About Us
We are a church whose highest priority is to unite people from “all nations” in the worship of God. Our vision is to reach people of all ethnic backgrounds and social classes. We want everyone to hear the good news of reconciliation with God and with each other through Jesus Christ. Our vision is to be united in the worship of God, thus celebrating and demonstrating the love of Jesus. All people are welcome in our church and we invite you to come worship with us! We hope you will, and we trust that you will find our worship to be a time when you are ushered into the very presence of God!
Our Vision
Where We Are Going
We want to love and serve our community and world with the good news of Jesus Christ. We believe that the power of that good news is seen by bringing people together across the lines of race and class to worship and follow Jesus. The love of Christ brings healing in our relationship with God and with one another, and it unifies us to worship Him together. In this worship, our lives are enriched through the diversity of races, cultures and backgrounds. But it goes beyond worship: we also learn and grow together; we share our everyday lives together; and then we go back out to love and serve our community with the Gospel.
As Jesus prayed in John 17,
“I pray that they may be one, Father, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Our Leaders
Left to right: Ruthann Arthur, Angela Peacock, Laura Lazzeri, Jay Lazzeri, Flora Ball, Jay Pearson, Terri English, Jon Wallace, Sharon Jones, Bill Courts, Robert Jones, Jr., Janine Martin.
Front Row: Timothy Reisinger, Sharon Jones, Young Hwangbo, Priscilla Alexander, Mike Godfrey
Middle Row: Dave Brown, Clara Martinez, Ruthann Arthur, Tyler Hogan
Back Row: Kirk Ball, Tom Kauth, Steve Hampton
Our Story
Where We’ve Come From
Grace Church began as a mission church of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES) on October 16, 1977 called Reformed Presbyterian Church of Dover. As the church grew, it became a particular church on October 12, 1980. Grace became part of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 1982 and Jonathan Seda was called as pastor in 1983.
Through a PromiseKeeper’s pastors’ conference coupled with deep, personal study of Ephesians, Pastor Seda was gripped with the biblical vision of racial reconciliation and the call of the gospel to reach across lines of race and class in our own Dover community. This sparked the monumental shift of the church over a decade to embrace the “Multi-Ethnic Vision.”
Rick Barr came on staff in 1991 as the ministries coordinator and eventually spent the rest of his time at Grace overseeing the Youth and Young Adult ministries until he retired in fall of 2021. Jeff Rakes joined the pastoral staff in 1993 and faithfully led the worship operations and administration at Grace until his retirement in fall of 2021. Kenny Foster joined the pastoral staff in January 2007 overseeing outreach and helping the integration of the church’s multi-ethnic vision. He became Senior Pastor of Grace in fall of 2020 as Pastor Seda retired after 37 years of faithful service.
In 2015, the Dover United Korean Church, which had met in Grace’s facilities for years, dissolved and became members of Grace, further strengthening the church’s development as a multicultural congregation. Joshua Suh joined the pastoral staff in January 2021 and transitioned as Grace’s Senior Pastor in January 2024, continuing the multi-ethnic vision of our church.
Our Beliefs
What We Believe
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The Bible
We believe that God did not leave mankind in the dark to guess about Him, but that He revealed Himself and gave us the Bible as His very word. We believe that the Bible is without error and the only place we can know what God says about how we can have a relationship with Him, what we should believe and how we should live our lives.
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God
We believe there is only one God who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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Creation
We believe that in the beginning God created the entire universe out of nothing and that He continues to run it and care for it in order to bring about His ultimate plan for it and to show His glory.
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Man
We believe that men and women were created in the image of God to have a close personal relationship with Him and to honor Him. Therefore, we have great dignity and value. But humanity fell into sin and became spiritually dead, separated from God, and under God’s condemnation. In our natural condition, we are totally unable to please God or earn salvation.
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God’s Plan of Salvation
We believe that, because of His love, God provided a plan of salvation for fallen humanity. In this plan, Jesus Christ became the representative for a ‘new humanity’, taking our sins upon Himself and offering Himself as a sacrifice to satisfy God’s justice and to restore us to right relationship with God. Whoever puts their trust in and receives Jesus Christ is forgiven of his or her sin on the basis of Christ’s work and becomes a member of God‘s family forever.
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Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. We believe that He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where He now lives and rules over all things.
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The Church
We believe in the one universal church of which Christ is the Head. We believe that Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two sacraments which Christ has instructed the church to observe in this present age.
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Last Things
We believe that Jesus will one day come again personally and that all will see Him. We believe that all people will be bodily resurrected, that those who have not trusted in and accepted Jesus Christ will receive eternal punishment in hell, and that those who have believed in Christ will receive everlasting joy and happiness in heaven.