strengthen our hands
Expanding Our Capacity
To Equip You
For Life
Equipping for Life
Jesus is the reason we teach, disciple, and encourage one another, so that we may be equipped for the life to which He is calling us. God is for us and has already given us the spiritual tools and equipment to walk in victory and defeat every giant.
Our intention at Grace is to align our hearts and minds with that of God, our Father. We want to see people the way He sees people so that they will be equipped to walk in the power and glory that comes only from Him.
A huge part of Equipping for Life is to help every believer within the Body of Christ discover spiritual gifts for which they are designed and purposed by God. As each person steps into anointing with their gifts, the Body of Christ is nurtured, built up, and expands exponentially.
Strengthen Our Hands
Foundations & Present Day
For Grace there exists a rich legacy of generational movement toward spreading the Gospel to the nations, both through acts of giving and missions. Now, we are stepping into the calling God has placed upon us to become a powerful force, not only in face-to-face relationships, but also through online ministry. We are called to equip leaders who have a passion for advancing the kingdom of God by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Today, we humbly stand on the shoulders of those who prayed, sacrificed, and gave beyond what could be imagined for this moment to become a reality.
Build
The Future
God has spoken and we are on a wonderful journey of obedience. It is time to build! It is time to ask God to Strengthen Our Hands for the task at hand! Anything less than obedience would lead us outside of what God is calling us to do. To accomplish the task set before us, we will need miracles of all sizes, but we know that God is strengthening us to build, and He is in the business of performing miracles!
This new facility and supporting spaces will enable us to grow; to hold Family Night in our own building, host special events for our community, facilitate weddings and funerals effectively, and become the new home of Buffalo Christian Academy.
Let us stand together in this pivotal hour as a movement of hearts focused on seeing God’s Kingdom released on earth as it is in heaven!
A Message from
Paul Gilbert
The next step in our calling is to build an entirely new campus where we can pursue God’s calling to both our church and the movement He is creating through us.
The last several years I have seen specific “God joinings” – people He has brought to join the rest of us, additional pieces to the puzzle of God’s calling and purpose in Buffalo and beyond. He has put you and me together for such a time as this. That isn’t all! There will be more “God joinings” – people whom God assigns to be a part of the Grace story and journey. I hope you can feel it: the heartbeat of what God is up to! He is building His Kingdom in an amazing, but unlikely place so that He receives ALL the glory.
I want to invite you to become a part of this story. Please do not miss out on the AMAZING that God is up to and watch the miracle as He “Strengthens our Hands” to equip this and many future generations.
Paul Gilbert, Lead Pastor at Grace
Prophetic Words
Building the Future
This is more than a call.
Now is the time—time to build for the purposes of our God! We stand together as unified people, equipped and empowered to impact a community and untold numbers of people around the world.
This is more than a building.
We believe that, as we join together in unity, we will reach those who share our passion and would partner with us in answering the call of Isaiah 43:18-19: “To forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” For a waiting world and the next generation we pray, Strengthen Our Hands, so that many can encounter the power of the living Lord.
Quick Facts
- 10 acre property
- 543 seat capacity
- Dedicated space for children’s ministry
- 10 times the current lobby space
- Large outdoor community space
- Walking trails
- Ample parking
And so we continue to step into faith in alignment with God. We are investing in what we believe will have a global impact in the Kingdom of Heaven. Through this mandate we pray, “God, strengthen our hands to build and prepare the way for Your presence to be manifest here on earth, so that others may be equipped to step into the purpose and destiny to which You have called them.”
We invite you to prayerfully consider sowing into this vision by making a gift today or standing with us in faith for the extent of the Strengthen Our Hands campaign with a 2-year commitment. Your support will enable us to reach more people, create a stronger sense of community internationally, and ultimately, make a positive impact on people’s lives.
We would be honored to have a personal conversation with you if you are interested in learning more about different kinds of gifts, or other creative giving opportunities you may have in mind. Contact us to begin the conversation.
Updates
2018 – 2021
Possibilities
Grace considered a number of properties and possibilities, but God closed all of the doors.
July 2021
Offer Presented
The Grace Family voted to purchase 5.5 acres of the Bergner property located on the corner of South Main Street and Cemetery Road. The offer made was $300,000 cash with two contingencies:
The City of Buffalo giving Grace a Conditional Use Permit
An acceptable Geo Soil Test completed on the new property
March 2022
Property Purchased
With the contengencies met, the property was purchased. God provided the $300,000 cash for the 5.5 acres.
May 2022
Expanding
The adjacent 4.5 acres to the west was available, however, Grace did not have the funding to purchase this additional acreage. Our prayer was, if the Lord wanted us to have the property, He would provide a way.
June 2022
The Gift
God provided a way as the adjacent 4.5 acres was paid for and gifted to Grace. The new Grace Campus is now a total of 10 acres on the corner of Main Street and Cemetery Road, owned free and clear.
July 2022
Brown House Sold
Believing the timing was right, Grace sold the Brown House (former parsonage) for $326,000.
August 2022
Buffalo Christian Academy
Buffalo Christian Academy was invited to move to the new Grace Campus upon its completion. The leadership of BCA accepted the offer and will be housed in the new Grace Campus building.
November 2022
Matching Grant
An unnamed foundation offered Grace a $400,000 matching grant. The terms of the grant stipulated that the funds must be raised by the end of the year in order to be matched. Miraculously, the Grace family raised $413,000 by 12/31/2022. So the $400,000 became $813,000.
Commit to Strengthen Our Hands
Together, we have given and committed 25% of the funds needed to build!
God’s many provisions include 10 acres of land for the future Grace campus, owned free and clear, and a $400,000 matching grant that, in just five weeks, became $813,000. God is on the move; can you feel it?!
As it stands, our funding has reached $1.4 million. Our next step is the process of submitting the project to bid for obtaining an exact cost. At present, we anticipate the need of approximately $5 million to bring Phase 1 of the project to completion. This first phase is a facility measuring 17,000 square feet that will enable us to discontinue leasing space at the Bomber Mountain Civic Center, as we will be able to host and launch all that God is calling us to accomplish in this space.
Thank you for choosing to stand in faith with us to see this important vision come to completion. Every seed sown into “Strengthen Our Hands” is an investment in the transformation of future generations and impacts the course of history.
Each of us plays an important part in the move of God. The work is underway, but it won’t be complete without you!