About us
Our Vision
A Spirit filled community on mission.
Spirit Filled
We want to be a church that is led by the Holy Spirit and one which displays both the gifts and fruit of the Spirit. We’re a charismatic church - that’s not a style thing or a music thing but a biblical thing which we read about in scripture and are called to live out.
Community
Jesus loves the Church! He loves her so much that he died for her. She’s not perfect now, but she is beautiful, like a bride on her wedding day and he is making her perfect. Grace Church is a diverse family made up of all ages and stages, a place where everyone is able to flourish as followers of Jesus. We believe that this happens best together in community.
On Mission
We exist for more than just ourselves. We are called to love people towards Jesus - our neighbours, colleagues, friends and family. We believe we are also called to go to the ends of the earth to those we would otherwise never meet.
Who’s who
Everything starts with Jesus. Not a strategy, not a structure. Jesus is at the centre of Grace Church and everything we do flows from him.
We lead in teams and believe in plurality. No one person carries everything. From the very beginning, Jesus gathered a team. The apostles led together. Paul appointed elders in every church. Healthy churches are led by a plurality of people who bring different gifts, different perspectives, and a shared commitment to Jesus and his people. Leadership here is about recognising what God is already doing, affirming it, and releasing it, so that everyone can grow into all God has for them.
Elders
Elders are called to oversee, shepherd, and guard. They care for people, teach the Word, pray, and give spiritual oversight to the church family. This is not management - it is deeply relational. The church belongs to Jesus. Our elders are not leading their church. They are caring for His church!
Deacons
Deacons are trusted, Spirit-filled leaders providing practical leadership across specific ministry areas. They notice needs, organise solutions, mobilise people, and make sure no one is overlooked. Elders and deacons are distinct and complementary, working together to help the church flourish.
Trustees
Our trustees work closely with the elders and carry the legal and financial responsibility for Grace Church as a registered charity. They make sure we are doing what we exist to do, that our finances are well managed, that we are thinking about the long term, and that everything is handled responsibly and with integrity.
Staff Team
Our staff team are released to serve the church and to support the day to day life of Grace Church. They are not here to do all the ministry themselves. They are here to use their gifts to equip, encourage, and release others, so that everyone can play their part in what God is doing among us.
If you would like to know more or get in touch with a specific team, we would love to hear from you. You can see who they are below:
Dave Bartlett
Deacon
Worship
Chris Collison
Elder and Trustee
Jo Dew-Jones
Deacon
Worship
Huw Hadden
Elder
Staff Team
Becky José
Deacon
Community Groups
Mark Mould
Elder
Dan Roach
Elder and Trustee
Staff Team
Rachel Willmott
Deacon
Pastoral Care
Claire Annetts
Deacon and Trustee
Charli Clear
Deacon
Students & Young Adults
Emma Davis
Trustee
Liz Gingell
Trustee
Joe Greenhalgh
Elder
Kez Greenhalgh
Deacon and Kids Lead
Staff Team
Susy Holding
Deacon and Youth Lead
Staff Team
Scott José
Deacon
Community Groups
Julia Rice
Finance and Logistics
Staff Team
Dave Rogers
Elder and Trustee
Staff Team
Fi Salter
Deacon
Pastoral Care
Mick Taylor
Elder
Rob Willmott
Deacon
Pastoral Care
The Story so far.
We began life as Frontiers Church Exeter in 2003 when Andy and Jane Arscott moved to the city to start a Newfrontiers church.
As in any family, we have seen lots of change. We are a multigeneration church with people from many different backgrounds. We’re made up of students, young adults, families with many children and a good number of wise older members.
Over the years we have met in various venues around the city as we have grown and have needed different places to meet. We believe that church more about people than buildings and have used various venues over the years. We currently meet in St Peter’s School for our Sunday gatherings.
In 2012, Andy handed the leadership of the church to Stu Alred.
In 2014, we officially became Grace Church Exeter. Our name is an expression of our central message of God’s grace towards all people and marked the start of a new chapter for us as a church.
At the start of 2022, Stu felt called to train as a teacher and Mick Taylor and Dan Roach led the church through a time of transition and looking for a Pastor to join and bring leadership to the team.
In 2023,Dave Rogers and family moved to Exeter from Ascot, and Dave joined the team as Pastor.
In 2024, Huw Hadden joined the eldership team.
In 2026, we had a wonderful celebration as we recognised the next stage of leadership at Grace Church by appointing an additional three elders, Chris Collison, Joe Greenhalgh and Mark Mould. We also appointed deacons for the first time. The eleven new deacons were Claire Annetts, Dave Bartlett, Charli Clear, Jo Dew-Jones, Kez Greenhalgh, Susy Holding, Becky and Scott José, Fi Salter and Rachel & Rob Willmott.
We’d love you to join us as we explore, experience and express the Christian faith together.
What we believe…
If you're new here, you might be curious about what we believe and what makes us tick as a community.
At the heart of everything we do is our faith, and to give you a clearer picture of our core values, please check out the Basis of Faith from the Evangelical Alliance, one of our partners. This will hopefully give a picture into our core beliefs.
You can view the Evangelical Alliance’s Basis of Faith here.
We’re also are really happy to answer any questions you might have, whether it's about our church, our faith, or anything else, we'd love to hear from you. Just send us an email or give us a call, and we’ll be happy to chat.