Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Bartley Sawatsky, pastor), is gearing up for their tenth anniversary. They will be celebrating each Sunday from October 12 – November 2, 2008.

The church is rooted in the dreams and prayers of many in the U.S. who desired to see the gospel spread through the development of Grace Brethren churches in Canada. In 1996, Bartley and Sarah Sawatsky and Philip and Beth Bryant were commissioned as church planters to Canada during the annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC), which was held in Toronto.

Nearly a year and a half later, in January 1998, a core group of 13 adults began to meet in Mississauga. Throughout the summer, various ministry teams visited to help spread the word about the new church. Grace Community Church held their first service on September 13, 1998.

Ten years later, the congregation is thriving and has been instrumental in planting two other Grace Brethren churches — the Village Community Church (Rob Stanley, pastor) in Milton, Ontario (which began as Real Life Community Church in Missassauga) and Community of Hope Church (Phil Bryant, pastor) in Surrey, British Columbia (and was recently accepted into the FGBC).

Pray with them and join them if you can as they celebrate in the coming weeks with the following events.

October 12 The Formative Years
A look at the influences in the lives of Team Canada
Message: The Blessing of Good Roots

October 19 The Grace Brethren Connection
A look at how the Bryants & Sawatskys got connected to FGBC
Message: The Beauty of Grace

October 26 Getting Started
A look at how Team Canada got started in Mississauga
Message: The Joy of New Beginnings

November 2 Time Flies
An overview of what the Lord has done over the past 10 years
Message: Moving at the Speed of Life