About Grace Family Ministries
About the Board Family
Pastor Tim & Lori Board were born and raised in the greater Chicagoland area and met during college on the southwest side. Both were saved by God’s grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ at a young age. They were also brought up in God-fearing Christian families with a rich tradition in the Reformation heritage of Biblical Christianity.
After being married at the ripe age of 21 years old, Tim & Lori established their home in Wisconsin where he trained for gospel ministry at Berean Bible Institute. Since that time, he has served in pastoral ministry at churches across the country from Denver, Dayton, D.C., & the Dells to the U.S. Development Director of Things to Come Mission (including 10 years on the board of directors). Serving in the executive leadership of an international missionary organization opened doors of ministry opportunity at churches, camps, and conferences in 24 different states and 6 countries in Southeast Asia.
Tim is a graduate of Berean Bible Institute, St. Louis Theological Seminary & Bible College, and Grace Christian University where he earned an MA in Ministry. He has formal teaching experience in classical Christian education, is an ordained minister of the Grace Gospel Fellowship, and is a board member of Northern Grace Youth Camp in Wisconsin.
Lori graduated from Trinity Christian College with a BA in Church Education, studied at Berean Bible Institute, and is an avid reader. She is grateful to be a Dutch Mama Bear with a taste for dark chocolate, fine coffee, and a passion for family discipleship as a homeschool mom.
Today, Tim & Lori are the parents of 6 children, are committed home educators, and are the co-founders of Grace Family Ministries.
History Behind GFM
From our earliest days together, the Lord God gave Lori & I hearts for Biblical marriage & family life along with a passion for the generational impact of our lives.
Having served in pastoral ministry of churches from Denver, Dayton, D.C., & the Dells to over 4.5 years as the U.S. Development Director for Things to Come Mission, our eyes have been opened to the state of church & family life across this country & on the foreign mission field.
Family life is central to advancing the cause of Christ to the ends of the earth. Ministry literally begins on the grass roots level at home.
Where will the next generation of pastors, missionaries, & Christian leaders come from if churches & families are not strong?
God’s Spirit has ignited a zeal in our hearts to serve the church & family for such a time as this. Please pray for Grace Family Ministries to be used of God to the praise of His glory in Christ Jesus.
GFM Doctrinal Statement
We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is verbally inspired by God, without error in the original writings, and is of plenary authority for all matters of faith and practice (Deut.8:3; Ps.19:7-11; 119:105; Jn.17:17; Rom.15:4; 2 Tim.3:16-17; 2 Pet.1:21).
We believe there is one true and living God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deut.6:4; Is.45:22; 1 Tim.2:5; Eph.4:4-6; Matt.28:19; 2 Cor.13:14). Each member of the Holy Trinity is distinct from the others, but inseparable, coequal, coeternal, unlimited and unchanging in power, presence and knowledge. All are worthy of the same worship and obedience (Gen.1:26; Deut.6:4; Is.6:1-8; 57:15; Matt.28:19; Acts 5:3-4; Rom.11:33-36; 1 Cor.8:6; 2 Cor.13:14; Eph.4:4-6; Col.1:16-17; 1 Tim.2:5; Heb.1:8-10).
We believe that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. His omnipotence means He is sovereign or all-powerful over all of creation and He is able to do whatever He wills (Gen.18:14; Job 42:2; Ps.93:1; Mk. 10:27; Eph.3:20). His omnipresence means that He is everywhere present at all times (1 Ki.8:27; Ps. 139:7-12; Jer.23:23-24). His omniscience means that He has knowledge of all things, knowledge that is all inclusive, extending to all of creation throughout all time and all things both actual and possible, including the thoughts and actions of His created beings, past, present, and future (Job 40:2a; Ps.139:16; 145:5; Isa.40:13-14).
We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true Man; begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, His sinless life in perfect obedience to the Father, His miracles, His substitutionary death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory (Gen.3:15; Is.7:14; 9:6; Lk.1:35; Rom.1: 3-4; 1 Cor.15:1-8; Phil.2:6-11).
We believe that all mankind is created in the image of God and are by nature spiritually dead in trespasses and sins being guilty of rebellion against our Sovereign Creator King (Gen.1:26-27; 2:16-17; Rom.5:12). We are totally unable of ourselves by our own wisdom and strength to do anything pleasing to God (Is.64:6-7; Jn.15:5; Rom.3:9-23; 8:5-8; 1 Cor.1:18-31; Eph. 2:1-3; Titus 3:5).
