WE EXIST TO LOVE, BAPTIZE, AND SHOW OUR WORLD HOW AMAZING IT IS TO FOLLOW JESUS.
We’re convinced that the Creator God knows and loves you, and He has a purpose for your life. Our church family exists to love you and be part of your restoration and discovery journey!
Your first step could be visiting us this weekend or trying out a small group. Or maybe you’re ready to open the Bible together and explore the amazing things God has promised us.
Whatever that step is, you can take it with us. At City Grace you can follow Jesus, laugh, grow, and find your purpose with people who genuinely love and care about you.
our PASTOR: jared alvarez
We are pastored by Jared Alvarez, dad to two amazing kids and a boxer named Ringo. He is in constant wonder of Jesus Christ, and he loves helping others know Him better.
Jared has served at City Grace for over 20 years. His father, David Alvarez, assumed the pastorate in 1985, and in early 2016 Jared succeeded him as lead pastor. Fourth generation Christians on both sides of his family, he serves from a legacy of church leadership, and gives honor for the unity of our church to God alone.
Statements of Faith
Unity | Liberty | Charity
In essential beliefs, we have unity. “For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” (Ephesians 4:4–6 NLT).
In non-essential beliefs, we have liberty. “Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong ... Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval ... Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God ... You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God.” (Romans 14:1–22 NLT).
In all our beliefs, we show charity. “If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2 NLT).
Essential Beliefs
About the Bible
We believe the Bible to be inspired of God, the infallible Word of God. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16, NLT).
The Bible is the only God-given authority to man; therefore, all doctrine, faith, hope, and all instruction for the church must be based upon, and harmonize with, the Bible. “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20–21, NLT).
About the One True God
We believe in the one ever-living, eternal God: infinite in power; holy in nature, attributes, and purpose; and possessing absolute, indivisible deity. This one true God has revealed Himself as the Father in creation, through His Son in redemption, and as the Holy Spirit by emanation (1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Joel 2:28; Ephesians 4:6).
“Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.” (Mark 12:29, NLT). “But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:6, NLT).
Before the birth of Jesus Christ, this one true God showed Himself in many forms. In the incarnation, He made Himself known in and through His Son, who walked among men (see Hebrews 1:1-3). As He works in the lives of believers, He reveals Himself as the Holy Spirit.
About the Son of God
We believe the Word, which was with God and was God, became human through virgin birth to reveal the Creator God to humanity. “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God... So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (John 1:1, 14 NLT). “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18 NLT)
Therefore, Jesus was the self-expressing, creative Word of God become human for our benefit. His human life was the sacrifice of God for our sins. “It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.” (1 Peter 1:19-20 NLT) As such, He is the only mediator between God and man. “There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5 NLT)
We believe that “in [Jesus] lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” (Colossians 2:9 NLT). “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself.” (Colossians 1:19-20 NLT).
“We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life... He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.” (1 John 1:1-4 NLT)
About Human Beings
In the beginning, God created humanity in innocence, purity, and holiness. When Adam and Eve, the first of the human race, chose sin by doubting that God was good and then seeking selfish gain, they fell from their holy state. So by humanity’s lack of trust in God's goodness, which led to disobedience, sin entered into the world and the human family. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 3:1-7; Romans 5:12; Romans 8:19-22 NLT)
Although every human being has tremendous potential for good, we all are marred by our inborn sinful and selfish nature. Our selfish nature separates us from a good God and produces attitudes and actions that injur those around us. All people will remain eternally separated from the source of life Himself outside of the reconciling work of Jesus, the Savior. (Ephesians 2:12; Galatians 2:15–16, 5:6; Romans 3:23–26, 6:23; Mark 16:16)
About Salvation
We receive Salvation from our sins only by grace, which comes through faith and trust in Jesus Christ. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
The kind of faith that saves us shows itself through our turning away from sins, baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, by receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and finally in a life and character increasingly like Jesus. It is scriptural to expect all who receive the gift, filling, or baptism of the Holy Spirit to receive the same initial, physical sign of speaking with other tongues. See the passage from Acts 10:42-48 below:
“And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.” Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked, “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 10:42-48, see also Acts 2:32-41, 16:25-34)
About Holiness
We believe that Jesus thought differently and acted differently than the people around Him. This new way of thinking, a Jesus-way of thinking, should be the pursuit of every disciple of Jesus Christ. To that end, we teach the values, priorities, and behaviors of Jesus so that we all can see their beauty and power and be drawn into alignment with Him.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2 NLT).
About Eternity
We believe the people of God should earnestly and hopefully look forward to the soon appearing of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13–17; Acts 1:11, 3:19–21; 2 Thessalonians 2:1; 1 Corinthians 11:26, 15:51–54; Philippians 3:20–21; Revelation 22:20; Titus 2:13–14; Matthew 24). In the end, all the dead will be summoned before the Great White Throne for their final judgment (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:15, 21:8). The redeemed will live for all eternity in the presence of God (Revelation 21:2–4, 21:23–27, 22:3–5).
See the passage from Revelation 22 below:
“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.” (Revelation 22:12-15, 17 NLT)