Grace Church FAQs
New to Grace:
Once you arrive, some friendly folks will direct you where you need to go – our greeters love to make people feel welcome. They'll hand you our informative church bulletin, direct you to our Welcome Center, where you can get more information about our church,and answer any questions you may have about the services or our ministries.
If you have children, you can be sure that they will love our specially designed programs just for them. Be confident in knowing that we have taken extensive measures to ensure their safety and security while in our care.
As you enter the main sanctuary, an usher will welcome you and offer assistance seating you for the service. Now is your chance to enjoy all God has for you through our services at Grace.
We sing a few songs, hear stories of how God is working in people's lives, and hear some important truths from the Bible. At Grace we are committed to providing an upbeat environment that offers hope, healing and restoration. Our Lead Pastor, Justin Ross, is highly regarded as a teacher, motivator, guide and has plenty of experience leading. Each week Pastor Bob will give you practical teaching you can apply to your everyday life.
Our contemporary style of music is designed to appeal to a younger generation without driving away everyone else, and our focus is on music that God can use to reveal Himself to people and that we can use to express our hearts to Him. We know that when people see Him, real worship happens.
We try to adapt to the culture and lifestyle of our people here in the Durango area. We are casual just as our people are casual. We encourage you to “come as you are” and not worry about outward appearances. Whether you’re comfortable wearing slacks or shorts, ties or tie-dye, you will be accepted just as you are.
Grace Church is centrally located in Durango on Florida Road. We are just a few minutes down the hill from Fort Lewis College, three miles from Camino Del Rio and the Animas River. Our address is:
1440 Florida Rd.
Durango, CO 81301
If you need further directions, see the map we have provided you.
Our weekend worship service is at 10:45 a.m. every Sunday. We also encourage everyone from the nursery to seniors to attend one of our several age-appropriate Bible Fellowship classes that meet every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Those classes offer a little extra fellowhip and teaching from the Bible.
Kidz4Christ is excited to partner with you in the spiritual formation of your child! Your children (kindergarten-5th grade) will go downstairs to the Kidz4Christ classroom, where they will embark on a journey filled with Bible teaching, games, kid-friendly worship, friendships, and just plain-old fun! All of this is designed to help your child find their faith, grow in their faith and spread their faith around!
Also in the downstairs of the church you can take your toddlers (3 years and under) to the nursery room, just at the end of the main hall. Crafts, play time, story time and worship are just a few of the many things that will captivate your young one's heart in this stimulating environment.
Your "littler" ones (birth-12 months) can then be taken to the upstairs nursery just connected to the fellowship hall next to the main entrance. You can leave your little ones here in a warm, nurturing and secure environment, where you are only a room away.
All of our Kidz4Christ venues are open for parents to tour – in fact, we encourage it. We want you to feel totally at home and at ease in partnering with us in these most spiritually significant years of your child's life.
If you have questions or need further assistance please contact Justin Ross at justin@lifeingrace.org
Students:
During our Bible Fellowship hour (9:30-10:30 a.m.) we have classes that serve all ages of children in Kidz4Christ.
For our infants, we have an upstairs nursery that is very close to our adult Bible Fellowship classes.
For toddlers (12 months-3), we have an advanced nursery downstairs off of the main hall.
For 3- to 5-year-olds, we have classes available during the Bible Fellowship hour and during the worship hour.
For 1st-5th grades, we have classes available during the Bible Fellowship hour and during the worship hour.
While our children's ministry has child care for our little ones by meeting their physical needs in a nurturing environment, we are committed also to meeting the spiritual needs of your children. Kidz4Christ partners with parents and strives to provide an extremely fun, safe environment during all services. Our curriculum is designed to teach the basic fundamentals of the Bible at an age-appropriate level.
During the Bible Fellowship hour all of our children meet downstairs in separate classrooms that are age appropriate.
During the worship service all of our children (besides infants) meet downstairs during Kidz4Christ.
Grace Church takes your child's safety seriously, which is monitored in three parts. First, we conduct an extensive background check on every children's ministry worker, from staff to volunteers. Second, our church has a team of men from the church to supervise the children's floor during all weekend services. Lastly, we do not dismiss children from their classes without the permission of a parent or pre-approved adult. Not to mention all the usual attention we pay to allergies and other special needs.
