Two Year
Ministry Plan

International serving partners Nick and Annie VanWingerden are located in Grenoble, France, and they are working to strengthen the local church and disciple individuals and families in their community. Recently, they collaborated with staff at Grace Church to translate Authentic Manhood into French! This has provided a great resource to engage the men in their community around what the Bible says about manhood. The VanWingerdens had this to say in their most recent newsletter:

The first session (of seven) went amazingly well. I was particularly encouraged by several of our guys who, as we were wrapping things up, asked me if they could invite non-Christian friends to come to the next session. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for our men in the coming months as we face the reality of our sinful passivity and autonomy, and learn to depend on God's grace to us in Christ as we take responsibility for the people and situations that He has entrusted into our care.

We are thankful to be able to come alongside our brothers and sisters in France and serve as we build a partnership. We have been able to share helpful resources and minister in other ways as well. A team of men from Grace Church not only delivered the MRT materials, they also spent a week helping with various construction projects. To learn more about our serving partners, click below. You can also subscribe to the VanWingerdens’ newsletter here.

Our students have been busy in several different avenues over the summer! One way they served our community was through Mission Upstate, which took place over the course of three weeks. Check out some highlights below:

How many people participated?

• 65 students and about 40 adult staff and volunteers
• 5 students were junior staff—they led their peers in service projects

What kinds of projects did they do?

• Leading an afternoon day camp for kids in the Poe Mill neighborhood
• Cleaning out old furniture at Griggs, our partner church
• Washing Salvation Army vehicles
• Yard work at Poe Mill Achievement Center
• Helped out at Manna Food Ministry, which provides food for homeless or low-income individuals and families.
• Prepared sandwiches for and engaged in conversations with homeless friends at The Way Outreach Center.
• Trash pick up around the Poe Mill and San Souci neighborhoods
• Served at Front Porch Housing
• Helped with house projects for members at our Taylors campus

These students served our community, showing the love of Jesus in tangible ways. It was an impactful discipleship experience for them, and we hope you will join us in praising God for all he did through Mission Upstate.

This summer, we celebrated 20 years of partnering with Christ for the City International in Nicaragua! Over the past two decades, many teams from Grace Church have come alongside our friends at CFCI to support them and minister to local churches in Nicaragua. Click the video below to see photos from over the years and hear both our members and our partners reflect on how God has worked in our lives and in the lives of those we minister to.

This summer, a team of parents and students had the unique opportunity to work together on a mission team in Kenya. It was a special discipleship experience for these teens and their parents to serve together in an international context. They were able to serve and connect with children and teens who are part of OVC—a program that provides physical, academic, and relational support to children in need within the community of local churches.

Many of our families have been supporting children through the OVC program for years, and some had the opportunity to meet the child they have been sponsoring from afar. Joe Maurer and his daughter Lilly, members of the Taylors campus, got to meet the two boys they have been supporting. They shared this with us:

Our family has been so privileged to sponsor and get to know two Kenyan boys for almost ten years. Our oldest, Francis, is currently a teenager, and we’ve been able to watch him transition from primary school to his second year of university. Our second, Samuel, is younger and is now transitioning to become a young man at his primary school. It’s been a joy to communicate with them several times a year as they’ve been able to learn about our family, and us about theirs. I have met Francis several times on my trips to Kenya, and it’s been rewarding for me to develop an actual friendship with him.

This summer, though, was even more exciting, since Lilly (our teenager) was also able to meet both of our boys with their families. The joy witnessed by the Kenyan grandparents that care for both boys was so palpable, it brought me to tears. We are, as a church and individuals, not just sending money, we’re forming relationships and seeing lives change. It is through those relationships that God is working. Certainly our support as a church has changed the trajectory of both these boys’ lives, but more important is the reality that they both see and know the Lord loves them in such a tangible way.

What a blessing to see how life change is happening across countries and cultures! If you would like to learn more about the OVC program, click below.

Last week, a team from our Spartanburg campus traveled to Puerto Rico to come alongside our partner, Hunger Corp. The team worked to rebuild and repair two houses that had been damaged in past hurricanes. However, just as important as working to provide physical shelter for people, team members were able to build relationships, encourage, and pray for those they served. At both work sites, the individuals whose homes were worked on have experienced significant challenges. Through their work in close proximity to these individuals, the team was able to connect with them personally and live out the love of Christ in tangible ways.

One team member had this to say about connecting with one of the people they served:

Before we left, we all met together and prayed over him as a team and spoke the blessings of the Lord over him. It was so humbling to serve in that way, and in the grand scheme of things, who are we that God would use us in such a way?

