We Recount Your Wondrous Deeds
We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. (Psalm 75:1)
What follows is a collection of testimonies of how God has been working in and through Way of Grace Church since the beginning of our public ministry in October 2005. May God use these as reminders of how He has been faithful to His people as they have carried out the work of Jesus and how He will be faithful as they continue to carry out Christ's work.
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Way of Grace has facilitated, by God's grace, our entire family engaging in the mission of the local church. We have been challenged, Biblically, by the preaching of God's word, the conviction of sin, and the daily encouragement of the power of our salvation as a result of Christ's work on the cross. God has used Way of Grace in our lives, to draw us closer to Christ. May He continue to be glorified, through the work of Way of Grace, by the preaching of Christ Jesus, our Lord.
When CBC started talking about starting a church out in Buckeye, I was excited for several reasons. None of those are really important, but what I see that God has done in me is good. I had all kinds of ideas about what a church plant might look like and how my family could be involved in God's new work. None of those ideas that I had looked anything like what God has done over the past 3 years, but what God has done in me has put a love in my heart for each and every new person that has joined our body of believers. As part of a larger church, you love the body of Christ and the individuals with whom you are in contact on a regular basis. But with this new church and growing from a very few, I have been able to get to know the people of God and love each one. It has been a real blessing. The people of God are a blessing to me and the body of Christ takes on a new meaning.
A little over two and a half years ago I was driving in downtown Buckeye when I spot a sandwich sign for a new church start-up. I contacted the pastor listed on the board to offer my encouragement and we eventually ended up having lunch together. Little did I know, God was opening a door for my family to walk through as we would soon join in fellowship with this body of believers called Way of Grace.
We now find ourselves among new friends that have become our family in Christ. It is exciting to see the work that God is doing in all of our lives as we work with the Spirit to further God's kingdom in Buckeye.
Pastor Bryce, it's hard to limit the amount of wondrous deeds that I praise God for over these last three years. The display of His glory by the exaltation of His Son and work of His Spirit have been firmly implanted in my heart and mind. First, His care for the people of Buckeye by sending a pastor who would preach the gospel. Second, His calling and gifting of that pastor to go where the gospel wasn't being preached. Third, His provision of a few other families that shared the compassion of Christ for the lost. Fourth, a clean safe place for individuals and families to meet each Sunday to worship Him in spirit and truth. And then His gifting of kept coming with children's ministry, music ministry, ministry house, small groups, and most recently a youth ministry. We've seen His church birthed. Brothers and sisters worshipping Him and loving each other. Marriages saved with spouses now loving each other as Christ loved them. Babies being born and parents promising to raise them with a reverence for the Lord. He has proven Himself faithful again and again....
By His grace may the name of Jesus Christ continue to be exalted and God glorified in more and more families. To Him be the glory forever and ever.
I started attending Way of Grace in late August 2007. I had just been hired to teach at Buckeye Union High School and was sorely missing the church family that I left behind in north Florida. I didn't know what was ahead of me but I was confident of one thing--that I wanted to be surrounded by a loving family of believers who could support me as I entered the newest phase of my life as a recent college graduate.
Over the course of the past year I experienced one of the most challenging periods of my life, which also happened to be one of the longest time periods that I remained challenged. There were many things that I was challenged with as a first year high school teacher, but in short, I was dealing with a very ungodly group of parents who consistently challenged my authority in and out of the classroom. I was astounded with the claims that they made against me and I was often left reeling after meetings with my administration trying to process the lies they had told about things that I had supposedly said or done. In addition to learning how to teach, I was now being forced to deal with a situation that I felt was very out of control. I knew that God had a purpose in this situation but it wasn't clear which was very frustrating. In fact it wasn't clear until about eight weeks into my summer vacation. Through lots of prayer and reflection, as well as a series of conversations with a friend, it had become apparent that my difficulties with these parents were made even more difficult because I had allowed my job to become my god. Every decision I made, whether it be about spending my time or money, revolved around my commitment to my first year teaching job. This shift of focus from God to work compounded my feelings of being overwhelmed, dissatisfied and completely worn out. I had chosen to serve my job over serving my God.
It has been two months since God made me aware of my sin and my tendency to give everything over to my career. Since then God has helped me desire to lead a more balanced life that is centered on desiring and choosing God. This change in perspective has also reminded that my job is not my identity. I am once again confident that I am a daughter of the living God who has a purpose for every moment and situation of my life, no matter how challenging. I am thankful for this realization, as well as the changes that have accompanied it. It is my prayer now that I will live more consciously in the reality of my relationship with Christ.
