Grace Community Church Erie — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Derek Sanford

Founded 1895

Denomination Non-denominational

Service Times Sunday services (check website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website whoisgrace.com

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Not stated on homepage — held yellow.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Not stated on homepage — held yellow.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not mentioned on available pages

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Not stated on homepage — verify

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Lead Pastor Derek Sanford (male); ~90 staff breakdown not surfaced — held yellow.

Verify

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Large staff (~90 pastoral/ministry); Lead Pastor primary figure

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Not specified

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

'Following Jesus as we live out God's story every day, everywhere'

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No DEI/affirming language visible

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Baptist heritage (Swedish Baptist 1895 / Grace Baptist 1939); current affiliation not stated on homepage. No ARC markers visible; no affirming markers visible. Held yellow pending beliefs/staff page.

Caution

Assessment

Grace Community Church Erie (branded as 'Grace Church') is a non-denominational multisite church led by Derek Sanford since 2010. Multiple locations including McKean campus. The 'whoisgrace.com' branding suggests a seeker-oriented approach. Need to verify theological positions, preaching style, and gender theology locally. Multisite model with site pastors indicates a modern church growth approach.

#non-denominational#multisite#erie-pa#seeker-oriented

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source whoisgrace.com/about

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.