Connected to Christ Connected to Each Other Connected to Community
Our Mission
Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we provide meaningful worship, pastoral care, and space to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the Bayonne community.
Our Vision
Grace Lutheran Church in Bayonne believe that God is love and is made visible in our outreach to the larger community in relationships that foster a greater sense of belonging, where we, in turn, are empowered to serve those in need.
As children of God, baptized into the body of Christ, God has called us to love God and love one another through worship, service, and supporting ministries of healing and wholeness throughout the Bayonne community. Trusting the Holy Spirit to equip and strengthen us, God is calling us to:
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Nurture and expand our Christian faith so that the Grace family will be of greater service to God and Bayonne both now and in the future.
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Share our physical resources with the larger community, where the love of Christ is recognized through our programs, activities, and programs as a place of healing and wholeness.
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Strengthen ecumenical relationships with other churches and community organizations, with the understanding that God's love is shared most effectively when we work with others, because we are stronger together!
Our Core Values
Driven by the selfless love of Christ
Christ-centered Mission
Each person of Infinite Worth
Each a unique child of God and priceless
Interdependence
Identity realized in community; we are Stronger together
Creativity
Always being made new; recreated in the image of God
Excellence in Service
God's Work--Our Hands
What We Believe
Marked with the Cross of Christ, we are claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world. We are "living Lutheran," as God calls and empowers us for mission through baptism. As a community of believers, we are justified by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. In "living Lutheran," we are always being made new.Sharing a common understanding of our faith as Christians, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) celebrates this unity.
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We confess the Triune God-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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We confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the Gospel, the power of God for the salvation for all who believe.
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Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God molds a new creation.
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The proclamation of God’s message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired by God’s Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God’s revelation, centering in Jesus Christ.Through them God’s Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.
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We accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.
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We accept the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the faith of this church.
Our History
Grace English Lutheran Church was established in 1907 and served the Bayonne area with four other Lutheran churches for many years. These churches captured the flavor of their ethnic roots with Norwegian, Swedish, and German influence. Over time the other Lutheran church closed their doors making Grace Lutheran the only remaining Lutheran presence in Bayonne and southern Jersey City. St. Paul’s German Lutheran Church combined with Grace Lutheran church in 1975 and incorporated elements of their tradition and architecture into Grace Lutheran. More recently, Zion Lutheran in Jersey City closed its doors in 2012 and several families of Zion have made Grace their worship home. Besides this, many other current members have come from other Christian traditions, from Roman Catholic to Pentecostal, from the Church of South India to Caribbean Anglican.
