OUR STORY

January 2023

Grace House Community Church began when a few people gathered around the mission of discovering God’s heart for ALL people. We each came with our own stories of hope… and baggage. There were personal stories of feeling accepted by God and other stories of feeling disqualified from his love. There were stories of great community within the Church and stories of exclusion that varied from subtle judgments to outright rejection.

Discontent to live with the status quo, where service and leadership are based on different categories than spiritual giftedness and calling, we began to whisper and dream of a place where ALL really could mean ALL. We dared believe that we could ALL participate in the heavenly banquet of God rather than just looking in through the windows at the select and special few who made the cut. We became bold in declaring that God’s love for the world (John 3:16-17) included every person made in his creative and loving image.

Some random conversations culminated in an informal gathering in late January of 2023. That night, 30 people came together and shared our stories of why we each felt the truths of ALL MEANS ALL to be personally important. As we listened to one another’s stories, hopes, fears and dreams, we decided it was time to start intentionally praying for next steps God would have us take to make ALL MEANS ALL a reality!

February - April 2023

We took the next few weeks to process our individual connection to the ideas that:

•God made ALL (Genesis 1:26, 31)

•God loves ALL (John 3:16)

•God wants relationship with ALL (Romans 10:13)

•God sent Jesus to make that relationship possible for ALL (John 3:17)

God’s love for ALL people is rooted in his character and not ours. He loved us while we wanted nothing to do with him (Romans 5:8) and he has done everything necessary on his end in Jesus to offer freely the kind of life we dream of and strive for to anyone who wants it (Ephesians 3: 16-20).

We committed the next six weeks, culminating at Easter, to study the biblical book of Jonah (which, isn’t really about a big fish at all!) and to pray together. Each week we would gather to share food, insights, laughs and worship as we fervently sought God’s direction.

Easter came and door after door was opening for us. We agreed to keep taking tentative and hopeful next steps forward, trusting that God would continue to lead the way.

June-July 2023

We outgrew the home where we were meeting (a wonderful problem to have) and didn’t know where to go. Inclusion was a core value for us and most non-denominational expressions of the Church didn’t agree with that and most denominational Churches wanted us to be… well, denominational.

Up against feelings of confusion and fears that this might be the end, God moved! Thanks to the generosity of some great friends who were eager to partner with God, however he might be moving, took a risk on us, and we began to meet at JC’s Burger House in McKinney, Texas.

We met on Sunday mornings before the restaurant opened. We gathered, with the smell of French fries in the air, each week to learn more about God’s love and work on behalf of all people through his Son, Jesus. We grew in devotion to God, in relationship with one another, and in numbers that brought us back to our “problem” of where to meet.

Summer and Fall 2023

While figuring out where to meet, we were also getting to meet new friends through participation in community events around us. We wanted to rewrite the narrative of the Church historically and make efforts to intentionally welcome those who had felt disqualified from the Church to Grace House. We had booths at a variety of Pride events as well as one at the community walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

August 2023-February 2024

August 6, 2023, marked our Grand Opening at the McKinney Sheraton Hotel where we have spent the past seven months continuing to grow in relationship with God and one another through weekly prayer, worship, service and fellowship. And while we have been so grateful for this space, there wasn’t much room to grow ministries that we feel are important to a robust community church.

March 2024

A quick introduction from a mutual friend at a random community event has led to the remarkable announcement that we are moving to a NEW TIME and NEW LOCATION.

March 31, 2024, marked our first meeting at First Presbyterian Church of McKinney (2000 W. White, McKinney, Texas 75069)! There, we will be able to expand into family ministry and age-group ministry (January 2025) and expand our service to the community!

We are continually praying, seeking, and believing that God has great things in store for ALL who call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior.