ABOUT
WHO WE ARE
Grand Community Baptist Church began in May 1998, when God brought together a faithful group of believers with a shared desire to worship, serve, and minister to the communities of Sun City Grand and Sun City West.
In July 2005, Grand Community Baptist Church celebrated another meaningful milestone as we moved into our current worship center at the intersection of Goldwater Ridge Drive and Clearview Boulevard in Surprise, Arizona.
Rooted in faith and united in purpose, we are a church family committed to serving one another, our community, and world as we partner in ministry with the Southern Baptist Convention.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
GOD
We believe there is one living and true God. He is personal, wise, perfectly holy, all-powerful, and all-knowing. He is the Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe. God knows all things — past, present, and future — and He is worthy of our highest love, deepest respect, and faithful obedience.
This one eternal God has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is distinct, yet fully united as one God in nature, essence, and being.
God the Father
We believe God the Father lovingly rules over His creation and guides the course of human history according to His good and gracious purposes. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and all-wise.
God is truly Father to all who become His children through faith in Jesus Christ. He also shows fatherly care, patience, and kindness toward all people.
God the Son
We believe Christ is the eternal Son of God. He became fully human, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed God and fully obeyed His will and lived without sin.
Through His death on the cross, Jesus took our place and made the way for us to be redeemed from sin. He rose from the dead, appeared to His disciples, and later ascended into heaven, where he is exalted at the right hand of God.
Jesus is the one Mediator between God and humanity. Fully God and fully man, He makes it possible for us to be reconciled to God. One day, He will return in power and glory to judge the world and complete his redemptive mission. Until then, He lives in every believer as our living and ever-present Lord.
God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and is fully divine. He inspired the writers of Scripture and helps people understand God’s truth. He points us to Christ, convicts us of sin, and brings new life through salvation.
The Holy Spirit brings every believer into the Body of Christ. He shapes our character, comforts us, gives spiritual gifts for service, and seals every believer until the day of final redemption.
His presence is God's promise that He will continue His work in us until we are made more like Christ. The Holy Spirit guides and empowers both the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
MAN
We believe every person is a special creation of God, made in His image and created with purpose, dignity, and worth. God created humanity, male and female, as the crowning work of His creation, and the gift of gender is part of the goodness of His design.
In the beginning, people were created innocent and given the freedom to choose. Through the temptation of Satan, humanity chose to sin against God, and sin entered the human race. Because of this, every person is born into a world affected by sin and with a nature inclined toward sin.
Only the grace of God can restore us to fellowship with Him and help us live according to His purpose. Because every person is made in God’s image, and because Christ died for all, every person of every race has full dignity and is worthy of respect, compassion, and Christian love.
SALVATION
We believe salvation is God’s gift of redemption for the whole person. It is freely offered to all who turn to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Through His death on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sin and secured eternal redemption for every believer. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
Salvation begins with the new birth, a work of God’s grace that makes us new in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, God opens our eyes to sin, leads us to repentance, and draws us to faith in Jesus. Repentance and faith go together. Repentance means turning away from sin and self, and turning toward God. Faith means trusting Jesus Christ and surrendering our lives to Him as Lord and Savior.
Through salvation, God fully forgives and declares right with Him all who repent and believe in Christ. This brings the believer into a new relationship of peace, grace, and favor with God.
Salvation also begins a lifelong journey of growth. Through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, believers are set apart for God’s purposes and are helped to grow in spiritual maturity. This growth continues throughout the Christian life.
One day, salvation will be complete when believers are fully restored and brought into the final, joyful, and everlasting hope God has promised to His people.
THE CHURCH
We believe a New Testament church is a local family of baptized believers who are united by faith in Jesus Christ and committed to the fellowship and mission of the gospel. As a church, we follow Christ, practice baptism and the Lord’s Supper, use the gifts God has given us, and seek to share the good news of Jesus with our community and the world.
Each local church serves under the Lordship of Christ and is guided by God’s Word. Every member is responsible for following Jesus, serving faithfully, and helping carry out the mission of the church. The biblical offices of the church are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted by God and valued in the ministry of the church, we believe the office of pastor is reserved for men who are qualified according to Scripture.
We also believe the church is more than one local congregation. The Bible describes the church as the Body of Christ, made up of all believers from every generation, tribe, language, people, and nation.
THE BIBLE
We believe God has graciously made Himself known through creation, through His Son Jesus Christ, and through His Word. God speaks to us by His Spirit through Scripture, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God and tells the story of His saving work in the world. It is true, trustworthy, and without error in its original writings. Scripture is our final authority for what we believe, how we live, and how we understand God’s will for salvation.
Because of this, we believe all of Scripture is inspired by God, fully reliable, and completely trustworthy.
EVANGELISM & MISSIONS
We believe every follower of Jesus and every church has both the privilege and responsibility to make disciples of all nations. When God gives us new life through the Holy Spirit, He also gives us a new love for others and a desire to share the hope of Christ.
Jesus clearly commanded His followers to take the gospel to the world. Because of that, we seek to help others know Him through our words, our actions, and our lives that reflect the good news we proclaim.
BAPTISM & THE LORD'S SUPPER
We believe baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is an act of obedience that publicly shows a person’s faith in Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection. It represents leaving the old life behind and being raised to walk in a new life with Christ.
We also believe the Lord’s Supper is an act of obedience and remembrance. Through the bread and the cup, the church remembers the death of Jesus, celebrates the redemption He has given us, and looks forward to His return.
HEAVEN & HELL
We believe God will bring the world to its proper end in His own time and in His own way. As He has promised, Jesus Christ will return personally, visibly, and in glory. The dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all people with perfect righteousness.
Those who have rejected God will face eternal separation from Him. Those who belong to Christ will be raised in glorified bodies, receive their reward, and live forever with the Lord in Heaven.