuable possession, our hope, and our joy.

We not only treasure Christ, but we treasure Him building the Kingdom. We don’t build it, He does, we act as citizens and ambassadors within that Kingdom…but Christ builds it.

Matthew 16:18 – “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

2 Cor. 5:20 – “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Hebrews 11:10, 13-16: “For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God…These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

To help guide and guard the process of fulfillment of the mission, we have something called Ministry City. Ministry City is a way of putting “flesh on the bones” of the mission. I am not going to explain it in depth here this morning, but I want to share that this structure exists to guide, protect, and bring clarity to what we do for ministry, how we do ministry, and that it is grounded in the word and aims to bring glory to God.

#2) Building Blocks

1) Membership [Acts 20:28; Romans 12:3–13; Hebrews 10:24-25]

Baptism: Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 2:38–41; Colossians 2:9–13

One act of obedience as a Christian is to be baptized. From this act of obedience is the step to covenant membership – we call meaningful membership – into a local church body. If you are interested in this step, talk to Pastor Dave, myself or one of the elders. It is meaningful because it is more than just getting to vote or snagging a cool mug. It is a commitment to a specific people in a specific time and place for God’s purposes. Membership is not you deciding what church suits your preferences, but seeing the good hand of God in connecting you with brothers and sisters that He has chosen for you. This is good, both for the church and for you. This is a practical and important step to work out the over 50 ‘one-anothers’ in the New Testament.

2) Sunday Morning [Acts 2:42; Ephesians 5:19-21; Colossians 3:15-16; 2 Timothy 4:2]

This is primarily the worship service that you are sitting in now. I am including Berea in this as a privilege to sit under teaching within the scriptures and interact with others as a means of grace for our spiritual well-being. Please come, as you are able, to Sunday school for kids and Berea for teens on up.

Sunday morning is, primarily, this service. Being here, as you are able, to sing, pray, confess sin, and sit under the proclamation of the word is God’s kindness to you each week. It is a means of grace to sit next to your brothers and sisters each week. Sunday morning is the best way to be present with this family, to be seen and see others. You can truly be and are a blessing to someone here this morning. As we live our lives with one another, as your story is shared and you’re prayed over, your presence here at Grace us a blessing, a sign that God is at work and His grace empowers. More could be said, but I will simply say don’t neglect this gathering, brothers and sisters. The local church is a gift, a visible gathering of the blood-bought people of God to lift His name high and a means of grace to transform us more into the image of His beloved Son.

3) Discipleship Groups [Matthew 28:16-20; Colossians 1:28-29; 2 Timothy 2:1-2; Hebrews 3:12–14]

We call these DG’s. Every church has language unique to them, we are no exception. A building block of being a healthy church at Grace means we have an arena of shepherding and discipleship. In these smaller groups outside of a Sunday, an elder oversees each group, fellowship happens, prayers are spoken, care is given, love is seen. The elders have the opportunity to interact on a smaller level with people that God has given them to know, lead, feed, and protect. It is our privilege as elders to engage the souls among us. It is a privilege to interact as people of Grace outside a Sunday to act upon the “one anothers” in scripture on a micro-level. If you are not regularly going to a DG, make it a priority after establishing being here on a Sunday. If you need a ride, ask. If you can’t make one night of the week work, ask an elder about another evening group to join. We want and need you plugged in.

4) Everything Else (Every other ministry that occurs within Grace Church: G2g, Masculine Mandate, Adorned, etc.)

Every other ministry at Grace falls into this category. This is simply an area of various ministries that we have here. Like any ministry, we pray about, evaluate, and act upon whether they help us fulfill our mission and the Great Commission. As elders, along with the ministry leaders, we want to do ministry well for the sake of the saints and the glory of God, not because we have always done a particular program. Does it help us make disciples….?

#3) Core Values

We at Grace Church earnestly desire and prayerfully strive to be a purposeful church. This is why we have a mission, guiding principles (Ministry City), and why Core Values are written and spoken of. More than just ideas drawn from a hat, these are specific values that we see in the word of God, values that we treasure, and values that each of us here at Grace should aim at and grow in.

…God-Centered