Two Year
Ministry Plan

Did you know that Grace has a career and business advising ministry?

The goal of Venture is to provide Grace Church members with career and business advice from a professional, confidential resource. Our team of advisors has experience in a broad range of industries and professions. As Grace Church members who strive to be biblically oriented in their approach to business and decision-making, each advisor serves to share personal and professional wisdom from their own experiences. Since 2019, we have had over 300 people meet with a team that includes over 30 advisors.

Advisor John Gaillard has been volunteering with Venture for some time, and he had this to say about the opportunity:

Often, we wait until there’s a crisis to seek wisdom. However, we all need wisdom, and it’s most helpful before the crisis. Our advisors can help provide a framework to think through career and business-related decisions. Most importantly, we help people think through what God says about work. God wants to be part of every part of your life, and intentionally seeking wisdom around your career can position you to serve him and those around you well.

Here’s what some of our participants have had to say about their experience with Venture:

I appreciated the honesty and willingness to listen from our panel. They had some really great ideas for us moving forward.

It was helpful to have sound council to bounce ideas off and see if I was thinking about my situation correctly. Inviting other believers into the decision process helped me understand some of the untruths I was believing.

To learn more about Venture or book an appointment, click below.

This past week, we were excited to welcome our Kairos summer interns! These young men and women will spend their summer taking classes and doing hands-on ministry in a variety of different areas. The program is designed to give students the opportunity to lead, study, and serve alongside the Grace Church staff. Our 22 interns this summer come from five different states and countries, and they represent eight different universities.

During their first week, the interns spent a day away—getting to know each other and spending time reflecting on ways they can grow this summer. It was a great way to capture a vision of what the summer may hold. Will you join us in praying for these interns? And when you see them at your campus, be sure to say hi!

Last weekend, about 90 women from Grace, other churches, and the community attended a Biblical Femininity conference at Grace en Español! We were excited to see these women come together and learn from God’s Word as well as one another.

Ezer is our ministry to women and for women at Grace Church, and Biblical Femininity lays a biblical foundation for women to understand their identity and live out their calling. At this conference, ladies heard teaching about their purpose or calling as women created in the image of God and how to live out that calling in the season they are in. They also learned ways to invite, nurture, and partner with those God has placed around us and how we can corrupt these capacities because of our drive for autonomy. In the last session, every woman worked on the concern/responsibility resource from Ezer Applied. After ending with a time of worship, women had the opportunity to sign up to study Biblical Femininity in small groups over the summer.

Some of our attendees had this to say about the conference:

I learned we had a calling of being strong for others, and we are able to do so because God does this for us.

Working on the concern and responsibility resource really brought clarity to my life.

I had forgotten many of these truths, even though I have participated and led this study many times. I’m thankful for a fresh and true reminder.

We are thankful for this opportunity for our Español community of women to learn about their identity in Christ and process these ideas together. Will you pray with us that growth will continue? To learn more about Ezer’s discipleship opportunities and resources, click below.

Front Porch Housing on Cleveland Street has been serving residents for one year! We were excited to come alongside Front Porch as they marked this important milestone. They brought awareness to the importance of transportation by hosting a car show—over 300 people showed up to show support, see 53 cars, enter the raffle, and enjoy lots of great food! It was a fun event and a compelling way to tell the story of how reliable transportation makes a difference in the lives of residents at Front Porch. Many of us also gathered for a night of worship and stories to praise God for all he has done in and through this supportive community over the past year.

Some cool stats from FPH:

1 playground installed

2 homes purchased by graduates

3 GEDs obtained

4 washers added to the property

5 new roofs

6 tutoring volunteers

7 wrap-around groups serving residents

8 residents enrolled at Greenville Tech

9 onsite partners serving our community

10 new staff hired

11 counselors available through the Front Porch Counseling Center

And a few bonus numbers:

14 graduates

15 missional residents

19 resident support volunteers

26 savings match participants

64 classes offered

212 move-ins completed

365 days of growth!

The biggest need at Front Porch Housing right now is monthly donors! Even a small, consistent donation will go a long way in providing the supportive services that are vital for residents to heal, grow, and move forward. To learn more about Front Porch Housing and how you can help, click below.

