History of 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 mission church of the PCA. On August 26, 2012, at a special evening worship gathering, By Grace became a particular church in the PCA. At this gathering By Grace’s first elders and deacons were also ordained.

In October 2012, By Grace moved to its first permanent location in the City Center area of Newport News.  In February 2017 we moved into a building that we purchased and we are now located at 2831 Denbigh Blvd Yorktown, VA 23692.