3 years ago when our small group of "interested families" shrank to three I thought surely we'd postpone the start up of Way of Grace. We didn't.
I prayed God would impact Buckeye for His kingdom. I prayed God would send the hurting and broken. I prayed God would send strong believers to come alongside. I prayed God would send ANYONE. We worked and waited and prayed and worked and waited and prayed some more...
God has done such AMAZING and WONDERFUL things. Here are a few highlights:
• He has brought hurting and broken people. We've seen Him bring some of them to new life in Christ and we're sharing in the joy of watching them grow.
• He has brought strong believers who come alongside every week and pitch in to do the work of building our community.
• He has used us and produced fruit through us in areas way beyond our comfort zones.
• He has given us a great love and affection for these people that He's brought together. We are a diverse group brought together by our love for Jesus. What a privilege it is to share in our corporate lives, working, praying and seeing God's activity among us.
• He has grown our faith, grown our ability to wait on Him and expanded our vision for the future.
We're looking forward with anticipation to see what God does in the next three years.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever!
I would like to thank and praise the Lord for the church family he has provided for me and my family at Way Of Grace. It has truly been blessing and encouragement to worship in the Body of Christ here. I have personally experienced much growth in the Lord and am grateful to be a part of the growing work He is doing at Way of Grace. One thing in particular that stands out to me is His growing of the youth ministry. This is one area that is important to me as a parent of a teenager, and another soon to be. To see God work in the lives of our youth is simply amazing. I thank Jesus for His faithfulness towards us, and thank the body at Way of Grace for their faithfulness in Him.
We would like to share with you what GOD is doing in our lives through Way of Grace Church in Buckeye. When we first visited Way of Grace, we knew we had come to the right place. We had already been to 5 other churches, but we felt this was the place where God wanted us to be. One of the reasons we stayed was the welcoming spirit we received. The church members express genuine love and concern for each other. Through this influence we know we don't have to be perfect. Just willing to be more like Jesus.
We feel we are developing our God-given potential through the teachings, fellowship and community outreaches. We homeschool our children and it's a joy to see other homeschoolers in our church. We have also seen spiritual growth in our children, reinforcing what is been taught at home. Our boys experienced the birth of the youth ministry and that is an experience they'll never forget. To see other teens come and stand up for Jesus and worship together is a rejoicing moment for them and us parents.
We can go on and on, but bottom line...We are so blessed to be part of a ministry that not only expresses God's love but is also an example of what it means to be Christ-like.
My family and I eagerly moved to Buckeye (from Wisconsin) in July, but my employment prospect turned sour, and we had nowhere to turn. We were planning on finding a church relatively soon, but God put it on our hearts that we are to find a church and get connected before I get overly concerned about finding a new job. We were attending churches all around the Phoenix area based on personal invitations by people we met through various circumstances, but I really believed that Christ had a plan for us here in Buckeye. We saw a sign on Yuma Road inviting us to Way of Grace, so we attended that Sunday, and the people there were very warm, sincere, and inviting. We were impressed by the integrity of the message that was preached, so we decided to return. I then arranged a meeting with Pastor Bryce to seek counsel and get a feel for the vision of the church. On the way to the lunch meeting, I got a call from the high school district here in Buckeye, offering me a job. In one day God confirmed that not only were we to live in Buckeye but also grow, serve, and work here. We praise God for orchestrating so many events to bring us here, our new home. How great is our God.
I remember December 3-years ago we received an invitation to The Way of Grace in the mail to attend the study of Jesus' birth for four weeks. We were looking for a new church home and that sounded wonderful to us. We went the first Sunday of December and it was just as wonderful as it is today. We saw Beverly and Phil there the next Sunday and they were coming from the church we had left. Both families are still worshipping with those who started this journey and many many more. We are so happy we found The Way of Grace.
After about a year our journey to build a new home started. It has been a real challenge but when we started we dedicated this home to the Lord. Boy, the Lord knows how to test us. Everything that could go wrong...DID. We have made amazing progress but are still faced with many challenges...we praise the Lord that he loves us so much that he tests us....does not break us....but brings us closer to him for protection and guidance. Everyone at Way of Grace has been most gracious and understanding about our needs to be at the "Property" much of the time. Things are getting easy to leave for short time frames so you see more of us. We get the prayer requests and that brings our hearts together with yours.
Thanks for being there 3 years ago when we needed you....and for still needing you. We love you.