Each summer, Kidz4Christ hosts a vacation Bible school (VBS) for families with children ages 3 years old to 5th grade. VBS is free, but sign-ups are necessary to ensure your child a safe and exciting VBS experience! Also in the summer, we have summer camps near Albuquerque for students in 3rd-5th grades.
Youth:
We are excited to say “yes we do!” We just began our new student ministry in March of 2009 – Collision Student Ministries. At Grace Church we understand the importance of a relevant youth ministry that is reaching out to local teen-agers. We are committed to reaching students for Christ and discipling them as they grow during their teen-age years.
Bring them to one of our jr. high/high school services, let us know it's their first time and we will show them around and introduce them to other students. Our teenagers meet during the Bible Fellowship hour (9:30-10:30 a.m.) on Sundays. We all meet in the “Collision Room” downstairs to hang out before the actual services start.
After your student is regularly attending, talk to them about getting involved in a small group that is starting up in September 2009. We also encourage all of our students to become involved in some sort of ministry. If you would like your teen-ager to find a ministry, just ask us and we’ll help them find a place to serve that matches their passion and abilities.
We have several ways to keep you up to speed with Collision Student Ministries. For those who are “old-school,” you can always visit our Welcome Center in the foyer of Grace Church any time during our Sunday services or ask to talk to our youth pastor, Chris Standridge. For those who are more technologically advanced, we have a few ways you can find us and follow us on the web. First, you can visit the Collision Student Ministry blog site at www.collisionstudents.blogspot.com. Second, by searching “Collision Student Ministries” on facebook.com. Lastly, by following us on twitter.com by searching www.twitter.com/collisionteens.
College / young adults:
Currently we do not have a ministry specific for college students and young adults. However, we do love them and want to minister to them. We have plenty of opportunites for college students to get involved in ministries and adult Bible studies. So, if you’re a young adult or a college student, come check us out! We think you’ll like what you experience at Grace!
We meet during regular semesters at 7 p.m. at Grace Church for a meal, then at around 7:45, we have our own worship service, with lively discussions, fun music and teaching from the Bible. E-mail Keith Alewine at keith@lifeingrace.org to be put on the e-mail list so you'll always know what's happening. We're on Facebook, too.
For the Thursday night gatherings, all are welcome. For some aspects of the ministry, like our small groups, we do prefer to focus only on college students.
General:
We are similar to Baptist in belief, since just a few years ago we changed our name from Durango Baptist Church, but we are now known as an independent, Bible-following, non-denominational church. We made the change because we knew that if “Baptist” meant anything to anyone we were trying to reach in our community, it was likely to be negative. We look to the Bible, not tradition, to settle all matters of belief and doctrine.
Grace is a family where we live life together, celebrate together, worship together and challenge one another to keep God first in our lives. The best thing about Grace is that Jesus is always talked about. Life is found in him and him alone. If you are looking for a place to belong or for a family who will encourage you…you just might have found the right place at Grace.
Well, actually, it’s wheat. It reminds us of a couple of things: the fruit growing in a believer's life, and the harvest that is our vision – to reach this community that we live in with God’s love.
No, we've been serving here in Durango for more than 50 years, and Pastor Bob's been here more than 30. We're more local than most Durango locals.
No, not in the way you're thinking. We do teach from the King James from the pulpit, and we think it's a good standard for English-speaking folks, but we absolutely refuse to be dogmatic about its use.
We consider ourselves a contemporary church. Our full band and praise team sings many current hits that can be heard on Christian radio and we even throw in an oldie every so often for those who love the hymns. We believe all these songs- old and new are worshipful, therefore, we try to mix them up.
We're so thankful to have a mix of young and old. Right now the biggest group is our thirtysomething families and their kids. During the semesters, we usually have a large number of college-aged folks, too. And our youth ministry is growing. Thankfully, there are also a few mature believers who can help us stay on the right path.
Yes. Like we said, we're casual. If you don't mind seeing the occasional stain, we don't mind food and drink in the sanctuary. Or you can wait till you get here and help yourself to some of our yummy coffee.
Once again, yes – we like a mixture of both. Either way, we use the Bible heavily, because we know the truth always bears fruit.
Yes. You will be in good company.
Each flag represents a country where Grace Church is “Sharing God’s Love” by sending and supporting missionaries.
Maybe. Pastor Bob does seem to be gone a lot during the month of December.