Timeline & Questions
Currently we meet as a Small Group Bible Study & Core Group under our sending church, Grace Community Baptist Church. We meet twice a month on Thursday evenings from 6-8pm. Reach out to Garrett for the location details: garrettwest@gracelifeaustin.org
July we will meet as a Core Group, and Julian and Garrett will teach through our Philosophy of Ministry. This will not just explain what we believe, but how we are to practically do church in light of what the Bible says. This class will be taught on Sundays at 9:30 AM, at our sending church.
October we will start hosting prelaunch services to help us prepare for launch 01-01-2027. The services will be held somewhere locally in Pflugerville / North Austin, or on site at our sending church.
January 3rd 2027 we will by the grace of God, launch in the Pflugerville / North Austin area.
Pflugerville and the North Austin corridor are some of the fastest growing communities in the entire country. With 91 people moving to the greater Austin metro every single day, and projections of 750,000 new residents by 2040, the spiritual need in this area is enormous. Yet with nearly 75% of Austin's 2.5 million residents unchurched — and much of the remaining 25% attending churches that do not preach the true Gospel — North Austin is one of the most urgent mission fields in the nation. Grace Life Austin exists to bring the Word of God to these people.
Area we are prayerfully pursing a location:
Location we are specifically praying about:
Murchison Elementary Scho
Murchison Elementary School
We are gospel-centered, believe the Word of God is sufficient to save anyone (Psalm 19:7), and that faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). This profound truth fuels our love for reaching the lost. However, our mission does not end at reaching the lost through evangelism, but we recognize evangelism is actually the first step of making disciples. Jesus commands in Matthew 28:18-20, "[18]And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We desire to see believers grow in Christlikeness by actively carrying out the biblical "one anothers"—loving, serving, and encouraging each other, and using the spiritual gifts that God has given them for the common good, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12 on spiritual gifts, "[7] But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
Every word in our name reflects this intentionality:
Grace: We exist because of grace. Salvation is not of ourselves or our works, but is the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:23-24).
Life: The grace of God produces new life. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, those who trust in Him are raised to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:4).
Austin: We are called to this city. Central Texas is our mission field, and we are here to faithfully proclaim the saving message of Christ and make disciples among its people.
A Burden for a Growing City
The vision began when Julian Belk and Garrett West met while training at The Master’s Seminary (TMS) in California. Julian had previously lived in Austin and experienced the profound need for faithful, expository preaching in a rapidly growing city where nearly 75% of the population is unchurched. Recognizing that the fields in Austin are ripe for the harvest, both men developed a deep desire to return to Texas to proclaim the saving message of Christ. They share the conviction of Romans 10:17, that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."
A Providential Partnership
As the Apostle Paul asked, "And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" (Romans 10:15). In answer to that biblical call, Julian and Garrett were sent out by Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA, through the church-planting ministry, Grace Advance to be trained by Eric Dodson.
While in seminary, Julian and Garrett connected with Eric Dodson, a fellow TMS graduate and pastor of Grace Community Baptist Church in Elgin, TX. Pastor Eric and his elders shared the same missionary-minded vision for planting churches in Central Texas. Together, they launched a new initiative called Grace Advance Texas (GATX). GATX seeks to partner with local, like-minded churches to support church planting by identifying, sending out, and supporting men to plant churches in growing communities. Any church, regardless of size, can contribute to reaching the lost in ways they previously thought only big churches could. Julian and Garrett were brought on as the first full-time interns of Grace Advance Texas, mentored by Pastor Eric and his elders, to establish a new congregation in the Pflugerville area for a January 2027 launch.
A Biblical Model
Grace Life Austin is unique in two distinct ways. First, it is the first church planted through Grace Advance Texas (GATX), which seeks to plant church-planting churches throughout Central Texas. Second, rather than sending a single man to plant a church, Julian and Garrett were sent to labor together. Julian serves as the primary teaching pastor, while Garrett serves as the associate pastor focusing on discipleship, counseling, evangelism, and administration. This approach reflects Jesus' own pattern of sending His disciples out two by two (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1), the partnership of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2–3), Paul and Silas (Acts 15:40), and Paul and Timothy (Philippians 2:22), as well as their biblical conviction that the local church is best built and shepherded from the very beginning by a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23).
There are five vital ways you can partner with us in this mission:
Pray: The most important way you can help is to pray. Ask the Lord to save the lost in Central Texas, strengthen our core group, and raise up more workers for the harvest.
Join: If you live in Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Hutto, or surrounding areas, we invite you to check out our core group, which currently meets twice a month on Thursdays. Also starting in July, we will begin teaching through our Philosophy of Ministry on Sunday mornings at Grace Community Baptist Church. Please email garrettwest@gracelifeaustin.org for details.
Attend Pre-Launch Services: Beginning October 2026, pre-launch services will be held leading up to the January 2027 launch.
Give: Please prayerfully consider partnering with us financially. Your support allows our pastoral team to focus full-time on training, shepherding, and planting the church.
Tell: Spread the word. Share our mission with like-minded friends, family, neighbors, and church leaders who may be interested in praying, joining, or supporting this work.