Two Year
Ministry Plan

This past weekend, high school students from across all campuses came together for Forge Winter Weekend—385 students and 165 leaders attended! Students gathered at our Pelham campus for teaching and worship, and then they spent Friday night at their respective campuses. On Saturday, there was more teaching and small group time, and groups also had fun around the Upstate during free time.

During the sessions, guys and girls split to hear gender-specific teaching. Our boys engaged the topic of Future Men—walking through what the Bible says about the direction, calling, and confidence of being a man made in the image of God. The girls learned about the idea of Reflected—understanding what it looks like to be a generation of young women made in the image of God who have the courage to move and confidence to yield as they live on mission for him.

We are so thankful for our students’ willingness to engage challenging topics and our leaders’ willingness to pour their lives into these young people. Will you pray that God would continue to work in hearts as our students learn and grow? To learn more about Grace Students, click below.

We are celebrating that over the past two weekends, 449 students, along with 258 leaders and volunteers, attended the Forge retreats at Carolina Point! These weekends were full of energy and a meaningful time of worship, teaching, and community for our high school students.

The FAKE retreat, for our 11th and 12th graders, explored the idea of exposing the fake gospels in their lives and fighting to find clarity, truth, and freedom in Jesus. The Mirrors retreat allowed our 9th and 10th graders time to learn how freedom from anxiety and being self-focused comes by removing yourself from the center of your life, putting God in the center, and focusing on loving others.

In addition to teaching, worship, and small groups, students were also able to have fun and explore the lake, ride go karts, participate in tournaments, and experience the OGO ball during their free time! We are so thankful for everyone who helped plan and served on these retreats. Join us in praying that God continues to work in the hearts of these students 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.

We’re all familiar with the value of mission trips, and we often think of traveling to international destinations and serving people from a different culture. However, there is also a need for showing the love of the gospel right here in our community. Over the course of three weeks this summer, over 80 Forge students gave of their time and energy to serve with several of our local partners here in the Upstate.

Mission Upstate was born out of our partnership with Griggs Church, located in Poe Mill. In the mornings, students did service projects for several partners of Griggs Church, and in the afternoons, they ran a camp for neighborhood kids in the Poe Mill and San Souci neighborhoods.

Service partners and projects:

• Calvary First Baptist Church—students helped with their Manna Ministry, providing food for homeless or others in need.
• Salvation Army—students washed vans.
• Rebuild Upstate—one of our teams replaced the siding on a house in Poe Mill.
• The Way Outreach Center—students supported this ministry that invites the homeless to come inside, sit, read, take a shower, etc.
• Poe Mill Achievement Center—team members did yard work and played with kids in their summer program.
• Front Porch Housing—students painted doors.
• Students also did yard work and helped build a playset for a family at our Taylors campus.

While the work these students accomplished was meaningful and helpful in tangible ways, the work that God did in their hearts is key in their discipleship. Many students saw for the first time that people in our community live with significant needs, and it impacted them. In fact, some students have coordinated times to go back to serve at Manna Ministry because they realized they can make a difference right here in Greenville.

Please pray that this work would continue—both in the community and in the hearts of our students. To learn more about Grace Students, click below.