 |
| Used with permission of Grace Chapel |
Englewood, CO 80112
(303) 799-4900
gracechapel.org
Map
Date of visit: Sunday, December 21, 2014; 9:00 a.m. service
How we heard about the church: I've been there several times for graduations, puppet festivals, etc. However, I have never been to a service there. I drove by the church yesterday and decided that I wanted to visit there today.
Affiliation: Non- denominational.
Statement of Faith: The Bible—God’s love letter to man. To know it is to know the One who gave it. To love it is to love the One who shared His wonderful plan with humanity. Recognizing that the Bible is the very Word of the Living God and that God wants us to understand His Word so we may intelligently worship and serve Him, the Elders at Grace Chapel are deeply committed to being,
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
This doctrinal statement presents the primary doctrines of the Christian faith, and forms the heart of the theological foundation here at Grace Chapel. May God bless you.
- See more at: http://www.gracechapel.org/about-us/doctrinal-statement#sthash.14pGIxkd.dpuf
From the Grace Chapel Website
They have a more detailed doctrinal statement here.
Grace Chapel is also a missional church. You can read about Grace Chapel's missional community here or for a more general definition of the missional community, visit Wikipedia's article here. Basically, a missional church is all about living the Christian life together. The main idea is that the members of the community eat together, socialize together, worship together and do missions together.
Service Times: 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. As far as I can tell, the services are identical. The service lasts about a hour and a half.
Service Format: Grace Chapel uses the standard worship service format of announcements, greeting time, worship, offering, and sermon. The announcements at the beginning were mostly video announcements but there were a couple of live announcements as well. They called the video announcement time "The Download." After that comes the worship time led by a band and a small choir. The worship director plays the keyboard while leading worship along with a praise leader who stands more center stage. There are screens surrounding the platform that has the words to the songs on them.
 |
| Worship Time at Grace Chapel (9:00am) |
We sang contemporary Christian arrangements of classic Christmas carols. They had sort of a Chris Tomlin/Casting Crowns/Paul Baloche feel to them. After worship time which includes a greeting time, an offering is taken. Ushers pass the plates while the choir sings an anthem. When we were there, they sang a medley of Christmas songs which included "All is Well" and "No Eye Had Seen." When we visited GC, it was during advent so a young couple went up to the front of the sanctuary and lit the advent wreath.
Once the offering is over, the sermon begins. The sermon lasts about 45 minutes- 1 hour. The gospel is presented at the end of the sermon and there are people at the front of the sanctuary at the end of the service who are available to pray with you.
 |
| Nick Berard preaching the sermon |
Sui Generis*: Grace Chapel is unique in the fact that the senior pastor, John Zivojinovic, has recently announced his resignation. It was announced several times during the service that he is stepping away from the ministry; we spoke with a regular attendee who said that John will continue to attend Grace Chapel but will probably get a job in the secular workplace instead of remaining in the ministry. His transition will be a slow one as his last day isn't until the end of March. However, the transition has already started. Nick Berard (pictured above) who is an Elder and the Young Men's Director is taking turns preaching along with Ron Brenning (the Marriage and Family Pastor) and John. There will also be some guest speakers at times (pastors from around Denver).
SWAG: Like most churches, you have to work for your free goodies by filling out an information card and turning it in at the front desk. When I got my bag, I felt like Christmas had come early! They load you up with a ton of information on the church which includes a booklet called Connect at Grace which details every program in the church, a map of the campus, and a postcard with a greeting on it from the senior pastor. Also included in the bag is a mug with this cool design on it made from chalkboard paper. The mug has chalk in it so you're able to write a message or draw something or whatever on the mug. But that's not all! You also get two different kinds of tea (I got peppermint and caffeine free Earl Grey), and a pen and a magnet (both emblazoned with the Grace Chapel logo). Since it was Christmastime, I also got an advent devotional published by Denver Seminary. I'm not sure if there's a devotional the rest of the year.
 |
| SWAG |
Benchmark Questions:
Did I feel welcomed? Yes, I did. There was someone just inside the door who welcomed us with a warm greeting. Another member said hello to us and showed us where the free coffee and donuts were.
Did I feel led in worship? Yes, I did. The choir didn't look bored or like they were performing. I wasn't sure if it would be a distraction to raise my hands in worship but as soon as I had the thought, I noticed that some people in the choir were raising their hands. When I saw that, I felt like I had the freedom to worship how I like.
Did I leave feeling spiritually satisfied? For the most part, yes. Nick gave us so much information in the sermon, it took me a while to sift through it in my mind. Of course, I'm the kind of person who has to process things before I come to a conclusion, though. One of the things that Nick did was ask us to keep in mind two things. His sermon was from Matthew 6:1-18 which is all about not making a show of your giving. He asked us to ask ourselves how we can give to someone without anyone knowing and to pray that God increases while we decrease (Psalm 139).
Should I bring my bible? You can. They have bibles in the pews for you to use but the sermon refers back to the Bible enough that I wouldn't have minded carrying it around.
What's the coffee situation? They have a little setup of FREE coffee and donuts.
Is there visitor parking? There are signs for visitor parking but Ryan and I didn't see designated spots, That doesn't mean that they weren't there- we just didn't see them.
Is the church easily accessible? Sort of. The Inverness area is a maze anyway but the cool thing about Grace Chapel is that it practically sits on the highway just off County Line. It's the lot next to the light rail station so if you get too lost, you can always park at the mall and use the walkway over the highway to walk to the church. The church was easy enough to find but we did almost miss the turn off Inverness because the street intersected Inverness at a weird angle.
Can I stream the services online? Yes, but only the 10:45 a.m. service. To view the service, click here.
Do I feel the freedom to visit again? Yes. It was a pleasant experience so I would feel comfortable returning.
*sui generis- Latin- 1. of his, her, its, or their own kind; unique.
No comments:
Post a Comment