In the summer of 2001, thirty eight adults and their children were commissioned and sent out from Sovereign Grace Church of Fairfax to begin a new work in Ashburn, Virginia. For the sending congregation, this had been a dream for more than a decade as they watched neighboring Loudoun County swell in population and longed for a New Testament Church to be established there.
The first public service was held in September 2001 at Cedar Lane Elementary School. Since then we’ve outgrown the Cafeteria and Auditorium, and moved to Briar Woods High School. By the grace of God, we’ve multiplied from just two Caregroups to fourteen, and our pastoral team has proportionally expanded as the Lord has so graciously added to our church. Despite the brevity of our history, our experience has been one of God’s unusual kindness, which fills us with great hope and anticipation for the future.
Bob Donohue is the founding pastor of Grace Community, graduating from Sovereign Grace Ministries' Pastors College in 1999 and planting the church in 2001. Bob currently serves as the Senior Pastor, overseeing Teaching, Leadership Development and Evangelism. Bob and his wife Lori have been married for fourteen years and have three children: Josiah (11), Liam (9) and Hannah (7).
Tito Mercado has been a pastor at Grace Community since 2002. He graduated from Sovereign Grace Ministries' Pastors College in 2003 and currently leads Grace Community's Family Life Ministries, including oversight of Counseling, Small Groups, Marriages and Parenting. Tito and his wife Marci have been married for nineteen years and have four children: Matthew (14), Nathan (10), Kaylin (8) and Annie (5).
Brian Gash assumed responsibilities as Grace Community’s Administrator in 2005 and, upon completion of his studies at Sovereign Grace Ministries' Pastors College in May 2006, also began serving as a Pastor assisting Tito in caring for the families of the church. Brian and his wife Michelle have been married for nineteen years and have four children: Brennan (15), Nolan (13), Mirais (11) and Kellan (9).
Zach Jones joined the pastoral team of Grace Community in 2004 as an intern and now serves as a pastor, having graduated from the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors College in June 2009. Zach currently oversees Music and Worship, as well as the parent-involved 2:14 Youth Ministry. Zach and his wife Stephanie have been married since May 2008.
Kirk Whitworth joined the pastoral team of Grace Community in 2007 and graduated from the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors College in May 2008. Kirk leads Grace Community's Protos Ministry, which exists to serve young married and single adults meeting corporately once a month and in small groups once a week. Kirk and his wife Beth have been married since June 2008.
Grace Community Church is part of growing family of sixty churches in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Bolivia, Ethiopia, and the United Kingdom which are joined together under the banner of Sovereign Grace Ministries. With other Sovereign Grace Ministries churches we share…
- a vision to establish and support local churches
- a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ
- a commitment to our doctrinal distinctives
- a desire to see the members of these churches glorify God in their
As part of its commitment to equip and develop local churches, Sovereign Grace Ministries…
- provides a number of resources (books, teaching, and music),
- holds several national conferences (small group, worship, leadership)
- and trains new leaders in their Pastors College
For more information about Sovereign Grace Ministries, click on the logo above. Additionally you can access answers to Frequently Asked Questions by clicking on the link.
Passion for God Above all else, our desire at Grace Community Church is to glorify God in all that we are and do. We want to increasingly know God in his greatness and beauty; to please him with our adoration and to honor him in our obedience. God is the source and object of our deepest joy and most ardent love (Psalm 86:12-13) .
Application of Doctrine The Bible, as God’s infallible word, is the absolute governing authority at Grace Community, to which we gladly submit. Our resolve in regard to scripture, however, is not to just maintain an orthodox Statement of Faith, but to live out its truths in our everyday existence. We are unapologetically committed to theological study because when done rightly it produces intimacy with God and conformity to His will (I Timothy 4:16).
Gospel Centered The cross of Christ is the ultimate point of human history and the theme of all eternity. That good news - that Jesus suffered the wrath of God impaled on a tree to redeem guilty sinners like us – comprises the core of who we are. At Grace Community we sing about, celebrate, preach and endeavor to live in the good of that gospel (I Corinthians 15:3).
