By Grace

How We Formed

By Grace Community Church started as a Bible Study that met in our current pastor’s home. These fifteen individuals sought a community that offered authentic fellowship, deep Scripture study and a better understanding of God’s attributes and actions.   They met weekly on Monday nights for 18 months, and prayed towards the hope that God would grow a church from the relationships that were being built among them.

Moving forward with this goal, they each spoke with the leadership of their own churches, and expressed a desire to plant a reformed church in Newport News, VA.  With the blessings from those churches, By Grace Community Church opened its doors to the public on July 9th 2006.

Our Journey to the PCA

By Grace started as a non-denominational church.  After two years, the leadership at By Grace began to dialogue with elders of local churches in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).  They recognized theological similarities and began a conversation about By Grace becoming a part of the PCA. In January of 2009, after a year of prayer, the James River Presbytery accepted By Grace Community Church as a member of the PCA.

Today, By Grace is continuing to grow as a mission church of the PCA.