Two Year
Ministry Plan

This past month, 10 Grace Church members went on our first post-pandemic mission trip to Puerto Rico! We were thrilled to have our feet on the ground and be able to work in person with our ministry partners once more. Team members worked in partnership with Hunger Corp to help rebuild a home in Dorado that was damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2018. On our coming mission trips in July and August, we will continue working in Dorado to help their community rebuild homes and restore small businesses.

Our team was also able to worship with fellow believers at a local church. Another great connection was with Joel, a resident whose home had been devastated and rebuilt by teams in 2019-20. It was exciting for a few team members who had been on both trips to see the fruit of their labor and Joel's huge smile!

We are blessed to see God work through our members to serve others. But we are further blessed to see how God worked in the hearts of our team members. A few of them had this to say about their experience:

"I learned to invest in the people I am with and the people around me. Sometimes we focus on the project and getting it accomplished versus really investing in the souls of others that are around us. People over projects!"

"I saw that God can use me even when I thought my skill set didn't match the calling. If God is speaking, go!"

"A mission trip is more than a vehicle for sharing the gospel. It's an opportunity for God to work on your own heart."

Please join us in celebrating what God has done and praying for the next two mission trips that will take place this summer. If you are interested in applying to join a mission trip this summer, click below to learn more!

One of our partner organizations is Christ for the City International in Nicaragua. They have been working hard, along with local churches, to support the countless individuals who have been affected by the pandemic as well as recent hurricanes. Although we haven’t been able to travel to Nicaragua over the past year, we have closely partnered with our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua through prayer, virtual teaching, and financial support.

Through this partnership, we have been able to help provide food, water filters, clothing, medical assistance, and other vital supplies to those in need. Recently, our Nicaragua Partnership Lead Wes Cavin was able to have a conversation with Fabricio Mendoza, the director of the Christ for the City International Nicaragua base and get an update about how things are going. Watch a short clip from the update below. To watch the full conversation, click here, and to see related photos, click here.

One of our partners in Puerto Rico is Hunger Corp—a local Christian nonprofit organization that works to rebuild Puerto Rico well after natural disasters in a way that brings dignity to those who have experienced loss. Over the past two years, Grace has sent three teams to Puerto Rico, and Hunger Corp has helped train our volunteers and coordinate the work we do there so we can best serve local communities.

Last year, we were able to donate ten thousand dollars for them to purchase two shipping containers. These containers have been retrofitted to store basic supplies so locals can be prepared for the next hurricane season. Afterwards, the containers can be used as mobile shower units for people who have no access to water in the aftermath of a hurricane.

We are also excited to let you know that we have another mission team going to Puerto Rico on May 1! We hope you'll be in prayer for both our members on the team and the staff members of Hunger Corp as they work together to rebuild in Puerto Rico. Click below to watch a video from the folks at Hunger Corp as they tell about the work they are doing in local communities. If you’re interested in applying for a summer mission trip to Puerto Rico, click here.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been unable to send our usual mission teams to our outreach partners in Nicaragua. Thankfully, we have been able to pivot to virtual connections—proving that the fruitfulness of the gospel cannot be limited.

Using Zoom, we have been able to teach several courses—including Core Values of the Church and Leadership Values—and spend time helping pastors and leaders think through how best to lead their congregations during a global pandemic. More than 30 pastors and leaders participated in our video sessions each month and received training/equipping that helps them lead their churches and in their communities. What we learned over the past year is that while the significant benefit of in-person interaction was missed, the work God is doing through our teams in Nicaragua can still have an impact until he opens the doors for us to travel once again.

We hope you will join us in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua. As we rejoice in the opportunity to connect with believers around the world, we pray that God would continue to expand his kingdom.

Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” One way we are seeking to defend the cause of orphans is through OVC Kenya—a partnership program that provides sustainable support and promotes long-term relationships with orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya.

Through OVC Kenya, individuals and families can become advocates for children in need. Each advocate not only contributes financially to help provide for their child, but they also send letters of encouragement and support. We have found this to be an amazing way to build relationships, get outside ourselves, and even create discipleship opportunities with our families.

Recently, we hosted an OVC Kenya Vision Night to give our advocates an update. 71 kids have been supported by advocates at Grace Church, and five of them recently graduated. It was exciting to hear their stories and how the program has helped equip them financially, emotionally, and spiritually. We hope you will join us in prayer and celebration around this ministry. To learn more about OVC Kenya, click below!

Serving in Allendale County has been a long term gospel investment for Grace Church, and we are excited to share how God has worked this summer. Our Camp Impact Staff—six Grace college interns—have returned with stories of life change not only from their own lives, but also from the lives of others. In particular, our Junior Staff have experienced spiritual growth and developed leadership skills. These Junior Staff members are students from Allendale County who have come up through the Camp Impact program over past years, and now they have had the opportunity to serve alongside Grace staff and influence the lives of children in their community.

