History

In 1991, less than a dozen families began gathering in a living room of a home near Fairview, Tennessee.  Several of the families had once attended Belmont Church in Nashville or had close church ties to that fellowship.  The desire to pursue the presence of God was the focus and a church was born.  The fellowship adopted the name “Abounding Grace Church.”

 

By 1994, more families had joined the small fellowship and the gathering traveled through two house locations and ended up in Grassland Elementary School cafeteria when its numbers reached about 60-70 people.  By 1998, it became apparent it was time to look for a more permanent church home facility and by that summer, AGC was renting space from Benton Hall, a private school in the area.  An elders retreat held at the end of 1998 became a milestone in the focus and direction of the church as leadership began to solidify the church’s identity and destiny.

 

In January of 1999, leadership traveled to the Bethel Church community in Redding, CA in pursuit of new tools to help people find freedom. They connected with Pastor Bill Johnson and other leaders of Bethel Church and received a strong prophetic word regarding the future relationship of the two church bodies, and then returned home with new tools for setting others free called Sozo.  As the Sozo ministry began to take root, people were set free from old hindrances, making room for fresh vision and direction.  Membership continued to grow rapidly.  The decision was made to purchase the Benton Hall building and property which was finalized in March of 2002.  Countless renovations and changes were made in the building from the inside out, opening up opportunities for hosting more conference events and teachings.  By October 2003 the name of the church was changed to Grace Center Franklin. 

 

Grace Center has many relationships with ministries around the world, has a thriving youth program, and has sent teams on missions to Brazil, Nova Scotia, Mexico, New Orleans, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Romania.  GC continues to grow as a fellowship with the Sozo ministry, worship, healing and freedom.  The gymnasium is once again bursting at its seams and we look forward to what God has in store as we continue to pursue Him, knowing He doesn’t change, but He does new things.