Two Year
Ministry Plan

Last month, a group of students from Allendale County, along with Grace staff and members who have been involved in our Allendale partnership, went on a mission trip to Queens, New York. We were excited to see this new facet of our partnership with local churches in Allendale come to life! The team included five students from Allendale County, two of their moms who are community leaders, and seven participants from Grace, including three Grace staff members.

The team worked with a local ministry that is seeking to build a community of believers in the Afghan population in Queens. They spent time getting to know people in the community by passing out water bottles at parks, praying for people, and connecting them to Scripture and Bible studies in their own language.

During the evenings, students heard teaching from the book of Daniel and unpacked the big ideas in small group discussion, exploring what it looks like to follow God in a culture that pulls us in a different direction. They also got to enjoy seeing some sites and experiencing New York City! The entire trip was a time of learning, serving, and growing, and we were thankful to be part of this opportunity along with our friends in Allendale County. We hope you’ll join us in prayer—that those who went on the trip are reflective, and that the seeds they planted are fruitful.

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

This month, we just wrapped up our 13th summer of partnership with local churches in Allendale County. It was our 6th summer of helping to run Camp Impact, a summer camp for local kids, and it was a season of hard work and fruitfulness as we saw God’s faithfulness in the lives of participants, volunteers, and staff members. Here are some highlights from the summer!

• 97 campers registered this summer, and approximately 50-60 kids attended camp each day.
• About 200 volunteers from Forge came to serve at Camp Impact—132 students and 68 leaders.
• Our Junior Staff (paid high school students who work at Camp Impact) took classes on topics such as nutrition, money management, conflict resolution, how to build a resume, and future career planning.
• Our Impact Student volunteers (teens who have aged out of camp but volunteer their time) were able to participate in some of these classes as well as Bible studies.
• This summer, we had our first graduating senior finish the Junior Staff program. She was previously a camper and she has been volunteering and working at Camp Impact for the last several years.
• Six college students worked as Camp Staff, working and living in Allendale county over the summer. Some of them had this to say about their experience:

"Camp Impact was meaningful to me because I got to better understand the Lord’s heart for all people and watch the church work together to care for others." -Emma Scott, Assistant Director

"I think camp was meaningful to me this summer because I was able to see the Lord’s faithfulness and protection in a whole new light. I was not only learning how to trust God but growing in my trust in him! Everyday at camp was a new opportunity for me to put into action what I was learning." -Kacky Haswell, Activities & Junior Staff Counselor

It has been such a blessing to see our partnerships in Allendale County grow and flourish, and we are privileged to be part of discipling these young people to follow Jesus. Will you join us in celebrating everything God has done this summer, both in Allendale County and in the hearts of our students and volunteers? To learn about the history of our partnership in Allendale, click below.

Summer is fast approaching, and while ministry in Allendale County is ongoing throughout the year, summer is a focused time when we serve alongside our partners in Allendale through Camp Impact.

This past month, we were excited to host our annual Junior Staff Retreat. Junior staffers are high school students from both Allendale and the Upstate who are paid staff members that help run Camp Impact. During this retreat, camp staff came together to plan for the summer, build relationships and team unity, sit under biblical teaching, and prepare their hearts for a summer of service. The retreat took place in Anderson this year, and teaching and discussions focused on the idea of trust—are we trusting in ourselves, the world, or Jesus?

Our Anderson campus Just Serve volunteers helped lead the retreat participants through some team-building exercises, and they also got to attend church in Anderson on Sunday. Overall, it was a weekend full of learning, fun, community, and anticipation for the summer ahead.

41 people attended:

• 6 Camp Staff members (college age leaders)
• 8 Forge Junior Staff members (high school students from Grace)
• 13 Allendale Junior Staff members (high school students from Allendale)
• 14 leaders (past camp staff and junior staff members)

This retreat represents years of investment in young people—both here in the Upstate and in Allendale County. Our desire is to disciple the next generation not only to lead themselves well, but also to lead others and point them to the transformative power of the gospel. Will you join us in praying for God to work through all the ministry happening in Allendale County this summer?

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

Grace has been partnering with local churches in Allendale county for over a decade, and it’s been a joy to see those relationships grow. One of the primary ways Grace supports local ministry in Allendale is through Camp Impact, a six-week summer program for kids ages 5-12. But even when camp is not in session, the work in Allendale is ongoing.

Throughout the school year, we work to support Impact Students—a ministry for middle and high school students. A few times each semester, a team of Grace staff and volunteers spend the day in Allendale hosting events that involve teaching, discipleship, community, and fun! This has been a great way for Grace volunteers to stay connected in Allendale and invest in those relationships.

We are also currently looking forward to the summer and just finished the interview process for Junior Staff members. Junior Staff are teens in Allendale who will be paid staff members who help run programming for Camp Impact. This year, six out of the seven Junior Staffers were once children who attended Camp Impact. Four of them were on Junior Staff and two of them helped on a volunteer basis last summer. It has been amazing to see the discipleship process over the span of years—these staffers are now serving children in the same program where they once learned and grew in their faith.

