GROWING TOGETHER IN GOD'S GRACE
ABOUT US
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Welcome to Grace Presbyterian Church Reno!
What to Expect When Visiting Us:
At Grace Presbyterian Church, everyone is welcomed to worship with us, regardless of background or culture. As broken people who come to Christ and the gospel, you will be greeted warmly by our happy and friendly congregation. As a growing church plant, we have an average attendance of about 60 people.
Our Worship Service
Our service features a blend of styles, incorporating traditional hymns and theologically rich modern music. As a liturgical church, we embrace the best of historical and orthodox traditions. Our service is interactive, including scripture readings, confessions of faith and sin, and a time for open congregational prayer. We believe in expository preaching, where our pastor goes through books of the Bible systematically.
Communion
We celebrate communion twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Sundays. On the 3rd Sunday, we invite people to come forward to receive communion and be prayed over.
Our Beliefs
We are committed to orthodox Christianity and uphold historical Christian beliefs and practices.
Our Community
Grace Presbyterian is diverse in age, with many children and adults of all ages. Our congregation includes people from various ethnic and racial backgrounds. We encourage families to worship together, reflecting our belief that the church is the Family of God.
Church School and Fellowship
We offer Church School for all ages after our worship service. Between the service and Church School, there is a time of fellowship with snacks provided.
Weekly Activities
Throughout the week, we have several activities for personal growth, including Bible studies for men and women, and community groups in different parts of the city.
Children in Worship:
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)
At Grace Presbyterian Church, we believe children are an integral part of the church. While baptism, akin to circumcision in the Old Testament, does not guarantee a child's salvation, it signifies their membership in the covenant community.
Therefore, we welcome and encourage children to participate in worship with their families from the earliest ages. This reflects the truth that we are the Family of God. What better way to show children they are loved and cared for by the entire church than for us to hold them, speak to them, and welcome them into the worship service?
Children, even at a young age, can learn a great deal from being in worship. They will become familiar with hymns, hear scripture that will live in their hearts, and remember testimonies, illustrations, and stories that will stay with them throughout their lives. They will learn to focus, pay attention, and sit still, beginning to understand how to show reverence to God in worship. To support this, our church provides "quiet bags" with coloring books and other items to help children sit quietly if needed.
We also understand that there are times when children may need to be taken out of the service. For these moments, we have designated spaces where you can still hear the service while caring for your child.
About Pastor John Leonard and his wife Christy
Our Pastor is Dr. John S. Leonard. John is from Miami, Florida and has been a PCA minister since 1983. He earned his MDiv at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS and his PH.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. He and his wife Christy have served overseas in France and planted Cresheim Valley Church in Philadelphia PA in 2006.
John was a Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA from 1999 to 2013 and author of the book Get Real: Sharing your Everyday Faith Everyday. John and Christy have 3 daughters, 2 sons-in-law and 1 granddaughter.
Listen to Dr Leonard's charge to the Westminster 2014 Graduating class here:
You can checkout several of his past sermons here:
What We Believe
There is a diversity of viewpoints at Grace Presbyterian Church Reno; however, we are committed to the historic Christian faith which places the grace and love of God in Jesus at the center of all that we think and do
Our beliefs about God, people, and the world are orthodox, biblical, and reformed.
If you are interested in a more detailed presentation of what we believe, then please refer to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms, which are part of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America.
We believe there is one God, eternal and self-existing in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who are to be equally loved, honored, and adored.
We believe Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and practice.
All mankind participated in Adam’s fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and totally helpless.
The Sovereign God, for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy, has chosen lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit and through the atoning death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.
Those sinners whom the Spirit quickens, come to believe in Christ as Savior by the Word of God, are born again, become sons of God, and will persevere to the end.
Justification is by faith and through it the undeserving sinner is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
The goal of God’s salvation in the life of the Christian is holiness, good works, and service for the glory of God.
At death the Christian’s soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever’s soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation.
Baptism is a sign of God’s covenant and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ.
Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.
The Gospel of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ must be published to all the world as a witness before Jesus Christ returns.