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About Us
Where and When
What to Expect
Programs
Sights and Sounds
In May of 1997, five young adults moved to Mississauga. None of them had lived in Ontario before, but all of them felt God leading them to bring the love of Jesus to this city. They knew no one, but were confident that God was directing them, and so they began making relationships with the goal of starting a church. After meeting with a few pastors in the city, the team learned that Mississauga was known as “a church planter's graveyard.”
The story of how God had brought the team together in the first place is truly incredible. Bartley Sawatsky and Nathan Bryant met while at Bible school in New Brunswick. They then “coincidentally” met up again in Washington, DC, along with Nathan's twin brother, Philip. The trio roomed together while attending Washington Bible College and Capital Bible Seminary, unaware of how God would unite them for ministry in the future. But just a few short years later, Nathan received an invitation (from the Home Missions board of the Grace Brethren Fellowship) to begin a church in Canada. He called Bartley, who was serving in Québec at the time, and the team came together and began raising support to move to Mississauga.
On September 13, 1998, they launched Grace Community Church with just 13 adults. Since that time God has done amazing things. In just 8 years the church has grown to a Sunday attendance of almost 300. What's more, during this time Grace launched a second church – the Village Community Church in Milton. And in the fall of 2007 Nathan's brother Philip will lead a team in launching a third, Community of Hope, in Surrey, B.C.
Eight years and three churches later, we feel that we have just begun to scratch the surface of what God desires to do through us. The future is bright!
Our motto encapsulates our desire to stick to the basics of the faith as defined by Jesus in Matthew 22: “Love God with everything you've got and love other people as much as you love yourself.”
When people come to Grace, they are pleasantly surprised by an atmosphere of love and acceptance, not legalism and repression that characterizes so many churches today. Our goal is to get to know them, let them get to know us, and help them discover the truth about God's love for them.
From childhood, Pastor Bartley was frustrated that Christians defined themselves predominantly by the things they didn't do. At Grace, he is determined to lead Christians to define themselves mostly by the things that they do – loving people, helping people, getting to know their neighbours, and sacrificing themselves for others. Grace is a congregation that goes out of its way to provide everyone, even those with little or no church background, with a comfortable place for pursuing truth and an understanding of God's desire to have a relationship with them.
Our goal is to become a church that interfaces with the community on a day-to-day basis, a type of community centre in Meadowvale. By serving and making friends with people in the community, our hope is that they will come to be friends of God. Our long-term vision is to become a centre for church planting that sees dozens of reproducing churches started across the country.
Bartley Sawatsky: Lead Pastor
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Bartley has lived in the GTA since 1997 when he and the original church planting team arrived to start Grace Community Church. Bartley attended the New Brunswick Bible Institute and received his M.Div. at Capitol Bible Seminary in Washington, D.C.
The lone Mac user on staff, Bartley is a highly creative teacher and visionary leader for Grace. In his spare time, he enjoys playing hockey and golf or escaping to a sandy beach any time the weather permits. Bartley cheers for the Calgary flames (at least it's not the Senators!).
Bartley has been married to Sarah, a native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, for over twelve years. They have four children; Maggy, Jakob, Emma and Josef.
Favorite Music: Huey Lewis, Billy Joel, Great Big Sea
Favorite Movie(s): Anything with Leonardo Di Caprio in it!
Favorite Food(s): Subway – Eat Fresh!
Favorite Way(s) to Waste Time: Playing golf, playing fantasy football, hanging out at the beach
Last Good Book You Read: Wild at Heart (John Eldredge)
Bart Blair: Worship Pastor, Creative Arts Director
Bart joined the staff at Grace in February 2002 after having served as a volunteer for two and a half years. In addition to leading the band and the worship services at Grace, Bart also oversees all service planning, a/v ministries, the drama team and the video production team
Originally from the Dallas area, Bart studied music at The University of Texas (Hook ‘em!) and spent a number of years working as a singer and actor on the regional theatre circuit. He has performed in theatre productions in more than 20 states and 3 provinces. Bart is an accomplished songwriter and has recorded two full length albums and two EPs.
