On Edwards Street in Granite City, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Grace Baptist Church has built its life around a single foundation. The congregation exists, in the words of its own statement of belief, for "the person and work of Jesus Christ," and every part of its ministry - the preaching, the Wednesday prayer meetings, the food pantry, the long-form articles in the pastor's monthly article series - comes back to that anchor. Under Pastor Daniel Wilson, the church has leaned into careful, verse-by-verse exposition of Scripture and into a deliberate pattern of fellowship, prayer, and benevolence drawn from Acts 2:42-47.
One Unshakable Foundation: The Sixfold Purpose
Grace Baptist describes itself as a church "built on one unshakable foundation - the person and work of Jesus Christ." From that foundation flows a simple sixfold purpose, taken from the picture of the early church in Acts 2:42-47:
- Bible study
- Fellowship
- Praise
- Evangelism
- Benevolence
- Prayer
Each of these distinctives carries its own emphasis. The church calls itself a People of Worship, joining voices in praise, hearts in devotion, hands in service, minds in contemplation, and feet in mission for the glory of God. It calls itself a People of Scripture, holding that the Bible is "the Inspired, Infallible, Inerrant, Living Word of God." It calls itself a People of Grace, defined by God's unmerited favor in salvation through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and committed to offering that same grace to one another in a community that genuinely loves. It calls itself a People of Promise, looking ahead to the day when all of God's promises find their "yes" in Christ, including the promise of sharing in His resurrection.
On matters of doctrine, the church affirms the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention, placing Grace Baptist in the historic Southern Baptist stream without apology.
The Pastor: A Long Walk Through the Text
The senior pastor is Dr. Daniel Wilson. Wilson grew up in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains near Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and earned a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Arkansas before sensing the call to ministry. He prepared for preaching and teaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, earning first an M.Div. with languages and then a Ph.D. in Theology. After pastoring in North Carolina for several years, the Lord brought him to Grace Baptist Church.
Wilson is married to Virginia, a career nurse, and together they are raising three daughters. He is the author of every entry in the church's monthly article series, a collection of long, theologically careful studies that have walked the congregation and any visitor through nearly four years of systematic biblical teaching.
The ministry assistant, Rob Hull, supports the work of the office and the ministries of the body. Hull holds an Associates in Paralegal and has served in ministry for thirty-five years - as a Royal Ranger leader, a children's pastor in Chehalis, Washington, an associate pastor, and an evangelist.
The Weekly Rhythm: Sunday School, Morning Worship, Wednesday Prayer
Visitors to Grace Baptist will find a steady, three-beat weekly rhythm that has held for years.
Sunday School opens the day at 9:15 a.m. and is offered to every age group in the body. It is where the church does much of its Bible study and fellowship, and it functions as the front door for newcomers who want a smaller setting before a Sunday morning service.
Sunday Morning Service follows at 10:45 a.m. The service blends congregational praise with expository preaching from Wilson. For those who cannot attend in person, a video of the Sunday morning service is uploaded to the church's online archive by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. Regular attendees are accustomed to revisiting the sermon throughout the week.
Sunday Evening Service gathers later in the day for additional teaching and worship. The evening service has a long history at the church, though on holiday weekends it is occasionally suspended.
Wednesday Evening Prayer Service meets at 7:00 p.m. and is built around extended Bible study and prayer. For several months the church has worked through the book of Galatians together, with members purchasing copies of Galatians for You by the study's author. The Wednesday gathering is the church's main midweek small-group setting and a key part of the sixfold purpose.
Beyond the weekly services, the church calendar includes short-term Bible studies, occasional fellowship events, and seasonal family activities such as a Fall Festival. A church workday each season invites members to care for the property together.
A People of Scripture: How Grace Baptist Preaches
If there is a single word to describe the church's approach to the Bible, it is "expository." The Bible is treated as authoritative, inspired, and sufficient, and the preaching aims to walk through books of the Bible one passage at a time.
The church publishes two parallel preaching resources. The Sermon Outlines section publishes detailed, written outlines of each week's message, complete with the text under examination and the cross-references the pastor is drawing on. The Sermon Podcast section provides the audio of those same messages for listening on the go. Together they create a deep archive of preaching that stretches back years and continues to grow each week.
Recent series include a multi-part journey through the book of Jonah - "The Pursuit of God," "God's Sovereign Will," "A Portrait of Genuine Repentance," "The Grace of Second Chances" - and a long walk through 1 Kings, with messages on Elijah, the confrontation on Mount Carmel, the widow of Zarephath, the prophet Obadiah, Micaiah's rebuke of Ahab, and the kingship of Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah. Before that, Wilson and the church worked verse by verse through Paul's letter to the Colossians, taking up titles like "Reoriented on Jesus," "Freedom in Christ," "Walk in Jesus," "Near to the Heart of God," and "A True Servant of Christ." Earlier still, the church walked through portions of 1 Kings and 2 Kings.
The same expository instinct appears in the Special Studies. Wilson has guided the congregation through extended surveys of eschatology, including a careful walk through the book of Revelation and a study of "Revelation: Views of the Millennium." He has also published written studies on the date of Easter, the origins of the name "Easter," and the question of when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper in relation to the Passover.
Walking Through the Names of God
No single feature of the church's teaching life is more distinctive than the pastor's monthly article series. For nearly four years, Wilson has written a series of long articles, one per month, intended to walk the congregation - and any interested reader - through the names of God in the Old Testament and the names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament.