Experiencing the Spirit The dynamic power of the Holy Spirit and His ministry to counsel, comfort and convict us is essential to our existence. We welcome and seek His active presence in our lives for our progressive sanctification, to enable us to minister to one another, and to embolden us to witness to the lost world all around us (Ephesians 5:18).
Authentic Relationships God has designed the church to be a family of friends living out their faith together in corporate unity. At Grace Community we are purposing to develop those honest, intimate relationships where encouragement, counsel, confession, and change are fostered. We endeavor to cultivate such fellowship through Caregroup meetings where practical service, accountability and conflict resolution can be pursued according to the biblical model (Romans 12:10).
Outreach Oriented Our mission is to demonstrate and communicate the gospel in a way that transforms lives across the street, across cultural boundaries, and even across the world. We do this locally through individual members regularly taking advantage of opportunities with neighbors, friends and co-workers, as well as through coordinated outreaches such as free drink give-aways, our annual Labor Day picnic and hosting of the AlphaCourse. We also support church planting within the United States and abroad through our partnership with SovereignGrace Ministries.
The Scriptures We accept the Bible, including the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, as the written Word of God. The Bible is an essential and infallible record of God's self-disclosure to mankind. It leads us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Being given by God the Scriptures are both fully and verbally inspired by God. Therefore, as originally given, the Bible is free of error in all it teaches. Each book is to be interpreted according to its context and purpose and in reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through it in living power. All believers are exhorted to study the Scriptures and diligently apply them to their lives. The Scriptures are the authoritative and normative rule and guide of all Christian life, practice, and doctrine. They are totally sufficient and must not be added to, superseded, or changed by later tradition, extra-biblical revelation, or worldly wisdom. Every doctrinal formulation, whether of creed, confession, or theology must be put to the test of the full counsel of God in Holy Scripture.
God is Triune There is one God: infinite, eternal, almighty, and perfect in holiness, truth, and love. In the unity of the godhead there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal, co-eternal. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, yet each is truly Deity. One God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - is the foundation of Christian faith and life.
God the Father God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth. By his word and for his glory, he freely and supernaturally created the world of nothing. Through the same Word he daily sustains all his creatures. He rules over all and is the only Sovereign. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted. He is faithful to every promise, works all things together for good to those who love him, and in his unfathomable grace gave his Son Jesus Christ for mankind's redemption. He made man for fellowship with himself, and intended that all creation should live to the praise of his glory.
Jesus Christ Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was the eternal Word made flesh, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. He was perfect in nature, teaching and obedience. He is fully God and fully man. He was always with God and is God. Through him all things came into being and were created. He was before all things and in him all things hold together by the word of his power. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation and in him dwells the fullness of the godhead bodily. He is the only Savior for the sins of the world, having shed his blood and died a vicarious death on Calvary's cross. By his death in our place, he revealed the divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having redeemed us from sin, the third day he rose bodily from the grave, victorious over death and the powers of darkness and for a period of forty days appeared to over five hundred witnesses, performing many convincing proofs of his resurrection. He ascended into heaven where, at God's right hand, he intercedes for his people and rules as Lord over all. He is the Head of his body, the Church, and should be adored, loved, served, and obeyed by all.
The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Through the proclamation of the gospel he persuades men to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord. By the same Spirit a person is led to trust in divine mercy. The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth, and dwells within the regenerate. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son who in turn came to glorify the Father. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word. He is to be respected, honored, and worshipped as God the Third Person of the Trinity.
Man God made man - male and female - in his own image, as the crown of creation, that man might have fellowship with him. Tempted by Satan, man rebelled against God. Being estranged from his Maker, yet responsible to him, he became subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved and, apart from a special work of grace, utterly incapable of returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive. It extends to his mind, will and affections. Unregenerate man lives under the dominion of sin and Satan. He is at enmity with God, hostile toward God, and hateful of God. Fallen, sinful people, whatever their character or attainments, are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ.
The Gospel Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. Christ's crucifixion is the heart of the gospel, his resurrection is the power of the gospel, and his ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases his holy wrath. It also demonstrates his mysterious love and reveals his amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men must be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have of glorifying God because of what he has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches and ministries to proceed from and be related to the cross.
