HISTORY OF THE GRACE MOVEMENT

The GRACE Journey derived from the ACTS Movement through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In 2011 GRACE started and held its first men’s retreat, hosted by First Baptist Church in Victoria, Texas.  


Back in 2010 four men, who had previously attended an ACTS Retreat, met together and started to discuss the framework of GRACE Journey. These men now make up the GRACE Missions Team which. The four founders started meeting at least once a week for about a year planning and discussing how to accomplish this mission without infringing on ACTS. To ensure this, they contacted a few men from the ACTS community to consult and mentor the process. 


With the help of the ACTS consultants, the development for the GRACE Journey weekends accelerated. The weekend was modeled after the ACTS retreat but with significant changes to make it fit a non-denominational culture. During this time, the group of men developed the agenda for the retreat weekend.


During the meetings with the committee, there was never a consensus among them in choosing a name for the retreat until one of them read a verse out of the Bible. In essence it read, “That we will only accomplish this by the Grace of God”. The word “Grace” stood out, and there was a unanimous agreement to call the retreat GRACE. With the core scripture for the weekend being Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV), “For by Grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”


The meaning of the acronym of GRACE

G  - God’s Grace

R  - Relationship

A  - Accountability

C  - Community

E  - Eternal Life


The GRACE Journey is a powerful retreat and certainly one that is recommended for everyone to attend. Those who experience the GRACE Journey return feeling truly blessed by God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Its focus, although similar in some ways, is different than the ACTS Retreat. They both do the work of the Holy Spirit, and both are needed. The GRACE Movement shall always be grateful to the ACTS Community for its beginnings and foundation. 


The GRACE Journey has gradually become a church weekend retreat patterned after the description of the early Church following the steps of the Apostles in Acts 2:42-47; breaking bread together, worshipping together, receiving instruction together, sharing in common, and reaching out with loving service. No two Journeys are exactly alike. There are certain events that are required, but each retreat is unique because of the individuality of each team. 


After the weekend, the GRACE Community encourages the participants to reach out and become more involved with their church. The GRACE Journey does not want to be thought of as a “church” or take the place of the church, but to be a place where Christians can come together to receive the encouragement they need to have a greater interest in their church involvement.


The GRACE Missions Team’s focus is to take the GRACE Retreat to new Churches in the Victoria area, with a vision to expand as God directs.  The GRACE Community has been blessed with all of the men, women, and teens who have become involved and continue to add to the ministry through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Statement Of Faith

  • We believe the Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of man, and the Divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.

 

  • We believe in one infinite, true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

  • We believe Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Having lived without sin, He truly died and was resurrected in His own body for our atonement and resurrection.

 

  • We believe that only through His death, by the shedding of His blood and His resurrection, are we provided justification and salvation.

 

  • We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind: for the believer, to an everlasting dwelling with God; for the unbeliever, to an everlasting, conscious hell without God.


  • We believe that all who trust Jesus Christ for salvation are eternally secure in Him and Shall not perish.

 

  • We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, to convict men of sin, to regenerate the believing sinner, to indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly living and service.


  • We believe in the imminent, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

  • There are many other precious truths taught in the Bible over which godly men have differed in understanding. Therefore, this is not a statement of all that is important to believe but lists the essential foundation of Christian fellowship and unity. (Romans 15:5-7)

 

  • For by Grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

  • We believe the Biblical definition of marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Genesis 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9;1 Corinthians 7:4, Ephesians 5:22-31

 

  • We believe God designates each individual with their gender. God ordained two genders, male and Female. Mankind does not possess the authority to identify themselves differently than their biological sex assigned by God, and any attempt to alter one’s gender is sin. Genesis 1:27; 5:2; Matthew 19:4 and Mark 10:6; Job 40:8; Jeremiah 13:23