May is Foster Care Awareness month! Our Foster & Adopt ministry is always busy caring for adoptive and foster families, biological parents, and our local DSS workers, but we want to bring your attention to a few of the ways we are making disciples and serving our community. Click the video below to hear teaching pastor Matt Williams give an update and share how you can get involved.

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

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].

Over the past six weeks, all our campuses have participated in Just Serve Days! This is an intentional time when we express Christ’s love to the community in tangible ways. Across all campuses, over 1,500 volunteers served at over 50 sites throughout the Upstate. Participants worked on a variety of projects with our local partners, for members within our church body, at Front Porch Housing, and for many other organizations in our communities. Thank you, Grace Church, for showing up and serving in this way!

Our friends at Miracle Hill’s Renewal House had this to say about the landscape work by one of our crews:

The grounds look AMAZING! I cannot imagine what Renewal would look like without you . . . We really are the showpiece for Miracle Hill. And, more importantly, our beautiful grounds make for such a therapeutic and beautiful canvas for God to restore our residents. I cannot thank you enough for that!

We also wanted to share a story from our Anderson campus lead:

We had one site canceled due to the rain that had occurred the morning of our date. We did our best to send volunteers to them the next weekend, and when it was looking like we wouldn't have enough, we contacted the wrestling and soccer coaches at Westside High School to see if they could send any of their athletes. A handful of them showed up since they could use the volunteer hours for National Honor Society requirements. It was a great opportunity for our people to serve alongside students from a local high school, and those high schoolers got to witness how we as believers demonstrate love.

These stories represent a few of the many ways we saw God at work through Just Serve Days. Thank you again to all who participated and prayed over this labor of love. To get a glimpse of some of the ways we got to serve our communities, check out the photos below!

Mosaic is our ministry for children, students, and adults with disabilities, and last week, we were excited to host a Mosaic Family Day Retreat. This retreat was an all-day event that provided support, helpful sessions, community for caregivers, and an opportunity for our Mosaic individuals and their siblings to have fun!

Over 300 people were involved—79 caregivers; 104 Mosaic children, students, adults, and their siblings; and 137 volunteers! Our parents and caregivers got to hear teaching on lament and hope, as well as what it means to be grateful in an entitled world. They also heard parents share about their own discipleship challenges and how to navigate the nuances of finding in-home care. It was encouraging to see families and individuals who are facing many of the same challenges be able to connect with one another and have some focused time to be equipped and uplifted.

Meanwhile, our Mosaic individuals and their siblings had a day of fun! They did crafts, played games, enjoyed bounce houses, ate lots of snacks, and just overall had a great time.

We are thankful for all the volunteers who made this day possible, and we praise God for opportunities like this to manifest the gospel in tangible ways for our Mosaic families and individuals. Check out the video and photos below to catch a glimpse of all that happened at the retreat. If you are interested in learning more about Mosaic, click below.

Baptism at Easter has long been a special time for us at Grace Church. This Easter, we rejoiced with over 60 men, women, and students who followed Christ in baptism. What a beautiful picture of identification with Jesus’ death and resurrection! Click the video below to celebrate with those who were baptized. If you would like to learn more about baptism, or if you are ready to have a conversation with someone about taking that step, click below.

Last month, a medical mission team traveled to Kenya to host a medical clinic, partner with local churches, and support local pastors and their families. The team was able to see over 700 people while they were there, offering dental, vision, and medical care. Each person who came through the clinic not only received physical care, they also talked to a local pastor who engaged them around the gospel and in prayer.

Although we are providing medical care, we are also building partnerships with Aberdare Baptist Convention pastors and with the local church in the communities we serve. Many pastors travel from across central Kenya to the medical camps. We provide medical care for those pastors every six months, but we also partner with them in serving the local community. It has been encouraging to get to know those pastors and to pray for them and with them.

Team member Amanda O’Kelly had this to say about her experience:

One thing I have experienced in Kenya that has really built my faith is how God tangibly answers specific prayers. So often in the US, I can get on “auto-pilot” and subconsciously think I can operate independently of God. But in Kenya, it truly is a daily dependence on the Lord as we are so clearly not in control. He also provides for us in ways that we aren’t even asking for, and that we don’t know we need until after the fact.

We praise God for this opportunity to be a small part of making disciples around the world. If you would like to learn more about our international mission partners and upcoming opportunities for short-term mission trips, click below.

Re:generation is an intensive 12-step discipleship process oriented around life change and hope through the application of God’s Word. Lives have been changed through re:gen at Grace Church since August 2016, and we are thrilled to see how it has grown over the past several years.

Currently, re:gen meets at our Pelham, Harrison Bridge, Spartanburg, Powdersville, and Downtown campuses with 450–500 people participating each week.

One third of re:gen participants are not connected with Grace Church, so this ministry offers a unique opportunity to “extend our front porch” and welcome people from the community to experience life-changing gospel truth in a loving, authentic Christ-centered community. While many believe that re:gen is only for those recovering from addiction, it is so much more. Most of our church body who have gone through re:gen have found freedom from less obvious, but no less oppressive, sin and idolatry such as fear of man, pride, anger, codependency, gossip, worry, the need for control, and more.

To hear Worship Minister Blake Payne give an overview of re:gen and share how it impacted him personally, click the video below.

Will you join us in celebrating what God has done through re:gen at Grace? If you are interested in learning more or signing up, click below.

Twice a year, we gather for Night of Prayer, and it’s always a special time for us to come together as a body of believers, worship, and support one another through prayer. Over the past two years, we’ve been focusing on the Lord’s Prayer through our series Teach Us to Pray, and last month, we unpacked the idea of forgiveness. It was both encouraging and challenging to be reminded how much we’ve been forgiven as well as the freedom that comes from extending God’s forgiveness to those around us.

A few of our members shared how the Teach Us to Pray series has impacted their personal prayer lives:

“Over the past year, I have been increasingly convicted that when I pray, I should always begin by orienting myself appropriately to who God is and who I am. Practically, this looks like praying these words first, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner,' and going from there into examination and confession. I can approach the throne confidently knowing that I am forgiven."

—Joy Nelson, Powdersville campus

“As I've grown in my prayer life, Night of Prayer is something I have come to greatly value. There is nothing like being in a room full of the hushed voices of brothers and sisters calling on their Heavenly Father. It is thrilling to me and encouraging for my faith!"

—Larry Johnson, Harrison Bridge campus

We are so grateful for what the Lord's Prayer teaches and provides for us as we pray. If you would like to share how you've been experiencing growth in prayer through the "Teach Us to Pray" series, we would love to hear from you—email us at [email protected]. For more prayer resources or to catch up on past teachings, click below.

Last month, a team from Grace spent a week ministering alongside our partners in Nicaragua. While the team was originally slated to host a medical clinic, they found out shortly before departure that the medical clinic was not approved for this trip. Although this news was disheartening, the team was able to pivot quickly and God worked in amazing ways to allow them to show his love, encourage fellow believers, and share the gospel in Nicaragua.

Some of our medical professionals were able to participate in health talks on a local Christian radio station. They shared information about pediatric care, dentistry, women’s health, and addiction recovery. The response was particularly encouraging around the topic of addiction and recovery, which is rarely discussed publicly in Nicaraguan culture.

The team also got to minister to local families in multiple ways—they hosted a kids camp at the church while ministering to adults in men’s and women’s groups. About 50 children participated in the camp, and they spent time enjoying skits, hearing Bible stories, memorizing Scripture, and doing crafts. The men’s and ladies’ groups spent fruitful time in discussion and hearing testimonies. It was an opportunity to bring to light many sins that are kept in the darkness culturally and talk about the gospel’s power to rescue us from the enslavement of sin.

In the local elementary school, team members got to spend time talking to students about health and interact with them in a variety of ways. A few team members partnered with translators, local church members, and the pastor to complete work projects at the church and the school. And finally, many local pastors and church leaders participated in training regarding marriage and parenting.

Although the original plan did not work out, God faithfully provided many ways for our team to reflect and extend his love to the people of Nicaragua. And it was an important discipleship moment for our team members as well—understanding that God is in control and we can trust him with our plans.

Will you join us in celebrating what God has done and praying for continued discipleship in Nicaragua? To learn more about international missions at Grace and see upcoming short-term opportunities, click below.

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.

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.