Our History #

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. - Psalm 127:1 (ESV)

All great stories start with an idea from God and are birthed from small steps of faith. More than thirty years ago, in 1988, Randy and Sarah Thornton planted Grace Church in their living room. For ten years, the congregation remained under one hundred people as they met in homes and storefronts. After a season of fasting, praying, and seeking God, Pastor Randy felt God say, "I didn't call you to plant a church—I called you to take the city."

From that point, Grace Church began growing rapidly as it focused on filling the city with Jesus. The church expanded the Southern Pines campus in 2008. God has been faithful to build His church, and since the Thorntons first obeyed God's voice, Grace Church has grown from a small group gathering to a multisite church with an online presence where thousands of people seek and worship God together each week.

Today, Grace Church is called to see at least ten cities renewed and restored for the glory of God, and we believe that God will accomplish this work in exactly the same way He began it: by working in and through people who are willing to hear the voice of the Lord and take small steps of faith.

Did you know that you can be a part of this incredible journey?