Forty-Five Years on Summit Street
Grace Baptist Church sits on Summit Street on the northern edge of Portland, Maine, a brick building recognizable from the road by the small lighthouse on the front lawn and a large American flag flying over the Family Center across the parking lot. The congregation was established in June 1970, started by Pastor Harry Boyle and his family with eighteen people gathered for the first meeting at the American Legion Post in Portland. After a few weeks, the group moved to the chapel of Westbrook College, then into a smaller building at the present location, where a building program began that first year. Pastor Boyle has since gone to be with the Lord, and Pastor Gary M. Ouellette became the church's pastor in 2008. Every Sunday the church continues to worship, pray, serve, and open the Word of God.
A Sunday at 476 Summit Street
The Sunday schedule begins at 10:00 AM with Sunday School. Adults gather in the main sanctuary for a class taught by Pastor Gary Ouellette. Children ages three to five go to classrooms downstairs in the main building, entered through the side door from the parking lot. Elementary students in first through sixth grade head upstairs to classrooms on the right just before the water fountains. Teens in seventh through twelfth grade cross the parking lot to the Family Center, climbing the stairs inside the gym. A young adult group led by Aaron Avery and a new converts class taught by Gary and Cathy White also meet during this hour. A Deaf class offered by the Deaf ministry teachers meets in ASL.
At 11:00 AM the morning service begins. The choir sings, the Word is preached, and Super Church for children ages five through twelve takes place in the Family Center, with teachers walking the younger ones over from the main building after Sunday School. A fully staffed nursery is available throughout the morning for newborns through age three. Greeters meet families at the side door to help them find their way.
The evening service resumes at 6:00 PM, when a nursery is again provided for the youngest children and the rest of the family worships together in the sanctuary. Thursday evenings at 6:30 PM bring a Prayer Meeting and Bible Study along with the youth group for teens and Patch the Pirate for elementary children, with a nursery for the little ones. Services are livestreamed online, and recordings remain available for thirty days.
Grounded in the Baptist Confession
Grace Baptist Church teaches a traditional Baptist confession of faith. The church holds that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the supernaturally and verbally inspired Word of God, without error, and the final revelation of God's will to man. There is one living and true God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, lived without sin, died a substitutionary death on the cross for sinners, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the Father's right hand, and will return in power and glory.
Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. The new birth is the instantaneous work of the Holy Spirit, and those who endure in faith are kept by the power of God unto salvation. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a prerequisite to church membership and the Lord's Supper. The local church is taught as an autonomous body of baptized believers, with Christ as the only head through the Holy Spirit, free from any outside hierarchy. The church takes a literal view of the Genesis account of creation, teaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and reserves the offices of pastor and deacon to men. Members are accountable to the Lord for the tithe, given on the first day of the week through the local church.
The Choir, the Orchestra, and the Open Word
Music is woven through the life of the church. The choir, conducted by Tom Gapski, the assistant pastor and music director, leads worship each Sunday morning and evening and during special events such as the Mission Conference and the sacred music presentations known as cantatas. Choir practice takes place on Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM and again at 5:30 PM, with extra rehearsals added as needed. A small orchestra invites musicians of the church to use their gifts in the services. The music ministry is open to any church member who feels led of the Lord to serve.
A Church That Drives Out to Meet You
Reaching beyond its walls is part of the church's identity. Larry and Kim Warren lead a Bus Ministry that picks up children from Portland and Westbrook families each Sunday morning for Sunday School and the morning service, a key outreach to children who might otherwise never set foot in a church. A shuttle service is also available for adults who need transportation to and from services. Each Saturday morning at 9:00 AM a visitation team spreads out across greater Portland with brochures and gospel tracts, knocking on doors and sharing as opportunity arises.
Bill Copeland leads a Nursing Home Ministry that conducts weekly Bible study and worship at two facilities, bringing the gospel to those unable to attend church. The church's Helping Hands program, organized through the Kitchen Aides ministry, provides short-term meals for those recovering from surgery or facing temporary need. The congregation supports missionaries in many countries through a Faith Promise program and takes a special Christmas missions offering each year. Anchored in Acts 1:8, the church believes the call to take the gospel from Portland to the ends of the earth belongs to every believer.
The Deaf Congregation: A Fellowship Within the Fellowship
From the beginning the church has welcomed Deaf members. Worship services include an ASL interpreter, and a Deaf Sunday School is taught in ASL sign language. Patti Ouellette coordinates the Deaf ministry and offers ASL classes for those who wish to communicate with Deaf members or join the team. A Deaf Sunday School class is one of the adult class options during the Sunday School hour. The Deaf ministry is one of the defining marks of Grace Baptist in the Portland area.
From Nursery to Prime-Timers
The church offers something for nearly every age. The Nursery Ministry, led by Carla Laroche, cares for newborns through three-year-olds during every service. Sunday School classes begin at age three, and Super Church during the morning service is for ages five through twelve. Vacation Bible School runs for a week each August for kindergarten through sixth grade.
The teen ministry, led by Tom Gapski, gathers for Sunday School at 10:00 AM and includes regular monthly activities: trips, youth conferences, hay mazes, game nights, Teen Jubilees at a sister church in Sanford on the third Saturday afternoon with transportation provided, All Night events, and community service projects. Patch the Pirate, a Bible-centered program for elementary children with verse memorization and songs, meets on Thursday evenings during the service. A children's choir prepares for special presentations during the year.
For adults, the JOY ladies group meets for fellowship and study. Prime-Timers is the church's seniors group for those fifty-five and older, with monthly outings such as ferry rides to local islands for lunch and hiking, museum trips, game days, barbecues at members' homes, and day trips to Boston on the train. Men's prayer breakfasts gather men who love the Lord for food, fellowship, and prayer. Open gym time is offered for area teens throughout the week.
The Rhythm of the Year
Beyond the weekly schedule, certain seasons mark the church calendar. The annual Mission Conference in October brings missionaries to share their work, highlighted by an international dinner with dishes and dress from around the world. The Christmas missions offering each year supports those with specific needs. A Ladies Christmas Tea with games, food, and an ornament exchange gathers the women in early December. Mid-winter potlucks, the Preacher Fellowship and Thanksgiving Dinner, the Anniversary Picnic in June, and cantata presentations by the choir round out the year. Ladies shopping and luncheon excursions and a Family Fall Festival for the community in October extend fellowship beyond the building. Whatever the season, the front lawn lighthouse stays lit, and the doors on Summit Street stay open.