Bart has been married to Elizabeth, a Sudbury, Ontario native, since 2002. They have three children; Sarah, Silas and Ephraim. Read more about Bart on his website: www.bartblair.com
Favorite Music: Coldplay, Rush, Chris Tomlin, Delirious?
Favorite Movie(s): Shawshank Redemption, Philadelphia Story, LOTR Trilogy, African Queen
Favorite Food(s): Tex-Mex!!!
Favorite Way(s) to Waste Time: Golf, Tennis, Bangin' on the Drums
Last Good Book(s) You Read: The Way of the Wild Heart (John Eldredge), Searching for God Knows What (Donald Miller)
Favorite Broadway Musical: Forever Plaid
Cary Sawatsky: Discipleship Pastor
Cary, born and raised in Nova Scotia, with his younger brother Bartley, planned a career as a school teacher, but in college decided that God was leading him to study to become a pastor. Cary met Shannon while they were students at New Brunswick Bible Institute and they married shortly thereafter.
After Bible school Cary's young family moved to Maine, Shannon's home state, where Cary served as a teacher and principal at a Christian school. After three years of on-the-job experience, the Sawatskys moved to Pennsylvania where Cary attended Philadelphia Biblical University and received his Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration.
Ten years later, after teaching and administration experiences in the U.S., Canada and Brazil, Cary joined the Grace staff to become the church's facilitator for Christian education in the context of the church. Now married for seventeen years, Cary and Shannon have three delightful daughters: Kilah, Summer, and Sydney.
Favorite Music: 80's top 40, Celine Dion, David Phelps, Philips, Craig & Dean, Def Leppard, the Pet Shop Boys.
Favorite Movie(s): Gladiator, The Notebook, The Incredibles, Truman Show, The Count of Monte Christo
Favorite Food(s): Lobster, butter tarts, hamburgers, meat of all sorts!
Favorite Way(s) to Waste Time: I enjoy Civilization and Settlers of Catan games on the computer, fanatasy football and hockey.
Last Good Book You Read: The Purpose Driven Church (Rick Warren), The Bible
Another Important Note About Cary: I am a hockey fan... especially when it comes to my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins. I thoroughly enjoy playing ice hockey, ball hockey, streeet hockey, floor hockey and several other great sports... like roller hockey! I can't help myself, I'm just a red-blooded Canadian guy!
Donna Marsala: Children's Ministry Leader
Armando Padovan: Pastor of Brazilian Ministries
E-mail: apadovan@grace-church.ca
Born in Brasil, Armando moved to Canada in 2000 and became a Canadian citizen in 2006. From the professional work force, employed by the Philips Corporation, Armando was led into an opportunity to serve with Couples Encounters Ministries. CEM reaches out to couples through encounter weekend retreats, helping them develop stronger, healthier marriages, with a focus on God as the center of the marriage. Through his work with CEM, Armando has see hundreds of people touched by God's love. Armando also served as a local coordinator and national board counsel to Athletes for Christ, a ministry among professional soccer players and many other athletes, in Brazil. He started a ministry for underprivileged children through soccer camps and clubs and founded Parana Federation of Beach Soccer. Armando and his wife Odila are passionate about sharing their faith with others. They joined Grace at the end of 2007, where they now serve together as the leaders of Grace's Viva Brasil ministry. Armando is active in the Portuguese-speaking community, often serving as a guest speaker at various churches and leading marriage enrichment seminars and retreats.
ANDREW WOOD: Student Ministries Intern
e-mail: andrew_wood77@hotmail.com
Andrew is a high-energy, highly-relational leader who enjoys helping young people grow in their faith. Andrew grew up in Meadowvale and has a clear perspective on the challenges facing Jr. and Sr. high students in our community. Since joining the staff at Grace, he has begun to realize the value of golf and fantasy football. His admiration of the Texas Longhorns gives him much greater credibility as a human (at least in Pastor Bart’s eyes). As a member of the Grace softball team, Andrew holds the single-season record for “most homeruns hit over the shed in left field.”
