A Church Rooted in Sharonville for Sixty Years
On Route 42 (Lebanon Road) in Sharonville, a suburb just north of Cincinnati, Grace Bible Presbyterian Church has gathered each Sunday around the preaching and teaching of God's Word since 1965. From fewer than twenty members meeting in a Holiday Inn to a multi-building campus that now houses a sanctuary, gymnasium, fellowship hall, nursery, and classrooms, the congregation has grown by committing itself to a single habit: verse-by-verse exposition of Scripture. The church's motto, "Grace Bible Presbyterian exists to proclaim the whole counsel of God for the whole of life," names what every ministry aims at - nothing less than teaching the full counsel of God to every generation that comes through the door.
That conviction shows up at every level of the church. Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jason Hutchinson calls the church into "Christ-centered preaching, God-honoring worship, and joy-filled fellowship." The congregation belongs to the Bible Presbyterian Church, a small, confessionally Reformed denomination that adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms at its organizing synod in 1938 and traces its origin to the fundamentalist-Presbyterian separation earlier in the twentieth century. Grace sits within the Great Lakes Presbytery of the Bible Presbyterian Church, the regional body that supplies leadership, camp staff, and oversight for the Ohio congregation.
The Westminster Standards as the Doctrinal Anchor
The Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism are not displayed as historical artifacts in Sharonville; they function as the doctrinal standards of the church. Pastors are expected to teach them, and the catechisms in particular shape what is taught to children. The Wednesday-evening children's program instructs students in the Westminster Shorter Catechism alongside the Bible and biblical stories. Adult courses on the Westminster Confession are offered through the church's course program, taught in part by Jason Hutchinson. The doctrinal pages of the church carry the full text of all three documents with chapter and verse proofs so members can read and study them at length.
The church summarizes what it teaches with five core values. First, it is devoted to the gospel - the good news that the eternal Son took on flesh, lived sinlessly, died as a substitute for sinners, and rose again so that all who repent and believe in Him alone have eternal life. Second, it is Word-centered: Scripture alone is the infallible rule and guide for faith and life. Third, it is unwavering - even when the surrounding culture shifts, the church remains steadfast to the unchanging truth of Scripture. Fourth, it is Great Commission people, supporting missionaries locally and globally. Fifth, it is a faith family, treating the church as a covenant community in which every member, from the unborn child to the senior saint, is intentionally invested in.
The Shape of the Sunday Services
A typical Lord's Day at Grace Bible Presbyterian follows the same three-part rhythm that has shaped Reformed worship for centuries. The morning begins with Sunday School at 9:30 AM, when children, youth, and adults separate into graded classes for Bible instruction. Five adult classes meet each week, and the children's wing offers graded classes for 2s and 3s, 4s and 5s, kindergarten, first and second grade, third and fourth grade, and fifth and sixth grade, all using the Show Me Jesus curriculum from Great Commission Publishers.
At 10:45 AM the congregation gathers for morning worship. Visitors are welcomed at the door with warm smiles; ushers help them find seats and answer questions. The service itself is reverent and joyful, marked by prayer, congregational singing, Bible reading, and expository preaching. The sanctuary has room for several hundred worshipers, and the order of service follows a traditional Reformed pattern. Sunday evening worship returns at 6:00 PM for a second opportunity to sit under the preaching of the Word.
Both the morning and evening services are livestreamed on YouTube, and recordings are available afterward for anyone who wants to listen again or catch up. Sermon audio from the church is also archived on SermonAudio, going back through years of verse-by-verse exposition. Visitors who prefer to learn what to expect before coming often browse that archive to hear Jason Hutchinson, Casey Southerland, and Frank Liu preach through books of the Bible.
Children at Grace: From the Welcome Center to Sunday School
Families with children find a layered system of care at Grace. The Children's Welcome Center is the first stop on a Sunday morning. A team of friendly volunteers greets families, answers questions, securely checks children in for their classes, and guides parents to the right rooms. Children's Bulletins and Worship Bags are offered to families who prefer to keep their children with them in the sanctuary, stocked with quiet activities to engage the young while the rest of the family worships together.
The Nursery serves families with children from birth through age two during Sunday School and the morning worship service. Toddler Church is for children aged two through kindergarten during the morning service; it uses the Hands On Bible curriculum from Group Publishing to introduce basic concepts of God, His nature, and His work. Children's Sunday School uses graded classrooms with Show Me Jesus material, a curriculum that explicitly aims to root the next generation firmly in Scripture and prepare them as lifelong followers of Jesus Christ.
