Two Year
Ministry Plan

Last month, Grace en Español was able to host Shame: Finding Freedom—a conference exploring what shame is, identifying the experiences, thoughts, and feelings that cause shame, how it affects us in everyday life, and how to live in the freedom and comfort Christ holds out to us.

Over 180 women attended the conference—some traveling from Nicaragua, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Dominican Republic. We also had women leaders come from churches in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Atlanta as well as three different Hispanic churches in Greenville. Over 30 volunteers served by helping with hospitality, A/V, worship, parking, and security.

The goal of this conference was not only to teach women about shame, but to be a resource to equip other ministries and churches as well. After the conference, Grace staff and leaders hosted a lunch on Sunday to equip ministry leaders to start a shame study in their churches. We were able to share materials, digital resources, and guidance around helping women view shame through a biblical lens. As a result of this conference, we know that church leaders in Nicaragua are going through the material as well as women in a prison ministry in Colombia.

For our Español women, it was an impactful topic as shame is rarely studied or even mentioned in hispanic culture. As a result, 50 women are participating in the Shame: Finding Freedom study that launched 10 days after the conference. We also have a group of Forge girls going through this study.

What a blessing to see women from around the world come together and connect as sisters in Christ! We are thankful for all the leaders and volunteers who made this conference possible, and we pray that all who were impacted will continue to grow and experience life change. To learn more about our resources for women, click below.

Last year, we were excited to launch a newly revised version of our Ezer study, Redeeming Sexuality. This study takes a deep, biblical look at the roots of sexual brokenness, how it is manifested in our lives, and how we can find freedom and hope in the gospel. We are so thankful to have this resource for our women.

Part of the publication process is getting the book translated into Spanish for our Grace en Español campuses. These translations also allow us to share resources with our friends and ministry partners in Spanish speaking countries. Grupo Scribere is a translating service specializing in faith-based works. Founded by Franco and Elena de Medina, Grupo Scribere has translated all our Ezer works in the past, and we have developed a good relationship through working with them.

During the pandemic, Franco and Elena began listening to our Español teachings, and when they translated Redeeming Sexuality, they generously donated the cost of the translation (over $8,000) as an offering to Grace en Español. We were humbled by their generosity and blessed to accept their contribution to aid in our mission of making disciples.

To learn more about Redeeming Sexuality or register for a study, click below.

Ezer—our ministry to women and for women at Grace Church—launched a newly revised version of Redeeming Sexuality in the fall. Over the last few months, several groups of women have walked through this material together, and we have been excited to see God at work. Women of all ages and stages of life have something to learn from this study. Some of the participants had this to say:

"I knew I needed to deal with the voices in my head regarding sex and shame, but I had no idea where to start. I was afraid that talking about it would make the issues even bigger and that I would be judged for having these experiences. I thought that I would need to find a counselor or psychologist to ‘fix’ me. I never expected to find a safe place for my thoughts and fears here at church, in a group of ladies from such diverse backgrounds. It gave me a new perspective. We are all dealing with the brokenness of this world, sex included. We all have a story to share, and we don't need to have it all figured out to be redeemed.”

“Redeeming Sexuality? At my age? Not that there weren't deep hurts that needed healing, but I had already prayed about all that. Besides, it felt much more safe to keep it buried as I had for decades. Thankfully, God wanted more for me. Through this study, wonderful leadership, and a loving group of ladies, God orchestrated a way for me to experience healing and the sweet freedom that comes with it. I experienced a domino effect of healing that even made its way to others close to me. The shame and lies I believed no longer have a hold on me. God brought redemption to my past and indeed, he made beauty out of ashes.”

This study takes a deep, biblical look at the roots of sexual brokenness, how it is manifested in our lives, and how we can find freedom and hope in the gospel. We can then take our fractured hearts to a loving Father who is skilled in mending us with love, forgiveness, and acceptance.

To learn more about Grace’s Ezer ministry and find a study at your campus, click below.

"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!"

We recently visited Leath Correctional with 25 of our volunteers and staff for a women's conference on finding freedom from shame. 60 Jumpstart participants learned that they did not have to be bound by the shame of their past but instead could experience true freedom found in Jesus Christ.