About Grace
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Grace United Methodist Church is located on the west side of Hamilton Ohio. We are a healthy multi-generational congregation that values relationships. We are not striving to be a mega-church. We are instead striving to be an authentic place to find connection with God and with God’s people. This connection is one that we believe grows with the challenges and the victories of life. God works all things for good. The church is meant to be the setting for community together as we experience these challenges and victories. Perhaps the Spirit will lead you here to be a part of this family expression of God’s Grace. The doors are wide open to you.
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History of Grace UMCIn 1835 William Nast was sent by the Ohio Methodist Conference at Springfield as a German-speaking missionary to Cincinnati and the surrounding area to work among the German population. He preceded others, known as Circuit Riders, who came on horseback, for sixteen years prior to the official establishment of the church. In 1854 The First German Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Hamilton, Ohio. In 1906 a larger church building was constructed on S. Front Street, and in 1919 was renamed Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. An even larger church home was constructed on Main Street and was consecrated in September of 1956. This building has been added on to several times, and is known today as Grace United Methodist Church.
Although the church has had several names and location changes through the years, it has continued to serve Christ with faith, hope, love and mission. Our rich Methodist history of over 150 years here in Hamilton has helped us stay focused on our ministries to Witness, Ignite, and Nurture all who enter the doors of the church. As a congregation we understand that the church is more than a building; it’s a place of worship, a place, to grow, a place where people care for one another. 
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Pastor Randy Stearns
Having grown up in Monroe, just up the road, gives a great appreciation for the people of Grace United Methodist Church. It is, in a sense, coming home. It was after graduating from Lemon Monroe High School that I went to Asbury College to receive my bachelor’s degree. As a Christian College there was so much formation of faith that accompanied the degree. My master’s degree is from Asbury Theological Seminary, both schools are in Kentucky. It was many years later that I was able to return to school while serving at Brice and receive my doctorate degree from United Theological Seminary, which is in Dayton, Ohio. These experiences laid a beginning point for the work of God’s Spirit throughout my years of serving God.
While I was in my last year of college and throughout my years at seminary I served a rural three church circuit near Hillsboro, Ohio. This was a wonderful setting where I learned how to be a person of influence in the Christian community. The unity and the joy of serving together. The first appointment after school was as Associate Pastor of Youth in Grove City, Ohio. It was a large church and I learned how to lead in a system of relationships. For 18 years I was pastor of Brice United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio. This church saw so much transition. The 90 persons in attendance became almost 600 persons. The congregation embraced becoming a multi-site as well as becoming multi-ethnic. We began a Christian School and Pre-School that included 400 students when we left. It was a setting of watching miracle after miracle happen. Lives were changed every week. Amazingly, 63% of those who joined the church join with profession of faith for the very first time. This was followed by service to the larger church as a District Superintendent and then Executive Assistant to Bishop Ough and then Bishop Palmer of the West Ohio Conference. This was a very different work that I tried to do with something I called “Love First Leadership”. The fruit I saw was influencing leaders who would influence others for eternity. I was able to return to the local church in West Chester, which is just east of here. I became an Interim pastor at Faith Community UMC after they had experienced many years of transition and growth. I was then able to retire in 2016. My wife’s name is Melanie and we have been married since 1983. We met in school and have been able to support one another in our ministries throughout these years. She is presently working half-time at Lakota Schools as a Reading Specialist. She has been working in the education of children her entire adult life and brings a joy and an energy that everyone notices right away. We have three adult children. Will is working in the field of Creative Advertising in Los Angeles, California. Melissa is a Marketing Manager and lives in Portland, Oregon. Lyndsey is completing Seminary and plans to be a Sr. Pastor in the United Methodist Church here in Ohio. We thought they might be a little closer but we are so proud of each one of them and support them fully. We have loved coming to Grace UMC. We bought our retirement home hear in Hamilton and absolutely love living here. Step by step we follow Christ and the Spirit keeps moving mightily. What is God going to do next? Let’s find out together. |
Our Joy is sharing Christ's Love, Grace and Community with you.