About Grace
Our Beliefs, Core Values and Our Team
What We Believe
Thank you for taking time to read Grace Church’s “What We Believe.”
While we realize a written statement can never capture the experience of sharing life within a community of faith, our hope is that this statement will communicate the heartbeat of our church.
Our hope is that you’ll find a church family to be in relationship with as you walk on your journey of faith, and we welcome you to come experience for yourself what being a part of Grace Church means.
Simply stated, we are a group of imperfect Christ followers who love God and each other, and we seek to use our lives and resources to share the love of Christ with those around us.
First and foremost, we believe that God is love (1).
We believe that God created and wants to be in relationship with each and every one of us, but our imperfections and sin have separated us from God and placed us in a position of need. As imperfect people, we all need a savior (2).
We believe Jesus is God’s son, who willingly offered Himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus’ death and resurrection provided the only way for our relationship with God to be restored. Through His mercy, God has brought us to Himself. Our relationship with Him is based solely on His grace and love, not our works (3).
We believe God is working to make all things new, and Jesus’ life and teachings show us the way to redemption. Having placed our faith and hope in Jesus as our savior, God’s Holy Spirit is continually working to transform us into His image. None of us have arrived. We believe that the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God and strive daily to live in obedience to the teachings of Christ and His word. Being a Christ follower means continually growing in our relationship with the Lord, and following the leading of His Spirit to put Christ and others before ourselves (4).
Grace Church is not a group of people who all believe exactly the same things about the Bible or its teachings. In fact, we believe that how we choose to explore areas of disagreement is more important than having all the right answers. We believe that relational and loving challenges to our concepts of God, man, and the world around us generate thought, growth, and ultimately a closer walk with the Lord.
We see in scripture that we are not all intended to relate to God or one another in the same way, and we treasure a diversity of opinions in our unified community. We are a group of people who find ourselves caught up in the same story with Jesus at the center. Jesus taught us to love God above all else and love our neighbors without exception.
We welcome anyone who believes in or is seeking to know more about Jesus to partner with us as we join in God’s work of bringing healing and restoration to the world.
Core Values
1. PEOPLE OVER PROJECTS
People matter more than getting things done.
We work hard to accomplish what matters, but not at the expense of people. We want people to be heard, known and valued … not treated like a number, a slot to fill, or a task to complete.
This means we:
We try to love people well. Build real relationships. Make room for people to belong. Choose people over efficiency when the two collide.
3. BE REAL
We choose honesty over image.
You don’t have to have it all together at Grace. We value honest conversations, thoughtful feedback, and relationships where people can tell the truth with grace. We’d rather have a difficult, healthy conversation than protect appearances.
This means we:
Practice transparency. Give and receive constructive feedback. Admit when we’re wrong. Talk about real doubts and struggles. Create space for people to belong before they believe.
2. LIVE GENEROUSLY
We leverage what we have for the good of others.
We believe everything we have is an opportunity to make a difference. We give freely — our time, resources, attention, skills, and influence to help people and our community flourish.
This means we:
Live open-handed. Serve others. Share what we have. Ruthlessly eliminate hurry. Look for ways to be FOR our community. Refuse to waste what God has entrusted to us.
4. PRAY FIRST
We seek God in everything.
Prayer is a broad and creative practice of hearing from and speaking with our Creator in honesty. Successful prayer is a heart surrendered to God’s will in a broken world. Before we try to figure everything out ourselves, we pause and ask God to lead us.
This means we:
Listen before we act. Surrender our plans to God. Pray for people and situations. Seek God’s direction together in our conversations, decisions, and ministry.
Our Team
Justin Ross
Lead Pastor
Keith Alewine
Discipleship Pastor
Trisha Ross
NextGen Ministry Leader
Lakin Hoover
Children's Ministry Leader
Kyle Hanson
Elder Team Leader
Matt Poling
Worship Coordinator
Ryan Bailey
Student Ministry Leader
Elders
Justin & Trisha Ross
About Justin & Trisha
Justin Ross currently serves as the Lead Pastor of Grace Church. He was appointed Lead Pastor by the Elders of Grace Church on September 12, 2010. Previously he served as the Administrative Pastor. He’s been on staff at Grace Church since 2000. He has served pretty much everywhere in the church. At different times he led the college ministry, the children’s ministry, small group ministries, and oversaw administration. Justin is originally from Durango, Colorado. He received a B.S. in missions & theology from Mission College in Springfield, Missouri. At the age of 13 Justin put his faith in Jesus and has never looked back. Justin is very happily married to Trisha Ross and they have four wonderful boys, Rylan, Isaac, Cody and Caden.
Kyle & Tami Hanson
About Kyle & Tami
Kyle and tami Hanson met and married in 2003 while living in Evansville, IN. Their first daughter, Amiah, was born in 2005 and their second, Sadie, followed in 2008. Arriving in town knowing no one but each other, the Hanson family moved to Durango in 2012. It didn’t take long for God to guide the Hansons to Grace Church, where fast friendships started to form. In the way only God can, He lined up many Hanson family gifts and talents with the movement of the Holy Spirit at Grace. Through time, visions have grown and strategies have been born as the Hansons continue to watch God add to and use the people of Grace Church for His glory.
Tami leads the S.H.A.P.E. ministry while Kyle leads the Elder Team. Amiah can be seen occasionally playing electric guitar for the worship team, and Sadie is never far from a microphone as she pursues music and drama. Kyle and Tami are humbled to serve as elders at Grace Church
Louise Powers-Ackley
About Louise
Louise moved to Durango in 1974 to start teaching at the high school. (she was twelve! :)) She and her husband, Curt, met when they helped with a local Christian Youth program through their church. They married in 1980, and have one son, Spencer.
Seven years ago, when the tiny church they were part of closed because the pastor moved, they explored the many options in Durango and felt that the best fit was Grace. They quickly felt at home, joined a Small Group and started helping with the Get In Ministry as well as the Connect Team.
Louise is stunned, humbled, and grateful to be a part of the Elder Team.