By Grace Music Ministry

We feel now more than ever that God has a plan for our ministry! He is opening doors of ministry to us and we are ready to walk through them. We never come to “entertain” through our concerts, but we want to worship the One who has saved us and give Him praise for all he’s done.

Over the years, we have gone through various changes. Below is a brief description of our ministry through the years since the trio began singing in 1989 and prior. We thank all of the past members for their service to the Lord and their willingness to share their God-given talents with us for the Glory of God.

Our newest member is Ginny Spillman who joined us in March 2009. Ginny has filled in many times for us over the years and she always does a beautiful job. Ginny and Sandy sang together with Promised Land Singers in the early 80's.  Ginny is married to Sandy's nephew, Tim, so she is part of the family!  What a treat it is for us to have Ginny as a part of By Grace .  God is so good and He is ever faithful! Pray with us that the ministry of By Grace  will continue to go forward and touch lives for the Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Our music ministry began 1982. Duane and Sandy were married in 1982 and they sang as a duet for several years. They both began singing for the Lord as young children. Since their marriage, they have traveled throughout the United States and overseas with their church choir and singing groups to proclaim the gospel and share of the Love of Jesus.  They have ministered in such countries as Portugal, Holland, Romania, Hungry, England, Scotland, Wales, Austria and Ireland. 

In 1989, the Heils formed a trio called Celebration of Praise and they were joined by Jeri Schuler. A few years later, Celebration of Praise was also privileged to have a very talented Christian lady by the name Sandy Thompson sing with them for a few years. Sandy Thompson was not able to sing with the trio for long due to illness, but she became Sandy Heil’s best friend and they were “joined at the hip” some would say until Sandy Thompson went home to be with Jesus in 2006.

Vicki Souviner joined the group in the late '90's and was a joy to sing with. During the time Vicki was with the trio, Duane was asked to join a men’s quartet called Blessed Truth Quartet. He continued singing both with the trio and the quartet for a short time.

Then,  the trio and the quartet merged to form the group Blessed Truth. When Vicki left the group, the Lord sent us Marla Miracle Gatlin. What a blessing she was!

In 2005, Duane, Sandy, and Marla felt led to go back to a trio. Thus, we became By Grace . After hours of brainstorming names, we all agreed that By Grace   was the right name for us. Marla sang with the trio and shared her testimony with everyone she met, until the Lord called her home in October 2008. <!--[if

We prayed and along came a wonderful lady named Bev Whitely. Bev had such a wonderful talent and we enjoyed meeting her and thought we had found our needed third party; however, God had other plans. Bev was unable to stay with us, so we began praying again.

This time God answered our prayers with Ginny and that brings us back to the present. God has always been faithful to us. He has never forsaken us. His anointing is what we pray for each time we minister.

Though the group name and members have changed throughout the years, the desire and love of sharing what the Lord has done in our lives has remained strong.  God's faithfulness is truly amazing and we love to tell men, women, boys, and girls all about what He has done for us and how He has saved us and walked with us through the valleys of our lives, every step of the way.

We're expecting great things as we continue to spread the message of Salvation, through Jesus Christ, in the ministry of song.   God is faithful and By Grace would love to share with you just what He has done for us.

 Duane and Sandy Heil

"...by grace are ye saved through faith…" Eph 2.8