Two Year
Ministry Plan

Last week, we had several volunteers serve by running a camp for kids at Front Porch Housing during Greenville County's spring break. This was a great way to care for both the kids and working parents who wouldn't otherwise have childcare. Each day, about 20 kids from Front Porch, World Relief, and United Ministries participated in arts and crafts, playground time, outdoor activities, lunch, and movie time. The week of fun ended with a carnival Friday night for families to enjoy inflatable obstacle courses, carnival games, cotton candy, and group games. We are grateful for all the volunteers who made this possible, and it was great to see families and community groups serve together. If you are interested in volunteering with Front Porch Housing, click below to visit their website and learn more.

Earlier this month, Grace hosted a re|engage conference for church leaders from around the country. Re|engage is a discipleship ministry that uses stories of grace, teaching, and small groups to help married couples move towards oneness. Over the years, our leadership has gained valuable insights and experience in facilitating re|engage, and this conference was a great opportunity to share what we’ve learned and connect with other churches.

Nearly 200 people attended, representing 47 churches from 13 states. Some leaders were learning how to launch the re|engage curriculum at their church, and others attended for deeper development around topics like Shepherding Values, Case Studies, Loving People by Listening and Asking Good Questions, Leading Yourself, and more. It was a great time of connection and encouragement for all involved. One attendee had this to say:

“What a great day! I just got done debriefing with my team, and they got so many insights from your team today. Thank you all so much for being gracious hosts and providing practical insight to our leader couples.”

We are thankful for all the volunteers, leaders, and staff who made this conference possible. If you would like to learn more about re|engage, click below.

Our Foster & Adopt ministry is always busy caring for adoptive and foster families, biological parents, and our local DSS workers. Since a lot has been going on over the past few months, we wanted to give you a spring update!

Resource Center

The Resource Center is located at our Taylors campus and is run by volunteers. In the first two months of 2023, it has served over 70 children!

Families Count

Families Count is a parenting class that allows participants to complete a part of their DSS plan working towards reunification with their children. Every participant has a mentor, and this spring, six moms graduated from the class.

Front Porch Housing

We now have an apartment at Front Porch Housing that is set aside for DSS workers and foster children. If a foster child does not have an immediate placement, they are able to stay in the apartment along with their DSS worker. Front Porch Housing has generously furnished the apartment, and our Outreach ministry is keeping the pantry stocked. Our goal is to provide a safe place for children and teens to rest during an uncertain time.

Volunteer Opportunities

There are always volunteer opportunities with our Foster & Adopt ministry!

• Resource Center—sort and organize donations
• Childcare when campuses host a Parent’s Night Out for foster and adoptive families
• Mentor a parent through Families Count (next class coming up in July)
• Become a guardian ad litem (training session in April)

To learn more about our Foster & Adopt ministry, click below to visit our website and fill out an interest form. You can also email Beth Drake with any questions at [email protected].

We are celebrating that over the past two weekends, over 870 students and leaders attended the 24Seven and Fusion retreats at Carolina Point! These weekends were full of energy with worship, teaching, games, and time spent in reflection and community for our students.

The Authentic retreat, for our 7th and 8th graders, explored the idea of how our identity and sense of self is easily rooted in things outside of God. This weekend helped our students find where they are searching for identity, and they learned that who God has made them to be is more significant than anything they could have imagined for themselves.

The Tribe retreat, for our 5th and 6th graders, focused on how God has given us a powerful gift that we often overlook or take for granted: relationships. Students learned how family, friends, and church community provide relationships that can help build their understanding and faith in God.

In addition to teaching, worship, and small groups, students were also able to have fun together and ride go karts, participate in team sports, and enjoy lots of other activities! We are so thankful for the additional 230+ volunteers and staff who helped plan and served on these retreats on the worship team, work crew, AV, program, and more. Join us in praying that God continues to work in the hearts of these students, for the Spirit to move in conversations with their parents, and that there is growth in their lives from the seeds that were planted on these retreats.

To learn more about Grace Church Students, click below.

One of our local ministry partners is Homes of Hope, a nonprofit organization that seeks to inspire lasting change in communities through multiple avenues of development. By providing affordable, energy efficient rental and home ownership options, Homes of Hope is actively developing foundational, safe environments for low-to-moderate income families in the Upstate. Throughout the years, they have built more than 600 energy efficient homes, enabling local families and individuals to thrive.

Homes of Hope also runs a workforce development program for men overcoming drug and alcohol addictions—helping them restore their lives through sobriety and construction training. Currently, this program has graduated over 300 men who are in high demand for construction related employment.

