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About Grace Community Church of Detroit
We Live, We Love,
We Serve:
Our Founding Story
Under the inspired leadership of God, William A. Harris met in the home of Mrs. Emma Harris, his mother, on February 12, 1968, for the purpose of organizing a church. Encouragement came as three sisters, one brother, and their respective families pledged their loyal support to this work. The name Community Tabernacle was given to this local body of believers with William A. Harris presiding as pastor.
Service was held weekly in the homes of the individual members. The work was blessed and the membership began to grow, making it necessary to find a larger place for corporate worship. Pastor William A. Harris was then able to secure the chapel of Boyd West Funeral Home for Sunday Worship Services. With the sincere dedication and the continued progress of the growing membership, it became essential for the church body to move again. The property at 2610 Ewald Circle in Detroit, Michigan was purchased on September 25, 1970. The mortgage was paid in full on March 17, 1981, and the congregation celebrated with a mortgage-burning service on March 29, 1981. Later in that same year, Pastor Harris was inspired to change the name of the church to Grace Community Church of Detroit.
In obedience to the call of God and the work ahead, it became necessary to relocate once again, to a larger facility. Through much prayer, fasting, and dedicated service this church body was blessed by the Lord with the current property at 20021 West Chicago in Detroit, Michigan in February of 1988.
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For more than 50 years, Pastor William A. Harris was instrumental in providing service to the community by serving as Pastor, creating homes for disenfranchised youth and working to open several community centers. We, as members of Grace Community Church of Detroit continue the legacy by remaining active in society through mission pledges, community walks, and many other ventures.
So we can and must truly say “thanks be unto God” who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings.
Our Pastor
Pastor Will O. Harris II is a man of God that loves teaching the word and empowering individuals and families to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. He is the grandson of the founding pastor, the late William A. Harris. For many years, he served as the Assistant Pastor of the church. In this role, he was able to glean from his grandfather’s wisdom of 50 plus years as pastor. He was also blessed to attend and graduate from Word of Faith’s Bible Training Center.
In addition to Assistant Pastor, Pastor Will has served Grace in other areas. He has served as a youth leader, church musician, young adult praise team leader, sound technician, and leader of our young men’s mentor group. He has also served in several roles to support the body of Christ at large .
As our new Pastor, he regards his role seriously. He devotes time in prayer for all the members of the church and studies the Word of God so that he can hear what God
is saying so that God can meet every congregant where they are and catapult them to their God given purpose.
In addition to these things, he is the proud husband of Theonna (Lady T) and father of a son, William III. He looks forward to meeting you and your family soon.
OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
THE TRIUNE GOD
There is ONE living and Triune God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; equal in power and in glory; and that this Triune God created, upholds and governs all.
A. Father -We believe God the Father is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. God is absolutely holy, righteous and just.
B. Son -We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious sufferings and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal return in power and glory.
C. Holy Spirit - We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person; convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; is the supernatural agent of God in the regeneration of the lost; indwells in all believers, sealing them in the body of Christ unto the day of redemption; and is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURE
The Holy Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. We believe that the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament are verbally inspired by God and that they are inerrant and infallible in their original writings, and that they are the supreme and final authority for faith and practice.
THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN
We believe that man was originally created in the image of God, but the whole race of man was separated from God in the sin of Adam and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death. We believe that no man can reconcile himself with God and thereby gain entrance to His Kingdom unless and until he is born again by the Holy Spirit.
SATAN
We believe that Satan is the originator of sin and the cause of the fall of man and that he shall be punished eternally in the lake of fire, which is reserved for the devil and his angels and whoever is not found written in the Book of Life.
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is the gift of God by grace alone and reserved through repentance and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that to be "saved" from sin a person needs to believe in his heart and confess with his mouth that Jesus is God. The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit. The outward evidence of salvation is a sanctified life through the power of Holy Spirit.
HEAVEN AND HELL
We believe that heaven is the hope and the eternal home of the saved and that hell is a literal place of eternal separation from God for those who are unsaved.
THE CHURCH
We believe that the body of Christ is composed of all born-again believers everywhere without respect to race, color or denomination. We believe that the local Church comprises of born-again believers who come together for worship, fellowship, discipleship and evangelism.
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ORDINANCES
• Water Baptism: We believe that baptism in water shall be by immersion in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and shall be administered to only those who give evidence of being born again.
• Lord’s Supper: We believe that the Lord’s Supper is to be observed by all believers who are baptized in water. Each participant should examine himself/herself before partaking. It is a memorial of our Lord’s sufferings and death which will be observed until He returns, in accordance with I Corinthians 11:23-32.