Abundant Grace Church

About Abundant Grace Church

What We Believe In Simple Terms: God is bigger, better, and closer than we can imagine. The Bible is God's perfect guidebook for living. Jesus is God showing Himself to us. Through the Holy Spirit, God lives in and through us now. Nothing in Creation just happened. God made it all. Grace is the only way to have a relationship with God. Faith is the only way to grow in our relationship with God. God can bring good even out of evil events. God promises victory over evil to those who choose Him. Heaven and Hell are real places. Death is a beginning, not the end. The Church is to serve people, like Jesus served people. Jesus is coming again. What We Believe In Amplified Terms: WE BELIEVE…The Scriptures: The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, we accept as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine. (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21) WE BELIEVE…The Godhead: Our God is one, but manifested in three persons the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being co-equal. (Phil 2:6) God the Father is greater than all; the sender of the Word (Logos) and the Begetter. (John 14:28; John 16:28; John 1:14) The Son is the Word flesh-covered, the One Begotten, and has existed with the Father from the beginning. (John 1:14; John 1:18, John 1:1) The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is eternal. (John 15:26) WE BELIEVE…Man, His Fall and Redemption: Man is a created being, made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam's transgression and fall, sin came into the world. All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God as it is written, " There is none righteous, no not one. " Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the work of the devil and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God. (Rom 5:12; Rom 3:23;Rom 3:10 ;1 John 3:8) WE BELIEVE…The Salvation of Man: Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God. (Eph 2:8). WE BELIEVE…Eternal Life and The New Birth: Man's first step toward salvation is godly sorrow that worketh repentance. The New Birth is necessary to all men, and when experienced produces eternal life. (2 Cor 7:10; John 3:3-5; 1 John 5:12) WE BELIEVE…Water Baptism: Baptism in water by immersion, is a direct commandment of our Lord, and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian's identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Matt 28:19; Rom 6:4; Col2:12; Acts 8:36-39) WE BELIEVE…Baptism in the Holy Ghost: The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this dispensation and is received subsequent to the New Birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance. (Matt. 3:11; John 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8;Acts 2:38, 39; Acts 19:1-7; Acts 2:4). WE BELIEVE…Sanctification: The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christs return. (Heb. 12:14; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil 3:12-14; 1 Cor. 1:30). WE BELIEVE…Divine Healing: Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands. It is provided for in the atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every member of the Church today. (James 5:14-15; Mark 16:18; Isa. 53:4, 5;Matt. 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24). WE BELIEVE…Resurrection of the Just and the Return of Our Lord: The angels said to Jesus' disciples, " This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. " His coming is imminent. When He comes, the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17) Following the Tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of kings, and Lord of lords, and together with His saints, who shall be kings and priests. He shall reign a thousand years. (Rev. 20:6). WE BELIEVE…Hell And Eternal Retribution: The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the Lake ofFire and therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The Lake of Fire is literal. The terms eternal and everlasting, used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the Lake of Fire, carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the Presence of God. (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 19:20). Pastor Anthony Storino was born in Newark, New Jersey in January 1949 and grew up in the Pine Beach and Toms River areas. His father and brothers along with himself were local businessmen in Toms River since 1955. In 1982 Pastor Storino answered the call of God on his life to enter into the ministry. He moved with his wife, Carol, and three sons, Anthony, Eddie and Joseph, to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma where he and his wife attended RHEMA Bible Training Center, Kenneth Hagin Ministries. Upon graduating from RHEMA in 1984, they returned to their home in Toms River and began Abundant Grace Church, a full Gospel Inter-denominational Church. Their vision was to reach the community of Toms River and Ocean County with a message of Love and Hope for ALL People. Pastor Storino was the United States, North East Regional Director for RHEMA Ministerial Association International, an organization whereby ministers are licensed and ordained with a system of accountability. There are more than 2500 Pastors, Itinerate Ministers, and Missionaries through out the world in RMAI. Pastor Storino believes that a strong family structure is vital to a healthy community. If we strengthen our families, we strengthen our community. Young people, today more than ever, are searching for a purpose for their lives. Pastor Storino believes that everyone has a purpose to fulfill and wants to help young people discover this purpose, because their lives are important and they do matter. Pastor Storino and Abundant Grace Church purchased the former Moravian Church on 108 Indian Head Rd. (Rt. 571) Toms River in November 1994. There has been a gradual increase in attendance weekly, because the full Gospel that is preached is a message of prosperity for mans spirit, his soul and his body; the total man, and God is interested in the total man. This is Good News and people need Good News. Since the inception of Abundant Grace Church in 1984, they have reached out to the community with a clothing and food pantry, a soup kitchen, FREE Family Fall Festivals, with food, games, rides and prizes, held in Huddy Park; and now they continue to reach out to the community through their facility which houses a Gymnasium, a Youth Center, and The Manna Cafe with coffee bar. It is Pastor Storino's desire that young people, whose lives have been impacted in a positive way from this Good News, will help to reproduce the same impact in other young people by inviting them to this facility and sharing God's Love and Hope with them. His vision is not to change a person's religion, but to help them enhance their relationship with God.