We are thankful to partner with Homes of Hope through financial support and volunteer efforts. To learn more about Homes of Hope, other local ministry partners, or to get involved, click below.

Since officially launching in the summer of 2022, Front Porch Housing has helped many in the Upstate find a place to call home, with more than 400 residents at the Greenville Tech Campus location alone. As a three-year supportive housing program, Front Porch provides a foundation for residents who need help getting back on their feet. And as director of Front Porch Housing, Brian Burgess says there’s no shortage of need.

Brian, a husband and father of three, worked in management, stayed at home with his kids, and a few years ago, returned to school to finish a degree in Parks & Rec Tourism Management. In 2021, he interned with Ascend, a ministry for students dealing with loss, and in 2022, he interned with Front Porch, which led to the director role. Brian’s job ranges from fundraising to developing partnerships, but it’s clear that resident care is a priority.

“When you have that many people, you have a lot of unforeseen needs,” Brian says. Residents are often coming out of difficult circumstances and connecting them to the resources they need, which can be as basic as food or transportation, can be challenging. His staff carries a heavy load, and Brian welcomes prayers for them as they help residents navigate their part in God’s story.

Financial giving is certainly a huge way people can help, and since Front Porch is its own nonprofit, Brian recommends giving directly via their website. But volunteers are also needed, from tutors to skilled maintenance workers, and even help with childcare while parents attend classes. But you don’t have to be a volunteer to be a part. In fact Brian recommends just stopping by, especially on a Food Truck Friday starting again in April.

“Just come visit,” Brian says. “Let that speak to what we are doing.”

For more information or to give to Front Porch Housing, visit frontporchhousing.org, or stop by the clubhouse for a coffee at Inspire Coffee House, 1433 Cleveland St, Greenville.

Through Grace's partnership with Hunger Corps in Puerto Rico, we are excited that what began as hurricane and disaster relief is transforming into discipleship as we have been able to come alongside Eileen Alemany in launching Respira—a women’s ministry hosted by Hunger Corps. The group began with Ezer’s Biblical Femininity study in June of 2022 and is now working through A Woman's Words.

Not only are the women involved in Respira studying together, they are also ministering to other women in their communities. In September of 2022, following the severe flooding in Puerto Rico, the women on our missions team were able to partner with the 12 women in the Respira group to provide relief to a family who lost any material items they owned in the flooding and were living in a 16x16 plywood structure.

Most recently, the team that served in Puerto Rico in early February was able to minister to Sonya, a local woman who is homebound due to physical limitations. Hunger Corps is working to upfit her home with handicap access. While our team was there, Sonya prepared coffee for the ladies and met with them to practice and learn English, and they were able to pray with her and offer encouragement.

During this time, we learned that the women of Respira have been regularly visiting Sonja, and will be holding meetings in her home so that she will be able to become part of Respira in La Hormiga, the community where our teams serve to provide sustainable housing and disaster relief.

La Hormiga is known as a squatter community in the heart of Dorado, which is an affluent community, and very church poor. The community itself does not have any churches nearby for the women to connect with, so Respira is filling in that gap to provide both community and spiritual growth for the women of La Hormiga, and the growth that we have seen in the past eight months is a clear picture of what it means to make disciples!

If you would like to learn more about our partnership in Puerto Rico or apply for a short-term mission trip, click below.

Our Outreach ministry has recently expanded by opening a low-cost legal clinic at Front Porch Housing! The clinic recently had their first day of consultations, and it was exciting to be able to serve individuals and families through legal advice and connecting them to community resources.

Front Porch Legal Clinic is open to residents of Front Porch Housing, participants in re:generation, and our Mosaic families. Volunteer attorneys from across multiple campuses serve by offering 45-minute consultations in areas of family law, wills, power of attorney, DSS cases, landlord/tenant issues, and more. They also connect individuals and families to other resources in the community, help them create a next-steps plan, and point them to any forms or documentation they will need.

Currently, the legal clinic is open once a month on the first Saturday of the month. Will you join us in prayer that God would use this ministry to support our community and reflect his love and light in difficult situations? To learn more about Front Porch Legal, click below.

One facet of our Outreach ministry is Missions Grants—a funding program that invites our members to apply for yearly grants of $1,000-2,500 to support specific projects or programs of their personal ministry.

As applications for Missions Grants open soon, we’d love to introduce one of our current recipients. Meet Powdersville member Blakely Callaham! Blakely received a Missions Grant on behalf of the Alabaster House Recovery for Women, a faith-based, residential, 7-month recovery program in the Upstate of SC. Alabaster House provides a compassionate home where broken women can be set free from addiction while encountering God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.