The interview process to be a Junior Staff member is quite rigorous, and applicants learn valuable life skills as they apply. Individuals must be asked to apply, fill out an application and write a cover letter, be interviewed, and write thank you notes to their interviewers. Applicants must be invested in order to complete the process, and it’s been a blessing to see their dedication to serving their community.

Life change begets life change, and we are grateful to be part of seeing God work in lives through young leadership in Allendale county. Will you pray with us for the summer ahead? Pray that staff members and volunteers would have energy and humility for each day, and that the children they serve would be tender to the gospel. To learn more about our partnerships in Allendale county, click below.

Since 2009, Grace has worked to build partnerships in Allendale, a county in our state that has faced significant economic struggles. One of the primary ways Grace supports local churches in Allendale is through Camp Impact, a six-week summer program for kids ages 5–12. But even when camp is not in session, the work in Allendale is ongoing. During the school year, our outreach team hosts Impact Student events for former campers, now middle and high school students. These special times allow Grace volunteers to continue investing in relationships, as well as provide community, teaching, and discipleship for students.

This fall, we hosted our first Impact Student Fall Overnight in Allendale. A team from Grace joined Allendale students for a unique time of teaching, small groups, and community building at a local retreat center. Students participated in several service projects centered around breast cancer awareness and Veterans Day, and also enjoyed a Halloween Party.

Taylor Frick, outreach project manager, felt like the event was an important milemarker for Grace’s work in Allendale County.

“It was the first opportunity we had for an overnight event tailored for our students who live there,” Taylor says. “It provided an opportunity for the Camp Impact community to invest in our relationships with each other, even though we’re from different parts of the state and have different backgrounds. Seeing these students stay involved as they navigate high school, and be open to our involvement as a church, is an answered prayer and great privilege to witness!”

Click below for more about our partnership in Allendale County, and make sure to check out the Impact Student Fall Overnight photo gallery!

As we prepare for another summer of ministry through Camp Impact in Allendale County, we were able to host a retreat for our Junior Staff! This year, our Junior Staff consists of 12 Grace members from Forge and 12 students (all past campers) from Allendale County. These young people will be paid staff members who run Camp Impact—a faith-based summer camp for kids in Allendale County.

The retreat was in Greenville and brought the Junior Staff team together for a weekend of teaching, team bonding, and camp planning. It was a time for the team to get to know one another and begin to create community, even when they come from various backgrounds. The Allendale students were able to attend a Grace Downtown service for the first time as well.

The leaders of the retreat were 2021 Camp Staff members as well as past Camp Staff members who have built relationships with these students and families. As we celebrate our 5th year of Camp Impact, it was a great weekend to celebrate how God has been moving through the Junior Staff program and the lives of Grace members who have worked at camp.

Please join us in praying for a fruitful summer in Allendale—that staff members and volunteers would reflect Christ as they work together to love the community!

Our partnership with local churches in Allendale county is about much more than summer camp programs. One unique way we’ve been able to support the local church is by helping coordinate the Farmers to Families initiative—a grant that funds distribution of food directly from local farmers to families in need. We worked with the Allendale County School District to organize the drop-off and distribution of over 1600 boxes of fresh produce, allowing every student and staff member within Allendale County Schools to receive a food box.

What an amazing opportunity to help be the hands and feet of the Church! We hope you will continue to pray for our partnership in Allendale county. To learn about volunteer opportunities in all our Outreach ministries, 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.

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.

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 past weekend, we held our first annual Camp Impact Junior Staff Christmas Party in Allendale County. Junior Staff members (ages 12-17) are from the Allendale community and serve at Camp Impact during the summer, while also taking leadership, life skills, and bible classes for six weeks.

Nine volunteers from Grace Church attended the event. After sharing a meal and celebrating with Christmas games, we broke into gender-specific small groups, where we introduced Men's Roundtable and Ezer curriculum to these students for the first time!

Another summer of Camp Impact is in the books! Here's a snapshot of our summer in Allendale, SC:

-90 campers (most have been at Camp Impact for all 3 years of camp) 

-213 Forge students (278 including leaders) served on short-term trips to run camp and provide hands on support all summer

-8 Camp Impact staff who acted as camp leadership for six weeks while living in Allendale 

-19 junior staff members (11 from Allendale, 8 from Grace Church) who acted as "camp staff in training" while taking leadership and Bible classes) 

If you want to learn more about the camp staff experience, click below (applications will open in November). And be sure to watch the video below of this past summer in Allendale!

Eight college students are spending seven weeks of their summer running Camp Impact in Allendale, SC. They got here last week and will be here for the rest of this week training before they head out. If you're going on a trip this summer, be sure to say hey! Click the video below to meet our Allendale Camp Staff!

To read more about our partnership with Allendale, click here.