Who we are:

·         SGC is located in Medina, Ohio—a growing community of over 25,000 people. The population of Medina County is 165,000.

·         SGC was founded April 2, 1997 with 68 charter members. Our adult-voting membership as of December 2006 is 106.  Our congregation enjoys diversity with regards to age, life experience and ethnicity.  We have many families with young children and a healthy growing youth group.

·         SGC’s average attendance has been 225.

·         Shepherd’s Grace Church (SGC) is affiliated with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches whose headquarters is in Winona Lake, Indiana.  For statement of faith or more information, please go to www.fgbc.org.

·         SGC believes in the inspired, inerrant Word of God which teaches of God’s sovereign election of the saints, justification through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, and sanctification by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

 

Why we exist:

·         Our chief purpose: to glorify God and enjoy Him

§  by Doctrine: preaching, studying and obeying His Word

§  by Fellowship: loving, aiding and encouraging His Church

§  by Prayer: praising His person and petitioning His Grace

§  by Ordinances: remembering and honoring His Work

·         Our Vision: SGC is a God-dependent church, enjoying and extending His fingerprints.  By preaching God’s Word and serving the community, people gain Biblical knowledge and are welcomed into His kingdom.

·         Our Mission: We share the kingdom of God and His hope by engaging our church and local community with love and service in response to His Word.

·         Our Core Values: A reflection of our relationship with Christ (2 Cor. 3:18)

§  God’s Inspired Word: From God, from the beginning and everlasting, complete, pure, true    (John 1:1; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 19:7-11)

§  Loving God and Others: “The first and greatest commandment… and the second is like it”   (Matt. 22:37-39; John 13:34-35; James 2:8)

§  Power of the Holy Spirit: The power of God, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit               (Eph. 3:16-17; 1Thess. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:7-8)

§  Integrity: Our reflection of His character (1 Peter 1:15; 2 Cor. 8:21; Phil.4:8-9)

§  God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility: “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess” (Gen. 17:1-2; Phil. 2:12-13; Rom. 14:11)

§  Excellence through Stewardship: Good stewards of what God has entrusted us with (Phil. 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 1 Peter 4:10-11)

§  Glorifying and Enjoying God: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  (Psalm 16:5-11; 1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 11:1)

 

Authority Structure:

·         The Head of this church is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

·         The Bible, God’s written inspired Word is the final authority for all beliefs, doctrines and practices.

·         Elders are approved by the members to lead, feed, and guard the church according to the will of the Lord as given in His Word.  The elders are the highest human authority of the church.  SGC is lead by a plurality of elders, each with equal authority and shared responsibility for the members. Pastor/teacher elder will have the major responsibility of preaching the Word.

 

Ministries:

·         Worship:  The members of our worship ministry lead the congregation in vocal worship with a mixture of music styles, scripture reading, and prayer during our services, and also lead worship for other events.

·         Youth:  Our youth group has recently been blessed with God’s calling of a youth pastor, Billy Mulligan. We are seeing results of Billy and his wife Julie’s dedication and love as the youth continue to grow spiritually and numerically.

·         Children:  We offer Sunday school from nursery through high school, Children’s Church, Awana, children’s choir for special occasions, VBS.

·         Men’s and Women’s ministries include Sunday school classes, Bible studies, comprehensive leadership studies, outreach events, and retreats. Both are in the process of being reevaluated and broadened, and will include input from our new pastor.

·         Stewards:  These people deal with the operations of the church from lawn mowing to sound system, to finances.

·         Prayer:  Shirley Dick is currently leading the prayer ministry.

·         Servants:  Servants are small group leaders. Presently there are eight small groups functioning to form a link between the worship service and every day needs and fellowship.  Servants consist of couples who have a call from God to shepherd a small number of families. Our desire is for every family to be a part of a small group. 

·         Missions: The Mission Commission has been established to oversee all missions related activities.  They direct the support of missionaries, ministries, and short term mission trips for our members.  Our goal is to be an effective participant in the worldwide task of fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission.  At present 10 % of SGC giving goes to support our mission related ministries.