Man's Response to the Gospel Man’s response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for his own pleasure and glory. It is also true that the message of the gospel is only effectual to those who genuinely repent of their sins and, by God's grace, put saving faith in Christ. This gospel of grace is to be sincerely preached to all men in all nations. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life, and saving faith is evidenced by kingdom service or works. While neither repentance nor works save, unless a person is willing to deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Christ, he cannot become his disciple.
Man's Inheritance Through the Gospel Salvation, the free gift of God, is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and his substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is justified and fully accepted by God. Through Christ's atonement for sin an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes his child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin and, via the miracle of regeneration, liberated from the law of sin and death into the freedom of God's Spirit.
Sanctification The Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification and seeks to produce his fruit in us as our minds are renewed and we are conformed to the image of Christ. Though indwelling sin remains a reality, as we are led by the Spirit, we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping his commandments and endeavoring to so live in the world that all people may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. All believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith knowing they will have to give an account to God for their every thought, word and deed. The spiritual disciplines, especially Bible study, prayer, worship and confession, are a vital means of grace in this regard. Nevertheless, the believer’s ultimate confidence to persevere is based in the sure promise of God to preserve his people until the end which is most certain.
Empowered by the Spirit In addition to effecting regeneration and sanctification, the Holy Spirit also empowers believers for Christian witness and service. While all genuine believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at conversion, the New Testament indicates the importance of an ongoing, empowering work of the Spirit subsequent to conversion as well. Being indwelt by the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit are theologically distinct experiences. The Holy Spirit desires to fill each believer continually with increased power for Christian life and witness, and imparts his supernatural gifts for the edification of the Body and for various works of ministry in the world. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in the church of the first-century are available today, are vital for the mission of the church, and are to be earnestly desired and practiced.
For further details, please read this annotation.
The Church God by his Word and Spirit creates the Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race into the fellowship of Christ's Body. By the same Word and Spirit, he guides and preserves that new redeemed humanity. The Church is not a religious institution or denomination. Rather, the Church universal is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve him by faithfully doing his will in the earth. This involves a commitment to see the gospel preached and churches planted in all the world for a testimony. The ultimate mission of the Church is the making of disciples through the preaching of the gospel. When God transforms human nature, this then becomes the chief means of society's transformation. Upon conversion, newly redeemed men and women are added to a local church in which they devote themselves to teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper and prayer.
All members of the Church universal are to be a vital and committed part of a local church. In this context they are called to walk out the New Covenant as the people of God and demonstrate the reality of the kingdom of God. The ascended Christ has given gift ministries to the church (including apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) for the equipping of Christ's body that it might mature and grow. Through the gift ministries all members of the Church are to be nurtured and equipped for the work of ministry. Women play a vital role in the life of the church but in keeping with God’s created design, they are not permitted “to teach or to have authority over a man” (1 Tim. 2:11). Leadership in the church is male. In the context of the local church, God's people receive pastoral care and leadership and the opportunity to employ their God-given gifts in his service in relation to one another and to the world.
Sacraments of the Church Water baptism is only intended for the individual who has received the saving benefits of Christ’s atoning work and become his disciple. Therefore, in obedience to Christ's command and as a testimony to God, the Church, oneself and the world, a believer should be immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a visual demonstration of a person's union with Christ in the likeness of his death and resurrection. It signifies that his former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts a person’s release from the mastery of sin.
As with water baptism, the Lord’s Supper is to be observed only by those who have become genuine followers of Christ. This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of his blood on our behalf, and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper with an attitude of faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls, and signify our unity with other members of Christ’s body.
The Consummation The Consummation of all things includes the visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ's kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the Consummation, Satan with his hosts and all those outside Christ are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment, but the righteous, in glorious bodies, shall live and reign with him forever. Married to Christ as his Bride, the Church will be in the presence of God forever, serving him and giving him unending praise and glory. Then shall the eager expectation of creation be fulfilled and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God who makes all things new.