Will you pray with us over what God is doing in Puerto Rico and how he is discipling our members through short-term missions? If you are interested in joining a team, click below to learn about upcoming opportunities.

Last month, a medical mission team traveled to Kenya to host a medical clinic, partner with local churches, and support local pastors and their families. The team was able to see over 700 people while they were there, offering dental, vision, and medical care. Each person who came through the clinic not only received physical care, they also talked to a local pastor who engaged them around the gospel and in prayer.

Although we are providing medical care, we are also building partnerships with Aberdare Baptist Convention pastors and with the local church in the communities we serve. Many pastors travel from across central Kenya to the medical camps. We provide medical care for those pastors every six months, but we also partner with them in serving the local community. It has been encouraging to get to know those pastors and to pray for them and with them.

Team member Amanda O’Kelly had this to say about her experience:

One thing I have experienced in Kenya that has really built my faith is how God tangibly answers specific prayers. So often in the US, I can get on “auto-pilot” and subconsciously think I can operate independently of God. But in Kenya, it truly is a daily dependence on the Lord as we are so clearly not in control. He also provides for us in ways that we aren’t even asking for, and that we don’t know we need until after the fact.

We praise God for this opportunity to be a small part of making disciples around the world. If you would like to learn more about our international mission partners and upcoming opportunities for short-term mission trips, click below.

Through Grace's partnership with Hunger Corps in Puerto Rico, we are excited that what began as hurricane and disaster relief is transforming into discipleship as we have been able to come alongside Eileen Alemany in launching Respira—a women’s ministry hosted by Hunger Corps. The group began with Ezer’s Biblical Femininity study in June of 2022 and is now working through A Woman's Words.

Not only are the women involved in Respira studying together, they are also ministering to other women in their communities. In September of 2022, following the severe flooding in Puerto Rico, the women on our missions team were able to partner with the 12 women in the Respira group to provide relief to a family who lost any material items they owned in the flooding and were living in a 16x16 plywood structure.

Most recently, the team that served in Puerto Rico in early February was able to minister to Sonya, a local woman who is homebound due to physical limitations. Hunger Corps is working to upfit her home with handicap access. While our team was there, Sonya prepared coffee for the ladies and met with them to practice and learn English, and they were able to pray with her and offer encouragement.

During this time, we learned that the women of Respira have been regularly visiting Sonja, and will be holding meetings in her home so that she will be able to become part of Respira in La Hormiga, the community where our teams serve to provide sustainable housing and disaster relief.

La Hormiga is known as a squatter community in the heart of Dorado, which is an affluent community, and very church poor. The community itself does not have any churches nearby for the women to connect with, so Respira is filling in that gap to provide both community and spiritual growth for the women of La Hormiga, and the growth that we have seen in the past eight months is a clear picture of what it means to make disciples!

If you would like to learn more about our partnership in Puerto Rico or apply for a short-term mission trip, click below.

One facet of our Outreach ministry is Missions Grants—a funding program that invites our members to apply for yearly grants of $1,000-2,500 to support specific projects or programs of their personal ministry.

As applications for Missions Grants open soon, we’d love to introduce one of our current recipients. Meet Powdersville member Blakely Callaham! Blakely received a Missions Grant on behalf of the Alabaster House Recovery for Women, a faith-based, residential, 7-month recovery program in the Upstate of SC. Alabaster House provides a compassionate home where broken women can be set free from addiction while encountering God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.

Blakely shared a little bit of her story with us:

After completing and serving in re:gen at the Powdersville campus, I became involved with Alabaster House. I was out of my comfort zone, but God had bigger plans. Over the past two years, I’ve been overwhelmed by the clarity and direction God has shown me. The Alabaster House has impacted numerous women’s lives because of tremendous community support. We continue to expand our capacity only because of support like the Grace Church Missions Grant.

We are so thankful to have a small part in supporting women in our community through organizations like Alabaster House. If you are a member and part of a non-profit or ministry that would benefit from a Missions Grant, applications are opening in March! Click below to visit the webpage where you can learn more and apply.

Nick and Annie VanWingerden have been serving in Grenoble, France since 2008 with Impact France, focusing on connecting with college students at the University of Grenoble. In 2018, the VanWingerdens partnered with Aurélien and Chloe Lang and planted the Grenoble East Church. They have seen consistent engagement over the past few years, especially with young people.

In 2021, the VanWingerdens became connected with Grace Church through Nick’s parents, who are members at our Harrison Bridge campus. Nick and Annie are now serving partners, and we were excited to send an exploratory team of staff members to Grenoble in January. The team got to spend time with both the VanWingerdens and the Langs, see what their ministry looks like, meet people from their church, and grow in understanding of the culture in Grenoble. They also shared resources from Grace that can help this young church as they seek to equip the believers under their care.

