Some things are different, said Pastor Kenneth Spence at Grace Community Evangelical Free Church, located at Gun Club Road and Route 143, New Tripoli.

Spence said the new church name reflects the new ministry, not the location.

Grace means ‘God’s love’ and that is what we want to communicate,” Spence said. “God shows us his love that we might have a relationship with him.

“The other side is the community. We want to be a church for the community committed to the people around us.”

He and his wife, Joan, who moved to the area because of the ministry, said they have a gaggle of kids and grandkids.

The ministry reaches out to the community to give, not to take.

This fall, the church is sponsoring a Financial Peace seminar for nine Sundays.

The seminar will be presented 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 18 through Nov. 13.

The presenter will be Dave Ramsey. His goal is to give people a way to master their money rather than having money master them.

Registration can be made at the church or at daveramsey.com.

Spence said word is getting around and there have been a number of registrants even though word of mouth has been the only way it has been spread until recently.

“We want to minister to people, not create programs,” Spence said. “It is more about relationships. Our goal is to say something on purpose.

“We minister to people to help them grow.

“We have developed meaningful relationships with people creating an atmosphere that wants to encourage others.”

Since Grace Church began its ministry the congregation has come close to doubling.

Spence said children are a meaningful part of the ministry with a middle school group.

Thirty to 50 year olds are a large part of the congregation, and as in most churches there is a group of older people making it a balanced congregation.

“We have an active Bible school ministry and are working on a youth program. We are committed to kids,” Spence said. “This is the kind of relationship place we’ve been looking for.

“God wants us to have a relationship with him. It allows the church family to be messengers of what God wants.”

He said the church is doing a Christmas in July event for Operation Christmas Child.

There is a stack of boxes more than halfway up the wall of Christmas gifts in shoebox-size boxes to be shipped to Third World countries.

Grace plans to fill 500 shoeboxes and is a collection center for other churches to bring their filled boxes, which will total 1,500 to 2,000.

People buy items of clothing, toys, books or school materials for the year-long project.

During the second week of November, the boxes will be taken to a regional center for shipment overseas.

“We want the quality of who God is to be visible and tangible,” Spence said. “This is one way to see the God of the Bible and we focus on Biblical teaching.”

Grace has formed a worship team and uses both contemporary and traditional music.

For Labor Day, there will be a tenting event for families and kids, and then church on Sunday morning. Throughout the day there will be activities with a lot of ways to say “involvement.”

“All are welcome,” the pastor said. “It is a chance to see God working at Grace Community Church.”