Our Story
In 1989 a young pastor (Tom Dirks), along with a group of friends, had a vision to plant a new church and moved from Lubbock to San Antonio. It was at a Great Commission church in Lubbock that God knit together a team that consisted of families, students and working singles. Shortly after arriving in San Antonio, Grace Community Church was officially established and began meeting in homes. Soon, a conference room at a nearby La Quinta Inn became home base for two years and the Grace Community Church family grew quickly.
It was not long before the need for a larger meeting place became evident. Through a series of incredible events, the building at 701 Kitty Hawk Rd., plus two acres of property, were purchased in August 1991. We first met in the front section of the building, with Sunday school classes upstairs and in the warehouse. By January 1992, we needed to move to the warehouse for our large group meetings to accommodate the growth. Throughout 1992 we pushed our warehouse partitions farther and farther back to make room for the special people God brought, and continues to bring, to Grace.
Those within this family remain committed to the clear presentation of Christ as Lord and Savior, one who is actively involved in the hearts of people today. Our heart is to never have a building, program, or person that ever supersedes this ultimate purpose.
It is often stated at Grace that we are committed to continuing the only thing that counts: faith in Christ expressing itself through love. Grace seeks to be a place of acceptance, support, and encouragement. Our primary purpose is to reach Universal City, San Antonio, and eventually the world with the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our desire is for God to use our ministry to make genuine inroads into the lives of those in our community. We look forward to the day when hurting and needy people will look with confidence to God and His church for answers that make a difference.
Grace is a Pastor-led church comprised of a group of 7 Pastors under the leadership of 1 Lead Pastor. The Senior Leadership Team at Grace develops big picture, long term strategies to accomplish the vision and mission, and is comprised of the Lead and Executive Pastors. The Lead Pastor, with counsel from the other Pastoral team members has final authority, under God, to make decisions and set the direction in which Grace moves forward.
The Lead Pastor and Senior Leadership Team is advised by the Grace Community Church Board of Directors whose purpose is to provide counsel, accountability, and valuable feedback from the congregation.
The members of the Board meet once a quarter, or as needed, with the Lead and Executive Pastors to review the long range plans for the church and the steps being taken to fulfill those plans.
Grace Community Church Board Members
President: Darren Stewart
Vice President & Treasurer: Ryan Gernand
Secretary: Nate Bohn
Officer: Michael Garcia
Officer: Casey Pombert
As an added layer of accountability, a team of 3 outside individuals have been asked to be part of an Accountability Board. Should it ever be needed, this board and only this board, has the power to remove the Lead Pastor, only after being called upon by the Board of Directors to conduct an investigation into a known issue/situation involving the Lead Pastor.