Two Year
Ministry Plan

Mosaic—our special needs and disabilities ministry—is finding new ways to continue supporting families even in the midst of a pandemic. Recently, Mosaic hosted a virtual family festival to provide an opportunity for fun and community! Fourteen families participated, and each received a box with snacks, prizes, and supplies for games. After playing games together, each family got to participate in a talent show, watch a video of campus pastors sharing their unusual talents, and enjoy a magic show!

We are all facing difficulties in these uncertain times, and we hope you will lift up these families in prayer as they deal with some unique challenges. If you’re interested in serving as a volunteer in Mosaic, please email [email protected]. To learn more about Mosaic, click below.

Serving in Allendale County has been a long term gospel investment for Grace Church, and we are excited to share how God has worked this summer. Our Camp Impact Staff—six Grace college interns—have returned with stories of life change not only from their own lives, but also from the lives of others. In particular, our Junior Staff have experienced spiritual growth and developed leadership skills. These Junior Staff members are students from Allendale County who have come up through the Camp Impact program over past years, and now they have had the opportunity to serve alongside Grace staff and influence the lives of children in their community.

What an amazing blessing to see God’s hand at work over years of prayer, sacrifice, and personal investment. Click the video below to hear Bill White talk about the gospel impact of Grace’s ministry in Allendale County.

To learn more about our ministry in Allendale County, click below.

One facet of caring for our community is through our Dignified Crisis Housing ministry. When an individual or family finds themselves without a home due to financial need, abuse, or any other crisis, we want to come alongside and lend strength and support. We currently have 17 fully furnished apartments that provide housing for over 30 adults and children in need.

This housing project is provided in partnership with Miracle Hill, SWITCH, Jasmine Road, and United Ministries. Along with a full-time housing director, Grace has volunteers serving through donations, setups, job placements, and medical assistance.

We hope you will rejoice and pray along with us as we strive to show Jesus’ love in concrete ways to those in need. There are several opportunities to serve within this ministry—if you are interested in serving or have gently loved items to donate (from furniture to kitchenware and everything in between), please email [email protected]

Click here to learn more about our Care and Recovery ministries and partners. Click below to see how Grace is partnering with United Ministries to provide housing for those in need!

Due to the spread of Covid-19, our Senior Honor ministry looks a lot different these days. However, we are excited to share some of the ways volunteers have adapted and gotten creative to continue ministering to those in our Senior Honor partner facilities.

Currently, we are partnered with eight senior living facilities to serve 700 residents through Senior Honor. Grace volunteers and some pastoral staff record a 20-35 minute teaching or devotional, and it is uploaded to a YouTube playlist every week. Our volunteer site coordinators are also provided with a packet of worship material including printable song lyrics and accompaniment MP3's for the weekly worship service. In this way, our Senior Honor members can still attend Grace every week!

Since many of our Senior Honor members are isolated from family and friends, volunteers are offering encouragement by sending cards and gift bags. Also, our PALS (People Actively Loving Seniors) are continuing to connect through FaceTime.

If you’re interested in learning more about Senior Honor, click below! To learn more about volunteer opportunities, please email Julia Eldred.

One way we have been able to serve our Grace En Español community this summer is through offering a free medical clinic on our Taylors / Español campus. Fifty volunteers, including seven doctors and ten nurses, participated in caring for local Hispanic, low-income families. Medical personnel offered consultations, blood pressure and diabetes testing, and resources for preventative care.

Another clinic will be offered in September, and we hope you will join us in prayer as we continue to show Jesus’ love to our Hispanic community. If you’re interested in serving or have questions about this ministry, please email Christian Ruiz.

To learn more about Grace En Español, click below!

No parent ever foresees or is prepared to receive a terminal diagnosis for their child. Unfortunately, this is a reality that some parents face. One of the most difficult aspects of this journey is explaining death to your child.

Grace has recently published a children’s book that addresses this complex issue. In Caterpillar Coach, we follow the story of Sam, a young boy who is terminally ill. Sam is able to have open conversations with his parents and think about the transition from death to eternal life by talking about his caterpillar, which transforms into a butterfly.

This narrative is rich with gospel truth, and the book also provides reflective questions to help parents and children talk about death with openness and hope in Christ. If you or anyone you know could benefit from this book, click below to purchase through Amazon.

This July, our Care Ministries were able to provide a summer camp—Ascend—for teens and children who are experiencing the loss of a loved one or the divorce of their parents. Through Ascend, teens and children going through a difficult period in their lives were able to experience community, learn biblical truths, discuss coping skills, and find hope, all in the context of a safe, loving environment.

The campers worked through age-appropriate curriculum, and leaders were able to come alongside them to help them process their thoughts and emotions. In addition to seeing personal growth in their individual lives, these kids were also able to simply have fun with each other and their leaders through various outdoor activities.

We are so thankful for our leaders and volunteers who made this ministry possible. We hope you’ll join us in prayer for these kids as they move forward.

To learn more about Care Ministries at Grace for children, teens, and adults, click below.

After several weeks apart, we are excited to resume baptism at many of our campuses! Baptism is an outward testimony to the grace God has given us by uniting us with Christ in his death and resurrection and raising us to new life in him. It is a beautiful picture of the gospel, and we rejoice with those who are taking this step of obedience to Christ.

If you are ready to be baptized or want to learn more about baptism, click below.

Mission Upstate is a local outreach program for our high school students. This past week, 17 high school students and 7 leaders partnered with Griggs Memorial Church, pastored by Mitch Miller, in the Poe Mill area of Greenville.

