A Reformed Fellowship
A 1689 CHURCH IN THE HEART OF EAST TEXAS
Grace Baptist Church offers believers in Christ an opportunity to join a local expression of the body of Christ in Van, Texas; Van Zandt and Smith counties. Major cities include Tyler, Lindale, and Canton.
We are rooted in the truth of Scripture, believing it to be the infallible Word of God. We are following the will of Christ as expressed in the Old and New Testaments, which found its ultimate revelation in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe the Five Solas of the reformation, expressing the classic, reformed understanding of the salvation which Christ earned for his people and offers to everyone who will repent and believe the gospel.
What We Believe
Our church and church officers fully subscribe the Second London Confession of Faith. See below for brief descriptions of what we believe, organizations we support, and associations we belong to
Second London Confession of Faith
To read or learn more about the 1689, go here. It is a document that connects us to our Baptist heritage, which has its roots in Reformed Confessionalism and classical theism, then also connects us to Nicene and Chalcedonian orthodoxy.
Our Hymnal
We use the Baptist Edition of the Trinity Hymnal. It is filled with the great hymns of the historical faith! Since we believe congregational song is a form of prayer to God and one another, we value rich theology that we can edify and encourage one another!
Confessional Baptist Association is the oldest confessional Baptist association in North America. It has completely revised its structure, purposes, and a priority given to church planting. It is a full subscription association which holds to classical theism.
Our Psalter
In addition to the Trinity Hymnal, we give an important place to the Psalms. The Book of Psalms for Worship is a modern arrangement of the Psalms which have been the life blood of the people of God since ancient times. We believe that the Psalms in the Bible are God's inspired songbook, so we have example and command to sing them during our worship!
This is a local association in Texas with the same doctrinal emphases as the national one. We are able to meet more often, pray for one another, worship together annually, and host an annual Pastor's Conference
IRBS is a residential and online confessional Reformed Baptist Seminary. We subscribe to and are grounded in the doctrine and practice of the Word of God as reflected in the three great seventeenth century Particular Baptist confessions: 1LBC 1646, 2LBC 1677, Catechism of 1693 The Second London Baptist Confession is our primary confession of faith.