We believe that God saves ungodly sinners solely by His grace upon the grounds of the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection. This complete salvation includes justification, reconciliation, redemption, and the total forgiveness of sins bestowed as the free gift of God through faith, apart from man’s works (Rom.3:24-28; 5:1-9; 2 Cor.5:18-21; Eph.1:7; 2:8-9). Personal and conscious faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary for salvation as only those who trust Him as Savior are spiritually regenerated, born again, by the Holy Spirit and adopted into the family of God as His children to the praise of His glory in Christ Jesus (Rom.10:9-14; 1 Cor.15:1-4; Eph.2:1-5; Col.2:13; Titus 3:5 cf. Jn.1:11-13; 3:16).
We believe that all the saved are eternally secure in Christ having been sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption (Rom.8:1; 8:29-39; Eph.1:13-14; 4:30; Phil.1:6; Col.3:1-4; 2 Thes.2:13-14 cf. Jn.10:28-29;1 Jn.5:11-13).
We believe that God the Holy Spirit is a Divine member of the Triune Godhead Who convicts mankind of sin and Who regenerates, baptizes, seals, indwells, enlightens, and empowers believers to the praise of God’s glory (Jn.16:5-15; Acts 5:3-4; Rom.8:9-27; 1 Cor.12:13; Eph.1:13-18; 3:16; Titus 3:5).
We believe that all of God’s people in this present dispensation of grace, saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, are united together in the one true Church, the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head (1 Cor.12:13-27; Eph.1:22-23). This is the one new man composed of diverse ethnicities reconciled unto God and unto one another through the Person and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor.5:16-19; Eph.2:11-22). The Church, which is Christ’s Body, is separate and distinct from the Jewish Kingdom Church of the early Acts period and from the prophesied Kingdom of Heaven to be established on earth during the Millennium (Eph.3:1-11 cf. Mat.16:18; Rev.20:4-6). God’s revealed truth for the Body of Christ was first revealed through the Apostle Paul and began historically before the writing of his first epistle (Rom.16:25-27; Col. 1:18-25).
We believe that the Holy Scriptures are best understood through the framework of Dispensational Theology. The Bible is clear that God deals in different ways, at different times with different people. These changes in the outworking of God’s plan are referred to as “dispensations.”
We recognize several distinct dispensations, or administrations, in Scripture. Each is marked by revelation from God specific only to that dispensation. The current dispensation, God’s plan for the Church, the Body of Christ, “the mystery” revealed to the Apostle Paul, is distinct from God’s plan for the nation of Israel. We find in Paul’s writings alone the revelation, position and destiny of the Church (Rom.16:25-27; 1 Cor.15:51-54; Gal.1:11-12; Eph.3:1-12; Col.1:24-29; 2 Tim.2:15).
We believe that God has given believers spiritual gifts with which to serve the Lord for the building up of the Body of Christ (Rom.12:3-8; 1 Cor.12:1-31; Eph.4:7-16). Some of the spiritual gifts that operated in the Church were temporary in nature and were intended for its foundation, including the official offices of apostle and prophet. Other gifts, such as miraculous powers, the gift of healing,
tongues and the interpretation of tongues, revelations and visions ceased (Rom.11:11-36; 1Cor. 1:22; 13:8-13; 2 Cor.12:12; Eph.2:20; Phil.2:25-26; 1 Tim.5:23; 2 Tim.4:20). We do believe that God is sovereign and able to operate in miraculous ways as He desires (Ps.145:3; Is.55:8-9; Eph.3:20).
We believer that, as a result of Christ’s victory over sin and the indwelling Holy Spirit, all of the saved may and should experience deliverance, freedom, and triumph over the power of sin in their daily lives (Rom.6:11; 8:11; 2 Cor.2:14-16; Phil.3:10-14). This is a practical reality experienced through total dependency on the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God as we walk in submission to God’s Spirit day by day (Gal.5:16-26; Gal.2:20; Col.2:6-10). We deny that man’s sinful nature is ever eradicated during this life (Rom. 6:6-14; 7:15-25; Gal. 5:16-26; Phil.1:6). As saints who are set apart in Christ Jesus and called out members of the Church, which is His Body, our stewardship responsibility is to honor Christ through our actions and attitudes by not being conformed to this world but by investing our lives according to biblical priorities of life and ministry (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor.5:9-11; 6:14-18; Eph. 5:11; Phil.2:12-13; 1 Tim. 6:20-21 cf. Ps.119:9-11).
We believe that the Holy Spirit places all believers into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation by one spiritual baptism. Through this work of the Holy Spirit, we are identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. The Bible also speaks of other baptisms, some are spiritual in nature and others were ritualistic and played a key part in God’s program with Israel. While those baptisms all had importance in the past, Scripture speaks of this divine baptism as the one and only baptism that is operative today. Therefore, we practice no other baptism. We emphasize this spiritual baptism as foundational to the unity of all believers (Rom.6:3-4; 1 Cor.1:17; 12:12-13; Gal.3:26-27; Eph.4:3-6; Col. 2:9-12; Heb.9:9-10).
