At Grace Bible Church we believe that every Christian has God-given gifts to use to edify and build up the church body and glorify God.
ROMANS 12:1-8 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. NASU
The four pillars of lay ministry:
Every believer is a minister.
Mark 10:45 “to serve and to give” the defining characteristics of the Christlike
lifestyle.
Created for ministry (Ephesians 2:10)
Saved for ministry (2 Timothy 1:9)
Called into ministry (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Gifted for ministry (1 Peter 4:10)
Authorized for ministry (Matthew 28:18-20)
Commanded to ministry (Matthew 20:26-28)
Prepared for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Needed for ministry (1 Corinthians 12:27)
Accountable for ministry and (Colossians 3:23-24)
Rewarded according to ministry
Every ministry is important. 1 Corinthians 12:18-22
We are dependent on each other. Your SHAPE is sovereignly determined by God for His purpose.
Ministry is the expression of my SHAPE.
"What God made you to be determines what he intends you to do!"
Spiritual gifts Heart “serve the Lord with all your heart” 1 Samuel 12:20
(Passion, internal guidance sys, what interests you, motivates you.) A bilities “skills, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts” Exodus 31:3 P ersonality E xperience “all things work together for good” Romans 8:28
(Educational, vocational, spiritual, ministry, suffering)
Work with the Youth – Wednesday Evening Youth Group
Children/Teens all meet at the church from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. each Wednesday. We use AWANA materials (Sparks and TNT) thru 6th grade and the Jr./Sr. High teachers choose appropriate Biblical subjects as well as discussing the Christian views of current events. The infant/toddler rooms are staffed so those parents who are helping teach have a safe place to bring their little ones. All ages, from pre-school through senior high, meet with their own age group and the teaching emphasis is on a daily quiet time with God, scripture memory, and learning how to live for Christ.
Leaders (teachers), helpers, secretaries – ages kindergarten to high school
Games– plan and conduct games
Contact Scott or Deb Hanson,co- commanders of Kids for Christ Awana, at 253-6058 or
Usher– welcome people and hand out bulletins. Craig Lowe 429.4203 Greeters– welcome people and make them feel comfortable. Contact
Pete Freitag at 608-586-4928. Song Screen/Power Point Presentations– operate system contact Mary
Severson 742.5090 Sound Board– contact Cindy Blystone 742.5090 Nursery– watch infants to 3 year olds while parents attend worship service.
Contact Sara Rickerson. Children’s Church– teach or help with lesson and craft for children 3-7during worship service. Contact Lydia Schultz at 429-2631. Children's Church is only during 2nd service. Youth Sunday School Teacher or Helper– contact Barb Sundsmo 742.5835.
All ages are taught how to live the life Jesus Christ expects us to live. We meet each
Sunday from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. We use some standard curriculums and some that we have written ourselves. It is our desire that the children get a good sound foundation in God’s Word so that they can apply His Word in any life situations.
We are excited about our small group ministries for men and women. We have “Top Gun ” meetings on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m, We also have a group meeting at 6:15 to 7:45 on Wednesday mornings. These groups emphasize Bible study, life-change and accountability.
More information...
In addition, we have a dynamic women’s Bible study meeting at the same time (6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Mondays), with the same purposes. There are other women's studies during the week, please click here for More information...
There are other studies offered throughout the week with a variety of topics. If you are interested in participating in this ministry call the church office 742.5090.
We are here to provide physical assistance to you, our church family, and to folks in the community. Call us if you need a helping hand with such things as babysitting, cleaning, meals, shopping, carpentry, yard work, painting, plumbing, electrical, etc. We want to show God’s love to you and to those in our community.
Call the church office, 742.5090 and give the information to either Pastor Mike or Mary Severson and they will see that the leaders get the information and then volunteers will be set up to provide the service needed.
“…Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:40
This ministry offers adults an opportunity to get to know other people in the church on a more personal level. It is strictly a social event that gives us the chance to enjoy Christian fellowship. Singles and couples are welcome. Groups of eight are assigned and change about every six months. We meet once a month at a different home each time. Each group decides when and where to meet. The hostess will prepare the main dish and others will be asked to bring something. The idea is to keep it simple!
You can call the church office (742.5090) and talk to Mary Severson if you would like to join a group.
We generally offer classes in each of the following five categories:
Spiritual life basics
Doctrinal basics
Bible survey
Christian life issues
Leadership basics
We will help you find a class that fits your needs. Our goal is to help you become disciples, committed followers of Jesus. We also want to see you become disciple-makers; people who can lead others to Christ, follow them up, and help them repeat the process.
Currently we have 8 adult Sunday school classes to choose from:
The “New to Grace” Class – Pastor Steve (9 sessions) Topic - Membership at Grace. MEETING IN KITCHEN
The “Systematic Theology ” Class–Chuck Ness. Topic - Advanced Theology JUNIOR HIGH ROOM
The “Bible Survey” Class – Dr. Stephen Cushman. Topic - Advanced Bible Study. Fall - John. Winter - Proverbs. Spring - Ecclesiates.
AUDITORIUM
The “Leadership Training” Class – Dave Robinson (3 years) Topic - Leading Ministries. ROOM 21
The “Simply Bible ” Class – Tom Wiersma. Topic - Basic Bible Study or Contemporary Issues. STORAGE ROOM
The "Major Bible Themes" Class - Rik Rickerson. Topic - Basic Theology. LIBRARY
The "Servant I Want To Be" Class - Jerry & Cindy Blystone. Topic - Faithful in Service. ROOM 20
One week of each month we help deliver Meals on Wheels to shut-ins. The meals are picked up at Divine Savior Nursing Home, 715 W Pleasant, Portage at 10:45 a.m. It takes about an hour to deliver them. The schedule for 2007 is as follows:
August 4-8, 2008
Sept. 15-19, 2208
October 27-31, 2008
December 8-12, 2008
January 19-23, 2009
March 2-6, 2009
April 13-17, 2009
May 25-29, 2009
July 6-10, 2009
August 17-21, 2009
If you can help, please call Mary Severson at 742.5090, or sign-up at the entry table.
as discussing the Christian views of current events. The infant/toddler rooms are staffed so those parents who are helping teach have a safe place to bring their little ones. All ages, from pre-school through senior high, meet with their own age group and the teaching emphasis is on a daily quiet time with God, scripture memory, and learning how to live for Christ.
meetings on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m, We also have a group meeting at 6:15 to 7:45 on Wednesday mornings. These groups emphasize Bible study, life-change and accountability.
plumbing, electrical, etc. We want to show God’s love to you and to those in our community. 
Christian fellowship. Singles and couples are welcome. Groups of eight are assigned and change about every six months. We meet once a month at a different home each time. Each group decides when and where to meet. The hostess will prepare the main dish and others will be asked to bring something. The idea is to keep it simple!