Our History - Part One

Grace Church Aurora (GCA) is non-denominational, independent, conservative, evangelical,  Bible teaching church governed by a group of elders serving under Christ's authority.   

We were established on May 31, 1981 as a church plant by an assembly of believers now known as South Fellowship. A group from "South" had met as a Sunday School class for about a year, and eighty-seven from that class who lived in Aurora begain meeting at Mracheck Middle School in Aurora.  The mother church provided Senior Pastor Kent Tucker, Associate Pastor Jim Demolar, and shortly thereafter Ron Cobble as Director of Children's Ministries.

In mid-1983, GCA moved to Chambers Point Shopping Center at Mexico and Chambers where we met for the next twenty years.  That same year, the church purchased 51 acres of land east of Aurora in hopes it would be instrumental in helping us to have a permanent church home.  An economic recession stalled that dream for a while.

In the intervening years, Grace enjoyed the help and support of many full and part-time staff members. 

Kent Tucker remained as Senior Pastor until June 1990 when God directed him toward a different ministry.  He returned to California to become Associate Pastor of Adult Ministry at Hillside Community Church in Alta Loma. 

In June 1991, Larry Hoskins joined us as Senior Pastor. Larry was a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. 

The vision of Grace had always looked towards building a permanent facility.  So, when interest revived and when economic conditions opened the door to sell the land purchased in 1983, the Land Committee earnestly looked for a buyer.  That sale took place in March of 2000. 

Subsequently, the Facility Action Committee (FAC) was formed to investigate future possibilities for Grace Church Aurora.  Under the leadership of Al Quintana, the FAC finally decided to purchase land.  A 4.51 acre parcel close to Tower and Hampden looked promising as a central location, but the asking price of $785,000 was far out of our price range of  $500,000 to $535,000.  The leadership decided to use the property as a "practice run" on how to present a buyer's proposal.  We offered $520,000, were countered by the owners, and then made a final offer of $535,000 that was accepted by the City of Aurora. In 2004, GCA moved into our new facility of almost 9,000 square feet. The facility includes a multipurpose worship center with capacity for 175 people, a nursery, preschool room, four classrooms, a main office, two private offices, and a kitchen. The original parcel was 4.51 acres but we sold about an acre to a neighboring church. The church now sits on 3-acres that overlooks the Denver Metro area with a magnificent view of the Rocky Mountains. The property has generous space for future growth.

Our Senior Pastor, Larry Hoskins retired after 31 years of faithful service in June of 2022. He and his wife, Janet, moved to Virginia to be closer to their grown children and grandchildren.

The search began for a new pastor in February 2022. After a diligent search,  Pastor Search Committee recommended Ed Perez to the elders, and he was installed as our new pastor in April 2023. Ed received his undergraduate degree at the College of Biblical Studies in Houston, his Master of Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, and is currently working on his Doctor of Philosophy in Bible and Theology at Calvary University. Ed is married to Sarah and they have three children: Iliana, Bubba and Hannah.

GCA has several active ministries: Music/Worship Ministry, Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Adult Bible Fellowship, AWANA, Small Groups, Men’s Fellowship, and Women’s Fellowship. The AWANA program is the largest ministry with outreach to over 130 children and youth each week on Sunday and Monday. 

GCA actively supports several missionaries serving with various mission agencies in the US and overseas.

The purpose of GCA is to glorify God by lovingly making disciples who worship and obediently serve Him