The Grace Center was established in March 2001 by Pastor Ryan Sutton, along with his parents, Pastor Ron and Cindy Sutton, and a small group of believers from the Festus/Crystal City, Missouri area. The church has strongly emphasized evangelism and missions since its inception.

The Spirit of God fell in a tent revival in 2003 that had been scheduled to last for a week, but ran for six weeks. During the revival, Pastor Ryan's diligent emphasis on outreach to the African-American community began bearing fruit. The multi-cultural church is known to this day for its success in tearing down the walls of racism in an area where churches are predominately segregated. The committed core of members and leadership is at least thirty percent African-American.

It is our hope that all whom God draws to The Grace Center in the future will understand that our historical foundations are established with the strongly held beliefs that:

1. The message of Christ and the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ must remain at the center of all our belief and practice.

2. An unwavering commitment to the Spirit of truth must work our existence.

3. The Gospel must be lived and proclaimed in power.

4. Everything depends on the Holy Spirit.