The VanWingerdens face unique challenges in Grenoble, but there are also unique opportunities to share the gospel. There are over 500,000 people in the city of Grenoble—fewer than 1600 of them are Christians who make up less than 16 evangelical churches. Because the area is largely unchurched, these churches desire to support one another. Also, because the University of Grenoble is a high level research university, there is a strong international presence in the city, which provides opportunities to connect with people from all over the world. Please join us in praying that God would continue to use Nick, Annie, and their fellow believers to build a coalition of like-minded churches to reach the Grenoble metro area.

Here are some ways you can pray for the VanWingerdens and our partnership with their ministry:

• Pray for the growth of their student ministry
• Pray for leadership development among the men in the church
• Pray for continued relationships and support between local churches
• Pray that we would be responsive to the Holy Spirit as we consider the future of mission trips and other opportunities for partnership.

To get regular updates from the VanWingerdens and learn more about their ministry, click below.

Over Christmas break, a team of Forge students traveled to Cuba to serve with Filter of Hope—a gospel-centered organization that brings simple, live-saving water filters to families in poverty who have no access to clean water. Our teens worked with Filter of Hope and local churches in Havana, Cuba to deliver water filters to families in need, explain how to use and maintain them, and share the gospel.

These teens got to experience a new culture, meet people who are very different from them, and serve outside their comfort zone. Our students moved from being unsure of how to communicate with locals and share the gospel to feeling confident by the end of the trip. They now feel more equipped to engage in conversation and share the gospel with people in their lives. We are thankful for how they got to serve and how God is continuing to work in their hearts through this mission trip.

To learn more about Grace Church Students, click below!

Over the past few years, many of our international missions trips have been put on hold due to the pandemic. So this fall, we were excited to be able to send a medical mission team to serve with our partners in Kenya for the first time in three years. The team consisted of medical providers, dentists, nurses, and several other members who helped support and organize the clinics—a total of 19 members.

Our partnership in Kenya is with LEFTI, Life Empowerment for Transformation International, led by Bernard Kabaru. Through local church networks, LEFTI provides pastoral training and support for the body of Christ in Kenya. LEFTI also works through community and school networks to support children and their families participating in the OVC Kenya program.

This most recent mission team worked to provide practical resources and meet physical needs for individuals and families in the Kenyan community of Turuturu, serving alongside Kenyan pastors who provided spiritual support. In partnership with a local church, the team helped host a three-day medical clinic for over 690 individuals. While people waited to be seen, pastors and Kenyan believers were able to share the gospel with them. As our clinical team provided medical, dental, vision and pharmaceutical care, they enjoyed having more personal conversations and praying with individuals as God provided opportunities. As a special treat, the team visited one of the schools where children in the OVC Kenya program attend. Several Grace members who are OVC Kenya sponsors were able to meet their child and their child's family! A safari and time in the local market capped off the week for this team as they debriefed and prepared to fly home.

Some of the team members had this to say about their experience:

God reminded me of how restful it is to lay down my life, forget myself, my comfort, my foolish desires, my desire for control. How truly I’m blessed when I live in dependence.

My biggest takeaways were being challenged on being intentional and kingdom-minded with my sphere of influence along with believing and claiming power in prayer.

God reminded me that the world is much bigger than my little bubble and that there is a great need for the body of Christ to continue to go out into the world to help and serve others.

This trip was not only an opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters in Kenya, but an important pathway for our members to be discipled. If you would like to learn more about our partnership in Kenya or apply for an upcoming trip (applications are being accepted for our April 2023 trip), click below!

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.

Nick and Annie VanWingerden are missionaries serving in Grenoble, France, and we are privileged to support and partner with them. Like most typical post-Christian European countries, France has great spiritual needs. Its proximity to North Africa and immigration have changed the landscape both ethnically and religiously. The VanWingerdens and their local church can connect with young people from all over the world. They are seeking to reach the least reached peoples where they are most reachable to make an impact for God's Kingdom.

Facts about France and Grenoble:

• 1.6% Christian
• 9.6% Muslim
• Strong spiritualist influence
• Grenoble is home to France’s third largest university, founded in 1339
• Over 60,000 university students and 3,000 researchers are in the city

The work that Nick and Annie are part of is necessary, developing the relatively few Christ followers that already exist and reaching those who have never heard. Through their church community, they want to give students an opportunity to hear the truth of the gospel by exposing them to God's Word and Christian community. After a year sabbatical and experiencing much of the Grace culture, the VanWingerdens are now serving partners. We are committed to monthly financial and prayer support, but even more so, hope that we can send teams of Grace members to come alongside them in special seasons of ministry opportunity.

