Most churches in South Africa that are not Presbyterian or Reformed Baptists would be dispensational in their theology. This simply means that they believe that there is a distinct separation between the church and Israel and that prophecy, by and large, needs to be interpreted literally. Dispensationalists assert that this world is going to get progressively worse until the Lord removes the church from the earth in the rapture. They believe that it is at this time that the earth will undergo 7 years of tribulation before Jesus returns to establish a physical kingdom in Jerusalem for one thousand years.

When our church was established in May 2021, we considered ourselves to be dispensational by tradition, but over the past few years our theology has changed. It started with a conviction that the church was not a new entity established by God as a result of Israel’s failure to recognise their Messiah, but a continuation of the people of faith.

We believe that the Bible clearly teaches that the church is the fulfilment of God’s plan to separate a people unto Himself. It began with a believing remnant within the nation of Israel and has continued into the new covenant as the church. We believe God identified Israel as His people by covenant, but only those of faith were considered the true Israel. Once the Old Covenant was removed, Israel no longer existed as God’s covenant people. Those of faith within Israel, the remnant, were drawn out of the old covenant and into the new. God’s chosen people are those of all nations who come into the new covenant by faith. It began with the Jewish remnant and continues today with men from all nations. The administration of the new covenant is the church, where believers gather to worship and serve one another.

Many dispensationalists would consider what is described above as replacement theology, but we prefer to call it “remnant theology” or “remnant fulfillment,” which fits under the banner of covenant theology.

Over the past 4 years, we have noticed that visitors to our church naturally assumed that we are dispensational due to our pastor’s affiliation with the Master’s Seminary, Grace Community Church in LA, and Dr. John MacArthur. With a desire to be transparent and to assist visitors with choosing a local church, we decided to make a minor change to our name. From 1 January 2026, we changed our name from Grace Church to Grace Covenant Church.

We trust that God will continue to bless our church as we seek to glorify Him in all that we do. Our prayer is that He will unite His people in truth and that whatever theological differences remain among us, may be secondary to our love and affection for Jesus Christ.

Author: Yorke Hinds