TIM LING: 66Seventy Director
Tim is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto. By day, he is a mild-mannered staff member at Famous Players. By night, Tim disguises himself as a funny guy and roams the GTA, making occasional appearances as a stand-up comic in area nightclubs. Tim is a creative and talented young man who is passionate in his pursuit to live a significant life. His desire to live his life for Jesus has led him to lead the Young Adults group at Grace – 66Seventy.
NEIL GARRAWAY: Sunday School Director
Ingrid Cahill: Director of First Impressions
E-mail: Ingrid_chill@cogeco.ca
Favorite Music: Christian ContemporaryThe Bible: We believe that the Bible is God's inspired Word to mankind
God: We believe that there is one true God that exists in three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Salvation: We believe that God desires to have a relationship with all people through the salvation offered in Jesus Christ and His completed work. That salvation comes by faith in Jesus, His death and resurrection and is not by our own works.
Grace Community Church is an independent, non-denominational church. However, we are proudly a member of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.
The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches is a voluntary association of more than 260 churches in the United States and Canada. The Grace Brethren movement worldwide includes over 1300 churches serving approximately 750,000 people.
Churches in the FGBC are autonomous in structure, relevant in style, and Biblical in substance. The Bible is our authority, loving relationships our glue, and hope in Jesus Christ is our passion.
For more about the FGBC, visit http://www.fgbc.org
The Willow Creek Association: The Willow Creek Association is a network of more than 13,000 churches from 90 denominations and 35 countries. Membership in the WCA reflects a very eclectic group of churches. Large and small … old and new … from multiple countries, cultures and denominations engaging in a wide variety of ministry forms and methods. What is common, is a passion for God and a pioneering spirit.
As a member of WCA, Grace Community Church is committed to learning, training and developing new and relevant ways to communicate the powerful message about God's love for each person, individually, and the hope they can have in Jesus Christ.
Meeting Location: Location: 6670 Campobello Road Near Argentia Rd. And Creditview Rd.
Grace Community Church meets at the beautiful West Credit Secondary School on the corner of Battleford and Montevideo Roads (next to the Meadowvale Theatre).
Service times are 9:30am and 11:00am September through June. And 10:30am in July and August.
We encourage newcomers t arrive 15 minutes early to register children for their age-appropriate programs.
"Wow! I didn't know church could be like that!" Understanding that most people come to church with some sort of preconceived ideas about what church will be like, we do our best to exceed expectations and break down negative stereotypes.
At Grace's Sunday services, newcomers can expect to find a warm, friendly and laid-back environment where they can check things out without being checked out. The dress code at Grace is that everyone should be dressed. We don't care what you wear. We're just glad you're there!
Stop at the Information Centre on your way in to find out where your children get checked-in for the kids' programs. Also, if you mention that you are new, the hosts at the Info Centre will give you a gift bag with some goodies, as well as a ‘feedback survey' which you can fill-out to get a free copy of one of our house band's CDs.
After stopping at the Info Centre, make sure to take a trip to the Coffee Stop for a free beverage and something to snack on. The coffee is always hot and the baked goods come with love from the kitchens of some of our very own members.
During the actual church service, you will have a chance to listen (and sing along, if you like) to Grace's house band. Often you will be treated to a drama or some video clips that relate to the teaching topic for the day. And then Pastor Bartley, or one of our other great teachers, will present a message from the Bible that we promise to be practical and enlightening.
As a newcomer at Grace you will never be asked to stand up and identify yourself. You will never be asked for money. And you will never find yourself bored!
After you have had the chance to kick the tires at Grace for a month or two, we encourage you to sign up for one of our Information Luncheons. We hold one just about every six weeks.
There is little more frustrating than getting on a bus or a train going in the wrong direction. The Info Lunch is designed to help you make sure that you are getting on the train going in the direction you think it is, as you embark on your spiritual journey.
At the Info Lunch, you will have a chance to meet Pastor Bartley, ask any questions that you might have about the church and to also hear about the history, the future and the vision of Grace.
If you are interested in finding out more about additional classes you can take or if you are curious about membership at Grace, the Info Lunch is the place to go.
Lunch is always free. And childcare is always provided.
Weekly Messages: http://www.sermon.net/grace-church
Promo Videos: http://www.vimeo.com/MississaugaGrace