Blakely shared a little bit of her story with us:

After completing and serving in re:gen at the Powdersville campus, I became involved with Alabaster House. I was out of my comfort zone, but God had bigger plans. Over the past two years, I’ve been overwhelmed by the clarity and direction God has shown me. The Alabaster House has impacted numerous women’s lives because of tremendous community support. We continue to expand our capacity only because of support like the Grace Church Missions Grant.

We are so thankful to have a small part in supporting women in our community through organizations like Alabaster House. If you are a member and part of a non-profit or ministry that would benefit from a Missions Grant, applications are opening in March! Click below to visit the webpage where you can learn more and apply.

This past weekend, high school students from across all campuses came together for Forge Winter Weekend—385 students and 165 leaders attended! Students gathered at our Pelham campus for teaching and worship, and then they spent Friday night at their respective campuses. On Saturday, there was more teaching and small group time, and groups also had fun around the Upstate during free time.

During the sessions, guys and girls split to hear gender-specific teaching. Our boys engaged the topic of Future Men—walking through what the Bible says about the direction, calling, and confidence of being a man made in the image of God. The girls learned about the idea of Reflected—understanding what it looks like to be a generation of young women made in the image of God who have the courage to move and confidence to yield as they live on mission for him.

We are so thankful for our students’ willingness to engage challenging topics and our leaders’ willingness to pour their lives into these young people. Will you pray that God would continue to work in hearts as our students learn and grow? To learn more about Grace Students, click below.

Nick and Annie VanWingerden have been serving in Grenoble, France since 2008 with Impact France, focusing on connecting with college students at the University of Grenoble. In 2018, the VanWingerdens partnered with Aurélien and Chloe Lang and planted the Grenoble East Church. They have seen consistent engagement over the past few years, especially with young people.

In 2021, the VanWingerdens became connected with Grace Church through Nick’s parents, who are members at our Harrison Bridge campus. Nick and Annie are now serving partners, and we were excited to send an exploratory team of staff members to Grenoble in January. The team got to spend time with both the VanWingerdens and the Langs, see what their ministry looks like, meet people from their church, and grow in understanding of the culture in Grenoble. They also shared resources from Grace that can help this young church as they seek to equip the believers under their care.

The VanWingerdens face unique challenges in Grenoble, but there are also unique opportunities to share the gospel. There are over 500,000 people in the city of Grenoble—fewer than 1600 of them are Christians who make up less than 16 evangelical churches. Because the area is largely unchurched, these churches desire to support one another. Also, because the University of Grenoble is a high level research university, there is a strong international presence in the city, which provides opportunities to connect with people from all over the world. Please join us in praying that God would continue to use Nick, Annie, and their fellow believers to build a coalition of like-minded churches to reach the Grenoble metro area.

Here are some ways you can pray for the VanWingerdens and our partnership with their ministry:

• Pray for the growth of their student ministry
• Pray for leadership development among the men in the church
• Pray for continued relationships and support between local churches
• Pray that we would be responsive to the Holy Spirit as we consider the future of mission trips and other opportunities for partnership.

To get regular updates from the VanWingerdens and learn more about their ministry, click below.

We have staff members in both campus staff and support staff roles all over the Upstate! We want you to get to know some of them as you stay updated with what’s happening at Grace Church.

What brought you to Grace Church?

Way back in 2012, Courtney and I were engaged and we were trying to figure out what was next. We had a friend who had started attending Grace when it met at The Handlebar and had mentioned great things about Grace. I was in a position where I needed a job to support Courtney through grad school. So I sent a cold email to Matt Kelley to ask him some questions, and here we are!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I think of two things mainly. The first is people, to be able to work with people day in and day out is a joy for me. As a natural extrovert, I am thankful and honored by the work that God allows me to do in people’s lives. The second is the diversity of my role. I am someone who can get bored easily, and I love being able to work in so many different areas.

What is your favorite thing about your campus?

I love the Powdersville community. They have welcomed us with open arms. They care for each other in a fierce way. They love their community and those in it. Courtney and I are humbled and grateful to be a part of what God is doing in this community.

What are you most excited about right now?

Wednesday nights have been a unique blessing for our campus. We have re:gen, re|engage, Divorce Support, and Money Matters running all at once. It has created a great sense of energy and community engagement. The other piece is children’s ministry. We are running a version of our Up & Out curriculum on Wednesday nights to help impact kids in the community and as part of the Dream Center Opportunity Village.

