Since our inception, Grace Community Church has been a member of a family of churches called Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM). We are very grateful to God for the many ways we have benefited and have been strengthened by our dear friends in SGM.

However, over the past several months we have become increasingly aware of differences between the direction of SGM and the direction we feel the Lord taking Grace Community. Those differences reached a pinnacle in October, when SGM released their new polity proposal. This proposal outlined how SGM and its churches would relate to one another and be governed.

The new polity proved to be a catalyst that caused us to reexamine the decisions and responses of SGM over the past 18 months. We realized that there was, as one pastor put it, "consistent divergence" between our pastoral and leadership instincts, and those of SGM.

After much consideration and prayer, the pastors of Grace Community shared with the congregation our perspective about these differences and our recommendation that we leave SGM. After receiving overwhelming support from the congregation, the Board of Directors voted on February 9, 2013 to formally end our affiliation with Sovereign Grace Ministries. 

We truly love and appreciate our dear friends at SGM. We thank God for the way our lives, families, and church have been affected by their gospel-centered ministry, as well as all the sweet friendships that have been built over the years. We pray for SGM to experience the Lord's blessing and continued gospel growth in the coming years.

While we close this chapter with a degree of sadness, we open a new chapter with faith and anticipation that the Lord has good things in store for Grace Community in the decades to come.

By the grace of God, may we experience gospel fruitfulness for the Kingdom of our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!