Who We Are

Born in the living room of Ted and Gladys Smith as a community church in 1969, Grace and Peace Fellowship has been a place for St. Louis Christians to worship and serve Jesus for over 54 years.

We are a Presbyterian church (PCA) and from the start, we have aimed to be a community of worship.  We come as broken people before a glorious, forgiving God, the Son who died for our sins, and the Spirit who renews us. Our eclectic music - a joyful mix of styles ranging from ancient to modern, classical to folk to gospel - reflects our cosmopolitan, multiracial environment. We welcome you to visit and share in community with us.

For over fifty-three years, Grace & Peace Fellowship has declared God’s faithfulness and goodness, but also his power— power evident in what the Psalmist calls his mighty acts. From its beginnings in the Smiths'  living room on Washington Avenue, to its early years in storefront quarters in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood, to its present home at Delmar and Clara, our fellowship has been enlivened by one stirring fact: God is alive. He is alive in the city.  Our history is a testimony to that living God.

He has given us courage and power to be the face of Christ to our neighbors, and made us brothers and sisters to each other. He gave us the means, when we had little, to acquire that storefront space on Kingsbury Avenue; to found Cornerstone, a low-income urban housing ministry still going strong; to purchase our current building and open, in its basement, the women’s shelter. We step out in faith for generations we may never know this side of heaven.  Our God is powerful. We take delight in his mighty works.

Our History

Our Church Family

1969- THE BEGINNING

Grace & Peace meets for the first time, in 1969, at 6325 Washington Avenue, in Ted and Gladys Smith's living room.

1970 - STOREFRONT

In 1970 the growing church moved to a store front at Kingsbury and Des Peres in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood of the city of St. Louis.

1970 - MURPHY-BLAIR

The church sends out its members to launch Murphy- Blair Community Church in the Old North St. Louis Neighborhood.

1976 - CORNERSTONE

Grace & Peace members found Cornerstone, a low-income urban housing ministry. Nearly 40 years later, their mission continues: "For the glory of God, we rebuild and support the West End community one block—and one life—at a time."

1981 - OLD ORCHARD AND ARTS FEST

Grace & Peace plants a church in Webster Groves, Old Orchard Presbyterian. That same year, Grace and Peace begin a long-running annual gallery show called Arts Fest.

1984 - THE DOOR

Church members John Bjerklie and Lon Kauffman design and build a beautiful, one-of-a-kind door for the building on Kingsbury.

1985 - MOVING EAST

Grace & Peace moves to its present location at 5574 Delmar Boulevard, last occupied by Bethesda Temple.

2012- MIDTOWN

Grace & Peace, in a partnership with Memorial Presbyterian and Old Orchard Church, plants Midtown Church near St. Louis University.

 

 

Our Church Building

1908 - CONSTRUCTION

Our church is built on the corner of Delmar and Clara. The lot was purchased for $10,000. Central Presbyterian Church has their first service on March 15, 1908.

1928 - MOVING

Central Presbyterian Church moves to its present location on Hanley Road, taking with them an original Tiffany stained glass window that hung on the north side of the sanctuary.

1929- NEW OCCUPANTS

For a sum of $190,000, the church building is sold to the Jewish congregation B'nai El.

 

What We Believe

Our Mission

Called by our Father to be his colorful family in the city, following Jesus and teaching others to follow him.

Our Vision

We will celebrate God’s boundless love for us as revealed in Jesus Christ, helping each person in becoming a joyful and obedient disciple. We will humbly yet boldly proclaim the Kingdom of God and the authority of his word to each other and our neighbors. This good news transcends race, culture, and every human distinction.

Our Core Values

The Beauty of God

God is our supreme delight.  Enjoying and displaying his magnificence is the reason we exist. We celebrate his beauty in our worship, art, care for creation, and every part of our lives.

The Word of God

God speaks to his people in the scriptures and especially through his Son, Jesus Christ. His word is true truth, and we rely on it for encouragement, instruction, comfort, and life. The Word is dynamic in turning persons estranged from God to himself.

The Kingdom of God

We proclaim that the everlasting Kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus.  This rule of God turns human values upside down and calls us to repent and believe the good news. Our resurrected king is strong in his desire to set us free from sin and heal us.

Discipleship

We are being changed to the core by following Jesus.  By the power of the Holy Spirit we obey him with joy. Through our worship, service, teaching, and small groups we learn to be disciples and make disciples.

Community

People are made for community. By exposing our common need for him, Jesus breaks down all the barriers that divide us. By his cross he reconciles us to God and to each other. In this costly unity we are learning to live honestly and without fear.

Mercy and Justice

As people who have been forgiven much, we extend forgiveness to each other.  As people who have been made rich through the poverty of Jesus, we sacrifice our rights, time, energy and resources for the poor, the stranger and the suffering.