The series began with the covenant names of God. Wilson traced the roots and meanings of YHWH, the personal name God revealed to Moses at the burning bush ("I AM WHO I AM"), and of Elohim, the generic Hebrew term for deity that emphasizes infinite strength and absolute faithfulness. He worked through the compound names that join YHWH with descriptive terms: Yahweh-Jireh ("The Lord Will Provide"), Yahweh-Nissi ("The Lord Is My Banner," from the victory over the Amalekites), Yahweh-Shalom ("The Lord Is Peace," from Gideon's altar), Yahweh-Tsidkenu ("The Lord Our Righteousness"), Yahweh-Mekaddish ("The Lord Who Sanctifies"), Yahweh-Raah ("The Lord My Shepherd"), Yahweh-Ropheka ("The Lord Who Heals"), and Yahweh-Saboath ("The Lord of Hosts"). Then he turned to the epithets - the adjectival images of God in the Psalms and the Prophets: Rock, Judge, Savior, Fortress, Refuge, and Stronghold, Strength, Help, Redeemer, Light, Shepherd, Husband, Husbandman, and Alpha and Omega.
The aim throughout is pastoral as much as academic. Each article is anchored in the biblical text, illustrated with care from Christian writers old and new - Charles Spurgeon, Kent Hughes, Billy Graham, Tony Evans, A.W. Tozer, J. Sidlow Baxter, Martin Luther, John Piper, and many others - and brought back to the life of a local church in Granite City. In the article on God as Judge, for example, Wilson concludes with a question and an invitation: "What a wonderful gift that God the righteous Judge gave when He sent His only Son to die for our sins. His Word calls us to respond in faith and repentance. Have you received this gift of amazing grace? If not, call us here at Grace Baptist Church."
Then the Names and Titles of Jesus
After the names of God, the monthly article series turned to the names of Jesus. Wilson walked through the Old Testament promises and types first - the Shiloh of Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49, the prophet like Moses from Deuteronomy 18, the Branch of David in Isaiah and Jeremiah, the Desire of All Nations from Haggai, the Banner from Isaiah 11. The series moved into the birth titles in Isaiah 9:6: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Then to the Christmas name Immanuel ("God with us"), with its roots in the prophecy to King Ahaz.
Wilson treated Jesus' teaching titles next - Rabbi and Rabboni, Didaskalos (Teacher), Kathegetes (Instructor), Epistates and Oikodespotes (Master, Master of the House). From there he moved to the work of Christ on the cross: Pioneer, Mediator, The Last Adam, Redeemer, Savior, The Lamb of God, and the rich theological term Propitiation - the appeasement of God's wrath by the blood of Christ. The current sequence has turned to the "assistance names" of Christ as He serves His people from heaven: Intercessor, Advocate, and Propitiation for our sins, with the new "sonship names" now underway.
Whether a reader is working through the New Testament on Sunday evenings or simply looking for a serious devotional to read during the week, the article series operates as a slow, careful companion to the church's expository preaching.
The Gospel at the Center
The church's stated summary of the gospel, posted under What is the Gospel, is a six-point outline adapted from John Piper:
1. God created us for His glory. 2. Every human should live for God's glory. 3. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 4. We all deserve eternal punishment. 5. In His great mercy, God sent forth His only Son, Jesus Christ, to provide for sinners the way of eternal life. 6. Eternal life is a free gift to all who will trust in Christ as Lord and Savior.
It is the summary Wilson points new converts and seasoned believers alike back to. The whole article series on the names of Jesus, in his telling, finds its goal in point six.
Benevolence: The Food Pantry
Of the sixfold purpose in Acts 2:42-47, the one that touches the wider Granite City community most directly is benevolence. Grace Baptist maintains a food pantry that can provide a box of non-perishable food items to anyone in need. Food boxes are distributed by appointment only, and the church asks those needing help to call the church office during regular office hours - 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday - at 618-877-6672. Due to the practical limits of a small volunteer staff, food boxes are not delivered; they must be picked up at the building.
It is a modest ministry, and the church treats it as such. But it is the church's way of obeying the Acts 2 call to minister to those in need, and it serves as the clearest expression of the "people of promise" identity beyond the church walls.
The Life of the Church Family
Beyond the formal schedule, Grace Baptist keeps up several traditions and rhythms that bind the congregation together. Sunday evening services run a long series through a single book of the Bible; recent seasons have taken the church through Jonah and 1 Kings. Members celebrate the seasons of the church year together with a Fall Festival and other family-friendly events. Throughout the year, the church gathers in small groups and Bible studies through the week.
The community is multi-generational. Wilson's preaching and the long article series are aimed at older members and serious Bible students, while the children's ministry, Sunday School, and seasonal events give younger families a place to grow.
Planning a Visit
Grace Baptist Church is located at 2600 Edwards Street in Granite City, Illinois. Visitors arriving on a Sunday morning will find Sunday School for all ages at 9:15 a.m. and the Sunday morning worship service at 10:45 a.m. The Wednesday evening prayer service and Bible study begins at 7:00 p.m. The current midweek study works through the book of Galatians; participants are invited to obtain their own copy of Galatians for You.
Anyone wanting to learn more about the church, ask questions, or schedule a visit can reach the office at 618-877-6672 during regular hours, or write to the pastor at dwpreacher@gmail.com. The church mailing address is 2600 Edwards St., Granite City, IL 62040.
An Anchor in Edwards Street
Grace Baptist is a church whose identity is rooted in the conviction that the Bible is the living Word of God and that expository preaching is the lifeblood of a healthy congregation. Around that conviction, the Wilson family and the people of Grace have built a steady pattern of Sunday school, morning and evening worship, midweek prayer, doctrinal study through the pastor's monthly article series, and a small but well-run food pantry that opens the church's doors to the wider community of Granite City. The sermon outlines, podcast, and monthly article series are the public face of a deeply pastoral ministry - one whose faithful motto, in everything it does, is to keep building on the one unshakable foundation of the person and work of Jesus Christ.