On the west side of Greeley, just off 20th Street, Grace Church Greeley has gathered each Lord's Day for expository preaching, congregational singing, and the ordinances of believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper since its inaugural service in 1973. The church's identity is rooted in the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, which its elders commend to the congregation as a clear and edifying summary of the Christian faith. That confessional foundation, combined with a steady diet of verse-by-verse preaching through books of the Bible, gives the church its character and draws visitors who want to hear the Word of God opened carefully and applied faithfully.
Sundays at Grace: Equipping Hour and the Lord's Day Service
The Sunday rhythm at Grace Church centers on two gatherings. From 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., the Equipping Hour fills the building with classes for every age. Adults gather for teaching and guided interaction centered on Scripture, with the goal of equipping believers for the work of ministry. Middle and high school students meet to learn a biblical worldview in a culture that teaches the opposite. From the nursery to elementary age, children are taught from a gospel-saturated curriculum that walks them chronologically through the Bible.
After a short break during which visitors can browse books at the church bookstore and grab a free cup of coffee, the congregation assembles for the Lord's Day Worship Service at 10:30 a.m. in the main sanctuary, located in the larger building with the windows in the center. The service runs approximately ninety minutes and follows a steady pattern: the congregation worships by singing, reads Scripture aloud, confesses the truth, and listens to the preaching of God's Word. Bibles and informational bulletins are available for anyone who needs one. Sunday morning sermons are verse-by-verse expositions that work through books of the Bible, mining out the meaning of the text so that the listener can understand it and be changed by it.
The worship service is livestreamed on YouTube for those unable to attend in person. For visitors who arrive early, the building is easy to find, and there is plenty of room to settle in before the service begins.
The 1689 London Baptist Confession: A Reformed Baptist Identity
The doctrinal commitments of Grace Church are set out in their Articles of Faith, a summary required for membership, and in their longer What We Teach document. At the foundation sits the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, which the elders commend as a clear, reliable, and edifying summary of the Christian faith. Quoting Charles Spurgeon, they note that the confession is "the most excellent epitome of the things most surely believed among us," an expression of Scripture's teaching rather than a replacement for it.
The confession is shaped by historic Calvinism. The church teaches that God is sovereign over all things, that salvation is wholly by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and that God chose in Christ from eternity past those whom He would graciously regenerate. Justification is by faith alone on the basis of Christ's imputed righteousness. The perseverance of the saints is grounded in the immutability of God's decree and the efficacy of Christ's intercession. The church also affirms the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, defending the full truthfulness of Scripture down to its very words, and the Cambridge Declaration, reaffirming the five solas of the Protestant Reformation.
In one notable departure from a strict reading of the 1689, the elders hold a dispensational, premillennial position on eschatology. The church teaches that the church began on the day of Pentecost, that the church is distinct from Israel, and that God's Old Testament promises to the nation of Israel will be fulfilled in a literal, earthly millennium before the eternal state. An addendum to the confession, written by Don Green and ascribed to by the church, sets out the justification for this reading. Apart from this, the elders regard the confession's affirmations as primary and their premillennialism as a secondary but important matter.
Believer's Baptism by Immersion
The first ordinance of the Christian church, baptism, is treated as a distinctive at Grace Church. The elders have written a position paper explaining what the Bible teaches about baptism and why it matters for the life of the congregation.
The church practices believer's baptism by full immersion. Only those who profess repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ are considered proper subjects of baptism. The practice follows the New Testament pattern, in which converts were immersed in water after their profession of faith, as Philip did with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.
Baptism does not save. It is an outward symbol that pictures inward spiritual realities: the washing away of sin, the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and incorporation into the body of Christ. It is also the entryway into church membership, since only someone who has been baptized may become a member of a local church.
Restorative Church Discipline
The second distinctive of the church is its practice of restorative church discipline. The elders have also written a position paper explaining the four steps Jesus gives in Matthew 18:15-17: confront privately, confront transparently with one or two witnesses, confront publicly before the church, and, if there is no repentance, formally remove the unrepentant person from the fellowship of the church.
The goal of church discipline is never punishment but restoration. When professing Christians fall into significant sin or persistent patterns of sin, the church lovingly confronts them so that they may see their fault, repent, and be restored to joyful fellowship with Christ and His people. In most cases, the first private step is enough to bring about repentance. Only the refusal to repent requires the more serious steps.
