Our Mission
To build a gospel community and welcome neighbors in love for the good of Oconomowoc and the glory of God.
Our name, Grace & Peace Oconomowoc, comes from the oft-used greeting found in beginning of 17 letters of the New Testament written to the ancient churches: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As the Lord welcomes us into the family of God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we invite you to join our community which is seeking to grow our faith, deepen our love, and abound in hope.
Our hope is to be a place of welcome and blessing for all people within the greater Oconomowoc community — whether you are a seeker or a believer and regardless of your faith tradition or upbringing.
Our Values
Living out the Gospel in worship and community.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
There is great sadness and brokenness in the world, but not just in the world, it is in each of us as well. That’s the reality and devastation from sin. Sin distorts the world, our hearts, and our relationships both with each other and ultimately with God. But there is great hope. The hope isn’t in my attending church, making amends, or desiring to be a better person. The hope is in Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus brings peace and healing through the forgiveness he offers at the cross, and without that we would be hopeless, wandering, and always striving to earn God’s love. But in Christ it is secure, we are adopted as sons and daughters and brought into the redemptive mission of God. All other religions lead to to a sense of self focus, self strength, and self power, but the gospel of Jesus and the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament say that our hope is in Jesus who we are to boast in all the more and who is making is new creations to bear His image for all eternity. And that is true healing and renewal.
The Beauty of God
God is our ultimate delight, the supreme good. We are to worship him and and enjoy him forever, magnifying his name, worth, excellencies and beauty as the very reason we live. We celebrate Him then in our cares of this world, the church, the city, creation, justice and the dignity of all humanity. There is great beauty even in the midst of a broken and sad world.
The Word of God
God speaks forth in his Word, the Bible, and most directly through his Son, Jesus, also called the Word. God’s Word is truth, speaks of the beauty of God, the magnificence of our Redeemer, Savior and King, Jesus, and it comforts us in this life. God’s Word is our authority in all of life and it has power to work in bringing others to know of God. We preach from the Word of God each week, making it known in practical and meaningful ways.
The Kingdom of God
We declare and live out that the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ. This kingdom is everlasting, will be fully established upon his return, and yet is growing even now. The kingdom of God speaks forth of human value, dignity, and worth, love as an ethic to be displayed through even sacrifice of others not oppression and selfishness, and often turns the human/governmental values on their heads. The first shall be last, the weak are made strong, and laying down your life as a virtue. We embrace the ethics of the kingdom of God and seek to live this out in community together.
Community
All people are made for community. We are meant to be in relationship with others, knit together as we walk through this life. Jesus unites those that can often isolate from others through the gospel by gathering us for a common cause and hope in his forgiveness. Through the cross he reconciles us to God and one another.
Worship
Worship is one of the highest callings of God’s people. Worship is the magnifying, elevating, offering glory and devotion of God. We worship the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We worship in joy, knowing that the victory over sin, death, and brokenness is finished in Jesus. We worship in lament and longing, knowing that this world is not the way it’s supposed to be due to sin, and we look forward to the renewal of all things. We worship honestly and intentionally seeking to shape our loves to the loves of God though historic liturgies coupled with modern and historic music.
Mercy and Justice
Since we are people who have been redeemed and forgiven we then should care and love others. Since all people are made in the image of God we want those in need to be loved, valued, cared for and supplied as God’s enables us. We also long for justice as God is a god of justice. So where people, communities or systems exhibit injustice we hope to be a voice for the voiceless, a place to engage to see more justice being extended that human dignity would be valued even to the forgotten and overlooked in society.