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The history of Grace Bible Church is intertwined with
that of Open
Door Bible Church, located in Port Washington, Wisconsin. In
1976, a Bible Study began that grew to be Open Door Bible Church
in January 1977. The area served by Open Door extended north and
west as far as the Oostburg, Adell, Random Lake areas and was continuing
to expand. As the church grew, the leaders were faced with a dilemma.
Should they build or should they begin another church? Over a period
of months, the leadership of Open Door prayed and sought God's guidance
in establishing a new church.
In January 1987 the board of Open Door Bible church
decided to establish a new church in the Random Lake / Adell vicinity
to meet the need for a local Bible Church. Trusting God, twenty-three
area people left the Open Door congregation to begin Grace Bible
Church in Adell. The first Sunday service with fifty-one people
was held at the Adell Municipal Building (the former Grade School)
on April 26, 1987 in what we call the Upper Room. It was the only
room available to us at the time. Pastor Sid Litke from Open Door
juggled his schedule in order to preach at both churches for the
first six months. After that, the GBC elders, deacons, and staff
members from New Tribes Mission Training Institute shared the preaching
responsibilities.
As the church congregation grew, more room was needed.
By summer of 1988, GBC leaders approached the Village Board. They
offered to rent the gym to the church. In October 1989, Gary Nock
came with his wife, Dawn, and daughter Angela to join the leadership
team and take on the duties of pastor-elder full time. Pastor Gary
was ordained by GBC in January 1990.
With the congregation's conviction not to go into
debt, space needs for the growing congregation was a real matter
of prayer. In Fall of 1994, the Village of Adell approached GBC
with an offer for us to purchase the Grade School where we were
meeting and approximately three-acres of land. The congregation
voted to purchase the property and paid for it in full at the time
of purchase. Since then, we have accomplished various renovation
projects: remodeled the gym walls and windows, replaced heating
facilities and added air conditioning in the gym, remodeled the
kitchen, and remodeled the office.
Since the beginning, Grace has had a heart for evangelism
and missions. In 1996, we distributed free "Jesus" videos
and made follow-up calls afterward to interested people in Adell.
In 1998, we distributed the book "Stranger on the Road to Emmaus."
We currently support eight missionary families, the Samandang Churches
in Indonesia, and Campus Life, a local ministry to teens. A number
of our people have traveled on short-term mission ministry trips.
Pastor Gary and Dawn resigned from the ministry at
Grace in December, 1998 to move to a church in Ephratha, Washington
which would be closer to their families as well as afford new ministry
opportunities. After Pastor Gary left, the elders, staff from New
Tribes, and visiting speakers shared the preaching schedule. The
Grace leadership team shared shepherding responsibilities among
the congregation.
As is true in many churches, Grace went through some
painful times. In the providence of God, a group of families left
Grace in the summer of 2000 to begin a new church called Living
Hope Bible Church. The primary issue was church leadership. God
is faithful and a healer of hearts from heartbreaking situations.
A new leadership team was chosen to shepherd, preach, and care for
God's people at Grace. The new team also began the search process
for a new pastor.
In June, 2002, the congregation extended a pastoral
call to Dr. Paul Thyren and his wife Marsha. Pastor Paul was associated
with Grace from the early years of its existence in his role as
Director of Wisconsin Church Extension for IFCA International and
ministered on various occasions through the years.
Affiliations
Grace Bible Church is a non-denominational, locally
governed church seeking to be Biblical in its form and function.
GBC has been and continues to be committed to the preaching and
teaching of God's Word, the Bible. We are affiliated with IFCA International,
a worldwide fellowship of non-denominational churches.
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