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Welcome to Grace Lutheran Church!  I’d like to give you a little background on our church and some thoughts about our building process.

Our Origin

Grace Lutheran Church has its origin in the German community of Lutherville , Arkansas .  There, immigrants who came to America seeking a better life, found encouragement and strength in the uncompromising Lutheran proclamation of justification by faith.  Members worked hard during the week but knew that on Sunday they would be encouraged and built up through hearing the Word of God and participation in the sacraments.  Today, their descendants, many of whom are current members of Grace, rejoice in the knowledge that their departed loved ones are in heaven because of the Gospel message proclaimed at their Lutherville church. 

Our Message

When the church moved to Clarksville in 1961, the revered doctrinal teaching of justification by faith continued to be proclaimed by their pastors.  All who embraced the message entered into the Kingdom of God , in accordance with the promise, “He who believes and is baptized, shall be saved…” (Mark 16:16 )  Convicted sinners were born again by the power of the Holy Spirit and they taught their children to believe the same Gospel truth.  This is the legacy of Grace Lutheran Church .  Its salvation message has been life giving and life sustaining, and it is the Word that Grace continues to proclaim to all who will listen.

Our Purpose

Today, through Godly worship, Christ-centered preaching, verse-by-verse bible study, confirmation instruction, inter-personal relationships, prayer services, and evangelistic outreach, Grace Lutheran Church is a living witness for Christ in the community.  However, a light hid under a bushel cannot be seen.  A heartfelt desire to proclaim that “Jesus Christ is Lord”, can be hindered by community unawareness and a lack of visibility.  Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men…” (Matthew 5:16) indicating that we need to be a lighthouse of which our community is aware, a beacon that will attract both the curious, and genuine seekers, a church that will beckon the unsaved to come through our doors and learn about Christ. 

Why build a church?  A new church costs time, money, sacrificial giving and a commitment level that challenges each individual member.  The answer is not difficult.  We do it because we aspire to grow together for the love of Christ.  Our Lord could have emphasized a variety of teachings prior to His ascension into heaven, but His final words to His disciples were, “Go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19)  God desires a family, and His family is gathered when men and women come together in His church.  Jesus loves the church and calls it His bride.  He wants us to love it as well.

Our Plan

Any worthwhile goal calls for sacrifice.  Consequently we must ask ourselves, “Is the overall goal worth the time and effort that must go into seeing it through?”  Jesus seemed to think the church was important for He laid down His life for it.  The angels think it is important as they rejoice when even one sinner hears the Word of God and repents.  Therefore it is not unreasonable that we line up with Christ and the angels.  This will happen when we see the church not only as a part of our life, but also as life itself.  The church is the body of Christ, a living organism that imparts hope and joy to all who are a part.  So let us be willing to make the time and monetary sacrifices to see our church grow.  Such an endeavor is most certainly God pleasing and will bring untold blessings to every participant.  Jesus’ love for the church prompted Him to give us the Great Commission to “go and make disciples…”   May God grant us the willingness to see His command fulfilled through us.

UUUUUUU

Giving Life to the Next Generation

For those of us whose hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness, there is an exciting future in store for us – and an exciting challenge as well in order to give life to the next generation.  God has promised that He will build His church.  Through our Christian upbringing, we have learned that we can always depend on God doing what He promises!

In the past several years, we at Grace have stepped out in faith in many areas.  We agreed on a long range plan which included buying land in a prominent location, building a new facility in which to worship, and calling a full-time pastor --- though not necessarily in that order.  We have purchased approximately eight acres of land on Highway 64 between Clarksville and Lamar.  In addition, we no longer share a pastor with our sister congregation, Zion Lutheran.  Thus, we have taken two very important, the-life-of-our-church-faith-based steps.  And they weren’t baby steps – they were giant Mother-may-I? Steps.  It is now time for us once again to take a giant step in faith and build for the future.  We have so many things going for us as we face this monumental – yet thrilling – step.  We are blessed with an exciting message of salvation to share with our community – and an energetic deliverer of that message.  The site, which we have purchased, will give us more visibility thus helping us to share this message of salvation more effectively as people in the community will realize that we exist.  Ye we can share that same message in our current location, but a lot of people have come to realize that there is a Lutheran Church in Johnson County since we put up our “Future Home of…” sign on our new site.  The time is near, the papers are being signed, our current location is sold, our temporary location, seven miles up hwy 21 turn left at sign, is just about ready, and the building will soon begin.  There IS an exciting future in store for us.  God IS faithful!  God HAS provided in the past and He WILL certainly continue to provide in the future.

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