The elders emphasize that discipline is an expression of love for Christ, His glory, and His people. To allow professing Christians to continue in unrepentant sin is, in the end, the unloving course.
The Lord's Day Worship: What Visitors Can Expect
Visitors are warmly welcomed to the worship service. The atmosphere is intentionally simple and reverent. Men and women sing psalms and hymns together, read Scripture aloud, and confess the historic Christian faith. Children are welcome in the service. Nursery and preschool care is available so that parents can focus on worship. Elementary-aged children are encouraged to remain with their parents and have prepared clipboards with weekly worksheets that provide note-taking space and Bible-centered activities, gradually introducing them to listening carefully to a sermon.
Dress is informal. Members come in everything from business casual to jeans. The congregation gathers around the preaching of the Word, and visitors can expect to hear an extended exposition of a passage of Scripture rather than a topical message or a series of announcements. Recent sermons have included expositions of 2 Corinthians 5, Hebrews 3, Colossians 3, and 1 Samuel 17, drawing material from across the Old and New Testaments.
Teaching the Next Generation: Children and Students
The Children's Ministry at Grace Church is dedicated to teaching children to know and practice the Word of Truth. The goal, in the words of the children's ministry director, is that "every child would come to saving faith in Jesus Christ at a young age." For that reason, the curriculum is gospel-saturated, and children are exhorted to know, believe, and obey the truth with their whole heart.
The nursery and toddler rooms are staffed by adults firmly grounded in biblical truth who pray for and with the children and teach them simple truth statements from the Bible through foundational lessons. Preschool through fifth grade are shepherded through a chronological study of the Bible, with curriculum tailored to each age group. Every lesson, whether in the Old Testament or New Testament, contains a connection to the gospel. Drop-off begins at 9:00 or 10:15 a.m. on Sundays, with pickup at noon.
The Student Ministry serves middle and high school students, encouraging them to recognize and repent of sin, forsake the world, and follow Jesus Christ. The ministry supports parents who are teaching their students to discern the ungodly messages of the culture and to confront those messages with the truth of God's Word. Students meet during the Sunday Equipping Hour at 9:00 a.m. and again on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. for the Truth Training program, a gospel-rich time of teaching and fellowship. On Wednesdays, preschool through fifth grade children also have their own Truth Training program, with devotional booklets to take home, scripture verses to memorize, and a lesson connected to those verses each week.
Adult Equipping: Studies, Classes, and Home Groups
The Adult Ministries at Grace Church are designed to "enrich the soil" of believers' hearts and minds with God's Word. Classes meet in a variety of formats, both on Sunday mornings during the Equipping Hour, on Sunday evenings, and during the week. Past studies have included series on parenting, family, the Reformation and Luther's theology, the church's response to social justice, and theological themes such as original sin, assurance of salvation, and how Christians should think about Israel. A Women's Bible Study meets on Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., currently studying the Psalms, and a second ladies' study meets on Fridays from 1:00 to 2:45 p.m. working through Nehemiah and into Genesis.
The Adult Teaching Ministry has four stated objectives: to provide good teaching centered on the Bible, to see believers grow in their walk with Christ, to build each other up in love, humility, and unity, and to provide training and reinforcement of the truth revealed in God's Word. Associate Pastor Bret Hastings oversees the adult ministries.
Home Groups extend this fellowship beyond the church building. Home groups meet in homes around the area for Bible study, prayer, and true Christian fellowship, which the church regards as essential to Christian growth.
The Biblical Counseling Ministry
One of the most distinctive ministries at Grace Church is its Biblical Discipleship Counseling Ministry, led by Elder Bill Willcutts along with eighteen other trained counselors. The ministry offers free biblical counseling to members of the church, and a limited number of cases from the community on a case-by-case basis.
Biblical counseling is understood as an intensified, formal, and temporary form of biblical discipleship. Its goal is not to change circumstances or solve problems, but to help struggling people learn to work out repentance in a particular area. Counselors apply the richness and fullness of Scripture to human problems, dealing with marriage and family, interpersonal relationships, depression, anxiety, drunkenness, and other concerns. Where appropriate, biblical counselors will recommend medical care in conjunction with biblical counseling.
Those interested in receiving counseling submit a Consent to Counsel form (one for members and one for non-members) and a Personal Data Inventory. Cases are approved by the elders and assigned to a counselor as availability allows. Counseling typically requires four to six hours per week for approximately six to eight weeks, including sessions and weekly homework. In most sessions a counselor-in-training is present so that more members of the church may be equipped for this work. The church's directory of recommended resources points to the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, Faith Counseling Lafayette, the Institute for Nouthetic Studies, The Master's University, and the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship.