As we begin this partnership with an exploratory team in January, please pray for God’s guidance to give us discernment for the future. If you would like to receive the VanWingerdens’ newsletter, email [email protected]. To hear more of their story, click the video below.

Last year, Grace formed a partnership in Israel with the Association of Baptist Churches in Nazareth. This group represents the largest single group of Evangelical Christians in Israel today with 18 churches and a community of 3,000 people, serving mainly among the Arab population in Israel.

In August, we were excited to send our first mission team to Israel to support ABC’s student ministry retreat. Our volunteer lead for Israel took six of our staff members on the trip, and they were able to serve at the retreat by planning games and icebreakers, washing dishes, cleaning, and in general helping keep things running smoothly. They also taught a breakout session on the idea of “go.” Student ministry is particularly important and challenging in Israel as young believers are a stark minority in the culture. We hope and pray that the young people who attended the retreat will continue to seek a relationship with Jesus and be a light to those around them.

Team members also taught at three different churches while they were there, led worship, and connected with church leaders. It was a sweet time to build relationships with pastors and leaders that are part of ABC, and our prayer is that we will continue to support believers in Israel through future mission trips, financial support, shared resources, and most importantly, our prayers. Will you join us in praying for this partnership?

To learn more about our partnership in Israel as well as other international partnerships, 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.

For the first time in over four years, Grace Church was able to send a medical team to Chinadega, Nicaragua this past week. The team of 24 covenant members from across all of our campuses consisted of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, a dental hygienist, and a number of willing servants who filled various roles throughout the different areas of the clinic. The scope of ministry included vision consults and glasses where appropriate, dental cleanings and evaluations, dental education, and a full-scale pharmacy where more than 1,200 prescriptions were filled during the week. More than 500 patients were seen, and many were receptive to the gospel.

The team also participated in children’s ministry and continued the Pastor & Leader Training that has been ongoing in Chinandega since last year with more than 60 participants throughout the week. It was also exciting to share the week with Mary Ezzell, a serving partner based out of our Español campus, who is living in Nicaragua and serving alongside our ministry partners, Christ for the City International.

What a blessing to be back in Nicaragua, working alongside fellow believers and showing Jesus’ love to those in need. Please join us in thanking God for all he has done in and through this team! If you want to learn more about International Missions at Grace and see opportunities for future mission trips, click below.

One organization we partner with to provide support for international refugees is World Relief—a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement.

Since last fall, a group of volunteers from Grace has operated as a Good Neighbor Team to support a family of 10 Afghan refugees. A Good Neighbor Team undergoes training through World Relief and works to support refugees as they acclimate and adjust to their new environment. These volunteers have walked with this family through the entire process of arriving in the area, to navigating government paperwork, to understanding the education system. Even more importantly, they offer friendship and community—seeking to show God’s love to those in need.

We are currently in the process of forming a second Good Neighbor Team so we can support additional families in the area. Will you join us in prayer around this effort to serve refugees? If you are interested in learning more about this partnership and how you can get involved, please email us at [email protected].

Earlier this month, our Nicaragua team faced disappointment as their trip was canceled at the last minute due to an airline cancellation. After finding no alternative flight plan, the team met to grieve, process, and pray together. God graciously reoriented both our partners in Nicaragua and our team here in Greenville, and they decided to move forward and serve “where they were.”

For our partners in Nicaragua—Christ for the City International—this meant they continued with their plan for the week. They taught a class for pastors and leaders, delivered 50 bags of food and staples to those in need, and worked on projects for two different schools supported through CFCI’s Hope School program. Grace funded the food bags and school projects, and CFCI team members made the deliveries, prayed with family members, and joined in the work. Mary Ezzell, a Grace member currently living in Nicaragua, represented us in all these projects.

Our team here in Greenville had already taken time off for the week, so they jumped into serving through various projects here in town. They did yard work at one of the Grace Housing rental units, helped with organizing at the Housing Warehouse, delivered Meals on Wheels for Greenville County, and did a clothes sorting/packing project at the Spartanburg Espanol Campus. Team members were even able to help a family deal with a last-minute, unplanned move. And over half the team ended their week serving at the Fusion student retreat on the work crew!

It was amazing to see God’s sovereign hand at work in each of these situations, and even more so, God worked in hearts through this unexpected circumstance to teach prayerful dependence. We hope you will join us in celebrating what he has done both in Nicaragua and here in the Upstate. We do have mission trips scheduled to Nicaragua and Puerto Rico in the coming months. If you would like to learn more about our international mission opportunities or apply, click below.