Two Year
Ministry Plan

One of our ministry partners is JUMPSTART—a gospel-centered organization that disciples current and former prisoners and assists with re-entry to society. One of JUMPSTART’s current initiatives is the ongoing development of Restoration Village located in Spartanburg County. The Village provides a community for those reentering society from prison in a setting that prepares them to be productive citizens. In this type of supportive community setting, participants will have more intimate discipleship opportunities and be better equipped to both serve one another and grow in spiritual maturity.

Over the summer, three five-bedroom homes were completed and currently house 15 residents. After over a year of planning, development, and construction, it was exciting to see this community come to life. During 2023, JUMPSTART hopes to complete four additional homes as well as an opportunity center that will have classrooms, a commercial kitchen for teaching culinary arts, and event space for community events and worship.

We are thankful to be part of this ministry through our financial support and volunteer involvement. Grace members have been involved in various ways over the years, and this past year, one member generously donated her time and expertise to shop for décor, paint some original artwork, and do the interior decorating for the first three homes in Restoration Village.

Will you pray with us for the residents and ministry of Restoration Village? To learn more about Grace’s local partnerships, 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. One of JUMPSTART’s current initiatives is the construction of Restoration Village located in Spartanburg county. The Village will provide a community for those re-entering society from prison in a setting that prepares them to be productive citizens. In this type of supportive community setting, participants will have more intimate discipleship opportunities and be better equipped to both serve one another and grow in spiritual maturity.

The grand opening for Restoration Village is quickly approaching—three of the 22 homes will be open by mid June, and JUMPSTART is currently raising funds for the remaining homes. To watch a full update on the project, click below to watch a news story from WYFF4.

We are thankful to be a small part of this project through financial support and the volunteer contributions of many of our members. Please join us in prayer around this new community, both those serving and those being served. When complete, Restoration Village will be able to house 126 individuals. What an exciting opportunity for life-on-life discipleship to take place in our communities.

One of our ministry partners is JUMPSTART—a gospel-centered organization that disciples current and former prisoners and assists with re-entry to society. One of JUMPSTART’s current initiatives is the construction of Restoration Village located in Spartanburg county. The Village will provide a community for those re-entering society from prison in a setting that prepares them to be productive citizens. In this type of supportive community setting, participants will have more intimate discipleship opportunities and be better equipped to both serve one another and grow in spiritual maturity.

We are excited to share a milestone in JUMPSTART’s construction of Restoration Village—all infrastructure is in place, and by early March, the first three of 24 modular homes will be delivered. The community will have walking trails, basketball and pickleball courts, and a multi-purpose building for classes and events. All participants will be part of a year-long transitional program, and this environment will help enable them to re-enter society with confidence.

We are thankful to be a small part of this project through financial support and the volunteer contributions of many of our members. Please join us in prayer around this new community, both those serving and those being served. When complete, Restoration Village will be able to house 126 individuals. What an exciting opportunity for life-on-life discipleship to take place in our communities. To see drone footage of Restoration Village’s construction in progress, click the video below. To learn more about JUMPSTART, click below.

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.

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.

"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!"

Our first ministry partner out of four is Jump Start, a discipleship ministry that serves current prisoners in 17 South Carolina state prisons and also assists former prisoners with re-entry to society.

Quick Facts:

-96% of people who complete both the inside and outside programs do not return to prison.

-Grace and JumpStart working together:

1) We have committed to giving JumpStart $112K/year for two years.

2) We share staff: Inside Program Director of Jump Start, Cary Sanders, also works on Grace Outreach staff.

-You can volunteer with Jump Start by clicking below!

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.

One of our partners, JumpStart, was recently featured on the Greenville News, telling the story of a couple of men who have been impacted by the program and the ministry's efforts. JumpStart’s ministry focuses on long-term discipleship of men and women currently in prison and those recently released. The discipleship program is led by program graduates inside prisons and is supplemented by volunteers.

The Greenville News article begins with the story of Don Williams, who, in 2003, "was days away from finishing a year-long sentence for a drug trafficking charge at the Broad River Correctional Facility when he got a call from his sister. His oldest brother, who had been released from the same prison a few months before, overdosed on heroin after eight years clean, triggering a fatal heart attack . . ."