THE FOUNDERS OF GRACE

How it all started...

Terry and Jan Whitley were the Founding Pastors of Grace Christian Center. The church was birthed on June 15th of 1980 with a small but devoted group of people who met at Bellaire Elementary School in Killeen, Texas. The foundation of the church was comprised of three clear directives, which was to be a: Family church, a Training and Teaching Center, and a Global Outreach Center with a focus on supporting international missionary work.

With Grace being established in close proximity to the Fort Hood Army installation, Pastor Terry received a revelation from God that the church would train and equip military families with the principles found in the Bible. When those soldiers would relocate due to receiving new orders from the military, the Lord ensured Pastor Terry that He was utilizing the ministry to “train up missionaries and deploy them all over the world on Uncle Sam’s tab.” A strong emphasis has always been placed on not only winning souls for Christ, but subsequently equipping believers to become devoted disciples that are flourishing in their gifting and in their sphere of influence to which God has called them.
We are a multigenerational church where the mature and seasoned believers are encouraged to pour into and empower those who are younger in age and in their faith walk to not simply be the church of tomorrow but to realize that they are the church of today! From the onset, Pastor Terry envisioned that Grace would be a Global Outreach Center that would reach and impact nations for the Kingdom of God. There have been many missionary initiatives spanning several countries that we’ve supported over the years. Two key ministry efforts that we’ve assisted and continue to support are outreaches that reach the people and communities of Ethiopia and mainland China.

On October 10th of 2013, Pastors Terry and Jan Whitley returned to Texas from a missions trip in Eastern Europe. Tragically, while traveling home from the airport they were involved in a vehicular accident that took their lives as well as the life of the Senior Associate Pastor at the time, Steven Timmerman. Our church and the community were understandably shocked and saddened by the loss of our leaders, however, the members of Grace showed up to church the day after the incident occurred and passionately cried out to God in worship. What was supposed to be a prayer vigil and time for the church to mourn turned into a packed house full of praise and exaltation unto the Lord!

Today, the legacy of faith, family, spiritual growth and outreach are still being realized and accomplished. While we celebrate and honor the past, we also remain diligent in pursuing God’s purpose and plan for the present, and we look forward to the future with a sense of expectation and anticipation for the greater works that God will perform within the Central Texas region and across the globe!

THE VISION OF GRACE

At Grace, our vision is to WELCOME all people, EMPOWERING them to have a passionate relationship with God, for the purpose of TRANSFORMING their lives, their community and their world.

Listen To Messages from our founding Pastors!