11AM – Sunday Service
We’re located at 1503 I Montague Ave. Extension. Click the link below to go to Google Maps
Who we are, what we believe, and how we function
While this page will not give an exhaustive view nor a full understanding of Sovereign Grace, we believe it does give a good peak under the hood to give you an idea of what is important, who is leading, and how we prioritize what we do. Feel free to email any questions to [email protected].
Leadership
Joshua will serve as the planter/pastor and will be joined by the elders of New Covenant to form an elder board until Sovereign Grace is able to install their own elders. Elders are important, biblical overseers that God ordains to help teach, guard, and shepherd the flock of Christ.
Joshua and Stacy are Greenwood natives that grew up in the church. Joshua has been involved in vocational, pastoral ministry at one church in Greenwood and another in Florida. Serving, studying, and training at BLDG28 church in Clearwater, FL, CrossLife church in Spartanburg, and at New Covenant church in Greenwood, Joshua has been continually prepared, affirmed, and now sent by the local church.
Joshua and Stacy have four daughters ranging from 16-27 and one son-in-law. They enjoy a good cup of coffee, seeing God’s creation, a competitive game night, and engaging conversations.
Our Elders
Joshua Brooks
- Planter/Elder
David Harrell
- Sending/Interim Elder
brent Parris
- Sending/Interim Elder
brian casey
- Sending/Interim Elder
Distinctives
Our Statement of Faith details what we believe the Bible says. Our Distinctives lay out the priorities that dictate what we do.
Modern/Vintage
A significant priority of “Sovereign Grace” is to pursue historic orthodox Christian beliefs while being who we are in the time and place that God has ordained. There are many “churches” today embracing social trends that violate the fundamentals of the Christian faith. We hold with a tight fist the historical, biblical beliefs upon which truth and life are based. We regularly look back to historical interpretations, creeds, and confessions to confirm our interpretations, and stand firm on these tried and tested doctrines. In this way we are vintage, we strive to align with historical, orthodox Christianity.
In Acts 17 Paul said, “And he [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place…” We have been placed in this geographical location, in the time and culture that we’re in by God’s design. Knowing this, we are free to be who He ordained us to be in this place and period. We are not seeking to be like the world. We are not “contextualizing.” We are simply accepting that fashion trends, musical trends, language, etc. change over time, so we hold these with an open hand. We don’t have to look and sound like a culture from 50 years ago to be Christians, and 50 years from now “Sovereign Grace” will be free to be who they are in that time and culture. In this way we are modern, being who we are in the time, location, and culture God has ordained. Being who we are refers to non-moral geographical and cultural trends. No matter where we live or what culture we’re in we must bow to the commands and restrictions of Scripture.
God Centered
The highest aim for each human is to know God, glorify God, and enjoy God. The goal of the gospel is to bring humans into this fellowship with God. Therefore, our top priority in gathering, singing, preaching, listening, reading, etc. is to know God, His truth, His character, His expectations etc. The first priority is to increase our view of God, which naturally increases our worship of God. This means that everything we do has to be primarily about God, not humans. This also means that we pursue knowing God primarily through the means by which He reveals Himself, Scripture.
Body of Christ
Wrapping Himself in human flesh, Jesus fulfilled the law, atoned for sin, conquered death, and ascended to seal His covenant with His people. Jesus’s covenant people are the Church, which we see birthed in Acts 2. Every book written after Acts was written to deliver theology and instructions to churches, not the world. For the health of the church we must follow this pattern and deliver good theology and instructions from Scripture. Because the Church is the precious bride of Christ, and He’s returning for her, we must seek unity within the church and the purity of the church through membership and ongoing discipleship.
There are numerous instructions in Scripture for children of God and His church. There is one message to the world, the gospel. As children of God, we need to continually hear the gospel and that will happen as the first two core values are carried out. To expand the glory God receives and because we care deeply for the lost around us we must be encouraging our members to share the gospel with those God puts in their path. Because we never know who is among us in our gatherings, what we sing, teach, preach, etc. must include the holiness of God, the depravity and need of man, redemption through Christ, and the glorification of the saints.
Core Doctrinal Beliefs
The Bible
The Bible is the very Word of God, verbally given, fully inspired and completely without error in the original manuscripts. It has been divinely preserved for us in our modern English translations. Scripture is the infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to humanity, and is essential to proclaiming the pure Gospel and leading souls to sincere faith in Jesus Christ. Every human, theological system, doctrinal creed, or confession of faith must be put to the test by the truth of Scripture alone (Psalm 19:7; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
The Trinity
There is one God. He is eternal, all-powerful, infinite, and perfect in His holiness, truth, and love. Though one, God exists in three Persons: Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit, and each Person within the Godhead performs varying roles in the salvation of sinners. God the Father is not Jesus. Jesus is not the Holy Spirit. Yet each member is truly divine (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
Creation and Rule
For His pleasure and glory, God supernaturally created everything from nothing. All that we can see, touch, taste, and feel is a work of God, and He is constantly holding everything in place. He is sovereign, declaring the beginning of time to the end of time. He will accomplish all that pleases Him, and nothing or no one can stand against His power and prevail. (Genesis 1:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Ephesians 1:4; 2; Thessalonians 2:13).
God, the Father
God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. He saves from sin all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him and thereby becomes Father to them (John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5–9; Psalm 145:8–9; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:36 1 Chronicles 29:11).
