Plain Grace Bible Fellowship
Overview:
Plain Grace Bible Fellowship is a family-centered fellowship that gathers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are committed to the inerrancy of the Word of God and family discipleship. Each brother is encouraged to participate in the teaching and edification of the fellowship and each meeting includes verse-by-verse expository preaching in an open discussion format. Our doctrine is consistent with that of the Reformed Baptist confessions and our worship style is simple. Traditional hymns, songs from the Psalter and some modern choruses are sung with and without accompaniment of stringed instruments and piano.
The mission of Plain Grace Bible Fellowship is to glorify God through the serious study of the inerrant Word of God, building up one another in spiritual growth to maturity as followers of Christ and spreading the good news of the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
History:
Plain Grace Bible Fellowship began in 1999 as a Bible Study group that periodically met on Friday nights in the Marshall’s barn in Mount Liberty Ohio. Since 2009 the Bible study has grown into a group of families who are committed to family-centered worship that features serious verse-by-verse Bible study in an open discussion format. Our first Sunday morning meeting was in the house of Brother Tad Lamb on November 5, 2011.
DOCTRINAL POSITION
Plain Grace Bible Fellowship is in general agreement with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 and recognizes the 2nd London Baptist Confession as its doctrinal standard.
Baptism
We believe that the New Testament church baptized new believers upon profession of faith (Acts 8:12, Acts 8:38, Acts 10:48, Acts 16:33, Acts 18:8). We believe that water baptism is a symbol that points to the completed work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration (Romans 8:16). We believe that the Christian’s public profession of faith is made through a believer’s baptism (1 Peter 3:21).
The Lord’s Supper
We believe that the local church is to participate in the breaking of bread each week to celebrate and remember the Lord Jesus Christ until His coming (Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 11:26). We welcome any professing believer who is not in a state of unrepentant sin to participate in the Lord’s Supper.
Education
We believe that parents have the sole responsibility to train their children. Fathers are specifically responsible to shepherd their families and train up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 6:7, Ephesians 6:4).
Headship
We believe in the complementarian view of Biblical gender roles in which the spiritual headship of fathers and husbands in the family is recognized under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ
OUR CHURCH
We are an autonomous local body of believers under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. All decisions for our group are made by the congregation through men’s meetings with the leadership of a group of elders. The elders provide spiritual oversight for the group with the teaching-elder having the primary responsibility to study and teach the Scripture. We are associated with various organizations such as the Metro Columbus Baptist Association and the Columbus Gospel Coalition.
WORSHIP SERVICE
We meet together as families on Sunday mornings in houses or the Barn in Mt. Liberty and start our worship at 10:30 A.M. Each brother in the fellowship provides Scripture reading or a short devotional, interspersed with prayer, songs, hymns and spiritual songs. At 11:15 the teaching elder leads a verse-by-verse Bible teaching in an open discussion format. At noon we have a fellowship meal together. After our fellowship meal we spend time together in prayer, singing and fellowship in men’s meetings, women’s meetings and youth discipleship.