What We Believe
Grace River Academy is a Protestant Christian school that does not teach a specific denominational set of beliefs. The following is the foundation of beliefs on which Grace River Academy is based. They are also the key elements of Christianity that will be unapologetically taught in various ways through all grade levels. The substance of these statements is that which will be considered primary doctrine at
Grace River Academy. Secondary or divisive doctrines and issues will not be presented as primary doctrine. When these types of doctrine or issues arise, they will be referred to the family and local churches for final authority.
GRACE
We believe all people have sinned and have fallen short of God’s standard of holiness. God in His amazing grace has provided a way for every person to receive eternal life, and that way is only through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Salvation cannot be earned through personal goodness or human effort. It is a free gift that must be received by humble repentance and faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
GOD’S WORD
We believe the Bible is God’s unique revelation to every person. It is the inspired, infallible Word of God, and it is the supreme and final authority on all matters upon which it teaches (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
THE TRINITY
We believe there is only one God, Creator of heaven and earth. He exists eternally as three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each fully God and yet personally distinct from each other (2 Corinthians 13:14).
PEOPLE
We believe every person is created in the image of God and every person is of immense worth to God. Central to the message of the Bible is the understanding that God loves every person, and God invites each person to live in communion with Him and to live in community with other believers (Romans 5:12).
JESUS
We believe Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, was born of the Virgin Mary and lived a sinless life. He willingly took upon Himself the punishment for every sin through His death. He overcame sin and death through His bodily resurrection, and He ascended to Heaven and is at the right hand of the Father serving as our advocate and mediator (Matthew 1:18-25; Colossians 2:9).
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and He dwells within every believer. He convicts the world of sin and He draws people to Christ. The Holy Spirit is available to empower believers to lead Christ-like lives, and He gives believers spiritual gifts to serve the church and to be witnesses of Christ to the world (Acts 2-4; Ephesians 4:30-32; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11).
OUR FUTURE
We believe in the second coming of Christ for the living and the dead. At the final judgment, unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. Believers will be received into God’s loving presence for eternity and will be rewarded for their faithfulness to Him in this life (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18; Revelation 20:11-15).
OUR COMMUNITY
We believe all believers are members of the body of Christ, the one true universal Church. Spiritual unity is to be expressed among Christians by their love for one another across ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, national, generational, gender, and denominational lines (Acts 16: 15; Hebrews 10:25).
DISCIPLESHIP
We believe discipleship is an ongoing process whereby a believer continues to grow in Christlikeness. The local church is a congregation of believers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction, encouragement, mutual accountability, and community with each other. As disciples of Christ in the local church, believers invest time, energy, and resources to fulfill the Great Commission (Acts 2:40-47).
RENEWAL
We believe water baptism by immersion is an outward expression of an inward decision to follow Christ. We believe in the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper with the use of bread and juice as symbols for Christ’s broken body and His shed blood that He offered up as payment in full for every person’s sins (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25).
FAMILY
We believe that God defines marriage as the life-long covenant between one man and one woman and that all forms of sexual activity outside of marriage are sin. We believe that God immutably creates each person to reflect His image as male or female.