What is one interesting thing about you?

I majored in global politics and minored in Mandarin in college. I have lost most of the language proficiency, but it's still a fun fact!

A few weeks ago, Grace hosted our first Parenting Culture conference—a focused time for parents of 3rd and 4th graders to hear relevant teaching, connect with one another, and orient themselves to discipling their children in intentional ways. About 300 parents attended from all our campuses and heard biblical truths about parenting as well as teaching on the importance of authority and raising humble and resilient kids. They also had conversations around the topics of sex, technology, and community. Not only was it an important time for our parents to gather and be equipped while their children are in these formative years, it was a good chance for parents to step outside their usual routines and cast vision for their families.

Will you join us in prayer for all our parents as they disciple the next generation of believers? If you would like to see some of the resources offered at the conference, click below.

Mosaic is our ministry for children, students, and adults with special needs or disabilities, and it’s been a blessing to see this ministry grow over the years. A new facet of Mosaic that we are excited to share is the Inspire Coffee House!

Located at Front Porch Housing, Inspire Coffee House seeks to create an equipping space for adults with disabilities to learn, develop, and be discipled in the workforce while engaging the community. We currently have nine employees, and it’s been so encouraging to see our Mosaic adults thrive in this new setting. We hope you’ll celebrate and pray with us for all involved in this new discipleship opportunity. Be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook to see their hours—and swing by to grab a cup of coffee and say hi!

Over Christmas break, a team of Forge students traveled to Cuba to serve with Filter of Hope—a gospel-centered organization that brings simple, live-saving water filters to families in poverty who have no access to clean water. Our teens worked with Filter of Hope and local churches in Havana, Cuba to deliver water filters to families in need, explain how to use and maintain them, and share the gospel.

These teens got to experience a new culture, meet people who are very different from them, and serve outside their comfort zone. Our students moved from being unsure of how to communicate with locals and share the gospel to feeling confident by the end of the trip. They now feel more equipped to engage in conversation and share the gospel with people in their lives. We are thankful for how they got to serve and how God is continuing to work in their hearts through this mission trip.

To learn more about Grace Church Students, click below!

We have all been thrilled to see Front Porch Housing take shape over the past six months at its primary location on Cleveland Street. But did you know that Front Porch Housing also exists in other houses and apartments across the Upstate?

Our Spartanburg campus has helped with the development of three new three-bedroom homes in Spartanburg County, and they are almost ready for residents! In December, they hosted a donation day when campus members brought furniture and other household items. And there is also a group of members ready to assist the incoming residents with moving, transportation, providing baked goods for birthdays, and simply creating a supportive community.

Hopefully, these homes will be ready for residents in early February! If you would like to learn more about Front Porch Housing and how you can get involved, click below.

One of our ministry partners is JUMPSTART—a gospel-centered organization that disciples current and former prisoners and assists with re-entry to society. One of JUMPSTART’s current initiatives is the ongoing development of Restoration Village located in Spartanburg County. The Village provides a community for those reentering society from prison in a setting that prepares them to be productive citizens. In this type of supportive community setting, participants will have more intimate discipleship opportunities and be better equipped to both serve one another and grow in spiritual maturity.

Over the summer, three five-bedroom homes were completed and currently house 15 residents. After over a year of planning, development, and construction, it was exciting to see this community come to life. During 2023, JUMPSTART hopes to complete four additional homes as well as an opportunity center that will have classrooms, a commercial kitchen for teaching culinary arts, and event space for community events and worship.

We are thankful to be part of this ministry through our financial support and volunteer involvement. Grace members have been involved in various ways over the years, and this past year, one member generously donated her time and expertise to shop for décor, paint some original artwork, and do the interior decorating for the first three homes in Restoration Village.

Will you pray with us for the residents and ministry of Restoration Village? To learn more about Grace’s local partnerships, click below.

Grace currently has seven serving partners—covenant members who serve full-time in missions and are actively involved at Grace Church.

One of these partners is Aimee White, a member of the Powdersville campus who founded JC Cares. JC Cares is a ministry that empowers people in need to walk in dignity through biblical counseling, discipleship, and meaningful work. Aimee recently shared the story behind the founding and mission of JC Cares and how they are working to see the economically disadvantaged flourish as they turn the page from past pain, bondage, and mere survival to a new chapter of healing, freedom, and fruitfulness through Jesus Christ. Click the video below to hear Aimee’s story. To learn more about our serving partners at Grace, click below.