NEW MEMBERS BRING US JOY

We are both glad and humbled every time a person says, "I want to join in on what God is doing at Sovereign Grace Church." That's what membership is. An opportunity for the church and the individual to say clearly, "We are in this together as long as the Lord allows." 

On Sunday we welcomed two folks we love dearly as members of Sovereign Grace Church. Kevin has been around for 8 years and Katie is coming up on one year.

Kevin thanked Sovereign Grace for loving him through the ups and downs of his Christian walk.
Katie thanked the church for welcoming her with open arms. 

All of us rejoiced as God weaved them into the fabric of our church.

GOD ARRANGES THE MEMBERS

This past Sunday we welcomed new members. Two of them, Wes and Natalie, shared about their experience joining our church. Here it is in their own words:

Wes: We’re so blessed to be up here today before you; and excited, we’ve honestly been looking forward to this for a while. It’s already been such a gift being a part of this fellowship for some time, so it really means a lot to us that we can now be official members.

We moved to Orange last June from Huntington Beach. I work in Orange as well, as a project manager for a construction company. Natalie has battled some chronic illnesses over the years, so she’s busy being an awesome wife and taking care of herself. We moved to Orange mainly to find a bigger place to hopefully grow a family someday, and it made sense both for my work and that it’s about halfway between our parents.

Plus Old Towne is sweet.

I stumbled on Sovereign Grace Music sometime back and I ended up looking the ministry up, because I’m like that, and saw that there was a church in Orange. So when we were moving, it was definitely one of our top choices to check out. We came here on the first Sunday after we moved, although that wasn’t totally the plan. That morning we started out for another church since it was closer, and we were probably running behind. We prayed on the short drive that God would guide us that day. And as we pulled into the parking lot of this other church, it seemed kind of like a ghost town. There was like one car in the parking lot and not a soul in sight. Not to fault that church at all, but we felt a little strange. It was around 10:25 or so, and we decided, “Let’s go to Sovereign Grace instead; we can make it.”

We visited once and we never went anywhere else.

Natalie: We had written in a journal of mine some time back that we were praying for a church family. We’ve gone to a few other churches before, but nothing has ever felt like home quite like Sovereign Grace. The second Sunday we came, we met Holly and Grant, sat down, and not long after Grant was tapping on my shoulder, inviting us to lunch. It was so refreshing, not only having people introduce themselves to us, but genuinely want to welcome us and get to know us. We met Eric soon after, plenty of others, and really felt like we were part of a family from day one. Not to mention the teaching and music; it’s just been a huge blessing to be a part of this body. Thanks to all of you for your kindness, authenticity, and your example of faith. We look forward to getting to know all of you more and living this life with you.

GET TO KNOW US

Have you been visiting Sovereign Grace? Do you want to know what makes us different from every other church in Old Towne Orange?

Come to Starting Point, a half-day course designed to introduce us to you. Our pastors will be there to give you an overview of our distinctives and field any and all of your questions.

Childcare and lunch are provided.

SATURDAY, MAY 19
9AM - 1PM

GET ME REGISTERED

WE THANK GOD FOR NEW MEMBERS

On Sunday we welcomed Matt and his wife, Chanelle, as members of our church. Matt shared about their experience joining Sovereign Grace. Here it is in his own words:

I first heard of Sovereign Grace when I was looking for “reformed” churches in the area. We had attended four different churches, trying to find where the Lord was calling us. The last church that we were a part of was a church plant that ended up dissolving. We knew we had to start looking for another church and Sovereign Grace was one of the churches at the top of my list. 

At our first service here we were welcomed by many of you. 

It was nice to see a few familiar faces too. The first sermon we heard here was on a topic that I had been discussing with my son and I thought, "Wow! This is something that he needs to hear." That day Chanelle said that she didn’t want to look anywhere else and that she felt that the Lord was making it clear we should stay here. 

I was a little reluctant as I wanted to make sure that we found somewhere stable that we would be well shepherded. The following week we were back, and again everyone was so friendly and welcoming and the teaching solid. Pastor Lucas and his family reached out and took time to get to know us. We met others and quickly saw that it wasn’t just the pastors that were intentional but the church as a whole.

I prayed asking the Lord for clarity and felt at liberty to stay. As we found out more about the church, everything aligned on what we searching for. Soon after we attended the parenting class (something we needed), started attending Small Group, have had counsel from Pastor Mike and his wife Lois, and have started the financial class with Les and Sue. This has all been a picture of God's providence and his tremendous grace on our family.

We feel truly blessed to be here at Sovereign Grace and look forward to serving and living life alongside you.

Well done Sovereign Grace Church. God has used your welcome of Matt and his family as a picture of Christ's welcome of us (Rom. 15:7).

Jesus Builds His Church

This past Sunday we welcomed new members. Forgiven sinners and followers of Christ whom God has joined to our church. We got to hear from one new couple, Kyle and Ellie, as they've encountered God's grace at our church:

About nine months ago we got married and moved to Tustin. Before we got married, we spent months visiting a new church every Sunday, from the Biola Area all the way to Westminster. As introverts, it was pretty challenging to meet so many new people week after week, and we got really good at our introduction spiel!

We found Sovereign Grace in mid-May and visited on a Sunday. The first people we met were Bobby and Alie. Alie immediately welcomed us and introduced us to a few new people. Everyone was delighted to hear that we were engaged, but the best part was that we found Sovereign Grace a week before our wedding—so the reactions we got to the question, “Oh, when are you getting married?” “Uh, next Sunday!” were pretty priceless. We didn’t come back to Sovereign Grace for a few Sundays, since we were on our honeymoon, but I still remember Alie’s face when we walked in the second time! She was talking with someone and when she saw us out of the corner of her eye, she lit up, and I heard her say, “Oh! They’re back!” Alie is just one example of how welcoming everyone has been to us over the last few months. So many of you have invited us out to lunch or over for dinner, and we have been so blessed to get to know so many of you already.

Not only that, but we were amazed by the depth of the preaching and the intentionality of the whole congregation to make their faith a priority in each and every person’s life we’ve interacted in. A lot of churches today trade community for the gospel, or rigid teaching for community, but you guys here at Sovereign Grace have managed by the grace of God to do both so well. Both Kyle and I have been so encouraged and convicted by the sermons that have been preached over the last few months—but the good kind of conviction, where you feel both the sting of your sin, but surrounded by a community that loves you so deeply.

That combination is not found everywhere, and we’re so grateful to have come to a community that preaches the gospel with so much love, and hasn’t traded community with one another for the truth of Christ. 

"God arranges the members in the body..."

This Sunday God will be adding new members to Sovereign Grace Church. They are gifts given to us by God to strengthen us. Our lives are bound together in Christ for encouragement, edification, and mission.

Come on Sunday ready to joyfully receive these new members as part of our local body.

If you're interested, you can learn more about our views on membership.

SATURDAY 1/27/2018
9:00am-1:00pm
OLD TOWNE ORANGE

Those interested in learning more about Sovereign Grace Church will be joining us tomorrow for Starting Point. It's a half-day class designed to help guests determine if our church is the right church for them.

If you're newer to Sovereign Grace and would like to come, please email us right away and we will get you all the details.

Get to Know Us Better

Starting Point is a half-day class designed to help you know who we are and what we love. You will get concentrated time relating to our pastors, learning about our values, and understanding what it means to be a member at Sovereign Grace Church.

The next class is on Saturday, January 27th from 9:00am-1:00pm. Childcare and lunch are provided.

Get More Info and Register