What an amazing blessing to see God’s hand at work over years of prayer, sacrifice, and personal investment. Click here to hear Bill White talk about the gospel impact of Grace’s ministry in Allendale County. Also, many of our high school students were able to minister through Camp Impact this summer—click here to see some photos of love in action!

To learn more about our ministry in Allendale County, click below.

We have a team in Puerto Rico this week specifically working on earthquake relief through construction and care. They are helping build temporary structures and counseling many individuals and families who have lost their homes. Please be in prayer for them and especially for the families we are serving there.

Continuing our recently-started three-year Grace Institute Nicaragua in Chinandega, Tom Fowler has returned for the week to train approximately 70 pastors and leaders. Tom is leading the participants through two studies: 1) Study of the Holy Spirit; and 2) Bibliology - A Study of Biblical Doctrine. These classes continue to lay the foundation for the curriculum to be executed over the next 36 months. Please pray for Tom and all the students who participate.

As an extension of the last decade of ministry in Kenya, we have been working with our partner, Bernard Karubu, to expand our ministry into nearby Rwanda to help train and equip other pastors there. We are excited about ministries in three African countries (including our members, the Nelsons, living in Cape Verde) meeting together and the ways God is using our service and relationships in Kenya to meet needs and provide similar training in Rwanda. Watch the video below for more details.

Bernard also runs our OVC Kenya program as we continue to make efforts to care for orphans and vulnerable children. If you are interested in helping with this program, here's how you can help: We need 8-10 more advocates for our OVC high school and college-aged children. High school support is $50/month and college support is $100/month, and we ask advocates to commit for the duration of the student's schooling. You can apply to be an advocate below.

We sent a team to Puerto Rico for the first time in August and it was a great trip! They served alongside Hunger Corp. to assist in building and restoring homes for victims of Hurricane Maria. We already have teams set for a November 2019 trip and February 2020 trip as well. Please be praying for these teams and for our friends in Puerto Rico during hurricane season. 

Our next Puerto Rico trips are set for August 8-14, 2020 and October 31- November 6, 2020. You will be able to apply for these after the start of the new year.

Continuing a partnership started 16 years ago, we are excited to launch a new three-year Grace Institute Nicaragua. Tom Fowler and Herson Lopez will be training approximately 70 pastors & leaders in Chinandega, Nicaragua from August 26-30. To kickoff the new set of classes, the participants will go through 2 studies: 1) Soteriology; and 2) Survey of Genesis. These classes help set the foundation for the curriculum to be executed over the next 36 months. Our teams are excited to return to Chinandega, as it takes us back to our "roots". The first Grace Church team to serve in Nicaragua spent a week serving in a local church in Chinandega, and the city is also the childhood home of the Christ for the City International - Nicaragua Directors, Fabricio & Claudia Mendoza.

In two days, June 22, three Grace Church members and staff leave for follow-up training with pastors and leaders in Nicaragua, specifically in Rivas (2010-2012) and Matagalpa (2013-2015). Merritt Anderson will be teaching our "Leadership Values" course, David Vaughan will be teaching a "Study of Parables", and Wes Cavin will be leading a session on "Growing Church/Christian Unity".

What has changed?

While the situation in Nicaragua is still very fragile, we're seeing several encouraging signs. In addition to a resumption of talks and negotiations between the government, private sector, and religious entities, we are also learning about other missions teams from the U.S. that are returning to Nicaragua (medical teams, teaching teams, and construction/other humanitarian teams).

Why are we returning now?
Through prayer and consult with our Christ for the City International - Nicaragua (CFCI) partners, we have determined that the situation is at a place where we are willing and able to send a small team. When our trips were interrupted last year, we were in our final year of a three-year focus training pastors and leaders in La Dalia. Returning now gives us the chance to complete classes with that group of pastors and leaders and celebrate what God has done and is doing in their lives, churches, and communities. A trip at this time also gives us the opportunity to support our CFCI partners in efforts they have continued during our absence—training for women in Matagalpa and other pastors and leaders in Managua.

How can our church family be praying?
First and foremost, we give thanks to God for working and moving during the year we've been away. Please pray for team safety, that God will use the team (Tom Fowler, Mary Ezzell, and Ken and Doris Bickel) for his glory, and for the continued efforts to help an under-resourced group of pastors and leaders. Finally, pray for our partners in Nicaragua as they continue to face living in a very difficult situation on a daily basis—economically and spiritually.

These 41 women completed the Redeeming Sexuality course in Matagalpa. Keep up with Nicaragua missions and view more pictures of our partners, CFCI, and graduation ceremonies here.