Grace students participated in service projects such as yard work and deep cleaning for local churches. They also provided a day sports camp for children ages 5-13 in the neighborhood. These opportunities not only provide our students with a way to support the needs of our community, they also help build the credibility of the local church.

Next month, another group of high school students will be participating in Mission Upstate. We hope you will join us in prayer around this ministry!

For the past three years, a ministry focus in Allendale County has been summer camp. Grace Church partners with two local churches to host Camp Impact—a community effort focused on engaging the children and youth of Allendale County, who we believe are its future leaders.

In order to provide more educational resources for campers, teachers from Grace Church are serving as tutors each week to help with remediation efforts. Allendale County, like the rest of the state, has faced unique challenges from school closures, such as lack of adequate childcare and access to reliable technology. Serving families through tutoring is a practical way we can meet the needs of these families.

Ultimately, Camp Impact exists to build up the church. As we work with students, pray that Camp Impact will be a place where they can find support, leadership opportunities, the gospel preached and lived out, and dignity as humans—made in the image of God.

Meet the third round of our Kairos summer interns! Be sure to say hi when you see them around. They’ll be with us until August, working with various ministries and campuses while serving and taking internship classes. Watch this video introducing each of them!

Through the Financial Peace University curriculum, Grace Church has been able to provide guidance for those working to get out of debt and take control of their finances. This course not only gives sound financial advice, but it also supports couples in growing their communication around giving, saving, and working as a team.

Here are some exciting stats from this spring’s participants:

Total Debt Paid Off: $38,180

Total Saved: $23,150

Class Turn-around: $61,330

Proverbs 22:7 says, “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.” Debt can be enslaving; however, financial freedom can enable us to be courageously generous.

We are celebrating ten years of the Ezer ministry, and in those ten years, we’ve seen God do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. Many women have shared stories of how the Ezer discipleship studies on shame, sexuality, identity, our speech, and our bodies have resulted in life change. Watch as Laurie shares her story of being in community, learning to release control to God, and resting in his sovereignty.

Meet more of our Kairos summer interns! Be sure to say hi when you see them around. They’ll be with us until August, working with various ministries and campuses while serving and taking internship classes. Click below to watch this video introducing a few of them and stay tuned for more!

Check out these awesome summer interns! Be sure to say hi when you see them around. They’ll be with us until August, working with various ministries and campuses while serving and taking internship classes. Click the video below to meet a few of them and stay tuned for more!

This year, something new and exciting is happening in Allendale County. For the first time, our Camp Impact Staff will include six paid Junior Staff from Allendale County. These Junior Staff members will work closely with six Grace Church college interns to run the summer Camp Impact program.

Over the past three years, we have worked to incorporate leadership development through all of camp programming. Many of the campers have returned year after year, even when too old to participate in the camp (designed for 5-12 year olds). As our staff have invested in these young leaders and returning campers have grown older, this new opportunity to bring them on camp staff will be invaluable. We, along with our partnering local churches, believe cultivating youth leaders in Allendale County is key in promoting sustainable change.

Not only will the Junior staff members help run the Camp Impact program, they will also be taking classes to develop their spiritual knowledge, life skills, and job readiness. As they grow spiritually, academically, and in maturity, they can come alongside local leaders to build the credibility of the local church and further the gospel in Allendale County.

This year marks ten years since we launched the very first Ezer study, Biblical Femininity. Since then, we’ve tackled issues that weigh us down and sin that so easily trips us up—setting our eyes on Christ and seeking God’s word to transform our minds, hearts, and lives. We’ve seen God do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine in those ten years. Do you have an Ezer story? We’d love you to help us celebrate all that God has done and hear how God used the Ezer resources to grow you in your faith and life as a disciple. Would you share your story?

"I had a difficult time writing to the inmate I was assigned to at first. I made the mistake of Googling her—admittedly because I was curious to see why she was serving time but also because I was hoping to find out her age and maybe put a face to the person I was praying for. I thought there was absolutely nothing that I could find out that would give me any hesitation about writing her, but my heart sank when I saw what she was convicted for. I was prepared for murder but not the murder of a child. Her son died when he was two years old, which was the same age my own adopted son came into foster care because he had been severely abused in his biological home. It felt so close to home and in a moment I went from being so excited to write to this person, to feeling like I didn't have any words to put on the page. For several days I wrestled with what to do—I didn't want to ask for a new assignment and I knew the Lord hadn't made a mistake in assigning me this specific person. It wasn't until I spoke with my small group leader about it that I felt any clarity on why the Lord may have chosen this woman for me to write. When I described how I was feeling she asked me if I was sure I had forgiven my children's birth mother for the harm they had experienced and told me to pray about whether the Lord was revealing some unforgiveness that I had not even realized I was still holding on to. I got off the phone that night feeling unsure . . . I thought I'd long ago forgiven her. After praying for three days I felt like the Lord had given me such clarity that my feelings were based on my kids' history and my feelings of resentment that I was hanging on to (that I wasn't even aware of!). Once I accepted this, I felt such a weight lifted off of me in regards to writing the person I'd been given. I could think of her and see her picture and see that she was my sister in Christ, completely forgiven and redeemed, and that our sins were not comparable . . . each of us needed grace and salvation as much as the other. When I went to write my letter on Monday the words flowed so easily and when I put that letter in the mailbox I praised the Lord for loving me enough to reveal hidden places in my heart that needed to be worked through. He is so good. I would have NEVER thought when I signed up to write letters to an inmate that He would use it in such a powerful way to refine me and I am so grateful!"