All of this is overseen by Children's Ministry Director Brandi Becker. The stated aim of the children's ministry is to instill in the generation to come a love for the Lord, both by living a testimony before them of love for God and by declaring to them His praises from Scripture. The strategy treats parents as the primary disciplers of their children; the church comes alongside to support and reinforce that calling.
R.O.C. on Wednesday Evenings
From mid-September through mid-May, the children of Grace have a second weekly meeting. Resting on Christ, known simply as R.O.C., gathers kids from PreK through sixth grade at the church on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:45. The program sings, prays, plays, and teaches the Bible, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and biblically-based stories. Birthdays are celebrated together, snacks are shared, and special events are folded into the year - Pizza with the Pastors, a Pinewood Derby, and similar gatherings that build fellowship across ages.
All kids are welcome at R.O.C., whether they already know and love Jesus or have never been to a church before in their lives. The setting is intentionally relaxed and family-like, with older children and younger children learning alongside one another in a way that mirrors the multi-generational feel of the whole church.
Youth Ministry: Winning, Building, Serving
The youth ministry exists, in the words of its leaders, to bring glory to God by winning lost students to Christ, building believing students in Christ, and equipping them to serve for Christ in their lost world. The threefold motto - winning, building, serving - shows up in every activity the youth undertake, from Sunday School classes for junior and senior high students, to Wednesday night youth group meetings with Bible study, worship, and fellowship, to retreats, mission trips, and service projects around the community.
The youth group's stated goal is to be Christ-centered, genuinely loving, welcoming and accepting, united in its diversity, and marked by a real joy that withstands life's heartaches. The leaders want the youth group to be the kind of place where teenagers encounter the Lord, learn to love His Word, and find a second family across generational lines. After youth meetings, it is common for the families of the group to mingle together and for parents to join in the soccer games that happen in the church gym - the body of Christ being lived out as a panorama of ages and relationships.
Each winter, the youth participate with the Great Lakes Presbytery in a Winter Youth Conference during the last week of December. In the summer, the same students have the chance to attend BP Church Camp at Southeastern Baptist Youth Camp in Greensburg, Indiana, run by pastors and adults of the presbytery.
Adult Education and Discipleship
Beyond Sunday School, the church offers ongoing equipping for adults through courses and books. The course catalog currently features series on the Westminster Confession, Reformation Portraits, and Biblical Theology, taught by the pastors. A separate library of recommended reading is curated for members and visitors, covering topics like Biblical Eldership, Christian Apologetics, and an introduction to Reformed theology.
The church's preaching is exposition-driven rather than topical, which means most series work slowly through a book of the Bible at a time. Members are exposed to the Old Testament narratives, the gospels, the epistles, and the prophets in turn, with attention to grammar, context, and the whole counsel of God. Sermon series pages allow listeners to filter by topic or by book.
Ladies of Grace
Women's ministry at Grace operates under the name Ladies of Grace, overseen by an elder and led by a team of women who care about the hearts of the women in the church. The work happens through three concentric circles: Women's Bible Studies (Women in the Word, Back to the Basics, and Prayer and the Practice of Praying), special events such as cooking classes, an annual clothing swap, a women's Christmas dinner, and Chicks-N-Chips game nights, and Outreach, Mercy & Care - the Dorcas Ministry, which sews and quilts for the Life Forward Pregnancy Help Center, the Wears Valley Children's Home, and church members; Emergency Meals, which provides three weeks of meals to families facing an unexpected hardship or birth; and a Wedding & Baby Showers team. The current focus of the team is fostering Discipleship relationships within the church.
Studies have historically met on multiple weekdays - mornings, afternoons, and evenings, with both weekly and biweekly options - in order to fit a wide range of schedules. Ladies of all ages are welcome.
Men's Bible Studies
Two distinct Bible studies for men meet on the church's campus each week, both held in the Fellowship Hall. On Friday mornings from 6:30 to 7:30 AM, the Men's Bible Fellowship gathers for breakfast, Bible study, and prayer. The setting is intentionally small-group, with open discussion and a chance for working men to start the day around the Word.
