 About Us
Who We Are and What to Expect
We at Echo Valley Grace Brethren Church live to love God, love people, and share Christ’s love with them. We love to study the Word together, worship together, fellowship with each other, and share what God has done in our lives. At E.V.G.B.C., you can be sure that Christ is center of everything we do, and we want those around us to know His great love for us! You are always welcome at E.V.G.B.C.!
We are located in beautiful Schuylkill County, PA, just 45 minutes from Harrisburg, 1 hour from historic Lancaster, and 1 ½ hours from the Poconos. We are nestled in a small town community with great people. We’d love for you to be a part of our church family, and worship the Lord with us.
We are an evangelical, Bible-preaching church, who believes that He is worthy to be worshipped, honored, and adored for who He is.
E.V.G.B.C. attempts to treat all our congregation equally. We have worship through singing of hymns as well as singing more modern praise and worship music. Some people enjoy to express themselves during worship by raising their hands. Others don’t. We allow the Spirit to worship with us. We are by no means Pentecostal or Charismatic, but just open to worshipping in people’s own style.
Dress is more casual, with many people wearing khakis and polo shirts. Many wear jeans. Others prefer to wear their “Sunday best”. We believe that the attitude of the heart is much more valuable to God than the way we dress.
Sermons are always Bible-centered. They are mostly exegetical-verse by verse, others "applicational", dealing with specific themes. They are always Biblical, sometimes powerful, never fluffy. We believe people come to church to get rejuvenated, to meet with God. We hope you see that we do the same thing!
So come on, try us out. You just might like it and never want to leave. Shh, that’s what we pray for!
What we believe
Who Are The Grace Brethren?
Echo Valley Grace Brethren Church is a part of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. There are 263 G.B. churches, and about 30,000 members, as well as 1,300 churches and 600,000 members internationally! We know Jesus and are making Him known.
For more information, check out www.fgbc.org
The Statement of Faith of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
The Bible
The Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
God
The One True God Existing eternally as three persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).
The Lord Jesus Christ
His preexistence and deity (John 1:1-13), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14); Matt. 1:18-23;, sinless life (Heb. 4:15), substitutionary death (2 Cor. 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), ascension into heaven and present ministry (Heb. 4:14:16), and coming again (Acts 1:11).
The Holy Spirit
His personality (John 16:7-15); and deity (Acts 5:3-4); and His work in each believer: baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (1 Cor. 12:13); Rom. 8:9); and filling (Eph. 5:18) to empower for Christian life and service (Eph. 3:16; Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:22-23).
Man
His direct creation in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28), his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Gen. 3:1-24, Rom. 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).
Salvation
A complete and eternal salvation by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
The Church
One true Church, the body and the bride of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (1 Cor. 12:12-13); and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Eph. 4:11-16).
The Christian Life
A life of righteousness, good works and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Rom 12:1- 2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Eph. 5:22-6:4) settling differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (1 Cor. 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Rom. 12:7-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6), including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18).
Ordinances
The Christian should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are (1) baptism of believers by triune immersion (Matt. 28:19) and (2) the threefold communion service, consisting of the washing of the saint's feet (John 13:1-17), the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-22, 33-34); Jude 12), and the communion of the bread and the cup (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Satan
His existence and personality as the great adversary of God and his people (Rev. 12:1-10), his judgment (John 12:31), and final doom (Rev).
Second Coming
The personal, visible and imminent return of Christ to remove His Church from the earth (1 Thess. 4:16- 17), before the Tribulation (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10), and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6).
Future Life
The conscious existence of the dead (Phil. 1:21-23); Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and reward of believers (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Rev. 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the eternal punishment of the lost (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:15). |
