Living Grace Ministries

An urban church with a broad range of people. It is a church that seeks to live by the motto, ""love the Lord, love the lost, and love His word."" If you're looking for a church with this as the heartbeat, try it out. more

""For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.""\r \r Thank you Living Grace for helping me through your food bank, and making me feel welcome. more

I feel as though I could write a book on Living Grace Church. Fear was the predominant vibe running through that place. Everyone was afraid of ""being deceived."" This was actually an entire doctrine built essentially around one verse of scripture. Pastor Powell taught that in the ""End Times"" people would fall away and be ""deceived."" Anyone who left the ministry, for whatever reason, was said to have been deceived and lost. The only way to keep yourself from not being deceived was to always be in line with Pastor Powell. Anyone outside our church that claimed to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ was still suspect and not to be really trusted. Other Christian organizations were always somehow inferior to Living Grace as only our pastor had ""the anointing"" and therefore the direct link to God. Powell also taught that he had the apostleship of Paul. The doctrine of ""Spiritual Delegated Authority"" was preeminent and everyone was included in a kind of pecking order. New people were always put in the basement rooms until they could be trusted. We were encouraged to check every decision through our ""spiritual head."" Members of Living Grace believed in always getting confirmation from ""the body,"" which meant other believers. And I'm talking about basic decisions such as going home for the weekend. People were encouraged not to trust themselves, but always to confirm through the body. Any of us that expressed a desire to go to an accredited regular four year college, or do anything with our lives other then full time ministry, were mocked for ""seeking after worldly goods."" There didn't seem to be a drop of humility in Tom Powell. He constantly referred to himself as God's man and made reference to his supposed ""persecution."" At this time there are also major defections. People are disillusioned and falling away, while many others are wounded. The bottom line was that people were taught not to trust themselves and only trust in the chain of authority. \r \r more

-Music: fair at best.\r -Preaching: dry out of touch with reality, impractical to daily life, seems to be directed at those that can donate their entire life to the church, not to the regular guy.\r -fellowship:a little wierd, like everyone loves me though no one knew me. I don't know, it just seemed a little like they were to eager for me to join them or something.\r -message: i only went a few times, so take this as you will, but it seemed as though the pastor was more of a football coach, trying to get people motivated to do the will of the church, God????? But not much about a personal relationship with Jesus in everyday life.\r All in all, i've definately been to churches that revealed Jesus to me much more than this one. You can do better in my opinion. more

IF you like feeling that you never do enough, and feeling guilty for it...if you want your freedom in Christ to become enslaved to a church.... If you want your world to become very small....If you want the expression of the Spirit in your life to dwindle down to only what you do in your little church, if you think that your family and friends take a backseat to your church (not God), than this is the place for you. more

I have visited this church for 5 weeks, and me and my family will DEFINITELY continue to attend. We find it to be warm, inviting and the word preached is full of life. I love the central location. I am not concerned about the past, as we all have one, and I cannot judge any of that anyway. I am concerned about the love for the unsaved, the care of my children, and the passion for the word that I have sensed there. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a church home! Pros: friendly atmosphere - knowledgable staff Cons: can't think of any right now more

Convicting yet encouraging messages, the doctrine is sound and fresh! The people are welcoming and the music is uplifting! I have been to many churches and find this one to be the most honest. The lunch after the Sunday message is free for first time visitors but most importantly, the meal and fellowship provide an atmosphere to speak freely, and ask questions about the message of the service. I was satisfied and happy when I left there. \r KUDOS!!! Pros: welcome center, building layout functional to newcomers, plenty of childcare, happy/welcoming staff and congregation Cons: parking limited more

I wouldn't call myself an expert church critic, but I've certainly been very critical in my time. But I think those days are over. I love this place! Although you'll hear the pros and cons about it, there's no denying that the people are loving, the atmosphere is refreshing, the music is great and the message is TRUE! I'm not a regular attendee, but I always feel at home when I visit. I would absolutely recommend you take a Sunday morning or Wednesday night to stop by. Their youth ministry operates a coffee stand in their cafeteria and on Sundays you can hang around after the sermon for lunch. And hey, if you need to, you can call the church office and speak with the Pastor directly about any questions you might have! Its certainly worth it.\r \r After a long season of ""church hunting"", my wife and I found this church through their website - lgministries-org. We listened to a few messages online and signed up for their daily devotionals. When we finally decided to darken their doorstep, we were kindly greeted and serenaded by contemporary style worship music. We appreciate the Pastor's constant reference to the Scriptures in his sermons, and not just a feel-good moral message. For us, this is a perfect place to be ""refueled"" and ""refreshed"" after long weeks with our nose to the grindstone.\r \r **While not every church fits every kind of person, please know that the majority of those who'd speak poorly of Living Grace are part of a sad church split and are just campaigning for their cause against it. I still don't know what the fight is about. But I decided to leave that to them, it doesn't affect the rest of us. And don't just take my word for it...CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF! Then you can decide.** Pros: Friendly People, Great Music, Childcare, Central Downtown Location more

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Living Grace Ministries (LGM) was Greater Grace World Outreach (GGWO) which was The Bible Speaks. (TBS) Tom Powell is the pastor and he is a close friend of Carl Stevens. www-carlstevens-o-r-g Not only has this church changed their name they have relocated several times. I would suggest doing a lot of research of the names listed above prior to joining this organization. A good website to start with is www-discussggwo-o-r-g\r \r After almost 32 years (including supporting the aforementioned Bible Speaks & Greater Grace) the spiritual climate at Living Grace Ministries can only be described as heart breaking. Pray for them and their leaders to seek truth. As Peter said, I pray that they earnestly return to the days when they ""grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ"". That is all I can say. Pros: Kind people in the congregation Cons: Church Government is in disarray more