On Saturdays from 7:30 to 9:00 AM, the Men Transformed by Samuel (MTS) study meets for breakfast, fellowship, prayer, hymn-singing, and extended Bible study and discussion. MTS is open to all men of the church - members, visitors, and their sons - with young men aged fourteen and up welcome to attend alongside senior saints in their eighties. The current focus has been on the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, working verse by verse through the high and low points of King David's life and applying them to the real issues men face. The leaders describe the atmosphere as honest and discussion-rich, with fathers and sons especially encouraged to attend together.
Keenagers and the Adult Choir
The Keenagers ministry focuses on utilizing the talents and experience of the church's senior saints. It is one of the smallest and simplest ministries in name, but its purpose is significant: giving the older members of the congregation a place to fellowship, serve, and mentor the rest of the body. The Adult Choir, in turn, rehearses each Sunday evening at 7:10 PM and sings for worship services and special events. Rehearsals and singing are a tangible expression of the church's commitment to God-honoring worship in song.
Fellowship, Meals, and the Church Calendar
The Fellowship Committee, quoting 1 Peter 4:10, brings church members and friends from all age groups together around the table. Church-wide events under its care include fellowship lunches, congregational dinners, an Easter breakfast, cookie socials, and the annual church picnic. Volunteers contribute through cooking, decorating, hospitality, and kitchen organization, building the unity of a faith family that intentionally eats together.
Members who wish to get connected with the church on arrival are pointed to four pathways: attending a service, joining a fellowship meal, joining a small group, or volunteering. The weekly bulletin includes a tear-off that visitors can drop in the offering box to express a desire for more connection; the staff follows up from there.
Missions: Near and Far
Missions have been a defining emphasis of Grace since early in its history. The church's first international missionaries, Darryl and Judy Creamer, were commissioned in 1971 from within the growing membership and served in Israel until 1989. Decades later, the church continues to support five foreign missionaries and four US-based missionaries, alongside partnerships with mission agencies and gospel-promoting organizations. The Missions Committee meets bi-monthly to encourage missions awareness throughout the ministries of the church and to manage its relationships with mission boards and missionaries.
The church also hosts the office of Presbyterian Missionary Union within its building, led by Assistant Pastor Casey Southerland, who became the field director for PMU in 2019. On the local level, the Dorcas Ministry sews and quilts for pregnancy help centers and a children's home, the Emergency Meals program supports church members and friends in crisis, and Operation Christmas Child - the church's annual participation in the Samaritan's Purse shoebox campaign - extends that local heart for the gospel to children around the world.
VBS, Camp, and Family Discipleship
Each summer the church runs a Vacation Bible School week for children from age three through sixth grade, drawing children from inside the church and the wider neighborhood. The program features music, Bible lessons, crafts, games, and snacks, and is themed each year around a particular passage or theme from Scripture, with an emphasis on coming to the Lord of salvation. The high point of the year for many families, however, is BP Church Camp. Held each summer at Southeastern Baptist Youth Camp in Greensburg, Indiana, the week-long camp serves students from fourth grade through high school graduation, with pastors and adults from the Great Lakes Presbytery teaching and counseling.
Children's Welcome Center greetings, graded Sunday School classes, Wednesday-night R.O.C., youth group retreats, VBS, and church camp form a connected chain. Each element supports the same goal: that children and teenagers would know Jesus Christ, learn to love His Word, and grow up into the covenant community that surrounds them.
Leadership and Governance
The pastoral team is led by Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jason Hutchinson, who was installed in March 2015 after earning his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and being ordained into the Bible Presbyterian Church. He and his wife Jennifer have four sons. Assistant Pastor Rev. Casey Southerland grew up at Grace, was saved through the ministry of the Great Lakes Presbytery's summer camp, returned to the church in 1998 to lead the youth ministry, was ordained as a pastor in 2011, and now combines his pastoral duties with serving as Field Director for Presbyterian Missionary Union. Rev. Frank Liu serves alongside them. Cindy Evans directs the music ministry of the church, and Brandi Becker leads the children's ministry.
Alongside the pastors, who are teaching elders, the Session of Ruling Elders oversees the functions, ministries, members, staff, and denominational activities of the church, with their primary purpose drawn from Acts 6 - the ministry of the Word and prayer. The Deacons focus on the physical needs of the congregation and the surrounding community, helping with financial counseling, transportation, meals, minor home repair, benevolence, and encouragement. Anyone interested in local outreach or in serving needs within the congregation is encouraged to start with the Deacons.
All three pastors are accessible through the church's offices, and the church office answers calls and messages during the week. Visitors who want to walk through a typical Sunday before arriving can do so online and are warmly invited to come as they are.