Teaching & Beliefs
"How Will Pflugerville Hear?"
Scripture presents us with a profound truth in Romans 10:13, "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." It doesn't matter if you grew up in church or not, lived a life of sin, or were saved at a young age- whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. In the verses following this amazing truth (Romans 10:14-17), Paul gives us 4 Hows that make us think about why we should plant churches:
- "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?"
- "How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?"
- "And how will they hear without a preacher?"
- "How will they preach unless they are sent?"
The lost will not call on someone they have not believed in because they can't believe in someone they haven't heard of- Jesus Christ. The way Paul expects them to hear their need to call on the name of the Lord to be saved is through a preacher. But for preachers to preach, they need to be sent, and for preachers to be sent, they need to be qualified, affirmed, and commissioned by the only institution God has ordained- the church. (1 Timothy 3:15)
To read more about what we teach and believe, visit what we teach.
Mission & Vision
Mission
Our mission at Grace Life Austin is to proclaim Christ, and make disciples, as Paul writes in Colossians 1:28-29, "We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ." A high view of God and a high view of God's Word, the Scriptures, directs everything that we do.
Vision
The vision of Grace Life Austin Bible Church is to see Central Texas saturated with the glory of God through the faithful exposition of Scripture and the establishment of healthy, church-planting churches.
While our mission defines what we are commanded to do (Matthew 28:18-20), our vision is the prayerful anticipation of what the Lord will accomplish through that obedience in Pflugerville, North Austin, and beyond. We desire to be a beacon of divine truth in a rapidly growing city, gathering a body of believers who are deeply rooted in the Word, committed to one another, and fully equipped for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:12)
Because the local church is God's ordained instrument for reaching the lost, our vision extends far beyond our own congregation. We earnestly pray and labor toward being a church-planting church. We long to see a legacy of like-minded congregations raised up across Central Texas, shepherded by pluralities of qualified men, and boldly proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ to a world in desperate need.
History
Our Sending Church
While training at The Master’s Seminary in California, Julian Belk and Garrett West bonded over a shared burden: bringing faithful, expository preaching to the rapidly growing, unchurched city of Austin, Texas. Believing deeply that "faith comes from hearing... the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17), they felt called to return to Texas with their families.
To answer that call, they were sent out by Grace Advance, the church planting ministry of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA, and partnered with Eric Dodson, the preaching Pastor of Grace Community Baptist Church in Elgin, TX. Eric and his Elders launched Grace Advance Texas (GATX)—an initiative designed to plant churches that plant churches.
As the inaugural GATX plant, Grace Life Austin will launch in Pflugerville in January 2027. Following a biblical and wise pattern of Jesus and the Apostles, Julian and Garrett were sent out "two by two." With Julian serving as Teaching Pastor and Garrett as Associate Pastor, they are laboring together to see God glorified through the preaching of His Word (2 Timothy 4:2), salvation of the lost (Romans 1:16), and sanctification of the saints (John 17:17).
