Why We Exist
GBC exists to glorify God by being disciples who make disciples of all people through the transforming power of the gospel.
The church's mission can also be summarized in the following expression:
The gospel in us, the gospel to the world
GBC Values
These values shape the way we seek to carry out God's mission at Gresham Bible Church.
1. Everyone needs the gospel, especially me.
The gospel in us is central to the identity of our church and its members. We are defined by the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again. This gospel is everyone’s greatest need, beginning with me. (1 Timothy 1:15). We need to be reminded of God's grace, His unending love, and our new status before Him in Christ. Only when the gospel is truly good news to us, will we be positioned well to share it with others who desperately need it (Romans 1:16).
2. Scripture is central to all we do.
We are committed to expository preaching because we deeply believe that what the Bible says about itself is true (2 Timothy 3:16–17; Hebrews 4:12). We believe God's Word is the foundational way through which God speaks and works in the world (Isaiah 55:11). Therefore, Scripture is central in all of our ministries because it is our authority, our light, and brings life to all who receive it (John 17:17).
3. Prayer is indispensable.
We are a church that prays because we depend on God. Prayer is our shameless admission that we can do nothing without Him. Prayer is the beginning, middle, and end of our work. If we desire for God to work in ways that cannot be merely attributed to our efforts, then we must be a praying people (Ephesians 6:18; James 5:13; 1 John 5:14).
4. We strive for humility.
Jesus consistently taught that His kingdom is different from this world. The least in the kingdom is the greatest, and those who humble themselves will be exalted while those who exalt themselves will be humbled. We are committed to being a community that grows in humility as we look to Christ’s example and experience the transforming benefits of His humility in the gospel (Matthew 23:12; Mark 9:35; Philippians 2:1–11).
5. We do life together.
We believe the church is a family and not an event. Our Christian faith is personal, but it is never private. God has saved us into His family, and our call is now to live out the Bible’s "one another" commands together in the body of Christ. This value is why we practice meaningful church membership and why we are relationally-driven in our discipleship (Colossians 3:12–15; Hebrews 10:24–25).
6. Justice and mercy matter.
The kingdom ministry of Jesus was a ministry of word and deed. We seek to display God’s heart for justice by pursuing gospel reconciliation across racial, economic, generational, and political divides. We seek to show mercy to the “least of these” in our community: the immigrant, trafficked, poor, abused, overlooked, addicted, widowed, disabled, and especially to the unborn and the orphan (Micah 6:8; Matthew 25:34–40; Ephesians 2:11–20).
7. Less is more.
Because we are finite creatures who serve an infinite God, we aim for simplicity but not scarcity in our mindset about resources and ministries. We are committed to wisely stewarding the resources God has entrusted to us. We strive to live within our means and we are opposed to saddling the church with cumbersome debt. We desire to do what is essential to our mission and are only interested in initiating new ministries that further the mission of the church (Matthew 6:21; 2 Corinthians 1:12).
8. Multiplication is our vision.
Our vision is not to grow big but wide. Because of what we believe about the local church and pastoral leadership, we aim to be a mid-sized church with one worship service. Our leaders are committed to reproducing themselves and our missional aim is to raise up leaders, plant churches, and send out missionaries to bring the gospel to the world (Matthew 28:18–20).