The Gospel and Mercy Ministry

At Grace Church, our desire is that everything we do and say and think would be informed and driven by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And “everything” necessarily includes our ministries of mercy.

In other words, we don’t want mercy ministry to become an end in and of itself. We are very concerned that it never becomes detached from Jesus and His saving gospel.

Missionary Lesslie Newbigin speaks on the danger of reductionism in the life and thought of the church: Read more »

Photos from Today’s Community Outreach Event

Below are some photos from our outing today at The School of the Future on Parkside Avenue in West Philadelphia:

Barriers to Mercy Ministry

Prepared for a Grace Gathering of Grace Church of Philly:

In Matthew 25:31-46, our Lord Jesus Christ clearly and unambiguously states that those who belong to Him will demonstrate this fact by ministering to the “least of these”: the poor, the hungry, the sick, the naked, the prisoner, the stranger.

Just as the new birth event produces evidence of its occurrence like church attendance, Bible reading and study, a prayer life, and a thirst for spiritual things (frequently called the “fruit” of salvation), Jesus indicates that the fact of your new life in Him necessarily manifests in a life of service to the poor and needy.

Many within the American Christian community have erected an intricate and artificial network of barriers that prevent them from living out their faith commitment by serving the poor and homeless.

In the coming days, Lord willing, we will be investigating and discussing these barriers and their ultimate illegitimacy.

My desire in so doing is to create in us a sense of Holy Spirit-induced urgency to live out our identities in Christ in a fuller way by ministering to the poor as a regular part of our Christian existence. It is my firm belief that service to the poor is not some special spiritual “calling,” but a normative part of the Christian life, just like attending church or praying or reading your Bible.

Some of the artificial blockades to mercy ministry that we will be exploring in the coming weeks include: ignorance (about homeless people themselves, the homeless experience, and the causes of homelessness), suburbolationism (chronic, generational suburban isolation caused by the flight from and continuing purposeful avoidance of urban areas), recent conservative Christian church tradition, fear (of homeless people, of new situations, of outreach and evangelism), pride, sloth, an inchoate (rudimentary) view of the church and its mission in the world, a defective and dishonest hermeneutic of Scripture, and defective theology.[1]

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[1] This list is not exhaustive in nature, but is comprised of simple observations I’ve made as I’ve engaged with conservative Christians in the course of doing ministries of mercy over the last year.

Ministry to the Poor and Homeless in Camden, NJ

To get involved with our mercy ministries, please contact anyone on the leadership team.

Community Outreach Opportunity

On November 14, Grace Church of Philly will be involved in helping to set up for an “energy summit” and panel discussion at the School of the Future, 4021 Parkside Avenue. This summit is being sponsored by PA state representative Vanessa Lowery Brown (see picture of flyer below).

Although the forum will begin at 9am, we have volunteered to be there at 730am to help set up for the forum. Following set up, we have been given permission to put up a display table for Grace Church to give away free ESV New Testaments and to promote our ministry to those in attendance.

Please consider volunteering to donate some of your time to this community outreach and ministry opportunity. If you are able to assist in this outreach, please note on the event wall what times you are able to serve. Although some may not be able to be there for the entire event, we appreciate those who are able to make it for even a short time.

May the Lord richly bless you,
The Leadership Team of Grace Church of Philly

Matt. 28:18 – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

Rom. 12:1 – I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Click here to go to the Facebook event wall for this outreach and service opportunity.

Grace Gatherings

The Grace Church of Philly family invites you to come to a “get together” on Sunday, October 25 at 4:00pm in the fellowship hall of St. Andrew and St. Monica Episcopal Church, 3600 Baring Street (the entrance to the building is on Pearl Street).

We will begin at 4:00pm, sharing a meal together. After this time of community and discussion, we will have a time of song and biblical instruction.

We will be meeting together in this format on the following Sundays at 4:00pm in the same location: November 1st, 15th, 29th, and December 6th and 20th.

May God richly bless you all,

The leadership team and families of Grace Church of Philly

A copy of this flyer can be viewed below.