About GCC...What We Believe...How to find Us...Testimony
Grace Community Church, Streator, IL, has just celebrated 25 years of ministry. What began as a prayer meeting in a living room (read the Testimony at the bottom of this page) has blossomed into a fruitful church family that not only offers a diverse array of ministries, but is also a haven for the arts and worship. Situated on 20 beautiful acres, the church's grounds are home also to Rhema Christian Academy, a gymnasium, fellowship hall, the Pastor's residence, play areas, as well as a 300 ft. pond.
Service times are Sundays at 10:15 am, as well as Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm. Nursery is provided at all services.
What We Believe...
WE BELIEVE: The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be divinely inspired of God, and to be the supreme and final authority in faith and conduct.
WE BELIEVE: In the Deity of Jesus Christ, His pre-existence with the Father, His virgin birth, His substitutionary, sacrificial death, His bodily resurrection, ascension and second coming in great power and glory. We believe that the only salvation afforded the soul of man is by His blood and through His name.
WE BELIEVE: In a literal Heaven and Hell.
WE BELIEVE: In the Triune God, eternally existent in Three Persons.
WE BELIEVE: In water baptism by immersion.
WE BELIEVE: That the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for all, and that the Gifts of the Spirit and the miracle power of God are for today.
WE BELIEVE: In partaking of the Lord's Supper and that it is symbolic of what the Lord has done for us.
Directions...
GCC is located on Rt. 23 just 2 miles North of Streator, IL. (see maps below)
From Chicago/Midway - 90.92 miles
From Peoria - 62.82 miles
From Joliet - 61.58 miles
From Milwaukee - 174.87 miles
Click on the map for driving directions to our location.
Following the birth of their son, Sharon Giacinto began to experience muscle weakness and extreme fatigue. It was discovered that her pituitary had stopped functioning properly.
Sharon would spend weeks at a time at Loyola Medical Center where they put her on massive doses of steroids to sustain her organs.
During this time,her husband Chuck was a barber. The doctors made it clear that the steroids could only be taken for seven years and after that her organs would begin to shut down and death would follow.
Chuck set out to give his wife a lifetime in those seven years. He went into the real estate business among others and did very well.
In their mid-thirties, possessing all that the world would think was worth having, Chuck was about to lose his wife, who by then was down to 83 pounds, legally blind in one eye, and wearing a wig because of hair loss.
But in the process, Chuck had worked his way up to becoming an alcoholic, and was also dabbling in the new age and the occult out of desperation. They were faithful members of a mainline denomination and wondered daily why God would allow this to happen.
Then, at the end of the seven years, the steroids no longer worked and Sharon was not a physical candidate for any other medical procedure. It was then that one of their employees asked permission to pray for her. She prayed in a way they were not used to and Sharon was healed instantly, eyesight and all!
Loyola Medical Center confirmed that Sharon now had a fully working pituitary! Chuck saw what the Lord had done for his wife and cried out to Him to be set free from the bondage of alcohol. His cries were heard and two lives were changed forever!
For the first time in their lives, they realized that what they had had was religion and not a personal relationship with the risen Christ. Now nothing was more important than sharing their new found faith and good news with others. They rented chairs two nights a week and held revival services in their home, which in time turned into a church.
They currently co-pastor the church they founded 25 years ago, which currently has a Christian Academy, an accredited Bible College, and a food pantry that feeds hundreds in the local community every month. They are in love with Jesus and have a heart for the harvest of the lost and needy. Pleasing the Father is at the top of their list, and they do their best to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
If you have any questions regarding this testimony, feel free to contact us .