God, the Son
Jesus Christ is God. With no beginning and no end, He has always been. Yet, in obedience to His Father, and out of love for His bride, He emptied Himself, and became human, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin girl. In His total humanity He did not cease to be completely divine. He was – as a human – and is, perfect in nature, teaching, and obedience. He alone is the Savior from sin, having shed His blood and died a vicarious death, in the place of His people, on the cross. He has shown humanity the love of God, having taken our evil upon Himself, and gracing us with His perfect righteousness, thereby reconciling us to His Father. Having redeemed us from the power and the penalty of sin, Jesus, after three days in the tomb, rose from the dead, triumphing over sin, death, hell and Satan. For 40 days He walked this earth, appeared to over 500 witnesses, and gave many convincing proofs to His resurrection. He ascended into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of His Father. He is the Head of the church, the Lord over all, the Savior of the world, and should be adored, loved, served, and obeyed by His people (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1- 2, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24; 9:5; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 1:8; 4:15; 10:14; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 21-22; 2:24).
God, the Holy Spirit
God the Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel, convicts the world of sin, regenerates the heart, mind, and will of sinners, and moves them to repent of all evil, and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. This same Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ, and lives within them, as Comforter and Sanctifier. He will lead the true church into a right understanding and rich application of the Word of God. He is to be loved, revered, and worshipped as God (John 16:8-11; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 5:18).
Humanity and Sin
God made humanity – male and female – in His likeness, to glorify Him by enjoying His presence and fellowship. Tempted by Satan, humanity – in Adam and Eve – rebelled against God, and spread the curse of sin to every person that would be born into this world. Separated from God by the wickedness that now reigns in each individual, humanity is under divine wrath and completely incapable – apart from a work of the Spirit – of ever returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive, extending to the mind, will, and affections of all people. Fallen sinners, despite their character, morality, or merits, are lost and without hope, condemned to suffer in endless torment under God’s wrath, unless they repent and trust Jesus Christ for salvation. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:10-18, 22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3).
The Gospel
The Gospel is the message woven throughout Scripture detailing God’s rule, man’s rebellion to God, man’s deserved punishment, salvation through Christ, and the glory and damnation to come.
The Gospel begins with God. He is perfect in purity, power, knowledge, goodness, and justice. Completely holy, He cannot tolerate evil. Humanity, totally ruined in sin, depraved in nature, and lifeless in spiritual will is therefore at enmity with God, and will eventually be punished for all crimes against the Divine in the lake of fire for all eternity. However, God, though just, is extremely rich in mercy. In love, God the Father chose to provide a way of escape. To reconcile the sinful with the Divine, He sent forth His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, who is also God. Jesus became human, lived a life of perfect holiness, and willingly went to the cross, laying down His life as a substitute for sinners. In His life, death, blood, burial, and bodily resurrection from the grave, He has appeased the wrath of the Father for all those who repent and trust Christ, and given those same individuals His righteousness.
God now commands all of humanity to repent of sin, and trust in the gracious gift of God in the Person and work of Christ. Once done, in legitimate faith, as given by the Spirit in regeneration, the individual becomes a child of God, and is guaranteed a permanent place in the kingdom of God by His Holy Spirit. (Luke 13:3-5; John 1:12-13; Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 1:4- 11; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Preservation and Perseverance
All the redeemed, once truly converted by the grace of God, through the Word of God, by faith alone, are preserved by God’s power, secure in Christ forever. They can never fall from grace, for they are sealed for eternal life, not by their own merits, but by the blood of Christ Jesus.
Salvation is completely a work of God; therefore God completely works in His people. Everyone the Spirit of God indwells perseveres towards holiness. It is the privilege and pleasure of all Christians to take joy in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as a license to sin. Persevering in holiness is not the way to salvation, but is a marker of whether or not the Spirit of God dwells in us (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1; 29-30; 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:5; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; 3:5).
The Church
God, by His power and for His glory, builds the church, calling sinful men out of the whole of the human race into the community of Christ. The universal church is made up of all those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the Gospel by faith. The church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son, and Spirit, and to faithfully serve Him by accurately proclaiming and embracing His truth in the Gospel (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).
The local church is where children of God devote themselves to biblical teaching, corporate worship, covenant discipleship, and missional living. Every member of the universal church is to be a vital and committed covenant member of a local church. As the local body of believers, they are commissioned to live as the people of God, demonstrating the reality of the kingdom of God. Within the context of the local church, God’s children receive pastoral care and leadership, as well as the opportunity to use their God-given gifts for the glory of Christ and the good of others. Each local church is to be taught, directed, and lead by biblically qualified elders (Acts 14:27; 18:22; 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11).
Ordinances
In obedience to God’s command, and as a witness to all people that they are now a new creature in Christ – dying to self and rising to life in God – a believer should be baptized in water in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a symbolic demonstration of the internal, spiritual reality of a believer’s union to Jesus Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It does not add to nor guarantee the salvation, which it represents (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41- 42; 18:8; Romans 6:1-7).
The Lord’s Supper was given as the sign of the New Covenant between Christ and His people. It is to be taken only by those who have genuinely trusted in Christ. Communion symbolizes the crushing of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood as a substitute for His people. As Christians, with a spirit of faith, eat the bread and drink the cup of communion, they remember the atonement of Jesus, receive spiritual nourishment for the soul, and signify the unity of all true believers (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Consummation
The Consummation of all things includes the future, physical return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of believers and unbelievers, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and new earth. Satan, demons, and all unrepentant people are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, damned to an eternity in the lake of fire, suffering under the furious wrath of the Divine. All those who are righteous in Jesus, however, will live and reign with Him forever (Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5).