The best way to tell our story isn’t to recount Grandview’s history--how we started as a small house church on Virginia Street in 1927, for instance—or to explain what it means that we’re a self-governing, non-denominational church. Those things are true, but they’re not at the heart of what makes us who we are.
That’s because, at our core, Grandview isn’t a building or an organization. We’re a group of people who love and follow Jesus—people who want to welcome others, bring healing to our community and invite others into the truth that God loves all of us.
We don’t agree on everything. People here hold a wide range of opinions and beliefs about what it means to live as a follower of Jesus in this time and place, and not all of them mesh neatly. What keeps us together anyway is a shared belief in something bigger than all the things we agree to disagree about: Life means more with Jesus.
Life Means More
That means our first priority as following Jesus has to be loving people the way Jesus loves all of us. We tell people that God loves them, that we love them, and that they have worth that can’t be measured, simply because they are human. We also show that love through our actions. We serve the community and one another as a way of making God’s love real and immediate for others. In doing that, we find a sense of meaning that helps us to live fuller, better lives.
We also order our lives in the way Jesus showed us—working to be free from things that keep us from thriving and to cultivate habits that keep us connected to God and one another. We exercise our creative gifts in ways that reflect and confront the beauty and tragedy of being human—not only in traditional arts but also in how we approach the problems of the world. We share the things we have, and even our lives, with everyone who needs them—whether they be material things or a place to belong.
Those things matter to us, not only because they help us to flourish personally, but also because we believe God uses them to bring resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the grave, we believe God is giving new life to all creation—making everything whole and right and well.
Life with Jesus means more because it makes our lives better and calls us to participate in something bigger than ourselves. That’s our story. It’s one that’s still being written, and one that still has room for you to be part of it. If you haven’t yet, visit one of our campuses, to see for yourself what Grandview is like, start serving in the church or the community or build friendships with others in a small group.
Contact Us
Contact the Buffalo Campus office at (423) 928-7866 or send us a message about life at Grandview. We look forward to hearing from you!