The story of Grace Church began with intermittent services held in 1840, with some records showing some may have been held even earlier. Our church was officially incorporated on June 14, 1849, as “Zion Reformed Church.”

In 1840 a church building was built by the Lutheran congregation that they called “Mount Zion Church.” It was a small, wood frame building located at the site of the current Stone Creek Cemetery, which was at the time part of the farm of John Hawk. When German Reformed settlers moved to Stone Creek, they started to meet in a barn belonging to John Hawk where the Lutheran’s used to meet, but they soon outgrew the barn and started to meet in the Lutheran’s church building, so in 1849 our congregation officially entered into an agreement with the Lutheran congregation to jointly own and maintain the property of the first church building. Until 1941, both our church and the Lutheran church were named “Zion.”

n 1877 the two congregations started to outgrow the church, so they worked together to to construct a new building in the village. This new church was built at the site of the current Zion Lutheran Church on two lots donated by Dan Wherley. One for the building and another to tie up horses. It was a white, wood sided building had two separate doors for men and women, and had clear glass windows. Inside the church had large heating stoves along the center of the side aisles, and chandeliers with oil lamps. The front had an elevated pulpit and alter. Behind the pulpit was a black leather sofa for the pastor. A pump organ was used for singing. Each congregation had services every other week on Sunday morning, with Sunday School at 1:00.

In 1957 there was a merger of our denomination, the “Evangelical & Reformed Churches” with other denominations to form the United Church of Christ. Our name then became “Grace United Church of Christ.”

Our Sunday School continued to grow, as did the many different organizations of the Church. The sanctuary was regularly filled to capacity and the Church School was becoming increasingly overcrowded, so in July, 1956 when it became apparent that Grace Church would shortly become debt-free on the parsonage, the Consistory passed a resolution that "on the day the parsonage note is burned, the pastor shall appoint a committee to study the physical needs of the Church and report to the Consistory with specific recommendations as to what course of action the Church should pursue.”

Between 1889 and 1890 there was a division in the congregation that resulted in part of the congregation splitting off and starting a new church. This resulted in Friedens Evangelical Church being organized on April 1, 1890. The Friedens congregation also erected their own church, a white wood frame structure in downtown Stone Creek that still stands today.

On February 23, 1941 the two congregations, Zion Reformed Church and Friedens Evangelical Church put aside their differences and merged back together under the new name of “Grace Evangelical and Reformed Church.” Upon remerging we moved into the building built by the Friedens congregation, officially ending the relationship with the Lutheran congregation of jointly owning and maintaining a house of worship that existed for almost a century. We then remodeled the Friedens church building, purchasing new pews and stained glass windows, including the “Good Shepherd” window.

We then entered into the Jerusalem-Stone Creek Charge with Jerusalem Church until 1955 , the same year we dedicated our Parsonag.

The Dedication Service for the new sanctuary took place on October 4, 1964. It was a breathtaking service that began with the choir proceeded down the aisle singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" as the congregation joined in. It is said that the presence of the Holy Spirit could be felt and tears of joy were shed. That evening an official Dedication of the Christian Education Building was held. The new organ was then dedicated with a special recital on the evening of October 6.

On October 11 a Dedication Service was held for the sanctuary. Rev. Clarence Higgins Sr preached the first sermon in the new sanctuary. He was pastor of the Friedens Church from 1930-1941 and father of Rev. Clarence Higgins Jr, who was pastor at the time of the dedication.

In 1998 Grace Church took on another ambitious project and officially launched the “Cherubs of Grace Preschool,” with founding administrator Elsie Campbell and teacher Patti Hixenbaugh. The mission of the program was to provide a private Christian preschool program that provides a safe, Christian environment for children to learn and play.

25 years later this program is still going strong with that same mission and has impacted the lives of countless children. It is truly a great asset to the Community of Stone Creek and beyond.

In 2009 Grace Church left the United Church of Christ denomination and joined the non-denominational Evangelistic Association. This resulted in our name being changed to Grace Community Church.

TODAY Grace Community Church continues to be the center of the community of Stone Creek and beyond through our mission of “Loving God, Loving People, and Serving the World.”