We believe that the Lord’s Supper (i.e., Communion or the Lord’s Table) is a memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ on the Cross. We believe the elements are only symbolic, serving as a sacred reminder and proclamation of Christ’s death until He comes again. Participation in the Lord’s Supper is open to every believer who is in fellowship with Christ (1 Cor.10:14-22; 11:17-34).
We believe that Jesus Christ was resurrected bodily from the dead. As a result of this historical reality, all mankind will also experience a physical resurrection: the saved of all ages will be raised to eternal glory and the unsaved to eternal punishment (Lk.24:39-43; Jn.5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor.15:12-24; Phil.3:21; 2 Thes.1:7-9; Rev.20:4-6, 11-15).
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will personally come to take His Church to heaven, commonly referred to as “the Rapture of the Church.” All members of the Body of Christ, both living and dead, will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. This event is imminent and will take place before the prophesied Tribulation or Day of the Lord that will come upon the earth (1 Cor. 15:51-53; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13-14). After the seven-year Tribulation period, Jesus Christ will return in power to establish His Kingdom upon the earth (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 9:20-27; Zech. 14:4, 9; Matt. 24:15-41; Rev.19:11-16; 20:1-4).
We believe that immediately after death all people exist in a state of consciousness that will last forever. Members of the Church, the Body of Christ, in this present dispensation of grace pass directly into the presence of God in Heaven. All of the unsaved dead enter a state of conscious eternal suffering without any hope of salvation (Lk.16:23-28; Jn.3:36; 2 Cor.5:6-8; Phil.1:23; 2 Thes.1:7-9; Heb.9:27; Rev.14:11; 20:10-15).
We believe our mission is to magnify God’s glory by proclaiming the gospel of His grace and message of reconciliation to the nations so that all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Cor.5:14-6:2; 1 Tim.2:3-4). This preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery establishes God’s people spiritually and equips the Church for ministry in the Christian home, local church, practical needs in the community, and on the cross-cultural mission field in regions of the world where Christ is not yet named (Rom.16:25-27; Eph.4:11-16). In this way we make plain to everyone the unsearchable riches of Christ according to the dispensation of the mystery (Rom.12:9-21; 1 Cor.10:31-11:1; Gal.2:10; 6:10; Eph.3:8-9; Phil.2:1-8; Col.4:3-6). This commission of grace includes the biblical Christian worldview, in general, and the gospel of grace, in particular, and it is the stewardship responsibility of the Church, the Body of Christ, for which every member will give an account at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom.13:11-4; 2 Cor.5:9-11; Eph.5:15-17).
Sexual Relations: We believe that for the good of mankind God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage relationship between a man and a woman, and that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, incest, fornication, adultery, or pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex and therefore unacceptable behavior for anyone professing to be saved through personal faith in Jesus Christ (Gen. 2:24; 19:5,13; 26:8,9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:1-7; Col. 3:2-5; I Thess. 4:1-8; Titus 2:11-14; 3:3-8; Heb. 13:4).
Gender: We believe as stated in Scripture that God creates each new life as either male or female (Genesis 5:2; Mt. 19:4). A person’s gender is documented at birth and is the biological sex of that person that God intended throughout his or her life (Psalm 139:13-16).
Marriage: We believe that the only legitimate marriage relationship is the joining together of one man and one woman as husband and wife (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22,23).
Spiritual Authority: We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women. Husbands are to be the leaders in the home and men are to be the leaders in evangelism, pastoring, and teaching (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; I Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4,5,12).
We believe that all mankind is created in the image of God as male and female; thus human life begins at fertilization and the unborn child is a living person whose life is a sacred miracle and gift from God (Gen.1:26-27; Ps.139:13-16). Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life and is therefore considered to be murder (Gen.9:6; Ex.20:13). We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Ps.51:5; Is.44:24; 49:1,5; Jer.1:5; 20:15-18; Lk.1:44).
Believers are prohibited by Scripture from bringing civil lawsuits against other believers to resolve personal disputes and that any such disputes should be resolved by the individuals involved according to the governing principles found in the Bible (I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31,32).
All believers, as stewards of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to them, are expected by God to financially support other ministries and/or organizations of similar beliefs, whose purpose is compatible with the purpose of any such local church, through offerings that are freely given with a willing and cheerful attitude. We also believe that upon transfer of any offering or gift to a local church or compatible ministry or organization, the believer relinquishes all rights to direct the use of such offerings or gifts except that of general furtherance of the work of the local church or compatible ministry or organization (I Cor. 16:1-3; II Cor. 9:6,7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; I Tim. 5:17,18).