There is a seat here for you
Grace Fellowship is an ordinary church family in the Capital Region, New York — learning to follow Jesus together, and doing our best to be useful to our neighbours near and far.
Never been to a church before? Start here.
Walking into a room full of strangers is hard. Here is exactly what will happen, so nothing catches you off guard.
When you arrive
Someone at the door will say hello, hand you a bulletin and point you to coffee. There is parking beside the building and step-free access at the main entrance. Wear whatever you own.
During the hour
We sing together for about twenty minutes, pray, and then Pastor John teaches from a passage of the Bible. Words are on the screen. You are welcome to sit and listen without joining in.
Afterwards
Nobody will single you out or ask you for money. Stay for coffee if you would like to meet people, or slip out quietly. Either is completely fine, and both happen every week.
What we believe, in plain words
We believe God made people on purpose and loves them stubbornly. We believe Jesus lived, died and rose again, and that this changes everything about how a life can be lived. We believe the Bible is worth reading slowly and taking seriously.
Beyond that, we are a church of farmers and nurses and students and retirees who disagree about plenty and still share a table. You do not need to have your questions settled before you come.
Find your people
Sunday morning is one hour a week. The rest of church happens in small rooms, around tables, and out in the community.
-
Children and youth
Age-grouped teaching every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. Every volunteer is background-checked and every room is two-adult staffed.
-
Small groups
Eight to twelve people meeting in homes across the region to read scripture, eat, and pray for each other through the week.
-
Women's and men's ministry
Studies, breakfasts and retreats through the year, plus the practical work of caring for people in our church who are unwell or grieving.
-
Young adults
For students and everyone in their twenties working out what faith looks like outside the house they grew up in.
The work that happens off the pew
Grace Fellowship supports orphan care, community food programmes and disaster relief — some of it a few streets away, some of it on the other side of the world through partner organisations we know and trust.
It is funded entirely by people who decided a portion of what they have should go somewhere else. Every gift is receipted, and every fund is reported on to the congregation each year.
Coming up
Everything below is open to visitors. You do not need to be a member, and you do not need to bring anything.
Baptism Sunday
If you have decided to follow Jesus and want to say so publicly, this is how we mark it. Register online by the Wednesday before.
Annual charity drive
Collecting non-perishable food and warm clothing for local families and children's homes. Drop-off runs all week in the foyer.
Community meal packing day
Two shifts, all ages, no experience needed. Last year the church packed enough meals to feed a school for a term.
Meet Pastor John
John Barry has served this congregation for many years. He preaches through books of the Bible a chapter at a time, keeps his door open on Thursdays, and answers his own email.
A church is not a building or a broadcast. It is the people who keep showing up for each other on the ordinary weeks. Pastor John Barry