About Grace

Grace Bible Church exists to glorify God by exalting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We want to be an authentic community of believers who endeavor to live as the body of Christ and the family of God with the missional emphasis of representing our Lord Jesus well to the people of Central Oregon and beyond.

Sunday Mornings

We gather on Sunday mornings at 8:30 and 10:30 am at 63945 Old Bend Redmond Highway. We lift our voices to sing praise to God, and we open our Bibles to listen to his Word preached.

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Children & Students

We offer Kid’s Ministry from birth through 5th grade during our Sunday gathering, and our 6th-12th grade Youth Group meets Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

Learn More about children's ministry

Learn More about student ministry

Community Groups

Community groups are a vital part of living as a family and the body of Christ. It is in a community group that we can be known and cared for. In a community group, you can expect to share a meal together, share the Word together, and share life together.

Learn More about Community Groups

Pastor/Elders

Phil Kooistra

I am the lead pastor and primary teaching elder of Grace Bible Church. I have been married to my wonderful wife Heidi since 1997, and we have three beautiful children together, Elizabeth, Rachel, and Benjamin. I served in various student ministries beginning in 1996, and graduated from The Master’s Seminary in 2003 with a Masters of Divinity. I am currently working on a Doctorate of Ministry at Western Seminary in Portland. Previous to planting Grace Bible Church of Bend, I was the Student Ministry Pastor at Independent Bible Church in Port Angeles from June of 2003 - June of 2011. The desire of my heart is to glorify God by using my life and gifts to help people follow the Lord Jesus Christ. I am committed to preaching the eternal truths of God’s Holy Word and calling people to live as the body of Christ in community with one another.

Curt Stafford

I was 17 years old when I attended church for the first time. After hearing the gospel and giving my life to Jesus Christ, I got plugged into a college group and started growing as a Christian. It was during this time that I met my wife Amy. We began to grow in the Lord together and were married in the summer of 1992. God blessed us with three wonderful, now adult children. We moved to Bend and began attending Grace Bible in early 2016, and this church has been a huge blessing in our lives. I love that GBC is gospel-centered and completely devoted to the Lord and His Word. I've been privileged to serve at the welcome desk, on the offering team, as a co-community group leader, and lead short-term missions teams in addition to my role as an elder. In my spare time I enjoy fly fishing, time outdoors, and spending time with my family.

Neal Hackbarth

I am blessed to be the husband of one wife, Lisa, since 1984 and father to three adult children, Julie, Amy, and Jason. Both Lisa and I, as well as our children, were saved in our childhood. The Lord has consistently been gracious as he has led us and kept us. As I mature in faith, I can say along with Paul, “I am chief among sinners,” as I realize my utter dependency on my mighty Savior. We have been a part of Grace Bible since Easter 2013, when Crossroads Community Church joined with Grace. I served as a bi-vocational pastor/elder at Crossroads for four years, and prior to that was part of pastoral preaching teams for seven years. Lisa and I have been involved in church ministry and leadership from the early years of our marriage, serving and teaching in children’s classes, home fellowship groups, and as community group leaders. We are so thankful to be part of the body at Grace Bible.

Full-Time Ministry Staff

Phil kooistra

Teaching Pastor

Dave robinson

Director of Counseling & Discipleship

Andrew sullivan

Director of Children's & Youth Ministries

Part-Time Ministry & Support Staff

briana burnson

Administrative Assistant

Pat coffey

Business Administrator

Austin Farley

Assistant Youth Ministry Director

Josse Harry

Grace Kids Schedule Coordinator

Heidi kooistra

Women's Ministry Director

Brek paul

Facilities Administrator

MEL RIDLON

Events Coordinator

JUNIOR ULIT

Grace Kids Sunday Coordinator

KIRIELL GANCHENKO

Custodian

Amy Stafford

Digital Content Manager

rachel scott

Bookkeeper

lane crismon

Custodian

ALLI WOMACK

Children's & Youth Ministry Assistant

jason hackbarth

Tech Assistant

Kristina biederman

Interim Worship Director

Core Values

The simple vision for this church is that it would be an authentic community of believers who desire to live in gospel community as the Body of Christ and family of God while being missionaries to Bend and to reach the not yet saved. This community would desire to be characterized by the following values:

God's glory, not ours

Jesus is our Savior, Master, and lead Shepherd. It is for his Glory that we exist and it is for his glory that the Church Exists. We desire to make his name famous and to proclaim the glorious gospel that reveals his truth.

Never too big not to be small

It seems like the trend these days is to be a “Mega Church.” Somehow churches have adopted the idea that “bigger is better.” Our desire is that no matter how “big” we get, people would not get lost in the crowd, and that we would always feel small because people would be living in community where they would be known, cared for, and encouraged in their faith.

warfare, not theater

Church today sometimes feels more like a theatrical production then the family of God gathered to encourage each other to “Fight the good Fight” We understand that the Christian life is a battle where we fight against an enemy that hates to lose. We gather together as the Body of Christ to encourage each other in the battle, to pray for each other in the battle, and to help rescue people from the enemies of sin, Satan, and death. We gather to celebrate the ultimate victor in the Battle: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Word driven, not fad chasing

God’s Word is the ultimate authority in our lives and completely sufficient for all matters of faith and practice, Scripture (and Scripture alone) is to dictate how we live our lives and guide our ministry (2 Pet. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). In our current culture that exists without absolutes, the church and its leaders must have the bedrock of Scripture as their one and only measuring device for all things. That is why we are committed to expository preaching and the proclamation of the full counsel of God’s Word to mankind.

simplicity, not busyness

We desire to be a church where our activities do not determine our priorities, but rather our priorities determine our activities. Loving and discipling our families, reaching the lost, maturing in Christ… These things rarely occur during activities at a church and more often happen when the Body of Christ is “being the church.” We desire our calendar to reflect that.

Family/body, not consumers

If God is your heavenly Father, the church is not a location you go to, but is a family that you belong to and a body you have been brought into. Eph. 2:19 says, “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” Together we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, and the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. For us to be the church that God truly desires for us to be, we must realize that we are a covenant family committed to each other, and that we are a body that serves one another. As a family and body, we serve one another as Christ has served us.

spiritual maturity, not size

The focus of the church is “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ,” (Col. 1:28). Maturity comes through repentance and discipleship, and is never easy.

For More Information

doctrinal statement

Membership

Grace Bible Church Distinctives

Acts 29 Distinctives