Two Year
Ministry Plan

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.

OVC Kenya is a partnership program that provides sustainable support and promotes long term relationships with orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya. Through our partnership with Bernard Kabaru and local churches in Limuru, Kenya, we are helping expand an existing program that provides physical, academic, and relational support to children in need within each church’s local community.

Grace individuals and families have the opportunity to partner with children in Kenya by becoming advocates! Each advocate not only contributes financially to help provide for their child, but they also send letters of encouragement and support. We currently have advocates for 116 children in Kenya.

Pelham members Matt and Christy Knarr, along with their three daughters Haley, Brooke, and Mackenzie, have advocated for two children in Kenya over the past eight years. They had this to say about their experience:

Being an advocate is an opportunity for our family to share the blessings God has given us with others. Our two Kenyan children are so woven into our lives that our family prays for them regularly and our children eagerly await their letters and want to share pictures, notes, and artwork of their own in return. It has helped our children to see ways in which we may be able to help others in more challenging circumstances. This ministry has also given all of us someone tangible to pray for and then witness how God works in their lives.

It has been a blessing for us to be a part of their lives for so many years. This ministry walks alongside and supports the entire family to have a lasting impact on not only them, but our entire family as well. We have enjoyed being part of their life journey and are excited to see both our OVC children move into adulthood very soon.

What a blessing to see the gospel work through individuals in tangible ways. Will you join us in prayer for the children and families represented in this program? To learn more about OVC Kenya, click below.

One of our serving partners is Mary Ezzell, a member of our Grace En Español Taylors campus. Mary is leaving soon to work with our partners in Nicaragua, Christ For the City International. We are so thankful for Mary’s heart for missions and hope you will join us in prayer for her and those she will be serving in Nicaragua. Click the video below to hear her story about some of the unique challenges she has faced and the peace God has provided. To learn more about our partnerships in Nicaragua, click below.

Grace has partnered with many churches and faith-based organizations around the world, and we are excited to announce a new partnership with fellow believers in Israel. Over the past few years, leaders at Grace have connected 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.

One particular focus of these churches in Israel is student ministry, as it is especially difficult to be a young believer in that context. So for the next two years, Grace has agreed to provide financial support to hire a central student coordinator for the students who belong to the ABC. We hope you will join us in praying for this new partnership, the student coordinator who will be working in Israel, and the many students whose lives will be touched.

Click below to watch a video that explains more about the challenges of youth ministry in Israel.

The last two years have presented a wealth of difficulty, and with travel restrictions, supporting our outreach partners around the globe has been a challenge. While we’ve been able to stay connected virtually, we’re excited that multiple opportunities have opened up to serve and support our outreach partners in person. See below for a summary of what’s coming up. For more, visit our outreach page or click on Bill White’s full update.

• Nicaragua: For the first time in several years, a team will join Christ the City International in Chinandega, Nicaragua, to train local pastors and leaders and host a children’s program and medical clinic. Medical professionals are still a need for this trip, March 19–26, 2022. Apply here!
• Puerto Rico: Continuing in our partnership with Hunger Corp, a team will serve in Puerto Rico February 5–11, 2022, helping to rebuild homes damaged by natural disasters in the Dorado Community.
• East Africa: This fall, Bill and Rachael White will spend time in Rwanda encouraging pastors and their wives, then join Robby and Nathalie Richard in Kenya, where they will work with Bernard Kabaru and the Aberdare Baptist Convention to help train pastors and leaders.
• Germany: For the last few years, Grace has been a resource for several local churches in Frankfurt and Munich. Currently, our leadership is working with a German church as they begin leadership succession.
• Israel: Grace is currently supporting a full-time student ministry staff member in a church in the Arab community of Israel.

Ken and Doris Bickel are members at Grace’s Downtown campus, and they have been going on mission trips to Nicaragua since 2012. They’re excited to be leaving for yet another trip this weekend. We had a chance to chat with them about their experiences, why they continue to return, and what God has taught them.

How many times have you been to Nicaragua? At least eight times.

Why do you keep going back? Our partners—the ministry team at CFCI—have become very special to us. They are more than ministry colleagues; they are friends. We both also enjoy teaching. I (Ken) believe God prepared me, through years of pastoral ministry, for the opportunity to teach other pastors. Doris loves to teach Ezer studies and assist the medical teams when they go. We both find great fulfillment in being able to teach and interact with our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters.

What challenges have you faced? We’ve faced sickness at times, and the climate can be difficult. You can’t drink the water. The basic challenges of being in a third world country can be hard to navigate, but we’ve always felt protected and cared for. There’s really no reticence to go on our part. We just live with the minor inconveniences and get on with life. Ministry can be fun, and this is the kind of ministry that is fun!

What would you tell someone who is considering going on an international mission trip? It’s important to experience different cultures. It’s wise for personal growth, especially if you’ve never been to a third world country. You will learn to appreciate the believers there. They have to live with disadvantages that we take for granted. We can pray better and respect them. This can challenge our spiritual growth. I’ve never met anybody who regretted going on a mission trip. It’s an opportunity for personal growth, spiritual growth, and treating others as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Many thanks to Ken and Doris for sharing their experiences with us! Will you pray for them and the rest of the team as they depart for Nicaragua this weekend? Click below to learn more about our ministry and partnerships in Nicaragua.

Last month, Grace offered a Health Screening Day at our Taylors campus. This event was open to the community, and several medical volunteers came out to provide screenings such as body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose, dental screenings, and health education. All of these services were at no cost to the participants. We also partnered with Prisma Health Upstate’s mobile clinic to offer free COVID-19 vaccines.

One volunteer commented:

“An entire family who came to the US within the past few months came in and was evaluated. They were cared for so well by all of our teams and expressed how much they felt that care. They were prayed for, connected to community in the local church, and provided resources for medical care that they previously did not have.”

What a great opportunity to show Jesus’ love to the community in concrete ways! We plan to offer these types of events on a regular basis, and we hope you’ll join us in prayer that they will be effective in serving our community. If you’re interested in volunteering at a future Health Screening Day, please email Sarah Branan at [email protected]