Grace Baptist Church (GBC) is a gathering of Believers in Christ Jesus who are committed to authentically following our Risen Lord & Savior. Our church was founded out of a deep desire to be part of a family of God that was more concerned about His glory than individual preferences, man’s traditions, or culture’s influences.
In 2006 a group of faithful Believers gathered at Springs of Life Camp to pray about what this new gathering might look like. By God’s providence a church building was temporarily made available to them, and they had their first official service as Grace Baptist Church. After much prayer they called their beloved Bible teacher, Ted Thisse, to be their first Pastor and he served faithfully until his health forced his retirement in 2010. Under his leadership GBC began to save and plan for a more permanent location for their gatherings. In 2011 they completed the construction of a brand new Worship Center on top of “Grace Mountain” just above Howell’s Grocery at the intersection of routes 58 & 8.
One of our foundational principles is the unwavering belief that the Bible is God’s Holy Spirit Inspired, Inerrant, Infallible, and Totally Sufficient Word. There are many who mistakenly believe that the Bible is a book about God written by men and therefore is open to change and error. But we believe that the Bible is a book about God written by God! Yes, He did work supernaturally through human authors, but every word both individually and plenarily is God’s. Therefore, we practice a Literal, Grammatical, and Historical Interpretation of the Scriptures while allowing the Holy Spirit to apply it directly to our lives.
In 2012 GBC called Mark Elkins to be their new Pastor. He is a graduate of Shepherd’s Theological Seminary in Cary, NC with a Masters in Christian’s Ministry. The church has changed a lot since its early days of prayer and planning at Springs of Life Camp. By God’s Grace we have seen our little family double in size, allowing us to launch Kingdom impacting ministries like VBS, AWANA, and Homeschool. We are not a perfect church, but we know that the good work Christ has begun in us individually and collectively, He has promised to complete it
Our Staff
Mark is a graduate of Shepherd’s Theological Seminary with a Master’s in Christian Ministry. He, his wife Pam, and their three children Casey, Maura, and Pam moved to Stuart from Richmond, VA in 2012 to accept God’s call to Shepherd Grace Baptist Church.
