The following pages (found at the top of the sidebar on the right) are designed to give you a glimpse into the various ways we are seeking to serve the people of Grace Church in their diverse seasons of life.

At Grace Church, we’re passionate about pursuing God’s design for marriage.  Strong marriages are fundamental to strong families and strong churches.  More than that, in Ephesians 5 the Bible teaches that our marriages are to reflect Christ and his relationship with the church.

At Grace Church married couples find a community that cherishes marriage and honours the God-given roles of both men and women.  We seek to provide a number of different contexts to strengthen families in our church.  These include:

• Care Groups.  These weekly small groups provide husbands and wives with the encouragement, counsel and meaningful relationships that help them grow.

• Family Matters Seminars.  These quarterly teaching seminars help married couples engage with the Bible’s vital teaching on marriage and parenting.

• Men’s Discipleship.  A monthly Saturday morning course trains men in doctrinal and scriptural truths and practical skills that help them to glorify God more fully.

Grace Church is part of growing family of more than 60 local Christian churches in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Bolivia, and the United Kingdom which are joined together under the banner of Sovereign Grace Ministries.

Sovereign Grace Ministries is a family of churches passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and is devoted to planting and supporting local churches, with a strong doctrinal basis that is evangelical, Reformed, and charismatic. 
 
They support Sovereign Grace churches personally and relationally, as well as through a variety of training opportunities and resources you will find described on their website, including music, books and periodicals, conferences and events, and audio and video materials.

Sovereign Grace is led by a team of men committed to planting and supporting churches, and caring for and training pastors. The team, led by C.J. Mahaney, consists of (left to right) Brent Detwiler, Steve Shank, C.J. Mahaney, Dave Harvey, and Pat Ennis.

Got further questions about Sovereign Grace Ministries?  Go to the FAQ page for answers!

Our mission at Grace Church is to build a community of gospel-centered people.

What does building “a community of gospel-centered people” mean, and what does it look like in real life?

We believe and treasure the Gospel of Jesus Christ–and you’ll hear us talk about it a lot.  We can’t help it.  We’re amazed at the love God has demonstrated for us through the death of Jesus Christ in our place.  We were guilty of sin and worthy of punishment from God, but instead he showed us undeserved mercy.  We want to continually grow in our amazement at God’s grace.  This is what brings us together and makes us family.  And this is the truth we want to have always at the centre of our lives.

We find our direction as a church and as individuals in God’s word, where the truth of the gospel and its implications for our lives are revealed.  We believe the Holy Scriptures are inspired by God, completely true, and absolutely trustworthy.  This is why solid, biblical preaching and teaching is such a priority at Grace Church.  We want all our members–from the youngest to the oldest–to be growing in the knowledge of God’s word.

We want to be people who are led by God’s Spirit.  God has given us his Holy Spirit to strengthen, guide, convict and comfort us.  Whether it’s at work or when we’re gathered as a church to worship God, we want to experience his empowering presence.  We know we need the Holy Spirit to understand God’s word, to know Him truly, and to obey Him fully.  We want to see His gifts at work among us, building each other up and bringing glory to God.

We’re committed to vibrant relationships.  Relationships are the backbone of our life together at Grace Church.  The Christian life is meant to be shared.  Stick around long enough and you will soon see that we are more than a congregation – we are family!  And we are serious about growing in fellowship with each other in rich, God-centred relationships.

Our church exists to proclaim the mercy and grace found in the good news of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for our sins.  We want to spread this good news to everyone in our communities.  We believe all Christians are ambassadors of the gospel.  Through evagelism training and numerous outreach opportunities we seek to equip and mobilse the church to spread this good news.

We seek to carry out this mission in two ways:

• By actively proclaiming the gospel in our community to those who do not believe.
• By actively pursuing the ongoing transformation of our own lives by the grace of God found in the gospel.

Nathan Smith - Senior Pastor

Nathan serves as the senior pastor of Grace Church.  He graduated from the Sovereign Grace Pastor’s College in 2001, after which he served on the pastoral team at Christchurch in Newport, South Wales. 

He is the founding pastor of Grace Church, which was planted in September 2002.

Nathan is married to Clare and they have four children and make thier home in Mangotsfield, Bristol.

Peter Bowley – Pastor 

Peter has served as a full-time pastor of Grace Church since January 2006.  He has served as a pastor for over 20 years at churches in Slough and South Wales. 

He joined the pastoral team at Grace Church after serving for many years at Christchurch, in Newport, South Wales.

Peter is married to June.  They have three married daughters and 7 grandchildren.  They live in Emersons Green.

Thank you for taking the time to find out more about us.  I hope you catch a glimspe of the life and joy of our church family through reading this.

Grace Church is a growing, vibrant family church based in the North-east of Bristol – drawing people from the communities of Fishponds, Downend, Staple Hill and Emersons Green.

We are made up of people of all ages, from many different backgrounds, but the good news of Jesus Christ makes us one big family!

You may be looking for a church home, or searching for answers to life’s questions.  No matter what your situation we are here to help you.