Gary Ladd

History: GracePoint Church was a new church start that began from the hopes and prayers of several families in the local community. We strongly felt that God was at work to begin a new church quickly, so we did not wait for help from the National (SBC) or State (SBTC) conventions, nor the local associations (SBTA) for help or financing. We began services on January 8, 2008, with 25 people in an empty office building. Within a few months, we outgrew the office building and rented the cafeteria of the local junior high, and the church called me as their "full-time" pastor on April 1, 2008. In our first year of ministry, many came to know Christ as Savior, and 37 adults and several children were baptized.

Financial History: In the first several years, as a single-staff church, we had little overhead, so, for many years, we were able to give over 50% of our receipts to mission work. Over the next several years, we purchased 12 acres of land with cash, and began saving to build our current church building. We borrowed $1.5 million to complete the building, and in 2014, when it was completed, our insurance company estimated the current facility to be worth $3.7 million. We paid off our building loan and became fully debt-free in March 2020.

Growth: The numerical and spiritual growth of the church has been consistent. GracePoint currently employs 4 full-time ministerial staff, 2 administrative assistants, and a full-time daycare director and daycare staff. Today, we average over 300 in our weekly Sunday morning service.

Direction: My first desire as a pastor is to preach the full and unaltered Word of God, and to lead the lost to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. My second passion is to grow the members of GracePoint into mature disciples of Christ, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, and becoming personal soul winners for the Kingdom of God.

Under my leadership as Senior Pastor, Woodland Place Baptist Church grew in attendance from approximately 100 in 1992 to an average of over 600 in 2003 for Sunday morning attendance. During my tenure, we expanded the sanctuary to twice its size and then built and quickly paid off a large education building that included a gymnasium. Attendance grew to the point that we had to have multiple services in the new gymnasium.