Music as Service
The Music Ministry at Grace Church treats music as a beautiful gift of God to His Church and as a natural outpouring of the heart for those who let God's Word dwell richly in them. The music director, Ren Merry, oversees a ministry whose singular desire is to serve God as well as His gathered people. The Greek word the ministry chooses as its guide is latreuo, which means "to serve" or "service." Music at Grace is therefore understood as service: an expression of thankfulness for who God is and what He has done. Members of Grace Church who would like to serve through music are encouraged to contact the church office.
Shepherds, Theologians, Men
The Men's Ministry at Grace Church focuses on training men as Shepherds, Theologians, and Men (STM). The ministry is designed to teach men how to shepherd their families well, to know the deep things of God, and to be men of godly character. Currently, men's training consists of Saturday morning gatherings where Pastor Travis Allen is teaching through systematic theology and its implications for men as shepherds. With that theological foundation, men are challenged to grow in personal character and holiness.
Pillar of Truth: The Church's Wider Reach
The Pillar of Truth is a podcast and online streaming ministry of Grace Church Greeley. Its purpose, in the church's words, is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to believers that they might be encouraged in the faith, and to those who are lost that they might find salvation in Jesus Christ. Programming includes conference messages and ongoing teaching from the pastoral staff and guest speakers. Pillar of Truth content is available through the church's website and is part of the broader Pillar of Truth network.
The church also hosts an annual Pillar of Truth Conference, drawing preachers and attendees from the wider community for concentrated teaching and fellowship around Scripture.
Leadership: Elders, Deacons, and Pastoral Staff
Grace Church is led by a plurality of elders, supported by deacons and a small pastoral and administrative staff. The elders are Pastor Travis Allen, the church's pastor since 2014; Pastor Bret Hastings, the associate pastor; Elder Gary Oedy, who has served the church in many capacities since its earliest days; and Elder Bill Willcutts, who also directs the biblical counseling ministry. Travis Allen was raised in Golden, Colorado, came to faith while serving in the military in 1990, and was educated at The College at Southeastern and The Master's Seminary. He and his wife Melinda have five children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter. Bret Hastings grew up at Grace Church, was saved in 2001, served as Student Director before pursuing a B.A. in Theology at The Master's Seminary, and returned to the church in 2020 as associate pastor.
Deacons include Brad Shade, Devin Huizingh, and Joe Phyillaier. Staff members include Reuben Pickering, pastoral assistant; Ren Merry, music director; Monika Walker, children's ministry director; Kate Doney, administrative assistant; and Kristy Morris, biblical counseling secretary.
Membership and What It Means
Membership at Grace Church is a willing commitment to worship and walk together according to the will of Christ, giving up oneself to the Lord and to one another. The universal church of God is made up of all believers, but Christ has organized that larger body into local expressions that practically operate as a gathered body, and members commit to one another in that local setting.
Those interested in becoming members are invited to attend Grace 101, an informal class that helps newcomers get to know members and leaders. The class required for membership is Membership Matters, which summarizes the 101 material and explains church polity and practice, including who leads the church and why things are done the way they are. The class gives prospective members a chance to review the Articles of Faith, the 1689 London Baptist Confession, the position papers on believer's baptism and restorative church discipline, and the church's by-laws, while the elders also get to know prospective members over the course of the class.
How to Connect
Visitors can reach the church office at (970) 330-1340 or by email at office@gracegreeley.org. The office is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The building is located at 6400 W 20th Street, Greeley, Colorado 80634, with the main sanctuary entrance toward the middle of the larger building with the windows in the center.
Those who wish to give to the church can do so online through Church Center. The full archive of sermons is available on the church's website, with audio, video, and PDF manuscripts of recent messages, organized by book of the Bible, series, speaker, and date. The website also maintains a calendar of upcoming events and a list of weekly Bible reading plans and sermon texts. Members may log in to the church's online community through the member login page.
Grace Church Greeley keeps to a clear and steady rhythm: gather for the equipping of the saints, gather for the worship of God, go out to serve one another and the community of Greeley in the name of Christ. Whether someone is exploring Christianity for the first time or has been walking with Christ for decades, the doors at 6400 West 20th Street are open.