Our Vision

Our Vision

The vision of Grace Heritage Church is to be a biblical church, delighting in our infinitely glorious and sovereign God and Savior. We desire to experience and testify to the grace, joy, and freedom of the gospel. Our vision is driven by what we believe the Bible teaches.

We believe this vision of a church is thoroughly biblical and is most faithfully embodied in the doctrine and practice of the historic Southern Baptist faith. Therefore, we are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention as a testimony to our adherence to these historic doctrines of grace and practice of church life as well as for the mutual benefit and protection afforded by this connection. Furthermore, as a guide for teaching and an aid in the face of controversy, we affirm the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith as a faithful expression of the doctrines taught by the Bible.

As a result of this vision, we want the following emphases to characterize our church:

God

God rules in the heavens and in the affairs of humanity. He has not only created everything that exists, He also sustains everything by His power. Our primary purpose as His creation is to bring Him glory and to delight in Him. He is infinitely worthy of our adoration.

The Law & the Gospel

The perfect and holy law of God shows us that we are guilty before God and unable to bring about the inner change necessary to obey God from the heart and to delight in His ways. The gospel (good news) is that Christ has fulfilled the demands of the law and opened the way for the believer to have a relationship with God. He comes to powerless people and grants repentance from sin and faith in Christ. He takes away guilt and credits his righteousness to those who believe in Him. He gives us hearts that find their chief delight in God.

Worship

Worship is the corporate expression of the delight, awe, and thankfulness that come from knowing our infinitely glorious and sovereign God and Savior. Because the distance between God and His creatures is so great, the only acceptable way of approaching God in worship must be revealed to us by God Himself. Therefore, He may not be worshiped in ways invented by us. The central act of worship is the preaching of God’s Word, through which we are made alive and fed spiritually. Preaching should be pervasively biblical, unashamedly doctrinal, intensely pastoral, and unmistakably Christ-centered. Singing is to be governed by the purpose of true worship – the exaltation of the Lord, the instruction of God’s people, and the spiritual feasting of God’s people on their Savior and His grace. An entertainment mentality has no place in the worship of God. As a result of these principles, worship services should be simple and reflect the emphases and actions of worship as described in the New Testament. God must be the center of our worship service.

Evangelism

True evangelism is the overflow of our delight in God toward the world. It is our passion, our privilege, and our responsibility to spread what we love most through all legitimate means. We long to see those who do not treasure God now — whether in Auburn, the United States, or among the unreached peoples of the world — to come to know the true joy that is only found in Christ. We reject emotional manipulation and high-pressure tactics as unworthy of the treasure we offer. We have supreme confidence in our sovereign God as we pray and share the gospel that He can and will turn rebels into worshipers even through our weak and flawed efforts.

Family

God has established the family as the foundational institution of human society. We desire to see healthy families strengthened and broken families healed. Our goal is to train men to be spiritual leaders in their homes, leading their families in truth and godliness; while at the same time caring for those who are widows and orphans. Parents are primarily responsible for the spiritual nurture of their children. The role of the church is to equip, encourage, and reinforce the parents in their God-given role.

Church Life

As Lord of the church, Christ determines the activities and atmosphere of the church. Therefore, we will not presume to shape the life of the church based on surveys of what people want or expect in a church. Rather, we will seek to implement Christ’s revealed priorities for the church as winsomely as possible. As a community of people who share the joy of life in Christ, church members will gladly share their lives together in a way that provides mutual encouragement and accountability. The shared life and love of the church will find visible expression that testifies to the world around of our love for one another and of the power of the gospel. Our love for Christ and for one another will spill over into ministries of mercy in the community around us. We believe that Christ provides shepherding for his sheep through the gift of elders to the church.

Our Place

Because God determines the appointed times and places for each of us, we believe God has given us the special privilege and responsibility to be a light to the campus community of Auburn University. We will reach out with the freeing message of the gospel to students, faculty, staff, and administrators with the goal of seeing Christ glorified and his kingdom spread as students and others move to new God-appointed places. We also embrace the special opportunity to evangelize and disciple international students, who will have opportunities to extend the kingdom far beyond Alabama and the United States. Finally, we acknowledge that all areas of human endeavor fall under the Lordship of Christ, and we will teach and disciple others to acknowledge Christ’s Lordship in their callings as students, professors, and all other vocations.

Find out more about what we believe the Bible teaches.