The Grand Forks church of Christ is a Bible centered, unified family of believers called to an ever-deepening relationship with Christ.  We will pursue Christ through study, prayer, and fellowship.  We recognize that we are sent to the larger community surrounding us to plant the seed of the Gospel and to demonstrate God's love and Christ’s life.

 

We simply want to be Christians, and that is the only name we claim. We believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and it is our sole authority in matter of spirituality and life. 

 

People often ask, "How do I join?" or "How do I become a member of the Church?" Anyone who is a Christian can ask to be associated with this congregation.  A Christian is a person saved by grace through faith.  Grace comes freely from God.  Faith is our trust that God will save us through His Son, Jesus.

 

Saving faith is demonstrated through belief, repentance, confession, and baptism (immersion).  Obedient faith continues to be demonstrated through a life surrendered to the will of God.

 

At the Grand Forks church of Christ we are truly a family, not just a gathering of strangers. You will find in us a group of real people trying to live Christian lives in a world where that can be very difficult. We are a close group who find comfort in each other's friendships. We know each, enjoy being together, and care for each other. As the goal here is to glorify God through His Son Jesus, and make our way to heaven-we encourage each other along this sometimes difficult road.

 

If you need a family...a friend...or a warm place to worship God – then we offer that to you! Just stop by for services, stick around after it is over, and let us get to know you and be able to show you the Lord's love.

 

What You Will Find

 

Each Sunday we gather together to edify one another and worship our God as a congregation. Our goal is to simply do what the churches in the New Testament did when they assembled together.

 

Therefore, when you are a guest in one of our assemblies you will find us…

 

    * Praying: Even before the church was established, the disciples gathered together to devote themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14). Once the church was established, the disciples continued to devote themselves to prayer with one accord (Acts 2:42). As demonstrated in I Corinthians 14:14, prayer was part of the assemblies of Christ’s people.

 

    * Singing: According to James 5:14, singing is a natural part of the Christian’s life. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 say we should teach and admonish one another by singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. I Corinthians 14:15 demonstrates that singing was part of the congregational edification and worship in the assemblies of the churches in the New Testament.

 

    * Partaking in the Lord’s Supper: The night Jesus was betrayed, while partaking in the Passover with His apostles, He established the memorial in which Christians would partake to recall His death and shed blood (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; I Corinthians 11:17-34). He took unleavened bread and said we should eat it in remembrance of His body hung on a cross as our sacrifice. He then took fruit of the vine and said we should drink it in remembrance of His blood shed for the remission of our sins. The only time we see the New Testament churches participating in the Supper is on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 11:17-34, cf. I Corinthians 16:2). Therefore, we participate in the Lord’s Supper only during our assembly on the first day of the week. Additionally, we partake every first day of the week.

 

    * Contributing: To underwrite the work the Lord has given our congregation, we take up a free will contribution from our members during our assembly on the first day of the week in keeping with the command of Paul in I Corinthians 16:1-2 and II Corinthians 8-9. This contribution is only expected of the members of the congregation. If you are our guest, we encourage you to bring your Bible, sing along with us, pray with us, study with us, but we do not ask for your money.

 

    * Preaching: As evidenced by the example of Paul at Troas in Acts 20:7, the proclamation of God’s word was part of the assemblies of the early churches. In nearly all of our assemblies, a lesson from God’s word will be presented for us to consider (cf. Acts 17:11).

 

We Offer Bible Classes for All Ages

 

The adult Bible class program of the Grand Forks Church of Christ is to provide unified direction to the various teaching works of the congregation, so that each person in the body is being admonished and taught with all wisdom in order to present everyone complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28).

 

We meet on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.

 

Our youth Bible class program includes material that is designed to teach children that…

1. God is wonderfully wise
2. God has great plans for us
3. the world around us shows God’s wisdom and power
4. the Bible demonstrates God is the hero of history-God is great and good
5. we bring glory to God by learning about His plans for us and living according to them
6. we can learn to praise God in Bible class and at home as a family

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

“What must I do to be saved?” is the most important question anyone can ask. This very question was asked by a jailer in Philippi almost two thousand years ago (Acts 16:30). Similarly, in response to the gospel message proclaimed to them that day, some among the multitude gathered on Pentecost shortly after our Lord’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension back to Heaven asked “what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). There is no subject that is more important, more relevant or more profound to any individual than learning how to come to eternal salvation.

In order to arrive at the correct answer, we must first understand where to look. The Bible, God’s word, is the only authoritative source from which to learn how a person can be saved. The apostle Paul reminded Timothy, “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Only the word of God can give us the true answer to the question “What must I do to be saved?” Let’s look closely, then, at what the scriptures teach us as to how to be saved.

First, we need to understand that it is only by God’s grace that we can be saved. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves, by ourselves. There is no amount of good deeds that we can perform that would be weighty enough to obligate God to save us. We are totally at His mercy, and our only hope for salvation is His grace!

But, God expects us to respond in specific ways to His offer of grace. Our first, most basic response is faith! “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). In addition to believing in God, we must also believe in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and our Lord and savior. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). In addition, He stated, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). We must have faith in God and in Christ in order to be saved.

Our faith must lead us to turn away from sinfulness. This is called repentance. Jesus emphasized that repentance is essential when He said, “but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). The apostle Peter instructed, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19). Since “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), it is obvious that we must repent of our sins in order to be saved.

Jesus also taught that we must openly confess our faith in Him: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Paul expressed that confessing Christ must go with faith in Christ: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). The scriptures are clear; we must confess our faith in Christ in order to be saved.

Salvation is only “in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:10; 3:15). A person can believe in Christ, believe that he must repent of his sins and confess his faith in Christ, but he is still not “in Christ,” where salvation is found. The only way God’s word teaches as to how to come “into Christ” is through baptism! There is no other way taught in scripture. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3). Similarly, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

Baptism is pivotal. Not only is it through baptism that a person comes “into Christ,” but it is also at baptism that a person is forgiven of his sins. “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). On Pentecost, in response to the question “What shall we do?,” Peter responded “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). Jesus said that a person comes to salvation at baptism. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).

While most churches that profess Christianity practice baptism in some form, most do not practice baptism as taught in the New Testament. First, many churches practice sprinkling or pouring as baptism. The very word that is translated from Greek, the language in which the New Testament was originally written, into English as “baptize” means “to immerse, bury, dip, plunge, submerge.” Sprinkling and pouring are innovations of man and have no support in scripture.

Second, most churches teach that a person is baptized for some reason other than to come “into Christ,” to receive forgiveness of their sins and to come to salvation. They teach that a person should be baptized, but that it is not necessary for salvation. But, the scriptures are plain, easy to understand and repetitive in emphasizing just the opposite. The only way the scriptures teach that a person comes “into Christ” is through baptism. The scriptures plainly teach that forgiveness is received at baptism. The scriptures could not be more plain in teaching that it is at baptism that a person comes to salvation. Truly, somebody has to work to misunderstand what God’s word teaches on the necessity of baptism.

Coming to salvation is just the beginning. Once a person has been saved, then he begins a new life as a Christian. It is a life lived in faithfulness to God and Christ. Jesus instructed, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Eternal salvation in Heaven is offered to everyone, to you! But, God will not force you to be saved. He has demonstrated His love for you by sending His Son to pay the debt for your sins on the cross (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). His desire is that you, in response to His love for you, will love Him enough to obey Him. But, He leaves the choice up to you!