Culture of GBC Matters
Without a doubt, every church is known by its culture. Culture is the atmosphere of a church.
We can all recall a moment in our lives when we visited a new church, and one thing we all noticed was the culture. Were they warm and friendly? Or cold and indifferent?
All churches are shaped by their culture. A church’s culture is a significant part of ministry because it says so much about who you are as a church.
Two childhood memories remain forever in my head—the aroma of my grandmother's cooking and the warm atmosphere my sweet grandparents created in their home. This is a great example of culture—and it's awesome.
Here at Grace Bible Church, we want to maintain a culture that creates an atmosphere where others feel at home and loved.
So what shapes a church’s culture? I'm glad you asked.
To answer the question, let’s look at Paul’s words in 1 Tim. 1:15, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the foremost of all.”
The attitude that Paul displayed in this passage is one of gratitude and a sense of overwhelming love. The aroma of our lives should be that of gratitude and humility that God would save sinners like us. The culture of a church comes from drinking deeply from the well of the gospel.
Just as Paul realized that Christ came into this world to save him and this truth radically transformed his life and thinking, it should equally affect our lives.
The gospel is the shaping element of the church’s culture.
A church with a gospel culture will manifest four attributes. This is not an exhaustive list but a list that focuses on what God has done for us.
Hospitality — The first attribute of a gospel culture is hospitality. If there's one truth about God, it's that He is the great host of all time. The meaning of hospitality is to show love toward strangers. God has done this for us in the gospel.
Romans 5:8 states, “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Did you hear that? While we were sinners, strangers, and enemies of God, He still showed us love.
If we truly grasp this truth it should impact our actions in the church. It should always motivate us to reach out to those visiting our church and to care for the needs of those we know well.
Grace — The second attribute of a gospel culture is exhibiting grace. The most gracious people on the earth ought to be the church.
What is grace? Grace is God’s giving to us what we do not deserve. Grace is the sum total of all we gain in Christ at salvation: adoption, justification, mercy, love, etc. This grace impacts our lives in such a way that we desire to show others the same grace God has shown us.
Truth — The third attribute of a gospel culture is truth. Truth is the status quo of the church from the truth of the Bible to speaking the truth in love. John 1:14 states that Jesus was full of grace and truth.
We fight to keep the the truth of the gospel pure so that we're maintaining an accurate gospel.
We're also to be a people who long to speak truth to each other. Part of being a member of Christ's body is that we're in relationship with each other where we give one another the right to speak truth into our lives.
Love — The final attribute of a gospel culture is love. The reason love is so vital is because truth without love is just a noisy gong. We don’t need a church filled with a bunch of truth tellers who aren't soaking and baking their truth in an attitude of love.
Paul in 1 Cor. 13:1-3 states clearly that if we can speak the truth, give prophecy, unveil all mysteries, and even give our bodies to be burned, but do not have love we are nothing.
If there's one thing GBC does well it's beautifully bearing these four attributes.
May we, by God’s grace, increase in living these out.
Glory to God,
Pastor Jason
We can all recall a moment in our lives when we visited a new church, and one thing we all noticed was the culture. Were they warm and friendly? Or cold and indifferent?
All churches are shaped by their culture. A church’s culture is a significant part of ministry because it says so much about who you are as a church.
Two childhood memories remain forever in my head—the aroma of my grandmother's cooking and the warm atmosphere my sweet grandparents created in their home. This is a great example of culture—and it's awesome.
Here at Grace Bible Church, we want to maintain a culture that creates an atmosphere where others feel at home and loved.
So what shapes a church’s culture? I'm glad you asked.
To answer the question, let’s look at Paul’s words in 1 Tim. 1:15, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the foremost of all.”
The attitude that Paul displayed in this passage is one of gratitude and a sense of overwhelming love. The aroma of our lives should be that of gratitude and humility that God would save sinners like us. The culture of a church comes from drinking deeply from the well of the gospel.
Just as Paul realized that Christ came into this world to save him and this truth radically transformed his life and thinking, it should equally affect our lives.
The gospel is the shaping element of the church’s culture.
A church with a gospel culture will manifest four attributes. This is not an exhaustive list but a list that focuses on what God has done for us.
Hospitality — The first attribute of a gospel culture is hospitality. If there's one truth about God, it's that He is the great host of all time. The meaning of hospitality is to show love toward strangers. God has done this for us in the gospel.
Romans 5:8 states, “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Did you hear that? While we were sinners, strangers, and enemies of God, He still showed us love.
If we truly grasp this truth it should impact our actions in the church. It should always motivate us to reach out to those visiting our church and to care for the needs of those we know well.
Grace — The second attribute of a gospel culture is exhibiting grace. The most gracious people on the earth ought to be the church.
What is grace? Grace is God’s giving to us what we do not deserve. Grace is the sum total of all we gain in Christ at salvation: adoption, justification, mercy, love, etc. This grace impacts our lives in such a way that we desire to show others the same grace God has shown us.
Truth — The third attribute of a gospel culture is truth. Truth is the status quo of the church from the truth of the Bible to speaking the truth in love. John 1:14 states that Jesus was full of grace and truth.
We fight to keep the the truth of the gospel pure so that we're maintaining an accurate gospel.
We're also to be a people who long to speak truth to each other. Part of being a member of Christ's body is that we're in relationship with each other where we give one another the right to speak truth into our lives.
Love — The final attribute of a gospel culture is love. The reason love is so vital is because truth without love is just a noisy gong. We don’t need a church filled with a bunch of truth tellers who aren't soaking and baking their truth in an attitude of love.
Paul in 1 Cor. 13:1-3 states clearly that if we can speak the truth, give prophecy, unveil all mysteries, and even give our bodies to be burned, but do not have love we are nothing.
If there's one thing GBC does well it's beautifully bearing these four attributes.
May we, by God’s grace, increase in living these out.
Glory to God,
Pastor Jason
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