Whether you're new to faith or just new to our church here at GTF, we’re so glad you’re here. We’ve put together this simple, on-demand guide to help you understand the heart of what we believe—the foundations that shape our walk with Jesus. It’s not meant to be heavy or complicated, just a helpful starting point for your journey. So grab a cup of coffee, take your time, and let’s explore faith together!

SALVATION

WHAT IS SALVATION?

In scripture salvation in the original language can be translated as the words, deliverance, preservation and saftey. Simply put: to be saved by God means to be delivered from the grip of sin, to be preserved for a greater purpose, and to be kept safely in the hands of the Almighty God.

But in order to fully grasp the power of being saved we must come to terms with exactly what we were being saved from. So lets go back to the beginning.

When God created Adam and Eve, He breathed life into their nostrils and they became “living beings.” Genesis 3 records how Satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God, which caused them to be separated from Him. As a result of their sin, their minds became darkened, their emotions became corrupt, their bodies began to age and decay, their relationship divided, and they passed their fallen nature on to their children and generations after them. To this day, spiritual death and the natural tendency to rebel against God are inherent in all of us as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve.

But God had the most beautiful plan of redemption so this would not be the end of the story for all those who experience the Good News (the gospel)

Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV lays out the gospel

CONFESS

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

We must confess to God that we have not made him the highest priority in our lives. Then we must repent. To repent simply means to think differently and do differently. When we confess and repent, we are declaring to Christ our total commitment to follow his ways and his teachings.

BELIEVE

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

We must believe that salvation is only accomplished by the completed work of Christ; His death and His resurrection alone. We must trust that his sacrifice is enough to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

RECIEVE

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The miracle of going from “dead in our trespasses” to “His workmanship” is nothing short of a complete shift in identity. This new identity is an incredible gift we can not earn, we must be humble enough to receive what we do not deserve. This reception of this gift means we are committing to the “good works, which God prepared beforehand”

WATER BAPTISM

GOOD FOUNDATIONS

THE BIBLE

The bible is more than just a book. It is a collection of 66 books from 40 different authors, across a 1500 year period. It is a library of sacred writings of divine nature, that have been preserved for us. It is an amazing tool that we use for christian discipleship today. The words on these ancient pages came from God himself, through obedient men, given so that we may know him more intimately. Many have been used to write it, many have died to protect it, many have sacrificed to pass it on. From these documents we shape what we believe, why we believe it, and how we live based on what we believe.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

PRAYER

Prayer, simply put, is talking and listening to god, with the intent to align our hearts with his and ask for his intervention in our lives. The discipline of prayer closes the space between us and God. When we pray, we are telling God he is our priority, He is our strength, he is our guide, and he is our prize. A strong prayer life leads to a strong relationship with Christ. A strong relationship with Christ produces a strong disciple.

Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

COMMUNION

Just before Jesus went to the cross, he had a very important moment with his disciples. Jesus took a loaf of bread and gave thanks to God. As He broke it and gave it to His disciples, He said, “‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you’”.

We still participate in this today as an active reminder that he is our source and our savior. We remind ourselves that it was his death and resurrection that sets us free. This moment should always be taken reverently and soberly.

Matthew 26:26-28 ESV
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRT

What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

The baptism of the holy spirit is language used in scripture that describes how the Holy Spirit immerses us into an empowering relationship Himself. It is important for us to remember that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is not a force, or a mystical/magical power. Jesus describes Him as a person. He is God, and His Baptism is accomplished for the purpose of us being able to dive deeper into both knowing God and serving Him. This baptism was prophesied to us by John the Baptist in the book of Mark, and by Jesus in the book of Acts.

Mark 1:7-8 NLT
7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

Acts 1:4-5 NLT
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

In the same way God the Father has a role, and God the Son (Jesus) has a role, God the Holy Spirit also has a role. And the baptism of the Holy Spirit allows him to fulfill that role in our lives. As Jesus was preparing the disciples for the day they would encounter the Holy Spirt, he taught several things that would help us better understand just what the Holy Spirit will show up in our lives.

ADVOCATE: In the original language, the word used for advocate is described as someone who comes along side of you to show support, as well as someone who is known as a defender. Jesus said in John 14:16 NLT that the Holy Spirit is the “Advocate, who will never leave you.”
LEADER/GUIDE: Toward the end of his ministry Jesus told the disciples he would be leaving soon. But to comfort the disciples he assured them that the teachings of Jesus would not end after his departure. He taught them in John 14:17 NLT that “He is the Holy Spirit, is the one who leads into all truth.”
REMINDER: As life throws us various trials and troubles, it is important to have an anchor who will remind you of the important things that can be so easy to forget when facing all kinds of storms. Jesus promises in John 14:26 NLT that God “the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
HE CONVICTS: Conviction is often times perceived as an ugly word. But in reality it is really quite beautiful and even more necessary for us to live godly lives. The Holy Spirit convicts with truth and grace, by opening our eyes to things in us and around us that are not like God. Jesus promised in John 16:8 NLT that when the Holy Spirit comes, “he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”
HE PRODUCES FRUIT: Simply put: when the Holy Spirit moves in, he renovates. As he renovates, there will be things about our character that will begin to change. This is what the bible calls fruit. The Apostle Paul lists these character traits in Galatians 5:22-23 NLT “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
HE BRINGS GIFTS: For every believer who has received the Holy Spirt, there is an assignment placed on their lives to Serve the Lord and help continue building his church. The Spirit equips us with supernatural abilities for these assignments. Paul teaches us what these gifts are in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NLT

“7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. ****To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

GET CONNECTED

WHAT IS YOUR MOST INSIGNIFICANT BODY PART?

WHICH ONE OF YOUR BODY PARTS WOULD YOU CUT OFF TO HAVE A BETTER LIFE?

Scripture teaches us that it is critical for anyone who is a follower become and remain connected to the Local church. So much so, that the language chosen to describe how important this reality is, are the words “Body of Christ”.

Romans 12:4-8 NLT
4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

So connection is not just an invitation, it is vital for a healthy life.

Here are GTF we have 2 major ways to get connected to our church

GRACE GROUPS

Grace groups are weekly meetings held in homes or smaller spaces through out the community in order to form deeper relationships with God and each other. They are a place to gather and connect to other believers while growing our own personal faith.

Grace groups are intended to function side by side the Weekly Large gatherings we have on Sunday morning. Neither one is greater than the other, but God has designed them to work together for the building up of his body and for the glory of his Son. We see this model for us in the early church.

Acts 2:46-47
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Our prayer for you is that the Lord would use our Grace Groups to connect you to life long friends who will encourage you, challenge you, celebrate with you, weep with you, and push you to live a God life in Christ Jesus.

DREAM TEAM

This is what we call our wonderful team of volunteers who give their time and their talents to serve God, the body of Christ, and our guests in various ways.

Galatians 6:9-10 NLT
8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith