Two Year
Ministry Plan

God has provided buildings for Grace Church in unique and amazing ways throughout our history. 10 years ago, we began to restore the building that is now Grace Downtown. This historic building was originally constructed as First Baptist Church in 1854 on West McBee Avenue in downtown Greenville. Over the years, it has housed different congregations and has been renovated multiple times. When it came to us, we were able to undertake additional renovations that were faithful to its original, historic design. What a blessing to be able to steward and enjoy this beautiful building that is a piece of local history. To learn more about Grace Downtown, click below.

What is your job title?

Pastor of Biblical Community

What brought you to Grace Church?

I am originally from Lancaster, SC, and I moved to Greenville in 2000 to teach and coach at Mauldin High School. Soon after moving, I was invited to Grace by some friends, and the first week I attended, I met my future wife. We attended for eight years before I came on staff.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy using experiences that I’ve had to help other pastors—helping them problem solve and think through unique situations. No two days are exactly alike in ministry.

What campus do you attend, and what is your favorite thing about it?

I attend Harrison Bridge. Having taught at Mauldin and lived in the Mauldin/Simpsonville area, I feel connected to that part of the county and enjoy being at church with my immediate community.

What are you most excited about right now?

We’ve made a lot of progress in training leaders and equipping them over the past few years. Some things we’ve done recently and some things on the horizon are exciting to help our leaders be more equipped to make disciples.

What is one interesting thing about you?

I love sports, and I am the head baseball coach at Southside Christian School.

Our Travelers Rest campus has an exciting new building project in the works! We were recently able to purchase a 110,462 square foot building in northern Greenville County. The building is in the process of being renovated, and various spaces will be sold or leased for community use. Here are the details:

Grace will occupy 31,805 sq ft with an additional 3,870 of outside covered space.

30,433 sq ft is slated to be sold for use as a cabinet shop.

The rest of the building is broken into three tenant spaces that will be leased to the community.

Wow, what a big opportunity—both literally and figuratively! We are excited to see the ways God is going to use this building for discipleship in Travelers Rest and for the good of the community. Please join us in praying for this endeavor—we hope to complete construction late this summer. To learn more about our Travelers Rest campus, click below.

This month, over 500 participants finished Grace’s Institute class on 1 Peter, taught by Bill White. In this challenging, homework-intensive course, members learned how to study the Bible closely and apply the truths of 1 Peter to their lives. Here’s what some participants had to say:

“I have been challenged by what it means to be chosen, set apart. If I am in the majority, I am not in the center of what God is doing. The real power is outside the ‘city gates.’ The more I align myself with Jesus, the more I will be outside the culture.” - Cindy Watters

“I think this study has been transformative in how I think about my responsibility to my church, my culture, and what I should ‘be about’ in the world. . . . what happens in culture will happen, but I've gotten a lot more clear about what I should be doing myself.” - Alex Reynolds

What a blessing to hear how God’s Word is changing lives! We hope you will rejoice with us and pray for God’s continued conviction and restoration through both his Spirit and his Word.

We all know that developing the spiritual discipline of prayer is challenging—even for the most mature adults. This year, Grace Church Kids has provided an exciting new way for our kids and families to engage in prayer. The Grace Church Kids 2021 Prayer Calendar includes specific prayer prompts, activities, songs, Scripture passages, and other creative ways for children to establish the discipline of daily prayer.

If you would like a prayer calendar, you can pick one up at your campus! You can also contact your campus Children’s director about how to get one. To learn more about Grace Church Kids, click below.

We are so thankful that all of our campuses are constantly looking for ways to serve their communities. Earlier this month, while many of us enjoyed a day off on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, our folks in Spartanburg were busy serving Project Hope—one of our Outreach partners. Project Hope Foundation offers a lifespan of autism services, and they provide vital support to many families in our community.

Spartanburg members put together personalized care packages for Project Hope staff, worked on maintenance projects, and helped with landscaping. These are simple acts of service, but we rejoice in the opportunity to take ownership of our community and serve alongside a local organization. To learn more about our Outreach partnerships, click below.

The recent rise in COVID-19 cases has certainly put a strain on our healthcare system, and doctors, nurses, and first responders are bearing the brunt of the physical, mental, and emotional load. One way our Travelers Rest campus has sought to serve our medical professionals is by providing care packages to the staff at North Greenville Hospital. These bags are filled with useful supplies like hand sanitizer, along with other personal care items and snacks. This is a small gesture, but we rejoice in the ability to put feet to our prayers and show God’s love in a concrete way.

Another way we are serving our medical professionals is by hosting prayer times that coincide with shift changes. Our Anderson, Powdersville, and Taylors campuses are offering space, time, and prayer support for our doctors, nurses, and frontline workers who are facing a uniquely challenging season. We hope you will join us in praying for our local healthcare workers.

Last week, Grace Church had the opportunity to come alongside a group of people in our community who were facing eviction. When the Economy Inn on Augusta Road was condemned, the Greenville Homeless Alliance asked for our help, and we were able to work with other local organizations to provide a meal, temporary housing, and social support for nearly 30 people.

It was a privilege to work with other churches and local frontline service providers—North Hills Church, Fellowship Greenville, Salvation Army, Triune Mercy Center, Miracle Hill, FAVOR, and Community Fresh Start—all came together to serve our community. We rejoice that we could share God’s love in this way. However, this instance is a single situation that points to a greater problem in our community—lack of affordable housing. In order for us to answer God’s command to love our neighbors, we must continue to serve those around us, particularly those in need. Click below to watch the news story and hear Bill White’s vision for us as a church as we engage those around us for God’s glory.

JUMPSTART—one of our ministry partners—recently published a devotional for inmates in the South Carolina prison system. Comeback Stories: A Prisoner No More tells the stories of 30 men and women whose lives were transformed by the gospel while they were incarcerated.

We have been encouraged by the outpouring of responses to Comeback Stories. JUMPSTART has received dozens of letters sharing how these stories of gospel transformation are changing lives. One reader shared, "Seeing what God has done in the lives of people like me gives me assurance that my newfound faith in God is more than wishful thinking."

Another wrote to say, "I've been in and out of prison since I was a teenager. I lost hope a long time ago that I could get out and stay out. But now that I've seen pictures and read stories of people who were locked up with me—I have to sign up for JUMPSTART and give it a chance.”

What a blessing to see God’s redemptive grace and power flowing through his people to reach more souls with the gospel. We hope you’ll join us in prayer that this ministry will continue to change lives. To learn more about JUMPSTART, click below.

Although 2020 has been a challenging year for most of us, we believe it is crucial to take a look back at how God has been working in the past as we move forward into the future. One way we do this is through a digital document called our "Year in Review" that walks you through everything that has happened in the life of our church in the past year. It is exciting, humbling, and encouraging! If you haven't gotten a chance to scroll through it yet, click below.

Like everything else in 2020, Christmas Eve at Grace looked a little different this year. Instead of gathering for our traditional Christmas Eve services, we had the opportunity to participate in an online service that included O Come Emmanuel—a unique, guided prayer experience. Our church family, along with many others, were guided through questions that helped us reflect on the joy, hope, peace, and comfort that we find in Christ, even as we long for his return.

We are also thankful that O Come Emmanuel provided us with an opportunity to share the joy of Christmas with many others. In particular, we were able to provide 800 prayer guides to our partner assisted living facilities so that our Senior Honor members could pray and worship along with us. What a blessing to share the joy of Christmas with our community!

To learn more or access O Come Emmanuel, click below.

This year, our primary seasonal giving focus was collecting gift cards for foster families in the Upstate. Our original goal was to collect 300, $100 gift cards, but thanks to your generosity, we have been able to give 327 gift cards to local foster families and group homes! What a blessing to help these families make Christmas special for the children in their care. Thank you for giving faithfully this season.

There are 509 children and teens in foster care in Greenville county, and currently, 341 foster families are providing care for them. As you can see, there is a great need for more foster families in our community. We hope you will not only support these families financially, but that you will also join us in prayer that God will provide more foster parents to step up and help care for these children and teens. If you are interested in learning more about supporting foster families or what is involved in becoming a foster parent, please click below.

Grace Church has had some amazing opportunities to partner financially with local organizations that care for and lift up the marginalized in our communities, particularly in the area of affordable housing. Not only do we provide financial support to JUMPSTART and Homes of Hope, Grace also offers Dignified Crisis Housing for those who are under our care.

Currently, 27 women and 14 children are living in Grace housing. This is made possible by not only your financial support, but also through volunteer hours and household donations. We are so thankful for your generosity and that God is moving us to serve our community in this way.

Watch this video where Bill White explains some of the unique ways Grace is using financial resources in this area to further God's kingdom. We hope you will prayerfully consider contributing this year. To learn more about ways to give, 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. Recently, we have had an opportunity to partner with JUMPSTART on an exciting new avenue to share the gospel with inmates throughout the state of South Carolina.

Comeback Stories: A Prisoner No More is a new devotional telling the stories of how God transformed the lives of 30 men and women through the redemptive power of the gospel while they were incarcerated. The idea for this devotional originated this summer as two Grace members served as JUMPSTART interns. They interviewed several graduates of the JUMPSTART program. As the project developed, Grace staff and volunteers were able to come alongside to help with the writing, editing, and design of this book.

This week, throughout the state of South Carolina—16,500 adult prisoners, hundreds of staff members, and 500+ in the Department of Juvenile Justice will receive a copy of Comeback Stories. Wow! We are beyond thrilled and thankful for God’s redemption, for those who shared God’s transformative work in their lives, and for those who worked sacrificially to make this publication possible.

To hear JUMPSTART Inside Program Director Cary Sanders tell more about how this book came to be, watch this video. You can also purchase a copy of Comeback Stories: A Prisoner No More using the link below.

While the limitations of the pandemic have been difficult for all of us, they have presented particularly isolating challenges for our Senior Honor members. Senior Honor is our elder care ministry, and many individuals have not been able to spend quality time in-person with their families for months now.

However, we have a new and exciting opportunity to help our Senior Honor members connect with their families! As a church, we are providing three SafeHug windows for our partner assisted living facilities—The Gardens, The Woodlands, and Eden Terrace. In addition, volunteers and members connected to The Woodlands and our Travelers Rest campus have donated funds to purchase two additional windows for this facility.

What a blessing for loved ones to be able to safely embrace one another during this season! We hope you will join us in praising God for his provision and praying for continued opportunities to serve those around us. To learn more about Senior Honor, click below.

What is your job title? Care and Recovery Coordinator (for kids and teens)

How did you get to Grace? My family and I moved to Greenville in 2016 to be near family. My husband, Asa, visited Grace first. What stood out to him was the teaching, humility of the church, and the Mosaic ministry. Our son has disabilities, and we had been churching separately for three years so one of us could stay home with him. After attending the first time with my husband, it was clear Grace was where we were supposed to be and now our whole family attends church together, grows together, and serves together. It is a wonderful blessing.

What do you enjoy most about your job? My favorite part of my job is seeing the ways in which God uses leaders, stretches them and seeing the ways in which they grow closer to Christ because they are serving.

What campus do you attend and what is your favorite thing about it? We attend the Pelham campus. My favorite things about this campus is the community we have built and serving in Mosaic Grouplife.

What are you most excited about right now? The way the Lord is working in the hearts of leaders, kids and students through the care and recovery ministry.

What is one interesting thing about you? I have moved to 10 different cities. Eight of those were in different states.

One of our ministry partners is Jasmine Road—a two-year residential program for adult women survivors of human trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. These women receive hope through housing, a meaningful work experience, and a loving community of support.

We were recently able to partner with Jasmine Road on an exciting project! This year, three women celebrated graduation from the program at the annual Jasmine Road luncheon. While the limitations of the pandemic made their traditional luncheon impossible, Grace was able to come alongside and make a virtual event happen. Our A/V and communications teams, along with other volunteers, helped provide resources so that those who support Jasmine Road could hear stories of life change and celebrate God’s faithfulness.

Please join us in not only praising God for this life change, but also pray for continued growth. To watch a video that captures some stories of life change from Jasmine Road, click below.

The pandemic and E-learning have presented challenges for many families, particularly those with single parents or parents who are teachers. One way we are supporting these families is by facilitating an education pod at our Pelham campus! Grace has hired qualified teachers to assist children with E-learning while their parents are at work. We also have volunteers who are serving as reading buddies to help homework go more smoothly.

28 students across 17 families have been able to participate. Although this is just one way we are seeking to serve the body of Christ, it is worth celebrating! If you are interested in volunteering, please email Taylor Frick. To learn more about all our Outreach opportunities, click below!